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Ask HN: How are your interviewers being rude to you?

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71–80 of 144 posts

Re: Ask HN: How are your interviewers being rude to you?

#71
The use of the word "expert" FOR EVERYTHING.

Something I always specify in interviews: being an expert at something, for me, means that I could write a book about it.

So, I prefer to say "I am good at ", instead of saying "expert".

The problem is this leads to unclear skill appreciation!! Like, yes, I spent the last 5 years coding partial differential equations in parallel mainly using C. Would I call myself an expert in C? No. Never.

I am good at it? yes.

So why is this rude? Because, in case you have sense of honesty and/or the simple inability to call yourself an expert about everything, this can lead to discussion where you have to explain "oh ok, I am not an expert at numerical analysis and solving PDE's but still it was a big part of my last position...so I am probably more of an expert compared to the 22 year old guy that just came out of school who PRETENDS he is an expert at this".

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The almost SYSTEMATICAL use of "C/C++" as if it's a thing.

No, sorry, a thousand times "NO", being a C developer is a thing, being a C++ developer is another thing. It's possible to be both, but it's FAR from being systematical.

It's as if we would see everywhere "Java/Javascript" -> see the heresy?

So this is not exactly "rude" but terribly annoying having to go into details when answering questions about "C/C++" in interviews: "so, well, I am a good C developer but I am just ok at C++ because, you know? C and C++ are not the same thing AT ALL?"...seeing the sense of confusion in their eyes at that moment is really distressing.

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People from full-HR background trying to pretend they know something about the field because they know the words/keywords.

You know? Like, I am not a biologist, I know the word "DNA" but would I, in front of a biologist that I am recruiting for some reasons, pretend that I KNOW what DNA is? No, I wouldn't and I shouldn't. Actually, maybe a good idea could be: -> test the communication skills of somebody: "Explain to me what is " (DNA, for instance, or anything else).

So, no, sorry it's not because you know the words "cloud" or "Python" or "server" that you are an expert and talk like you are one.

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Companies/HR people/Business People trying to oversell the company, particularly going into the "we are so much a good-humane company". It's "rude" in the sense, that we all know that most of the time it's bullshit. And/or in any case, people claiming that are not the people you're gonna end up working with on a daily basis anyway.

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Coding test for senior positions. I have more than 10 years of experience. Two master's degrees in Computer Science. And a PhD also in Computer Science.

So, Yes. I. Can. Code.

I also know that I am not "the best at coding". I am not trying to be the best at coding...because I am unable of doing so and also because...I am over 23? (or pick any age that would make sens to you)

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Recruitment process that is solely composed of technical test or if you prefer, when the company is not actually recruiting a human being.

I mean, on a not too big company (below 200 people), doing really advanced stuff (way above the typical software engineering kind of work), one could expect a company would try to NOT ONLY get the matching skills but also the matching personality.

Re: Ask HN: How are your interviewers being rude to you?

#72
Answering with the following when I ask again (after they disappeared for months) for a salary range:

"Thanks for the quick response, but I'd rather not move forward without hearing your salary requirements.

Having asked a few times and still not received an answer, we're going to move on in another direction."

Re: Ask HN: How are your interviewers being rude to you?

#74
post #56
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends where in California and where in Western Europe

I assume they mean in an apples-to-apples comparison, not tent-city in SF vs mansion in Warsaw

If we are comparing expensive cities, we might as well start with Geneva:

> You would need around 7,858.14$ (7,254.94Fr.) in Geneva to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with 8,300.00$ in San Francisco, CA (assuming you rent in both cities).

Although other countries/cities in Europe are cheaper than this, you should know that Switzerland has extremely low income tax, compared to others.

Re: Ask HN: How are your interviewers being rude to you?

#75

When the interviewer is obviously discovering my CV during the interview. When the interviewer demeans you by boasting about their company's/team's achievements while implying "why are you here?" (well, you've invited me, remember?)

I once had an interviewer boast about their accomplishments and how important they were at their previous employer. It was very confusing since I wasn't applying for a position at their previous employer.

Re: Ask HN: How are your interviewers being rude to you?

#77
probably the biggest rude thing I encounter is people who have take home assignments that "only take an hour" and in reality is total bullshit and it's like 10+ hrs. Like implement a LRU cache as a http API that also implements the redis protocol... And if you ever complain about the time they often say "other candidates found it fine" (c'mon use some common sense, people lie about how long it takes them)

Re: Ask HN: How are your interviewers being rude to you?

#78

Unfortunately, in a job interview it is very likely that the person being rude is doing that in order to test how you respond. I've witnessed it during a group interview and I lost all respect for the interviewer, who was a group manager, especially after they explained in the review meeting why they did it. Personally I think it is a lame tactic and that there are better ways to learn how a person adapts to a confus…

Like how scammers intentionally use misspellings to filter for people likely to fall for the scam, maybe they're trying to see who can take abuse?

Re: Ask HN: How are your interviewers being rude to you?

#79
post #40

I had one interview at a financial "family office" where a rich person forms a company to manage their investments. In this case it was a high profile trade who was banned from taking customers. I was brought in, I mined the front of house staff. Its always good to see how they are feeling. Plus if you are nice to them, you get the good biscuits. They looked fine, until they started talking about the CEO/boss. They t…

You mean "Needless to day I didn't get the job"?

sorry, yes!

Re: Ask HN: How are your interviewers being rude to you?

#80
post #31

Mostly by fucking about the pay: - By refusing to disclose salary range and insisting I should go through the process before they can tell me. They don't get an interview. - By trying paint their company as a startup despite over a billion dollars in investor money or, in one case, being publicly traded. Used to justify below market rate salary. - By claiming role is fully remote and then slashing salary range at the…

Eh, that's how negotiation works. In this job market, it's certainly a two-way street. Instead of asking them for a salary range, you should be giving them a salary range. And if they change any expectations during the process, call them out.
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