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I had to give a wrong answer to get the job (2017)

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Re: I had to give a wrong answer to get the job (2017)

#11

Post by chrisseaton »

laurieg wrote: post #8

> So I decided to start by giving the correct answer, and see how he responded. I explained “The model-view-controller is a software pattern, and so resides inside the written code. Since in most cases, this code only runs on the application tier, …”. But then I saw him frowning, and so knew this was not the answer the was expecting. So I continued: This is a great cold reading technique that works in magic tricks to…

> "Picture the card in your mind. Ace of hearts. Ace of hearts" If they give a big reaction then you've found their card and performed a miracle. If not then you just continue "Of course, that's just an example..." and continue the patter throwing out other hints

Wouldn't you have to do this on average five times to get the right one? Wouldn't it be a bit suspicious giving five example cards before arriving at the right one?

Re: I had to give a wrong answer to get the job (2017)

#13

Post by don-code »

I was once in this position, but decided to continue through with the "right" answer anyway. Even though the interviewer was adamant that he was right (as, of course, was I), we briefly stopped the interview and made some Google searches to get to the truth.

I could ostensibly argue that I got the job not by telling the interviewer what he wanted to hear, but by doubling down on the right answer and showing that I had the capacity to prove it.

Re: I had to give a wrong answer to get the job (2017)

#14

Post by lumost »

This is a good lesson in why LC style interviews are so popular. There are generally only one or two correct/optimal answers that an individual could code in 20 minutes. There is limited ambiguity as to the task to be solved for both the interviewer and the interviewee. There is easy calibration across multiple interviewers as a set of boolean progressions points - did they solve the problem? did they need hints? did they present an optimal/correct solution? The edge cases/traps are likewise known to the interviewers for quick calibration.

The alternatives I've see boil down to these trivia style interviews which come down to simply memorizing answers the interviewer deemed important/correct. The most rediculous cases include obscura such as "what would you do if [X debugging tool] stalled [Y application process?" or "what would you do if you saw a server with high IO time?"

There are many versions of correct answer to these, but odds are your interviewer has a specific one in mind. In a real discussion of these events there would likely be back and forth on root cause/severity/solution, but you simply can't have back and forth in an interview situation. The starting impression will always devolve towards "this person doesn't know what they are talking about".

Re: I had to give a wrong answer to get the job (2017)

#15

Post by tomerv »

Can't really comment on whether that was the correct way to handle the situation, given that passing the interview was the goal. However, I would have a hard time giving an incorrect answer on purpose. I also consider an interview as an opportunity to learn about the company I'm going to work for, and especially my future colleagues.

I would probably try to give a full answer, such as "there's a widely-held concept X, but my understanding is that this is not completely correct, and in fact a better model is Y." A technical lead that can't work with an answer like that is one I probably don't want to work with.

Re: I had to give a wrong answer to get the job (2017)

#16

Post by lumost »

heurisko wrote: post #2

> Anyway, there was only 1 proper solution to this: I had to answer what they thought was correct. I think it was a poor solution. There are ways to respectfully disagree. "I really think I'm right on this one. Since it's a question of facts, not opinion, we could easily verify it later." Did the author know they were hired because they didn't rock the boat, or despite of it? If I were hiring someone, I would want to…

Behavioral interview questions give you more insight to this e.g. "Tell me about a time when...". In a technical interview you'd be wasting precious time determining how they present arguments. You'd also get false signal from interviewees who are uncomfortable debating their interviewer/know that they need to progress through the question.

Re: I had to give a wrong answer to get the job (2017)

#17

Post by nsomaru »

chrisseaton wrote: post #11
laurieg wrote: post #8

> So I decided to start by giving the correct answer, and see how he responded. I explained “The model-view-controller is a software pattern, and so resides inside the written code. Since in most cases, this code only runs on the application tier, …”. But then I saw him frowning, and so knew this was not the answer the was expecting. So I continued: This is a great cold reading technique that works in magic tricks to…

> "Picture the card in your mind. Ace of hearts. Ace of hearts" If they give a big reaction then you've found their card and performed a miracle. If not then you just continue "Of course, that's just an example..." and continue the patter throwing out other hints Wouldn't you have to do this on average five times to get the right one? Wouldn't it be a bit suspicious giving five example cards before arriving at the ri…

That’s not how it works. Usually you try to force a card with a high percentage success but if it fails you will fall back to another way of revealing the card

Re: I had to give a wrong answer to get the job (2017)

#18

Post by laurieg »

chrisseaton wrote: post #11
laurieg wrote: post #8

> So I decided to start by giving the correct answer, and see how he responded. I explained “The model-view-controller is a software pattern, and so resides inside the written code. Since in most cases, this code only runs on the application tier, …”. But then I saw him frowning, and so knew this was not the answer the was expecting. So I continued: This is a great cold reading technique that works in magic tricks to…

> "Picture the card in your mind. Ace of hearts. Ace of hearts" If they give a big reaction then you've found their card and performed a miracle. If not then you just continue "Of course, that's just an example..." and continue the patter throwing out other hints Wouldn't you have to do this on average five times to get the right one? Wouldn't it be a bit suspicious giving five example cards before arriving at the ri…

The hard part is writing your patter so that it doesn't sound like you're listing cards. Without giving away too many magical secrets, I invite you to consider the fact that there are many ways to reference cards more subtly. Color, suit, number, high and low. There are also a few different possible reactions.

Re: I had to give a wrong answer to get the job (2017)

#19

Post by unbalancedevh »

tomerv wrote: post #15

Can't really comment on whether that was the correct way to handle the situation, given that passing the interview was the goal. However, I would have a hard time giving an incorrect answer on purpose. I also consider an interview as an opportunity to learn about the company I'm going to work for, and especially my future colleagues. I would probably try to give a full answer, such as "there's a widely-held concept X…

And giving a response like this is still a good indication of people skills -- Do you know how to present a controversial opinion in a way that encourages people to accept it, or do you ram it down people's throats?

Re: I had to give a wrong answer to get the job (2017)

#20

Post by dennis_moore »

laurieg wrote: post #8

> So I decided to start by giving the correct answer, and see how he responded. I explained “The model-view-controller is a software pattern, and so resides inside the written code. Since in most cases, this code only runs on the application tier, …”. But then I saw him frowning, and so knew this was not the answer the was expecting. So I continued: This is a great cold reading technique that works in magic tricks to…

All great until you come across someone with a permanent poker face. During my last interview, the interviewer was frowning the whole time.
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