We created a fake language to root out resume liars • Hacker News Board

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#101

Post by surfingdino » Wed, Mar 10, 2021, 9:40 AM UTC

znpy wrote: post #76

iwangulenko wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tech recruiter here. Firms on average are more dishonest than jobseekers. The reason is simple: If you do something often enough, you get sloppy. For instance, if you start going to the gym, at first, your exercise execution is perfect but after some weeks you get sloppier and sloppier. Same here, firms that are hiring constantly tend to get fatigued. Jobseekers, however, are "active" for some weeks until they switch…

> Firms on average are more dishonest than jobseekers. This. It happened to me to receive CVs for a position and the actual candidate was completely clueless. Yet the recruiting firm was really pushing that as "a very good candidate albeit a bit junior". OTOH, it happened to me that I had an interview with a consulting firm. They would basically forward my CV to the actual client and only hire me if the client "accep…

This is one of the standard practices at a lot of recruitment firms.

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#102

Post by dmos62 » Wed, Mar 10, 2021, 9:40 AM UTC

RJIb8RBYxzAMX9u wrote: post #64

josephg wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to do some work with a software consulting firm. There was a ping pong table in the office, and while talking about rates, our CEO liked to offer clients a 15% discount on our services if they could beat Joe from accounting at ping pong. He did it as a bit of a running joke, and to see how people reacted to the offer. What our clients didn't know was that Joe was terrible at ping pong. But that didn't matter -…

> [...] [H]e was only ever challenged once in the many years I was there. I suspect that's because your client's spending their company's money, and it made no difference if the rate were cheaper. They'd rather sign the deal quickly then GTFO. Challenging Joe would only prolong the process.

But it would be fun?

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#103

Post by nathancahill » Wed, Mar 10, 2021, 9:41 AM UTC

dnh44 wrote: post #95

ivalm wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, lots of people colloquially claim to be good at chess but can’t even stumble though a proper opening. The difference between say a class-a player and a rando is massive and easy to tell.

Memorising openings is also a crutch for players who aren’t that good so I’m not sure if I would use that as a benchmark for good players.

I feel personally attacked. But I didn't downvote you because you're not wrong.

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#104

Post by imron » Wed, Mar 10, 2021, 9:42 AM UTC

lsh123 wrote: post #40

mssundaram wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's really lousy, I wouldn't have even bothered applying to that because I'd assume you had unrealistic expectations or no idea what you are talking about.

I was (and still am) interested in hiring people who would challenge manager, TL, ... and speak up if they think something is not right. That was just one of the filters.

> was (and still am) interested in hiring people who would challenge manager, TL, ... and speak up if they think something is not right.

Sounds like mssundaram is just the person you need to hire then.

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#105

Post by ChrisRR » Wed, Mar 10, 2021, 9:44 AM UTC

brigandish wrote: post #77

> That way, when candidates were pitched to us with "X years of MOVA experience", we knew that somebody was full of it. I'd put my money on the recruiter. I once had an excruciatingly awkward interview at a company on an industrial estate in the middle of nowhereland with no train station nearby that took me bloody ages to get to… which was actually going well until they asked me about my long experience with Exchang…

I learned that quickly, so when I go into an interview I'm always honest and take a couple of extra CVs just in case the recruiter has changed something.

At one interview they told me they thought I would be a good fit, but couldn't hire me at my requested salary.

I hadn't put down a requested salary, the recruiter had put down an unreasonably high salary and almost cost me the job

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#106

Post by mandown2308 » Wed, Mar 10, 2021, 9:44 AM UTC

Facebook innovation smh

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#107

Post by austincheney » Wed, Mar 10, 2021, 9:44 AM UTC

Why even bother with a fake language when so often the industry has devolved into some sick level of honest negligence?

For example: rarely do candidates need to know JavaScript anymore or even some unnecessary framework. Now people trade in experience of some tool that says nothing of anything: React Flux Capacitor (or some other bullshit like they want to go back in time to make lots of money without any real skills).

Now if you ask these candidates some junior developer question outside of React Flux Capacitor bullshit they are not only hopelessly lost, but expect to be treated as a senior principal.

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#108

Post by slimsag » Wed, Mar 10, 2021, 9:46 AM UTC

dmos62 wrote: post #96

arethuza wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get as angry with recruiters as everyone else, but then I remember then time where I worked for a company that shared a floor of a serviced office building with a recruitment company. They were brutal in their treatment of staff - they were too cheap to get rooms for staff appraisals so they would do them in the coffee area we shared with them so we could hear how they were treated by their management - seeing peop…

Jeez louise, imagine working somewhere where coworkers are regularly abused to tears. I really hope that that's an isolated case.

My sister worked at a recruitment company for a while and basically described the same. They set targets for everyone that were basically not achievable ever, and managers were expected to basically personally berate you for not meeting them and place you on warning to get you to work harder and more hours.

She wasn't in a position to lose a job at the time, and felt she had no other choice but to begin lying about numbers to meet the targets (obviously wrong.) She is very much NOT the type of person to do something unethical like that and felt extremely bad about it, apologized and got fired.

Recruitment companies will literally push their employees to and over the edge. You either live to work for them or they break you and fire you.

Outside of tech, mental abuse in jobs is shockingly common and frequent.

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#109

Post by throwaway210222 » Wed, Mar 10, 2021, 9:47 AM UTC

lsh123 wrote: post #40

mssundaram wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's really lousy, I wouldn't have even bothered applying to that because I'd assume you had unrealistic expectations or no idea what you are talking about.

I was (and still am) interested in hiring people who would challenge manager, TL, ... and speak up if they think something is not right. That was just one of the filters.

Do you think civil engineers and surgeons behave like this?

Comport yourself like a professional.

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#110

Post by practicalpants » Wed, Mar 10, 2021, 9:49 AM UTC

brigandish wrote: post #77

> That way, when candidates were pitched to us with "X years of MOVA experience", we knew that somebody was full of it. I'd put my money on the recruiter. I once had an excruciatingly awkward interview at a company on an industrial estate in the middle of nowhereland with no train station nearby that took me bloody ages to get to… which was actually going well until they asked me about my long experience with Exchang…

Yep, for my first programming job out of college a recruiter arranged an onsite interview for a Java role, when I was under every impression it was for Ruby/Rails. I don't know Java.

The first interviewer laughed and walked out. I explained things to the recruiter, he cursed, said he would "visit the Ruby team upstairs". He actually managed to setup an impromptu on-site interview with the Ruby team on that same day. I got the job.