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That time when I failed the Microsoft interview

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Re: That time when I failed the Microsoft interview

#171

Post by pjmlp »

paulcole wrote: post #165
pjmlp wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ideal would be if the questions are actually job related, how many other professions do you think get these kind of stupid questions? Since we are it, lets make Jeopardy for getting a job.

Again, I’m not saying that job related questions are bad. I’m saying that these types of questions can be good. You can ask more than 1 type of question!

Mostly of the same basket and equally bad, on my experience, because usually it is some dude or gal, that rather be coding than doing interviews that gets dragged to question this guy that just dropped on reception for the interview.

Re: That time when I failed the Microsoft interview

#172

Post by anonymars »

pjmlp wrote: post #163
rel_ic wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Companies are groups of people behaving a certain way, and jobs are behaving that way. As an outsider, you don't know what the job is. If the interview is a bunch of questions you think is stupid, then the job is probably doing a bunch of stuff you think is stupid. If you want the money and prestige anyway, then learn to do the stupid stuff.

Which is why, as mentioned, unless I am desperate for a job, I walk out. Or maybe the job is about actually carrying golf balls into planes.

I bet it is about solving the daily brain teaser of working with unmaintainable code!

Re: That time when I failed the Microsoft interview

#173

Post by chasd00 »

JSR_FDED wrote: post #101

A friend told me about his AWS interview experience. It was a case study describing a potential client, their needs, limitations, etc - trying to be “realistic”. In the end it came down to either pressuring the client to embark on a complex cloud transition in time for a major sports event (that was a make or break event for the customer) or, as my friend recommended, start with a PoC but do the risky transition afte…

I can see both sides but it depends on the position. Was he interviewing for something like a Sales Engineer role or strictly a technical role? If you're doing Sales Engineering or going for a Solution Architect on a PS team then sales is part of the role. If it's strictly a technical role that is not a part of the selling process then it doesn't make much sense to me.

/edit: now that i think about it, they may prefer a sales mindset in all roles which i can also understand

Re: That time when I failed the Microsoft interview

#174

Post by kjellsbells »

fetzu wrote: post #128
a-french-anon wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it very easy to solve some of these physics questions by thinking about a degenerate version of it instead, with exaggerated parameters (since these physics phenomenons are described by continuous/monotonic functions). So for the bowling ball, I replace it with an imaginary marble weighing 1 ton and the answer is now self-evident.

That’s exactly the path I would have gone, ask clarifying question to confuse the interviewers: - Is my boat actually floating in the lake? - Is the lake filled with water? - If yes, what is the temperature gradient of that water from top to bottom? - How deep is the lake at the spot the ball is dropped? - What is the current time and phase of the moon, and what are the exact coordinates of the ball drop? - Are we do…

> I’m an asshole and possibly not fun at parties

I got this vibe at AWS, interviewing in 2020. They asked me to design a stock price tracking webapp. I started asking questions and sketching things out and at each question (fairly basic ones, too, like, how many users are we supporting, how frequently do they request updates, and how timely does the data need to be). Seemed reasonable to me but I think my line of questions annoyed them because they said, "just design the app!" Maybe they thought I was stalling? Hmm, ok, but it'll fall over on day 2. I turned down the offer.

Re: That time when I failed the Microsoft interview

#175

Post by eklavya »

paulcole wrote: post #166
pjmlp wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is why, as mentioned, unless I am desperate for a job, I walk out. Or maybe the job is about actually carrying golf balls into planes.

You understand that this is a job interview working as intended? You may be awesome at the work but your values do not align with the company’s and it’s best if you don’t work there.

So if somebody tried to solve the brainteaser with an impossibly high likelihood of being completely wrong. You get the signal that their values match yours, they are open minded and that they are good at writing great programs?

Re: That time when I failed the Microsoft interview

#176

Post by Paul_Clayton »

RealityVoid wrote: post #119
inigyou wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You drop a microscopic black hole off a boat into the lake. Does the water level increase or decrease?

The water level decreases, along with the shore and anything with it falling within the event horizon. Any other apocalyptic brain teasers?

I think a microscopic black hole would evaporate very quickly from Hawking radiation, so the result might be more bang than suck.

Re: That time when I failed the Microsoft interview

#177

Post by voidfunc »

pjmlp wrote: post #144
voidfunc wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its funny how some people react to these? I suspect you see them as time wasters which is why you end the interview. I see them as ice-breakers and rather enjoy them because they are fun to talk through.

I am on my 50's now, if I have to prove that I am worthwhile being an employee with such teasers instead of what I have done thus far, I rather spend my time elsewhere, unless I am desperate for getting the position.

Honestly that may be just the reaction the company was hoping for which is both valuable for you and them. You save time not going through an interview for a place you might dislike and they get to move on quickly.

Re: That time when I failed the Microsoft interview

#178

Post by beng-nl »

paulluuk wrote: post #147
ventana wrote: post #81

Just don't ask brain teasers when you conduct an interview; I believe they give no valid signal at all, and I also believe Microsoft does not ask them anymore. The coding questions that require an "aha!" moment are very similar to brain teasers, and should also be avoided. When I conducted interviews for FAANG, I asked somewhat simpler coding questions, something around DFS and/or topological sorting (without calling…

I had an interview with Google about 10 years ago. Everyone said "Google doesn't ask brainteasers or leetcode-challenges any more". The interview was literally nothing but back-to-back brainteasers and leetcode-challenges for 3 hours straight. I didn't get the job even though I only failed to solve one problem, and looking back I think that the problem was in fact unsolvable and they wanted me to come to that conclus…

The Kobayashi Maru

(Though personally I don’t think giving a truly unsolvable problem in an interview without warning that this may be unsolvable is a reasonable test of anything, but a cruel experiment)

Re: That time when I failed the Microsoft interview

#179

Post by goodpoint »

buildbot wrote: post #16

Counterpoint to many responses here - when I have interviewed people, it’s a really positive signal if the candidate says they have already seen a problem- the we can move onto something more interesting! Not solving does not mean failure either. As a candidate myself I always mention if I have seen similar problems, such as finding primes - real example, and I was hired on that loop at Microsoft! On the other hand,…

> Be honest; it’s more likely you will be hired by honest people.

He applied for Microsoft.

Re: That time when I failed the Microsoft interview

#180

Post by IsTom »

AlecBG wrote: post #86
lostlogin wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no idea and want the answers: Boat + bowling ball = level stays the same? Ball roll = the constant gradient is quickest?

First one water is lower. Ball is more dense than water, in boat displaces its weight in water, in water displaces it's volume Dip for hill roll is faster

But won't your boat displace more water by lowering a bit if you've got additional mass on board?
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