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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?

#231
post #184

The company requested pay slips for the previous three jobs. Also full names and identity card numbers of all relatives, t-shirt size, shoe size, pregnancy status. This was before the first, codility level interview.

sounds like Indonesian p2p lending? XD

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

#232
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably read about it somewhere.

Funny enough, my curent position did not give me a coding interview. Rather they asked difficult technical questions about the technologies I used, and asked me to justify my use of them. I found this was a far better test, because coding out an algorithm is something you can just memorise. Example: "You've used k8s, how and in what context?" "Ok, great, so you've AWS EC2 instances, how did you manage cost and perfor…

same here '__') last 2 was easy 1 time interview

"given this architecture diagram, what you would do if you have to debug/explain to junior how to debug a problem with this sympthom" or "how you would design an architecture with this kind of requirement"

oh but there's 1 coding challenge, just simple date addition/subtraction tho

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

#233

Back in 2014, I was an intern at a major tech company doing software testing for $13.25/hr. I was about to finish my CS degree and my internship was ending, so I was applying for software engineering jobs. During a phone screen at one company, they asked my salary expectations, and I said $60K. They asked what I was currently making, and I (naively) answered the $13.25/hr. They said they could do $16/hr, and that I s…

Never tell them what you're currently on, just what you want.

Yeah, though I consider lying a moral issue, it’s like no one should expect an honest answer to a deceptive question.

I always have an answer that is locked and loaded 20-40% more than what I’m actually making and generally ask for about 20% more than that. I’ve bumped my pay over $100k in 5 years doing that. Keep in mind I also refuse to work for FAANG-y companies.

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

#234

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…

That's like the devil telling you he won't buy your soul because there's too much light in it.

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

#235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never tell them what you're currently on, just what you want.

Yeah, though I consider lying a moral issue, it’s like no one should expect an honest answer to a deceptive question. I always have an answer that is locked and loaded 20-40% more than what I’m actually making and generally ask for about 20% more than that. I’ve bumped my pay over $100k in 5 years doing that. Keep in mind I also refuse to work for FAANG-y companies.

I tell them how much money it would cost to get me to leave my current job as my salary. Then they beat that by 5-15% on their own recognizance and everyone is happy.

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

#236

I should have spotted it but didn't: They took me out skiing one day between interviews (they were courting me pretty hard, and good snow was a selling point for the region) and I met the CEO for the first time on the slopes. He wore a full motorcycle-style helmet with a mirrored face visor which he refused to open; it was like talking to a member of Daft Punk. It had fake hologram bullet-holes on it. More importantl…

Before you started talking about how he skied like an asshole. I was thinking, you where being interviewed by The Stig lmao

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

#237
For a hiring manager: if they are either divorced or have no kids AND have zero discernible hobbies when you ask them what they do outside of work. Every time I’ve worked for someone like this it has been a beating with slack messages and emails nonstop outside of normal working hours and on the weekends along with expectations of me working nonstop.

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

#238
post #184

The company requested pay slips for the previous three jobs. Also full names and identity card numbers of all relatives, t-shirt size, shoe size, pregnancy status. This was before the first, codility level interview.

sounds like Indonesian p2p lending? XD

That's a nice euphemism for loan sharks (:

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

#239

I should have spotted it but didn't: They took me out skiing one day between interviews (they were courting me pretty hard, and good snow was a selling point for the region) and I met the CEO for the first time on the slopes. He wore a full motorcycle-style helmet with a mirrored face visor which he refused to open; it was like talking to a member of Daft Punk. It had fake hologram bullet-holes on it. More importantl…

My last CEO (healthcare startup) told me during my interview with them "but you don't look autistic!" and that should have been the end of the conversation there. When people show you who they are, believe them and all that.

More people should do this! One time I advised people to out themselves in interviews--there are literal empirical reasons to do this--and I cannot describe how chewed out I got. Normalize neurodivergence!

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

#240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, though I consider lying a moral issue, it’s like no one should expect an honest answer to a deceptive question. I always have an answer that is locked and loaded 20-40% more than what I’m actually making and generally ask for about 20% more than that. I’ve bumped my pay over $100k in 5 years doing that. Keep in mind I also refuse to work for FAANG-y companies.

I tell them how much money it would cost to get me to leave my current job as my salary. Then they beat that by 5-15% on their own recognizance and everyone is happy.

I've thought about doing this when random recruiters e-mail me.

"I'm pretty happy where I am, but if you can offer me at least $X/year, I'm interested."

I imagine most recruiters would say they can't match that. Some would scold me for just looking for a paycheck, as if that's not what literally everybody is doing.

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