Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Coinbase is rescinding already-accepted job offers

sfgate.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

361–370 of 461 posts

Re: Coinbase is rescinding already-accepted job offers

#361

Post by mattbuilds »

asah wrote: post #352
kodah wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The worst part is that Coinbase's interviews are difficult. If I'd spent months studying, rejecting other (good faith) offers, and then had this happen I'd not only be in a bad spot (without a job entering a recession) but I'd be furious at the inequality of input and output. I've been interviewing for the past month and I made a rule that I won't be doing any algorithm interviews. I didn't have time to study; some f…

Seriously ? So let me get this straight: now, we're not allowed to ask people if they can perform an __essential function of the job__, without being labeled "inhumane" ? You interview for sanitation work, I want to know that you can sling a heavy bag of hot garbage. You interview for SWE, I want to know that you can throw a sling a heavy bag of hot garbage!!!

You’re allowed to do whatever you want, and the person being interviewed can reject for any reason.

If someone has code samples, years of experience building things and can make it clear to companies that they can do the job, I don’t see the problem.

It’s a two way street about finding a good fit, I think a lot of employers don’t see it that way. Maybe they should.

Re: Coinbase is rescinding already-accepted job offers

#362

Post by Kina »

mlyle wrote: post #247
hiq wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> big fraction of this could be done cheaper and with a higher agree of assurance by distributed ledgers than notaries These theoretical benefits have been around for 10+ years with little to show for it. Ledger-based solutions tend to focus on a tiny technical step of a big process without considering whether that's a bottleneck or even a non-negligible part and whether improving it actually results in a better solu…

> I used to sympathize and engage with the theoretical arguments; but at this point a more productive approach is: if the advantages are such and such, Distributed ledgers are being used for real business cases in banking. Realizing these full benefits will take a very slow process of societal adoption and legal/evidentiary recognition. I said "not going away". These use cases are going to slowly grow and become ubiq…

> Distributed ledgers are being used for real business cases in banking. Realizing these full benefits will take a very slow process of societal adoption and legal/evidentiary recognition.

Looking at JPMorgan's Liink, there is no proof that this is anything more than a cynical publicity stunt to try to capture some of the money sloshing around in the crypto hype. Most of its touted features are things that could have been done without blockchain and should have been done decades ago if they were willing to invest in modernizing things.

Re: Coinbase is rescinding already-accepted job offers

#363

Post by a_chris »

asah wrote: post #352
kodah wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The worst part is that Coinbase's interviews are difficult. If I'd spent months studying, rejecting other (good faith) offers, and then had this happen I'd not only be in a bad spot (without a job entering a recession) but I'd be furious at the inequality of input and output. I've been interviewing for the past month and I made a rule that I won't be doing any algorithm interviews. I didn't have time to study; some f…

Seriously ? So let me get this straight: now, we're not allowed to ask people if they can perform an __essential function of the job__, without being labeled "inhumane" ? You interview for sanitation work, I want to know that you can sling a heavy bag of hot garbage. You interview for SWE, I want to know that you can throw a sling a heavy bag of hot garbage!!!

Yeah, because we spend the whole day reversing a linked list in your real-life SWE job, right? It's ridiculous that we have to study all those algorithms that we will never use it in your life, it's just too much.

Re: Coinbase is rescinding already-accepted job offers

#364

Post by onion2k »

asah wrote: post #352
kodah wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The worst part is that Coinbase's interviews are difficult. If I'd spent months studying, rejecting other (good faith) offers, and then had this happen I'd not only be in a bad spot (without a job entering a recession) but I'd be furious at the inequality of input and output. I've been interviewing for the past month and I made a rule that I won't be doing any algorithm interviews. I didn't have time to study; some f…

Seriously ? So let me get this straight: now, we're not allowed to ask people if they can perform an __essential function of the job__, without being labeled "inhumane" ? You interview for sanitation work, I want to know that you can sling a heavy bag of hot garbage. You interview for SWE, I want to know that you can throw a sling a heavy bag of hot garbage!!!

So let me get this straight: now, we're not allowed to ask people if they can perform an __essential function of the job__, without being labeled "inhumane"?

I think there's a simple solution to the problem of algorithm testing and Leetcode problems in hiring: every company should run their hiring technical test on their current staff, at random, on a regular basis. If the current staff can pass then the test is a valid one. If they can't then it isn't, and they should update it to be a more realistic task that the current staff can do.

Re: Coinbase is rescinding already-accepted job offers

#365

Post by yieldcrv »

hackernewds wrote: post #304
yieldcrv wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In an IPO, the company sells a bunch of shares to banks, and this is a funding round for the company. The banks then immediately try to sell the shares at a slightly higher price to retail, and also collude and post a bunch of money on the buy side of the order books to give the illusion of demand. Psychologically this is commonly effective at getting retail to hop in front of these orders and purchase at higher pric…

The participation of the banks is really spot on. And at peak mania you could see companies pop 100% on listing day despite having been bumped 100% the day prior to listing. The underwriting for the shares is a total farce, also shepherded by the same banks with insider holdings, and hence a conflict of interest to be honest with it.

