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Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

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Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#211

Post by yieldcrv »

therealcamino wrote: post #208
yieldcrv wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why the way you cared manifested in that way My dad was overly sensitive about not having a degree too, I wonder if its a generational thing From what I can tell, this nonstandard question would have no bearing on the work experience and never come up again, but you are acting like it would

Given that the info we have is that the CEO's interview involved a silly amount of questioning about college grades that were two decades old, I think that what anyone could tell is not that it's never going to come up again, but that it was way more important to that workplace than most others. You could reasonably be concerned that it would affect how you'd be viewed by the management, and affect your opportunities…

Doubt. I looked at this post and all the other top level posts in this thread and cant reasonably assume any of these reindeer games would be predictive of anything on the job.

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#212

Post by sneed_chucker »

jlbooker wrote: post #207

In the interview I asked the technical lead, "So, what sort of version control do you use?" Answer: "Well, we just open the file on the server and Vim will tell you if someone else has it open too." Nope, nope, nopity, NOPE.

Perforce in a nutshell

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#213

Post by shaftway »

drekipus wrote: post #132
Alekhine wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the OP, but it's extremely rude and unprofessional. Nitpicking a guy's college transcripts from 20 years ago? Come the fuck on. His experience and skills should have been enough, asking those dumbass questions is an insult, one that he didn't have to take.

you're right, I totally missed that detail, i didn't realise it was from 20 years ago. That is totally bizarre.

And to be fair, yes, asking why I flunked out is a perfectly valid question, even after 20 years.

The reason I give is that I had some family issues that required me take a break. During that time I started working in tech, and after a few years I never saw the need to go back. The real reason was the grades, which was caused by an undiagnosed neural-divergent issue.

But this was different. It was an hour and half of going course by course down the list, and asking exactly why I got that specific grade for that specific class if it was less than an A (including a few that were A-). I didn't flunk Martial Geology, but still was asked to explain that grade. Do you remember what grade you got in a freshman physics class 20 years ago, much less why it was that grade and not higher?

In the end I'm glad that I got an offer, glad it was higher than I was making, and glad I rejected it. It was proof to myself that I have morals that can't be bought. Not for that price at least.

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#214

Post by jrflowers »

offices wrote: post #198
sixstringtheory wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> general issues getting to work When I was applying for jobs like this as a teen, applications specifically asked about my transportation situation. > You're going to have a bunch of teenagers dicking off if you're not running a tight ship Just run a tight ship, then. People who didn't know each other beforehand will also dick around. I've made plenty of friends out of work colleagues. > "I need a job and you all ar…

The question would successfully filter you.

I love the idea that fast food managers are using gotcha questions to select for the very best teenagers and not just reading off questions from some PDF they downloaded online.

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#216

Post by atmosx »

sneed_chucker wrote: post #212
jlbooker wrote: post #207

In the interview I asked the technical lead, "So, what sort of version control do you use?" Answer: "Well, we just open the file on the server and Vim will tell you if someone else has it open too." Nope, nope, nopity, NOPE.

Perforce in a nutshell

You reminded me of Linus git talk at Google: https://youtu.be/4XpnKHJAok8

was the first time I heard about Perforce :-P

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#217

Post by wruza »

nameless912 wrote: post #21

I once was interviewing for an internship at a quant firm in Chicago (I was in my Sophomore year I think at UIUC) and my interview went pretty well up to the point of my second-last interview of the day. Then, I sat down with the VP of engineering, and he opened the interview with "so, what do you think it is we do here?" And I naturally stuttered through a canned answer about how they use arbitrage opportunities in…

I’d genuinely ask why the fuck he waited for all these rounds to complete if political cojones scan was mandatory for the job. These last Big Men in Power never fail to deliver the most irrational nonsense you’ve never even thought about.

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#218

Post by sixstringtheory »

jrflowers wrote: post #214
offices wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The question would successfully filter you.

I love the idea that fast food managers are using gotcha questions to select for the very best teenagers and not just reading off questions from some PDF they downloaded online.

For sure. I worked at dozens of restaurants between the ages of 15 and 23, and was never asked anything like that. From the lowest common denominator chains, to ma and pa diners that turned into nightclubs on the weekend, to haute cuisine. They care about results and whether you know what you’re doing. I aced every interview I walked into because I know food –the one exception was an interview for a bartending position where each candidate was asked to demo a drink they invented, and, well, I didn’t know what I was doing there! Total bomb, mega embarrassing, but a good experience looking back.

GP must never have worked in that industry, or they only worked that one job at Outback Steakhouse for a manager thinking they were changing the world. It’s a familiar mindset to those in tech…

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#219

Post by boring_twenties »

abdullahkhalids wrote: post #90
jerkstate wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The answer I get from people working at market makers I’ve talked to is that they provide liquidity (so you can buy or sell a security immediately rather than waiting minutes or hours?) and decrease volatility. An example is onions futures; see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion_Futures_Act and check the onions price history: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WPU01130216/ compared to a commodity where futures tra…

One set of markers of a "good" industry or organization is whether they pay for all the harm they create in society and whether their profits are equal to or below the value they create for society. For instance, the oil/car industry pays for basically none of the large negative externalities they create. In this case, I hazard that futures industry captures more value than they create. And that value is extracted fr…

This reasoning seems suspicious. Why would farmers choose to use futures markets if it doesn't benefit them?

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#220

Post by bilsbie »

One place was ok on the interview but dealing with the HR after that was strange.

Similar to OP, I had to verbally accept the offer before they would give me an offer letter. And then the offer expired in 12 hours.

It felt like a high pressure sell that really turned me off the place.

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