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Interview advice that got me offers

zainrizvi.io

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Re: Interview advice that got me offers

#161

Post by programmerslave »

mlthoughts2018 wrote: post #4

“Keeping those skills sharp even when you’re not job hunting.” It’s so tiring to continue to see this. If the “skills” you need to keep sharp are not the same thing as the skills you exercise through your job, that’s a giant red flag that the hiring company should be avoided. If you’re practicing leetcode or Kaggle in your spare time to pass interviews, you need to stop and realize you’ve set up your goals completely…

This is bad advice, all the companies that pay well ask algorithms problems. Either play ball or be stuck at low wages

Re: Interview advice that got me offers

#162

Post by jefftk »

borroka wrote: post #75
tootie wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't seem to apply at FAANGs. I had some positive interviews where I went out of my way to build some rapport and it got a lot of smiles but no offer. It definitely worked at the completely not FAANG company that I work for now. I think I'm probably better off this way.

FAANGs are a different beast altogether. Especially at the IC level, it is 99% technical, given a normal-human-being-behavior. Then, technical the way they (individual interviewer and company) evaluate it and you don't know about, since I had a few interviews in which I was confident I did a very good job (I am not a junior...) and they got back with a rejection on technical grounds. One striking example was when I s…

> One striking example was when I solved the coding problems posed to me in 15 minutes out of the 45 available, the interviewer said "that's great, I don't have any more questions, please use this time for you to ask about the company" and then the recruiter told me I was rejected because I did not do the coding part well enough.

That's terrible behavior from the interviewer. Did you try raising this with your recruiter?

Re: Interview advice that got me offers

#163

Post by 908B64B197 »

decafninja wrote: post #149
a_wild_dandan wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you explain why it scales worse than current typical interview sessions?

Because a candidate can grind leetcode and prepare for a huge number of companies. On the other hand, something like a homework assignment is typically good for a single company, and if you fail, it's time and effort and emotional energy down the toilet.

Homework are great if you:

Are extremely prestigious or have compensation clearly above market rates.

Candidates only have so much time to dedicate to homework so they will sort companies and work on homework assignments from top to bottom.

Homework are easy to grade (some of that can be automated!) and low commitment from the employer side. But that low commitment sends a signal that the candidate isn't really valued.

Having an on-site with engineers sends a much better signal as it tells the candidate he's worthy of discussing with a real engineer on company time rather than some gradings software.

Of course, if your recruiting pipeline is very poor (low signal to noise ratio, majority of applicants can't code) then sure, weed out with a homework assignment.

Re: Interview advice that got me offers

#164

Post by a_wild_dandan »

decafninja wrote: post #149
a_wild_dandan wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you explain why it scales worse than current typical interview sessions?

Because a candidate can grind leetcode and prepare for a huge number of companies. On the other hand, something like a homework assignment is typically good for a single company, and if you fail, it's time and effort and emotional energy down the toilet.

I think I misled you. I meant for the toy project idea to be an on-site, swap out replacement for a typical white board session. The time commitment should remain unchanged. Maybe I should edit the original comment. Sorry!

Re: Interview advice that got me offers

#165

Post by decafninja »

908B64B197 wrote: post #163
decafninja wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because a candidate can grind leetcode and prepare for a huge number of companies. On the other hand, something like a homework assignment is typically good for a single company, and if you fail, it's time and effort and emotional energy down the toilet.

Homework are great if you: Are extremely prestigious or have compensation clearly above market rates. Candidates only have so much time to dedicate to homework so they will sort companies and work on homework assignments from top to bottom. Homework are easy to grade (some of that can be automated!) and low commitment from the employer side. But that low commitment sends a signal that the candidate isn't really value…

Agree 100%. I've decided to just reject any company that requires a homework assignment unless it's a FAANG or nearly FAANG level of prestige and/or comp. Otherwise, it really is a waste of time when there are many, many, companies that do not require homework.

