Re-invent the wheel.
You should implement the most common data structures
in your language of choice. [...]
Always Be Coding – How to Land an Engineering Job
41–50 of 250 posts
Re: Always Be Coding – How to Land an Engineering Job
#42I've been a junior developer for almost 2 years now at a fairly large company. At my current position, there hasn't been a single task thrown at me that I have not been able to complete with ease. I've worked with multiple languages and technologies that I was not familiar with at all when I started. I tend to figure them out pretty quickly and get on with the task at hand. I've built a bunch of side projects (not all of them completed) and have put them on Github per this article's suggestion.
Having said that, I get paid very little and am generally bored with the work I'm doing now so I'm looking for a new opportunity. I do very well on phone interviews but I'm absolutely terrible at onsite interviews that involve any white board algorithm problems, algorithm optimization questions, etc. This is a combination of low self esteem/intimidation I feel during these interviews. I've done maybe 3 or 4 of these and they've all gone terribly. It's come to the point where I have stopped applying for positions that interest me and that I feel that I would be a great fit for because I know the style of interview that I'll be facing. I've determined that I either need to come up with an idea of my own that I can turn into a steady income or that I need to leave this field and find something else to do.
What do you guys think? Am I just a terrible developer or is it just a matter of practice? Like someone else mentioned above, I try to sit down and practice but get distracted by the fact that I could be building something interesting.
Re: Always Be Coding – How to Land an Engineering Job
#43Hiring is entirely broken. I don't think anyone is listening to developers. I took some data about this (tracking pixel in a Developer Auction profile), but someone did an even better job than me and posted in these comments:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5730843
I want a company that treats me with dignity and respect, even before and during the interviewing pipeline. How a company treats people during interviews is a huge indicator of how they treat people in general. I would never subject my friends or family to the hiring practices that programmers are exposed to regularly. Be proud about how you hire. Otherwise this weighs heavily when I reject your offer.
I want a "1-hour guarantee" that I'll receive your considered offer after one hour of interviewing, and not multiple hours of hazing. Otherwise, I'll stick with consulting, thanks. Maybe there should be a site that compares the interviewing pipelines of different companies, and then you can focus on the ones that aren't entirely offensive.
Also, it would be awesome if one of you would actually look at my git repositories before the interview and, you know, actually read my code. No, looking at a "repository summary" doesn't count.
Re: Always Be Coding – How to Land an Engineering Job
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
I feel exactly the same. I can master any and all graph algorithms under the sun if I want to but why? Just for a job? I would rather be building things.
Adding to that its not ever worth that much trouble. 1. Master algorithms. 2. Get a job at . 3. ??? 4. Get rich. What exactly is 3) ???. Really if you are joining a big company. Whatever that company is. Way to financial safety is not mastering algorithms and data structures. Its more like knowing how to do politics, being your manager yes men etc. And very rarely are you ever going to get some work where its going t…
For CS graduates from some big name colleges that go to work on Wall Street or other "finance" it is:
1. Master algorithms
2. Get a job at & Co.
3. Use Excel all day everyday
4. Get rich.Re: Always Be Coding – How to Land an Engineering Job
#45To properly prepare for these interviews you have to invest quite a bit of time. At this point in my life (late 20s), my time is one of my most valuable resources. So, the last thing I want to do is spend that time effectively preparing for a data structures and algorithms exam. Each time I sit down to brush up on the details of Prim's algorithm or the exact implementation of quicksort, my eyes glaze over and I start…
Exactly! This is why we, at my job, only hire software engineers after a (paid) two-day test period in which they actually build some new feature on one of our products. Nothing too fancy but interesting enough for them to be a challenge and representative enough for us to see what they're capable of. At least as important: they will have lunch with us, talk with us, have fun with the rest of the team, ... This allows us to very rapidly see if a person really fits our team.
Re: Always Be Coding – How to Land an Engineering Job
#46Hiring is entirely broken. I don't think anyone is listening to developers. I took some data about this (tracking pixel in a Developer Auction profile), but someone did an even better job than me and posted in these comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5730843 I want a company that treats me with dignity and respect, even before and during the interviewing pipeline. How a company treats people during interv…
> Hiring is entirely broken.
Aaaand tokenadult is submitting his "best hiring strategies" mega-comment supported by Schmidt & Hunter reference in 3...2...1
/I've been here too long perhaps
;-)
Re: Always Be Coding – How to Land an Engineering Job
#47Re: Always Be Coding – How to Land an Engineering Job
#48Every time I read the word passion in one of these articles I cringe. This has to be the most overused word in silicon valley. It's really just a convenient way to abuse people. Can't work 90 hours? Not passionate enough. Have a family commitment? Where's your passion? Passion. We get it already.
Re: Always Be Coding – How to Land an Engineering Job
#49I've been a junior developer for almost 2 years now at a fairly large company. At my current position, there hasn't been a single task thrown at me that I have not been able to complete with ease. I've worked with multiple languages and technologies that I was not familiar with at all when I started. I tend to figure them out pretty quickly and get on with the task at hand. I've built a bunch of side projects (not al…
The fact that you're easily doing your tasks and looking for more challenge (and the reward that comes with it) suggests you are a good developer. What is it about phone vs on-site interviews that makes you do less well? I would try to think about why and ways you can mitigate that. For example if you think it's just talking in front of people, then get out of your comfort zone and give a talk at a local meetup or similar. Another thing to thing about is to present yourself honestly to the hiring manager as you are here... tell them that your work on github and your phone interview will be better than what you can do in-person. The important thing is to show them that you can do the job somehow.
Re: Always Be Coding – How to Land an Engineering Job
#50I've been a junior developer for almost 2 years now at a fairly large company. At my current position, there hasn't been a single task thrown at me that I have not been able to complete with ease. I've worked with multiple languages and technologies that I was not familiar with at all when I started. I tend to figure them out pretty quickly and get on with the task at hand. I've built a bunch of side projects (not al…
It seems like you just need to decide what you really want. If you really want one of those jobs, then just buckle down and jump through the hoops. It won't take all that long to memorize the stuff.
On the other hand, maybe your resistance to the hoops is a warning sign that you should pay attention to if you don't want to end up bored again. Hiring processes like these will tend to select the people who prefer homework problems and tests to actually building things, which might be unlikely to create the kind of environment you'll be happy in.
Have you tried going to meetups and doing some networking? Getting to know people outside of the official channels seems to be a way to short circuit some of this nonsense.