I interviewed at six top companies in Silicon Valley in six days • Hacker News Board

Re: I interviewed at six top companies in Silicon Valley in six days

#131

Post by Permit » Fri, Jan 18, 2019, 9:40 PM UTC

rachelbythebay wrote: post #44

guessmyname wrote: post #9

> If it’s of any use: I was interviewing for my second job out of college with about two and a half years of experience without any particularly notable internships or employers on my resume; I went to a very small school that had zero known software companies at their “career fair”; I started preparing in late April and started applying in June/July; and, lastly, a few months in, my job is everything I could have po…

Programmer distillation. Companies need to admit that only trying to hire a single type of person is not going to work. It's just like with petroleum: there's nothing wrong with the other products you get from the mix. You just have to appreciate what there is and make the most of it. I bet you're quite good at something (perhaps multiple things), but they don't value it. Their loss. I'm glad you found something that…

> Companies need to admit that only trying to hire a single type of person is not going to work.

Why? It's not so clear to me that it's not working right now. These companies seem to be doing completely fine.

If hiring programmers who aren't good at programming puzzles is a competitive edge, I would expect to see other companies hiring these programmers and succeeding.

It seems more likely to me that there is (at most) a very marginal loss from hiring this way. It's not the fairest way to hire, it's not the most equitable way to hire but the evidence doesn't suggest to me that it's not working for these companies.

Re: I interviewed at six top companies in Silicon Valley in six days

#132

Post by chooseaname » Fri, Jan 18, 2019, 9:40 PM UTC

azhenley wrote: post #7

The heart rate info that he provides for the onsite interviews is a funny and interesting thing to include (around 100-122 during interviews, with a resting of 60). Does an elevated heart rate during an interview count towards one's daily fitness goals? :)

Your cortisol levels rise so that would probably more than counter any small benefit from a higher heart rate.

Re: I interviewed at six top companies in Silicon Valley in six days

#133

Post by OxO4 » Fri, Jan 18, 2019, 9:41 PM UTC

ForrestN wrote: post #10

I find it shocking that Facebook would still be considered as a peer to these other companies in terms of desirability as an employer. I would only accept a position at Facebook, which seems to be building a fundamentally destructive product while going out of its way to behave unethically in many dimensions, if it was an absolutely last resort to pay the medical bills of some dying loved one or something. Why would…

All of those companies are problematic to a certain degree. Personally, whether I'd have an issue with working for one of those companies also depends on what I am working on. Let's say that one of those companies pays you to work on an open source project. Would that really be that bad ethically? What if you worked on Facebook's security team securing the users' data? Is that really worse than working for LinkedIn implementing some new dark pattern to get the users to receive more email spam? At the end of the day, you'll have to make compromises, unfortunately.

Re: I interviewed at six top companies in Silicon Valley in six days

#134

Post by nuna » Fri, Jan 18, 2019, 9:41 PM UTC

xrd wrote: post #103

nuna wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

mom here. same 2 kids, one a baby... they dont sleep man. I practice at night, about 1 hr before bed. Sometimes during lunch break at work. It takes much longer and its hard to remember all the algorithms. I hope to land a better job too. I am confident in my abilities and I've always been well liked and done great work, but I am not quite confident with interviews yet...

I'm a dad, and I feel your pain. All my kids woke at 5 am today, and they are sick, so they need that extra sleep, but... If it makes a difference, the work you do at home is so much more important than anything you'll do in front of a keyboard. Thank you.

Thank you

Re: I interviewed at six top companies in Silicon Valley in six days

#135

Post by guessmyname » Fri, Jan 18, 2019, 9:41 PM UTC

alkibiades wrote: post #71

guessmyname wrote: post #9

> If it’s of any use: I was interviewing for my second job out of college with about two and a half years of experience without any particularly notable internships or employers on my resume; I went to a very small school that had zero known software companies at their “career fair”; I started preparing in late April and started applying in June/July; and, lastly, a few months in, my job is everything I could have po…

have you tried lately? it seems like it’s gotten a lot easier lately since the market has been heating up. Source: tried a few months ago and got all the offers also

Congratulations on getting the offers.

I haven’t applied lately. Working in one of these big companies was a dream of my younger self. Nowadays, I prefer companies where I can work at my own pace. Moreover, while the salaries at these companies are exaggeratedly high, especially in San Francisco, I feel that my current compensation package is good enough to live a kind and peaceful life.

