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Interviewing a software engineer who prepared with AI

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Re: Interviewing a software engineer who prepared with AI

#241

Post by dakiol »

gregncheese wrote: post #229

I am in the process of recruiting a software engineer. You're on spot when saying "ask about human experience". To add to your experience, I became increasingly suspicious of the "perfect fit" resumes. it's insane how so many people just put the right keywords. I think it might work to pass in larger companies where HR use automated systems to triage applicants.

If your resume is not a perfect fit, you don’t get an interview. So either it’s a almost perfect fit or no chance to get the job. What’s wrong about that?

Re: Interviewing a software engineer who prepared with AI

#242

Post by frogulis »

dakiol wrote: post #236

The guy had to invent “cool” scenarios because companies think they are Google and working in backend doing normal things won’t get you hired. One could easily have prepared the whole interview with AI without failing to explain details (like what data was being paginated) just by lying a bit more. Not lying on your actual knowledge but on what your previous jobs were about. E.g., I have used k8s in pet projects but…

While I think this view is probably apt in other situations -- and to be clear, I don't know much about the company -- all of the specific techniques mentioned on the candidate's CV and in the article are fairly "garden-variety".

The pagination example seems like a perfectly reasonable thing for both sides to want to talk about, and which becomes relevant at a level of scale much smaller than Google.

Re: Interviewing a software engineer who prepared with AI

#243

Post by MoonGhost »

oulu2006 wrote: post #219

"It didn't make sense that the Twilio API would not be able to handle sending 30 SMS messages at once - this seemed like a scaling issue that would be easily resolved through upgrading the plan" Twilio indeed can't handle batching of SMS requests -- even to this day several years after I asked them to :) To be specific, what I want is what sendgrid offers, copy + replacements, so I can send the copy I want to send, a…

> Twilio indeed can't handle batching of SMS requests

It's still a good idea to try to bullshit candidate on topic he claims to know well.

Re: Interviewing a software engineer who prepared with AI

#244

Post by GreenWatermelon »

donnachangstein wrote: post #226
root_axis wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the tension comes from the fact that the term "neurodivergent" doesn't have a specific clinical definition, it's a catch all term that is often used in a colloquial manner that lacks a meaningful diagnosis behind it. Typically, in a context where practical accomodations are being discussed one would want to address specific needs. A person with dyslexia isn't going to need the same accomodations as someone wi…

Accommodations usually (but not always) require diagnosis or confirmation by a doctor or other medical professional, and the law affords companies this discretion before granting one, whereas nonspecific 'neurodivergence' is often self-diagnosed. All this aside, if you have e.g. crippling anxiety such that you can't make it through an interview unaided, you probably won't be successful in that job, whatever it is. Wh…

The way I see it, Autism is more a kin to color-blindness, while crippling anxiety is na actual illness/disorder that should be addressed with therapy.

And while someone on the autism spectrum is born that way, anxiety is inflicted. Of course, Genetic temperament plays a role in one's predisposition to anxiety, just like with many physiological illnesses.

In a nutshell, Autism is neither an illness or disorder, but merely a "different order", while crippling anxiety is actually a disorder.

Re: Interviewing a software engineer who prepared with AI

#245

Post by dakiol »

gwbas1c wrote: post #112

Some people think it's perfectly normal to stretch the truth on a resume, and to lie in an interview. Other people think an interview is just a matter of finding the "magic words" to get the job. What I don't understand is, what did the candidate do with AI? Did they use the AI as a coach? Did they use it to suggest edits to the resume? --- I once interviewed a candidate who was given my questions in advance. (I shou…

One can easily rehearse answers that sound natural. You could start with a partially wrong answer, realize midway and correct it. Easily fakeable. All the “ums”, “let me think for a second”, and even failing to answer 10% of the questions on purpose is easily doable.

Re: Interviewing a software engineer who prepared with AI

#246

Post by ozgrakkurt »

no-dr-onboard wrote: post #45

I keep coming back to this phrase used in this post: "it was scary". Yeah, hiring is scary. Hiring is insanely expensive on all fronts. Firing people is difficult, it's expensive and legally exposing. Hiring the wrong person, allowing them access your systems and potentially exfiltrate your IP to them is a hazardous but necessary venture. The thing is, none of these things really changed with AI. People have been lyi…

it is very easy to understand if someone is saying useless ai soup or he knows what he is talking about if you are good in your field. At least in software it is.

Re: Interviewing a software engineer who prepared with AI

#248

Post by veunes »

On one hand, yeah, misrepresenting your experience, even if "AI-assisted," is a red flag, especially when the role clearly requires real, practical knowledge. But on the other hand, this is exactly the kind of outcome we should expect in the age of LLMs: people will use every tool available to bridge gaps, especially when under pressure in a hypercompetitive job market.

Re: Interviewing a software engineer who prepared with AI

#249

Post by Arwill »

roguecoder wrote: post #197
Arwill wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interviewing has also become harder too. You try to search the net during the interview, because you forgot the name of a thing, and the interviewer will assume you are running with an AI chat, and are cheating the interview.

Looking things up on Google without being transparent to the interviewer was always cheating the interview.

Its not about transparency, it about what the interviewer assumes about you, first hand. Just like you assuming that whoever is looking up things must be doing it in secret, with the intention of cheating.

Re: Interviewing a software engineer who prepared with AI

#250

Post by _blk »

siva7 wrote: post #227
jaredklewis wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - And yeah, you guys, it's time to buy a suit. Others have already commented on this, but do you work in tech? IME getting interviewed by directors and even VPs in t-shirts is the norm. I’ve worn jeans to work my whole career. If anything, I think people in tech have a strong prejudice against people in suits (ie “obviously this person isn’t a real software engineer, they’re wearing a suit.”) Anyway, probably not g…

I wouldn't take that advice seriously. Suit in tech would be awkward (even for most mgmt roles). Tech pioneered the concept that you don't need a suit to get the pay of a suit. You can be yourself.

As I learned, you can also be yourself, never wear a suit on the job and still wear one for the interview. First impressions count. Once people know I can wear a suit they just don't seem to mind me in shorts anymore.. So I might have a social skill after all :D
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