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Tech Interview Handbook

techinterviewhandbook.org

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Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#111

Post by Aeolun »

rizzaxc wrote: post #104
Aeolun wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The inability to listen to people judge you for not knowing the answer to arbitrary and contrived problems? I’ve been a valuable professional for years, and then this little snot tells me I don’t qualify for his position because I don’t know what happens when you sum two arrays in Javascript? Fuck off.

If you claimed to be an experienced JS dev, applying for a JS position, asking to be paid big bucks then yes he had every right to quiz you on that I dont know what really happened though

Yeah, that really happened (well, similar in nature if not exactly the same).

These are the kind of questions I do not know the answer to because no sane person ever does that.

I tried explaining as such, but I think the interview was on a downward trend after that.

I think we were supposed to discuss their take home assignment, which I thought was actually great fun, but the interview was a JS pop quiz instead because they probably didn’t inform their interviewer correctly.

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#112

Post by doix »

Aeolun wrote: post #111
rizzaxc wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you claimed to be an experienced JS dev, applying for a JS position, asking to be paid big bucks then yes he had every right to quiz you on that I dont know what really happened though

Yeah, that really happened (well, similar in nature if not exactly the same). These are the kind of questions I do not know the answer to because no sane person ever does that. I tried explaining as such, but I think the interview was on a downward trend after that. I think we were supposed to discuss their take home assignment, which I thought was actually great fun, but the interview was a JS pop quiz instead becau…

Did you get visibly pissed off with the question? That might be why the interview went poorly. Whenever I get pop quiz questions, I just say I don't remember and if it came up in a real codebase I would test it in a REPL to see what it does. The interview carries on normally after that in my experience.

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#113

Post by lucideer »

yupper32 wrote: post #43
ecshafer wrote: post #19

I disagree with this resume advice actually. He for example removes that he was in the military sniper team and won best shot, but keeps high school education? I would totally say the opposite, keep the cool the side thing that's a conversation starter, but remove irrelevant educational experience. Including the number of stars on the github projects they worked on seems so.... narcissistic? Promotional? Idk but its…

> Including the number of stars on the github projects they worked on seems so.... narcissistic? Promotional? I don't know about the stars particularly, but what is a resume besides you being somewhat narcissistic and especially promotional?

It would only be that if it wasn't something everyone did. For most it's more of a reluctant necessity rather than being something they relish. And imo reflecting that in its tone is of value.

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#114

Post by traceroute66 »

As someone who has interviewed techs in my time, I can tell you that what the employer wants more than anything is to see YOU.

Don't treat employers like idiots. They can smell the stink of a massaged CV/Resume a mile off. They can equally tell if the person on the other side of the interview table is attempting to stick to a polished script.

The best thing you can do for yourself is be YOU. The employer wants to see the real person. The person that will be expected to work with their colleagues, customers and suppliers. They want to see the same person today that they will see a year later in the work environment, not some Jekyll & Hyde double personality.

The last thing the interviewer wants is a polished turd, i.e. someone who interviews well and then is utterly useless in the job because they are incapable of working with others or don't have the skills they promised.

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#115

Post by fractallyte »

traceroute66 wrote: post #114

As someone who has interviewed techs in my time, I can tell you that what the employer wants more than anything is to see YOU . Don't treat employers like idiots. They can smell the stink of a massaged CV/Resume a mile off. They can equally tell if the person on the other side of the interview table is attempting to stick to a polished script. The best thing you can do for yourself is be YOU . The employer wants to s…

Sounds great! But what does HR want?

You have to get through the gatekeepers first...

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#117

Post by bovermyer »

pc86 wrote: post #61
ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is such a strange optimization. As an industry we should boycott leetcode style questions.

You're welcome to, but don't expect to get jobs at any company folks have heard of. I don't like it, but it's just the way it is now.

I've worked for some very big name companies that millions have heard of. I have only had to do a coding challenge once, and that was not for any of the big fish.

I imagine we operate in very different geographic regions of the USA.

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#118

Post by bovermyer »

qweqwweqwe-90i wrote: post #44
ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is such a strange optimization. As an industry we should boycott leetcode style questions.

I wouldn't want to work with someone that doesn't have their fundamentals down. Most people spend at least 4 years studying CS, they should know their stuff.

I've spent over a decade in the field. I had two formal years of CS in university. The rest of my tertiary education was art and history.

Would I be a good CS researcher? No, not even close.

Am I a good software engineer? Damn straight I am.

Would I work with you? Sounds like we wouldn't be a good "culture fit."

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#119

Post by arcbyte »

The best hiring outcomes I've ever seen was a program manager who hired entirely on attitude. As long as you had programmed something/anything in the past, if you could sit through a 45 minute interview and have a great attitude you were hired. That company went from years of stagnation to doubling over the next two years.

It makes sense. If you have a great attitude about your work you'll learn and do whatever you need to.

The other key was this program manager wanted to be known as having the highest paid tech staff in the area.

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#120

Post by sto_hristo »

rizzaxc wrote: post #104
Aeolun wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The inability to listen to people judge you for not knowing the answer to arbitrary and contrived problems? I’ve been a valuable professional for years, and then this little snot tells me I don’t qualify for his position because I don’t know what happens when you sum two arrays in Javascript? Fuck off.

If you claimed to be an experienced JS dev, applying for a JS position, asking to be paid big bucks then yes he had every right to quiz you on that I dont know what really happened though

The hell with the person's ability to learn new stuff, navigate JS's epic ecosystem, and keep himself on par with new developments and the trends. Summing js arrays is where it's at and tells the interviewer the whole story of the candidate's understanding of the language.
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