I failed every single interview when I had to do programming task on the spot, however people who hired me based on my resume and how I talk about solving problems, had great business with me for many years.
Tech sector job interviews assess anxiety, not software skills: study
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Re: Tech sector job interviews assess anxiety, not software skills: study
#972I'm a ex-FANG dev that started a recruiting company, so I am VERY familiar with the arbitrary tech interview process. I'm a huge proponent of contract-to-hire. Even started a company* to make it easier for companies to offer contract-to-hire. Now before you dismiss the idea because you are "too good" to do C2H hear me out. Everyone knows that actually working with someone on the job is the only way to get an accurate…
C2H is terrible for the employee and you should know that, as a professional headhunter. Negotiating your salary upfront is likely going to give you the best deal you can get. Don't kid yourself into thinking that you can "show your value" to improve your negotiating position. Your first few months on the job are usually when you are at your lowest performance, since you are learning the company's processes. That is…
>> Negotiating your salary upfront is likely going to give you the best deal you can get. Don't kid yourself into thinking that you can "show your value" to improve your negotiating position. Your first few months on the job are usually when you are at your lowest performance, since you are learning the company's processes. That is your trial period.
That does not conform to my experience as employee or as an employer. Do you have any evidence to support it? If does sound like something a recruiter who wants to take a cut of your first year salary (from the employer) would say.
Re: Tech sector job interviews assess anxiety, not software skills: study
#973This article doesn't necessarily show that job interviews are ineffective.
It showed that candidates performed worse when interviewers were in the room. But, if they all perform worse in a similar amount, it's still an equal measuring stick across participants.
Re: Tech sector job interviews assess anxiety, not software skills: study
#974I conducted a couple hundred interviews for my first FAANG employer, and I was constantly amazed at the percentage of candidates with years of Microsoft or Facebook experience on the resumes who apparently did not know how to program. I always thought, 'huh, guess I know why they quit after 3 years, amazing that they all lasted this long." Then I interviewed for another company and utterly bombed. It became suddenly…
The best advice I ever got about interviews is to figure out ways to prove yourself wrong about what you think about the candidate. Although it's good advice for a candidate who seems too perfect, this advice really shines when someone is bombing.
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Re: Tech sector job interviews assess anxiety, not software skills: study
#975Earlier quoted context omitted.
Rescheduling a date or an interview at the last minute doesn’t make a great first impression either.
I would LOVE to get my 2 hours back in a day because of a last minute interview cancelation. The only person who would be truly irritated is the recruiter, who's job depends on meeting candidate quotas. Even then, they want you to be successful. Trust me anyone reading this, if you are not feeling well, or something is distracting you, please, please, do feel free to reschedule your interview, even last minute. Once…
This sounds like sth it could be good if companies informed the applicants about, hmm
I think I too wouldn't have "dared" to postpone, in some/many cases
Re: Tech sector job interviews assess anxiety, not software skills: study
#976Earlier quoted context omitted.
You're misunderstanding what they're trying to test. They're testing your raw ability to manipulate algorithmic structure in your head. It's important that you have to visualise the data structures and manipulate them without being able to look it up. It's an brainpower test, not a workflow test.
Which is fine if your job is really going to be centred around developing algorithmic software in a unique or high pressure way. The problem is most software engineering day jobs are nothing like this, so the test is not a good filter.
I always say that you aren't qualified to work on the hardest problems you can solve, so to check if someone can do the job you need to ask them to do something harder than you expect them to encounter. People who work at the edge of their ability makes tons of mistakes and are very slow, and it isn't very fun for them either.
It is the same as if you expect a warehouse worker to regularly lift 20kg then you don't test your hires if they can take 20kg at their best, because then you will get a lot of people who simply can't do the job for 8 hours a day. Instead you'd make sure they can lift 40 kg or so to ensure that lifting 20 kg regularly wont be a problem.
Re: Tech sector job interviews assess anxiety, not software skills: study
#977Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Most established professionals are not interested in a 10 week trial period after which they might be back on the job market." Why not? If the position isn't a fit for either side after X time on-the-job, that's OK right?
Because maybe they support families with their job? Unless they had a ton of savings, parents aren't going to switch jobs with a chance of being unemployed again in 2.5 months. I wouldn't do it and I'm young and single.
But isn't the chance implicitly always there?
Re: Tech sector job interviews assess anxiety, not software skills: study
#978Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I think that's how I discovered that mental context switching is a real thing You had to go to that level to understand that? I am glad you did realize it, but I am surprised it was that late in your career.
I'd probably heard about it but I'd never had it really hit me like that before.
How did the CEO react / say? If I may ask
Re: Tech sector job interviews assess anxiety, not software skills: study
#979I conducted a couple hundred interviews for my first FAANG employer, and I was constantly amazed at the percentage of candidates with years of Microsoft or Facebook experience on the resumes who apparently did not know how to program. I always thought, 'huh, guess I know why they quit after 3 years, amazing that they all lasted this long." Then I interviewed for another company and utterly bombed. It became suddenly…
I much preferred our style of (technical) interviews (I took on a few dozen over the years). First there's a review of the CV, Linkedin, and github, if that looks good, a first interview - just get to know the person, very casual. If that clicks, second interview is the technical interview - we did that by giving the candidate homework, 4-8 hours worth of tasks that are close to their day-to-day work, usually somethi…
> basic math/arithmetic
Can I ask for some example(s) of what type of questions you asked?
Re: Tech sector job interviews assess anxiety, not software skills: study
#980Earlier quoted context omitted.
Totally agreed. I've been in the position to evaluate several take-home exercises during the years and they always produced good results
Doesn't that tell you that the method of hiring is flawed in the first place? If you care to weed out bad candiates, what help are 100% perfectly fine take-home exercises? The only thing that tells you is, that all of your candidates are viable in the first place. Just go into an interview with THAT assumption and ask the right questions. Why do so many companies assume that people who try to get hired for a certain…
> > produced good results
> what help are 100% perfectly fine take-home exercises? The only thing that tells you is, that all of your candidates are viable in the first place.
I think you might have interpreted that, in a different way than what was meant.