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I will not do a tech interview

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Re: I will not do a tech interview

#411

Post by hackula1 »

tiglionabbit wrote: post #338
tmoertel wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I offer you some advice? An interview is a negotiation. The rules aren't fixed. If you're asked to do something that won't give a reliable measurement of your ability, say so and offer the interviewer a better option. You'll probably get what you want. In the scenario you described, I might try something like this: "I think I see what you're trying to measure by asking that question, but it assumes a working styl…

I've tried that. The response is always, "This is how we do our interviews. If we changed it for you, it would be hard to compare you to our other applicants".

2 months later: "Gary can do his mockups just fine in MS Paint. We're gonna have to deny that request for a Balsamiq license... mmmkay?"

Re: I will not do a tech interview

#412

Post by jmspring »

ngoel36 wrote: post #239
crazygringo wrote: post #62

Granted, there are a lot of bad tech interviews out there (asking about algorithms that nobody ever uses) ... but I do not understand this. Imagine someone's being hired for a front-end position, and we don't have months to get them up to speed. I'm going to ask them to explain how a closure works. How they deal with AJAX. What they think about "!important". Things to be careful about with floats. How CSS precedence/…

I used to work at Google. I saw a lot of good candidates get rejected. I myself was rejected multiple times before I got an offer. I was talking to my manager who was on the Hiring Committee about this dilemma, and at the end of the day the fact is that good companies don't give a shit about their false negative rate - only their net positives. By having an efficient technical interview process, yes, you let good can…

I interviewed w/ Google a couple of years back, didn't get hired. Interviewing is a two way street, and I won't BS if I don't know something. That said, had one interviewer who had 0 personality, 0 people skills, and didn't introduce himself. He asked one of the typical open ended questions, which was fine, we went through it a bit. At the end, he claimed there was actually a closed answer to the problem, wouldn't actual say what it was and just walked out. The two of the other few people I talked with were interesting and engaging. But it was seriously a mixed bag and didn't present a good face for Google.

Recruiter calls again a year or so after the fact. "You did well in your prior interview, but things didn't line up. Interested in coming back in?" Me - "The last impression left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. Not at this time."

Note - I was on internal referral as well as had apparently incredibly impressed the "phone screen" person (whatever that means). Of anywhere I have talked with, GOOG has been at the bottom of list in overall experience.

Re: I will not do a tech interview

#413

Post by hackula1 »

I will not hire someone without seeing them code something... period. There are too many tricksters out there. I ask them to solve Fizzbuzz using any language they want, any editor, any question, any google search (including just looking up the problem and copying and pasting), and any amount of time. They get to do it on their own at a private workstation. Still 90% fail even after completely fleecing me in the "technical conversation" portion of the interview.

Re: I will not do a tech interview

#414

Post by a5seo »

crazygringo wrote: post #62

Granted, there are a lot of bad tech interviews out there (asking about algorithms that nobody ever uses) ... but I do not understand this. Imagine someone's being hired for a front-end position, and we don't have months to get them up to speed. I'm going to ask them to explain how a closure works. How they deal with AJAX. What they think about "!important". Things to be careful about with floats. How CSS precedence/…

"Maybe somebody can explain this better to me -- but if you freeze up in interviews, are you also going to freeze up in developer meetings? During code reviews? When you're in the room with clients?"

No because the interview process is designed to uncover where you're weak. It's a systematic way to figure out what you DON'T know. Other situations are not (at least not overtly).

For someone with inferiority or self esteem issues, this can be a very threatening situation, and totally artificial and unlike a normal working relationship where your intellect and skills get the benefit of the doubt most of the time.

Interviews strip away that easement and raise even the slightest possibility that you might be full of shit. For most people that's easily managed by their ego but for others, not so much.

