I went to High School in the 1980s. I think I did okay in those classes, but I fail to see how something that happened more than 30 years ago would be relevant for hiring purposes in the 2020s.
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WTF with high school questions?
131–140 of 238 posts
Re: WTF with high school questions?
#132I didn't get these kinds of questions but when I interviewed there years ago, they were very straightforward and said I don't have enough experience for the role. Which is at least more than most companies will say.
Re: WTF with high school questions?
#133I'm 50. High School was a long time ago. I love Ubuntu, and I love Java (they were looking for people for Enterprise Java tooling), but the inane high school questions were, for me, a strong indicator that "oldies need not apply." Mr Shuttleworth has said - here - that he's confident this set of questions is picking the right people, so I'm taking him at his word and not wasting my time or theirs.
It used to be that tech companies and startups were for the young, but now that every company is a tech company (bringing along all the societal baggage) we’ll see more of the same systemic incompetence, but mostly from companies that still think they can move fast and break things. It’s a new ballgame and regulatory agencies are paying attention.
Re: WTF with high school questions?
#134I met a former HR person from a company that had these kinds of questions, such as your SAT scores. She told me the point was hiring people who are competitive enough to care about that stuff.
I worked at a hedge fund that asked for SAT scores as part of the hiring process. They used it as a general indicator of intelligence I think. There were definitely a lot of really smart, bright people there and some definitely came from schools that weren't at all impressive. I think this was their way of recognizing bright people who didn't have the opportunity for impressive schools for whatever reason. Working there was pretty toxic, though, so maybe I'm being too charitable.
Re: WTF with high school questions?
#135I did terrible in high school and ended up going to university 6 years later and did very well. High school is barely a faint memory of my past and being judged on that would definitely irk me.
Same. I barely graduated high school (I only did thanks to a guidance counselor that basically made things up for my transcript) but I graduated from uni within 4 years with a 3.9.
Re: WTF with high school questions?
#136My "high school" was not in the US. They don't even _have_ a GPA! No matter how it's calculated, they don't have it. They have quarterly tests(some lesser tests in between), and they have a weighted average of your scores for that particular year. You are above some number, you pass, otherwise you fail. It does not carry over to the next year. How would someone like me input anything resembling a GPA?
Also, it was a long while ago.
I would not be surprised to hear that companies that ask these questions also have ageist policies.
Re: WTF with high school questions?
#137Definitely put 4.0 GPA. If they ask for proof, spend a few bucks on fiverr and get a photoshop wizard to cook you up a transcript.
Santos, is that you?
But really, lying on resumes is just dumb. You have more to lose than to gain.
Re: WTF with high school questions?
#138Related: This was the first step in the interview process at Canonical – I withdrew (2022) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30735678
I wonder if the real test is to get a candidate who will do something like "I took a look at the interview questions and determined that most of them aren't a productive use of time for either of us, here's why. Now, here's a short description of why you should hire me and what I'll bring to the company." Like looking for someone who can cut through the bureaucracy.
Nah. You don't have to think outside the box with HR. In fact, you should think firmly inside _their_ box.
Re: WTF with high school questions?
#139They use the same format for Accounts Payable Clerk as they do for Director of Devops. Slightly lazy, sure, but not really blog post worthy. If you're an experienced hire just put do not recall and move on with your life.
Also, it seems like these discussions assume everyone went to college. If they haven’t, asking about high school is relevant.
No job I have had since the first one has asked about college in the interview process. Nor do I ask anyone except new grads about their college experience. No, it's not relevant.