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I cheated on my Microsoft interview (2019)

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Re: I cheated on my Microsoft interview (2019)

#321

Post by akhmatova »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #188
lrvick wrote: post #134

One time a company I interviewed with asked me obscure algorithm questions about playing card shuffling. As a former professional magician I knew the optimal answers instantly and could jot them down straight away. They had allocated an hour for answers I wrote in a few minutes. I could have told them I had a massively unfair advantage, but I did not bother. They were visibly impressed and told me I was moving on to…

On the flip side, we questioned a candidate the usual way with pertinent technical challenges and so on. Then when driving in a van to lunch (our habit was to do a social segment as well as technical) I asked some puzzle questions - add 6 feet to a rope around the world, stretch it out and how far off the ground would it be? and suchlike. He was charmed, we brainstormed some answers and had a fun lunch. Years later,…

I asked some puzzle questions - add 6 feet to a rope around the world, stretch it out and how far off the ground would it be?

I can only imagine being "charmed" by a question like if I was much younger in my career, eager to be seen as smart and in the company of like-minded folk.

Nowadays... my focus is on solving problems... as in real problems, not made-up ones. Thankfully I haven't heard questions like this in years. But when I do, I take it as a sign that they probably don't have actual, meaty problems to work on, that is, requiring higher-level cognitive skills (and actual experience). Not to mention that this was supposed to be lunch, and here they are asking filter questions, but pretending it's just "casual conversation" when obviously it isn't.

And so would probably pause for a second, and think of a way to tactfully end the interview, and thank the interviewer for their time.

Re: I cheated on my Microsoft interview (2019)

#322

Post by ThrowawayR2 »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #210
dekhn wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you would have lost me (principal engineer) with those questions.

Really? You don't like to socialize with peers, with puzzles or tricky problems? Enough to make you refuse to join a company? Discussion has gone off the rails here. Maybe I didn't make it clear - the puzzles were during casual conversation at lunch. Rebutting something I didn't say, is not fair.

> "You don't like to socialize with peers, with puzzles or tricky problems?"

You have to remember that, after about 2010, the software industry is mostly comprised of people who are after a paycheck and their actual interest in computers, STEM, and other nerd activates is kind of minimal. It came as a shock to me too when I realized that the old shibboleths of being a hacker had become largely absent in the software industry.

Re: I cheated on my Microsoft interview (2019)

#323

Post by travisgriggs »

Isamu wrote: post #252
giantg2 wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If you are fortunate (?) to be around in the entrepreneurial world long enough, you will realize that intelligence, hard work, good time management etc are not adequate." Not just as an entrepreneur. I have found that these traits don't guarantee a reward for ICs, or anyone really. I used to work hard. Now I just work hard enough. Pays the same either way.

>Now I just work hard enough. My review from management actually got much better once I stopped knocking myself out working too hard and instead worked just enough. That was a pivotal moment for me. That and also learning how to manage your manager.

So instead of working hard at your tasks, you worked hard at playing your manager. Seems like a “law of conservation of working hard” to me; you just needed the right kind of working hard.

Re: I cheated on my Microsoft interview (2019)

#324

Post by LightRailTycoon »

LanceH wrote: post #224
lrvick wrote: post #134

One time a company I interviewed with asked me obscure algorithm questions about playing card shuffling. As a former professional magician I knew the optimal answers instantly and could jot them down straight away. They had allocated an hour for answers I wrote in a few minutes. I could have told them I had a massively unfair advantage, but I did not bother. They were visibly impressed and told me I was moving on to…

I answered one of those mind benders nearly immediately in an interview. I figured out the trick as they were telling it basically. They asked me if I had heard it before. I hadn't. A final interview with the CEO and he asked if I had heard it before and I said I hadn't. I later realized based on how they were asking if I had heard it before, they thought I was lying. The question: You get on a ski lift going up. It'…

You pass all of the chairs that are going down?

Re: I cheated on my Microsoft interview (2019)

#325

Post by site-packages1 »

gcommer wrote: post #306
spywaregorilla wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would have been a huge negative to me. I'm fine to chat with peers and discuss little riddles. That is not what's happening when you're interviewing me for a job position. You're not my peer. We're not having fun. There's a non-subtle implication that my ability to answer the riddle will impact whether or not I get the job. I would be very annoyed if someone asked a puzzle like this too. It's not a novel puzzle. It's…

In every interview I've done, lunch was explicitly bracketed by "this is a free, casual lunch that won't affect your interview at all". And as an interviewer, I've never been asked to report on lunch chats. > You're not my peer. We're not having fun. Actually, most interviewers are your peers, and they typically know that you're under interview stress and are trying to help. If you can't take a break and de-stress du…

The power dynamics at play makes someone spending time with me during an interview process where they have nothing to lose and can exert influence in the selection of me for a full time job offer decidedly _not_ my peer in that situation.

Re: I cheated on my Microsoft interview (2019)

#326

Post by boppo1 »

Isamu wrote: post #252
giantg2 wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If you are fortunate (?) to be around in the entrepreneurial world long enough, you will realize that intelligence, hard work, good time management etc are not adequate." Not just as an entrepreneur. I have found that these traits don't guarantee a reward for ICs, or anyone really. I used to work hard. Now I just work hard enough. Pays the same either way.

>Now I just work hard enough. My review from management actually got much better once I stopped knocking myself out working too hard and instead worked just enough. That was a pivotal moment for me. That and also learning how to manage your manager.

seconding the request on 'Tips for Managing your Manager'.

Re: I cheated on my Microsoft interview (2019)

#327

Post by drewcoo »

stevenjgarner wrote: post #155

IMHO, this was not cheating. This is a phenomenon called success. If you are fortunate (?) to be around in the entrepreneurial world long enough, you will realize that intelligence, hard work, good time management etc are not adequate. They just qualify as deserving. There are serendipities that separate those who succeed from everybody else who was deserving. Survivor bias [1]. Calling Eli was your serendipity. The…

What was the point of the question? That would help determine whether or not this was cheating.

Normally with things like this the interviewer claims to want to "see how you think." If some prepared rote answer passed this interview phase, at the very least, the interview failed to meet its stated goal.

What's the difference between cheating and what's needed for your version of "success?" Can someone cheat their way to success? Or does seeing the answer key before the exam just mean being better prepared than the competition?

If the fraud in your story hadn't been discovered, would that have been success?

Re: I cheated on my Microsoft interview (2019)

#328

Post by birdyrooster »

This has happened to me a couple times and I tell the interviewer that I already know the answer and to move on to the next question. It’s good because you get to see more questions and makes the interview more interesting and at the same time the employer sees that you like a good challenge.

Re: I cheated on my Microsoft interview (2019)

#330

Post by buzzdenver »

CoastalCoder wrote: post #185
anothernewdude wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

np.random.choice(52, 52, False) + 1

I'd start with, "What do you mean by 'random'?"

What is the catch here? In multi dimensional and infinite cases it can be a little tricky, but in this one is there more to it than "all permutations should have the same probability"?
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