Re: I will not do a tech interview

#416

Post by a5seo »

fennecfoxen wrote: post #141
lambdasquirrel wrote: post #35

I'd go so far to say that most interviews do not seem to serve much purpose other than to boost the interviewer's egos. The more that a company is full of engineers who feel trapped in their jobs or lives, the more that this seems to be the case. The other irritating thing is that people seem to prefer selecting people who are technically more intelligent than they are, but who are less socially apt that they are. It…

I read things like this and I just wonder... Who are these people talking on the Internet, and what universe do they actually occupy? Because they have some decent points about how the interviews they've been in have been flubbed by the people conducting the interview, but they seem ENTIRELY inconsistent with my experience at any place I've interviewed ever, and I don't think it's my experience any time I've conducte…

I think it's like anything, it has more to do with the individual differences.

For most people, cooking and eating aren't a big deal. Others create Soylent because it's too much to bear.

For most people, the standard interview process is fine. For others with self esteem (or other) issues, the process is so threatening they have to opt out entirely.

Re: I will not do a tech interview

#417

Post by nostrademons »

untog wrote: post #273
tmoertel wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I offer you some advice? An interview is a negotiation. The rules aren't fixed. If you're asked to do something that won't give a reliable measurement of your ability, say so and offer the interviewer a better option. You'll probably get what you want. In the scenario you described, I might try something like this: "I think I see what you're trying to measure by asking that question, but it assumes a working styl…

If an interview is a negotiation, then why interview somewhere that I'm going to have to start off at a weak negotiating standpoint? Obviously this is predicated on the dev job market being as good as it is, but still. I can just go elsewhere.

If your desirability as an employee is roughly constant, then if you start at a weak negotiating standpoint it's usually because the company's desirability as an employer is high.

Now, it could be that the employer is desirable because they provide a lot of perks that you don't really care about, in which case it's perfectly legit to eschew those perks and interview elsewhere. But oftentimes it's because they provide a bunch of tangible benefits that you do care about. Interesting work. Lots of money. Professional reputation that you can then use to increase your desirability to other employers.

It's usually a good career move to take a job at a place where you have a weak negotiating standpoint, work like hell to learn all the skills you can there, and then use professional reputation gained there to increase your negotiating position with other employers. That requires taking a "one-down" position sometimes and hoping that you get lucky and they like you.

Or, as some folks here are fond of saying, "If you're the smartest person in the room, it's time to find a new room."

Re: I will not do a tech interview

#418

Post by rjurney »

I couldn't agree more with this. Most technical interviews are designed to make the interviewer feel smart.

I interviewed at a company that gave a software engineer's interview for a data scientist position. Because I'd actually worked as a data scientist, my software engineering was a little crusty. I failed the puzzles, and its really frustrating that way.

I've done the 'start as a contractor' thing twice and it works.

Re: I will not do a tech interview

#419

Post by alttag »

bad_user wrote: post #382
clavalle wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may be a negotiation but it is a very asymmetrical one. That by itself might be the root cause of a lot of the anxiety.

> It may be a negotiation but it is a very asymmetrical one Not really - some interviewers may not get that an interview goes both ways, but it really is very much symmetrical. For me at least an interview is the perfect chance to evaluate a company and until now I've declined about 3 job offers simply because I didn't like the conversations I've had with the people doing the interviewing.

The view of (a)symmetry in an interview is very generational. Those who turned 20 in the 90s or earlier are more likely to feel the bottom side of asymmetry, while "Gen Y" or "Millennials" (for lack of better terms) are more likely to simultaneously be interviewing the company for fit with their ideals.

New (inexperienced) hires are also more likely to feel the bottom side of asymmetry, which can counteract the effect for the youngest.

So yes it is, and no it isn't, depending on the candidate and on the company.

Re: I will not do a tech interview

#420

Post by pekk »

gte910h wrote: post #393
tiglionabbit wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've tried that. The response is always, "This is how we do our interviews. If we changed it for you, it would be hard to compare you to our other applicants".

"Then don't. Toss out this experience if I'm not clearly better."

it appears that the maxim is, Always Be Cocky
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