Re: I interviewed at six top companies in Silicon Valley in six days

#136

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jan 18, 2019, 9:42 PM UTC

fokinsean wrote: post #88

Cookingboy wrote: post #61

As someone who has interviewed with 3 of those 6 companies and gotten offers from all 3, I think the best way to approach these interviews is to not walk in with the mentality that it's a one sided "test" where you are put on a spot to defend yourself. In reality it's more often than not a role-playing exercise where you are pretending to be coworkers trying to solve problems together. Sure you'd be the one leading t…

> Out of these companies Google felt most impersonal and "test like" I had this same experience too. I went through the 4 technical interviews onsite which were all whiteboard problems. Not once did we actually talk about my past experience or rather anything software engineering related. Unfortunately(?) I didn't receive an offer despite making it to the hiring committee. Two weeks later they called me back and want…

[deleted]

Re: I interviewed at six top companies in Silicon Valley in six days

#137

Post by m0zg » Fri, Jan 18, 2019, 9:42 PM UTC

ForrestN wrote: post #94

m0zg wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> fundamentally destructive product That's just, like, your opinion, a random HN reader. And the vast majority of FB users do not share it.

If you do some quick research, you'll find that the harmful nature of Facebook is the subject of a vast public discourse in the United States and Europe. Lots of academics and public health professionals continue to research the negative consequences of facebook use. It's not an opinion, but I suppose it could still be considered a subject of some controversy. The best evidence I've seen, and that the commentators I…

Facebook's only real "fault" is that the "wrong" person got elected president in the US. The rest is just a politically motivated pile-on with tenuous evidence IMO, which wouldn't even be a subject of "vast public discourse" if someone else won.

>> negative consequences of facebook use

Do those "academics" also research the positive consequences as well? I'm in touch with my high school and university friends to this day thanks to FB products. I value those friendships highly, but I now live on the other side of the globe, and I can't physically be there myself. My parents (and my wife's parents) are active users of WhatsApp and Instagram. My brother (who's also on the other side of the globe) communicates with me mostly via FB Messenger. I'd say my mental well-being benefits significantly from less isolation. I'd also say there are millions of other people like me, who can still easily keep in touch in spite of vast distances separating them from relatives and old friends.

Would alternatives exist if there was no FB? They likely would. But I don't have a problem with FB, as long as it's used moderately. I my view, however, it's a personal responsibility to moderate use. Part of being a functioning adult, so to speak.

Re: I interviewed at six top companies in Silicon Valley in six days

#138

Post by thisisweirdok » Fri, Jan 18, 2019, 9:42 PM UTC

OxO4 wrote: post #133

ForrestN wrote: post #10

I find it shocking that Facebook would still be considered as a peer to these other companies in terms of desirability as an employer. I would only accept a position at Facebook, which seems to be building a fundamentally destructive product while going out of its way to behave unethically in many dimensions, if it was an absolutely last resort to pay the medical bills of some dying loved one or something. Why would…

All of those companies are problematic to a certain degree. Personally, whether I'd have an issue with working for one of those companies also depends on what I am working on. Let's say that one of those companies pays you to work on an open source project. Would that really be that bad ethically? What if you worked on Facebook's security team securing the users' data? Is that really worse than working for LinkedIn i…

Facebook is very clearly ethically bad from the top down. It's less clear with the others.

Re: I interviewed at six top companies in Silicon Valley in six days

#139

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jan 18, 2019, 9:43 PM UTC

quickthrower2 wrote: post #126

mav3rick wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is just ridiculous. BFS is such a useful building block. If you're stubborn enough to not spend 10 mins on this the best of luck.

BFS is common sense. It’s what you use when you’ve lost your car keys for example. Quickly check each room in the house, then if no luck go one layer deeper in each room.

[deleted]

Re: I interviewed at six top companies in Silicon Valley in six days

#140

Post by geebee » Fri, Jan 18, 2019, 9:43 PM UTC

alkibiades wrote: post #75

busterarm wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wife and kids are (top) priorities, not excuses.

right but then you’ve made your choice and you live with it.

Interestingly, I find that most employees and applicants in high tech accept this, that they've made their choice and will live with it.

It's the tech companies that seem bitter about accepting the consequences of their own hiring practices. They have hiring practices that, by their own admission, result in a very high rate of false negatives. This is their right, they have their reasons, but there are downsides. It means their processes are designed to make hiring hard. It creates a culture where developers are disinclined to pursue new jobs, as the transition costs (intense interview exam prep) are high, and the outcome is uncertain. I actually think these practices may cause talented people to leave the field, and may deter other talented people from entering the field in the first place.

Interestingly, these companies don't seem to accept their role in creating the "shortage" that they constantly decry.

(the solution, it appears, is for the government to grant tech companies power over who is allowed to come to the United States and the conditions under which they are allowed to remain here).