Re: Interview advice that got me offers

#166

Post by slg »

ZainRiz wrote: post #141
slg wrote: post #101

>Learn to answer the more ambiguous questions This is something I have never done before my most recent job search but it has been a huge help. Previously all my interview prep was on tech and I pretty much winged it for the behavioral stuff since interview prep guides seem to always focus on the tech side. Plus it always feels worse and more obvious when you struggle with or fail to properly answer the tech question…

This is great advice. A single memorable event you went though tends to highlight many different skills, so having a few stories down well will let you answer most of those questions And what if it doesn't answer the interviewer's question perfectly? Their real goal was to try to get to know you better. The question was just a prompt to get a better signal about you, and you delivered above and beyond what was asked.

>And what if it doesn't answer the interviewer's question perfectly?

Exactly. You only need to avoid the extreme of looking like a politician in a debate completely dodging a question. And even if you do get too far away from the question, you can always close it out with a joke about how off topic you got which gives you a chance to connect with the interviewer on a human level.

Re: Interview advice that got me offers

#167

Post by mdorazio »

kerng wrote: post #105
kortilla wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You usually have to be the first mover and be willing to give them a number you’re looking for.

Never give a recruiter a number - there is 0 value you get out of it and it gives the company you interview for the power and you'll leave money on the table. Let them tell you. I always just say stuff like "I assume that the compensation at amazing company xyz will be competitive enough to consider"

This is terrible, outdated advice for anyone with more than a couple years experience. The value you get out of it is not wasting everyone's time when the salary available isn't even close to high enough. Decide what your minimum compensation requirement is, increase this by some percentage that would make you happy, and give that to recruiters. You will get far more out of avoiding bullshit than you will potentially leave on the table.

Additionally, remember that most independent recruiters work on some form of commission. It's in their best interest to get you more money because then they also get more money.

Re: Interview advice that got me offers

#168

Post by mdorazio »

saagarjha wrote: post #66
d4mi3n wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This limits options that are unwilling to meet your requirements; places you would have passed on due to insufficient salaries anyway. If you're willing to take lower salaries, lower your minimal salary requirements to receive more of them. Dictating salary reqs up front does two things: 1. Reduces time wasted on folks or orgs that don't want to pay your rate. 2. Immediately moves discussion away from a dance around…

It limits your options down . If you say you're looking for $100/hour, and the recruiter was planning on giving you $150/hour…guess what offer you're going to get?

It also saves you huge amounts of time dealing with bullshit recruiters and companies. And if your ask is off by 50% then you did a shit job of understanding your actual market value in the first place and will hopefully do a better job in the future.

Re: Interview advice that got me offers

#169

Post by angarg12 »

> When you're in a real interview the world changes: You're locked in a cage with a lion.

I got into interviewing this last year as an interviewer. I used to think (as most people do) that the interview is a confrontation between interviewer and candidate.

However my biggest breakthrough happened when I changed my perspective. Now I see interviewers as detectives, gathering evidence of whether the candidate would be a good hire.

So my advice to candidates is the following: don't think of the interviewer as the enemy. Usually they aren't trying to get you, but help you. And if that isn't the case, you don't want to work for that company anyway. Keep a friendly and relaxed conversation with the interviewer and you'll be surprise how far it can get you.

Re: Interview advice that got me offers

#170

Post by yeswecatan »

jawns wrote: post #143
caffeine wrote: post #142

I think the most valuable thing to know about interviewing is: go in to interviews already holding a job offer. So to be clear I'm saying: interview at companies you don't like until you get an offer. THEN rush the recruiters at companies you do like to get you scheduled quickly, because you are holding an offer and they don't want to miss out. This lights recruiters and hiring managers on fire. It makes sure you hav…

> This lights recruiters and hiring managers on fire. Not always. Sometimes it has a repulsive effect. Like trying to score a first date when you're already flaunting the fact that you're engaged to someone else.

As a hiring manager, it comes down to how good this person seems on her resume. If she's just ok I don't rush.
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