Yeah IPOs are a meticulous theatrical performance

There is dilution in a “final” equity round, and then the banks are immediately flipping them to people that believe they are helping the company but are just getting dumped on by the banks, as all help was done by the banks

I theoretically like direct listings more, but I don’t like retails tolerance of getting screwed in a different way because the valuations are unsupportable

I just like exposure and liquidity, so float the shares one way or the other! People should be pragmatic about what they are participating in

Re: Coinbase is rescinding already-accepted job offers

#366

Post by mattbuilds »

scottLobster wrote: post #161
kodah wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The worst part is that Coinbase's interviews are difficult. If I'd spent months studying, rejecting other (good faith) offers, and then had this happen I'd not only be in a bad spot (without a job entering a recession) but I'd be furious at the inequality of input and output. I've been interviewing for the past month and I made a rule that I won't be doing any algorithm interviews. I didn't have time to study; some f…

A decade and a half of easy money leads to a lot of bullshit. I imagine many of those firms are your typical SV startup or wannabe SV startup that only exists due to easy money and doesn't yet have to make actual profit to survive. So they can tell themselves leetcode performance matters and get high on their own supply. In my experience the higher quality non-FAANG firms who aren't wildly popular places to work and…

Does a good way of finding these place exist? I would guess word of mouth and your network are best. As someone not super plugged into the VC world, and who is mostly interest in good sold work and interesting problems, and not the hype around “being a startup” I would be interested in knowing.

Re: Coinbase is rescinding already-accepted job offers

#367

Post by smeeding »

darkteflon wrote: post #351
smeeding wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> all work this way Do they though? Unlike cryptos, gold and stocks have real material value behind them, not just community buy-in. You can make the art/baseball cards/stamps argument, but then you’d be conceding that the value of cryptos — something pitched as a revolutionary technology with limitless profit potential — is, in reality, determined by the same irrational valuation process as niche collectible markets…

I’d love to hear more about the distinction between “real material value” and “community buy-in” value. It’s not a distinction I’m familiar with from my more than 20-year career in finance.

Cryptos have value because their investors all agree that they do. That’s where it ends. If those investors stopped believing that, their value would drop to zero because there’s no underlying material value supporting it’s market value. They’re shared delusions, and arguably self-perpetuating high-control groups.

What I’m calling “real material value” are things like physical assets and profit generation capacity. Companies own things, and they use those things to generate profit, which in turn filters down to investors. This dynamic doesn’t exist in crypto.

Gold has real material value as a useful product, not simply a store of value.

I’ve only worked in finance for 6 years, and only on the technical side, so forgive me if my vocabulary doesn’t meet your standards.

If you’re actually disagreeing with the point that I’m making, and not just being pedantic, please let me know who you work for so I can be sure to avoid their services in the future.

Re: Coinbase is rescinding already-accepted job offers

#368

Post by teaearlgraycold »

Sparyjerry wrote: post #215
teaearlgraycold wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Take the hit. I worked for a series B startup employing around 100 people at the start of the pandemic. Because of the pandemic the business was entirely shut down for 6 months. And was barely operational for longer still. Not a single person was let go. Now, this requires you to run your business responsibly from the start. If you’re already on the edge of your runway you either cut back or die. But if you have the…

The pandemic had "paycheck protection program" or PPP and a second round of this called PPP2 also. This program payed out billions to employers to keep employees, rather than let them go on unemployment, which would have been less productive to the country and maybe even cost the government more in those $600 per week in unemployment, per person. I seriously doubt any startup could otherwise have kept their employees…

This startup had a 2 year runway after factoring in their office lease. Dropping the lease (since no one was coming in anyway) would have extended that. But you're right about PPP. They got PPP money a few months after the pandemic started.

Re: Coinbase is rescinding already-accepted job offers

#369

Post by hyperman1 »

SilasX wrote: post #281
hyperman1 wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Europe, we have layoff terms measured in months. Revenge action is nevertheless very rare. If your personel has an exit period of a few months, they can take their time to process what happened, grieve, and find a new job, without losing the house or healthcare. There simply isn't that much of a reason for revenge.

Stupid question: I thought in Europe they’d get healthcare regardless of employment status?

True and false. There is a basic package that's good enough to get you trough life. This is one extra reason why being let go is less likely to cause stress for you and damage for your boss.

But bigger organisations give extra insurance. This covers e.g. avprivate or 2 person hospital room instead of multi person rooms. Or private care without waitung lists

Also, as healthcare is getting more expensive, the core package gets smaller. E.g. dental care was a victim in my country, preventative care is still covered but restorative probably not.

Re: Coinbase is rescinding already-accepted job offers

#370

Post by throwawaymaths »

a_chris wrote: post #363
asah wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously ? So let me get this straight: now, we're not allowed to ask people if they can perform an __essential function of the job__, without being labeled "inhumane" ? You interview for sanitation work, I want to know that you can sling a heavy bag of hot garbage. You interview for SWE, I want to know that you can throw a sling a heavy bag of hot garbage!!!

Yeah, because we spend the whole day reversing a linked list in your real-life SWE job, right? It's ridiculous that we have to study all those algorithms that we will never use it in your life, it's just too much.

I had an interview once that wanted me to do A-star "find fastest routing of internet packets between sites" and when I presented a brute force path finder and he complained about the big O, I told him that his problem as framed only featured tens of graphs and his business domain as framed (as a function of the company's domain) would never have more than 20 sites, and anyways a sneakernet (ship ssds) would be faster (which he conceded).

I didn't get the job.

Post reply on HN