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Hiring Is Broken – My interview experience in the tech industry

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Re: Hiring Is Broken – My interview experience in the tech industry

#191
I disagree.

A typical adult has the spare time to study 3-5 algorithms prior to an upcoming interview, and the algorithm question lottery has room for several hundred.

This means that the practice of trying to stump them with algorithm questions provides a strong benefit to hiring managers: can this candidate read my mind even before I've decided what it is I will ask of him?

They're selecting for psychic powers and do-what-I-want-ness. Which is what most management in the United States (elsewhere probably, but I'm an uncultured redneck type... wouldn't know) values.

Re: Hiring Is Broken – My interview experience in the tech industry

#193
post #171

Its ironic that I would have done better in these hackerrank type challenges straight out of university, even though the code I write now is way better.

It's not ironic, it's very much by design. It's a bit like the Army. In theory anyone of any age and background can join up, but the physical requirements and "culture fit" does a very good job of selecting for young males.

> It's a bit like the Army. In theory anyone of any age and background can join up.

this is patently false. There are very strict requirements for enlisting/being commissioned [0], including minimum and maximum age for new members, minimum aptitude tests, and either be a us citizen or a resident alien. Also many people are disqualified for having a criminal record.

> but the physical requirements and "culture fit" does a very good job of selecting for young males.

yes, this makes sense. "Culture fit" must be the reason that every single military in the history of the world from every culture ever has been heavily male dominated.

/s

[0] http://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/join-the-military-...

Re: Hiring Is Broken – My interview experience in the tech industry

#194

"Write a maze solving algorithm" I just solved that in less than 3 seconds. Here is the solution in a Fiddle[0] and the discussion on Stack Exchange.[1]Sorry, I'm too busy solving problems which haven't been solved yet to bother with problems that have been solved. [0]: http://jsfiddle.net/5g7se8qL/7/ [1]: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/16173259/javascript-maze-...

You wrote that in 3 seconds huh

"Solved that".

There was nothing about being a new creative and novel solution. And in terms of time gained and effort expended, this "LMGTFY" technique is the best.

Again, I like working on things that aren't on StackExchange.

Re: Hiring Is Broken – My interview experience in the tech industry

#195
post #166
post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's well publicized what to expect at interviews for these firms. It shows that you're willing to put in the preparation to make it work. In addition to putting in the work of memorizing the algorithms, a candidate needs to know how to apply them, and to write code, and to accept feedback, and to collaborate and communicate. If a candidate isn't willing to put in the work to prepare, it's not much of a cognitive lea…

Do you not find it strange, or at least confusing, that you're arguing a point here that is predicated on studying for an interview, rather than the actual position? "This person didn't study for the interview, so what did they expect to happen?" Oh, I don't know, maybe to be asked questions directly related to the position, amongst other things.

Testing for adaptability?

Re: Hiring Is Broken – My interview experience in the tech industry

#196

"Write a maze solving algorithm" I just solved that in less than 3 seconds. Here is the solution in a Fiddle[0] and the discussion on Stack Exchange.[1]Sorry, I'm too busy solving problems which haven't been solved yet to bother with problems that have been solved. [0]: http://jsfiddle.net/5g7se8qL/7/ [1]: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/16173259/javascript-maze-...

You wrote that in 3 seconds huh

To be fair, I think he meant he "solved" it by googling and finding a stack overflow link. He wasn't being literal (I thought he was as well at first).

Re: Hiring Is Broken – My interview experience in the tech industry

#197

If you don't like Google's hiring process, apply somewhere else. There's plenty of viarety among a whole host of different companies large and small. The reality is Google gets hundreds of thousands of candidates a year and has these processes in place for a reason. The interview machine at Google spans the entire company and everyone is expected to participate and give detailed feedback at each stage and "rank" a ca…

I'm not sure why you feel the need to apologize for and defend google's interviewing practices. they are entitled to interview in whatever way they choose, but you should recognize that it is a highly idiosyncratic process that has been widely criticized by many many many people.

It's also helped them become the world's most valuable company and home to some of the world's most brilliant engineers. I'm skeptical of people who critize this process - it's not perfect, what is? But it's worked out well for them I'd say.

Re: Hiring Is Broken – My interview experience in the tech industry

#198
I agree with the most part of it, some of it doesn't seem quite right. For instance, where author mentions he is a front-end developer and doesn't need to deal with algorithms, and data structures -- it only gives a (false?) sense that he doesn't want to deal with the problems. I agree with the "take-home problems and submit solutions", idea to assess the candidate (or an alternative solution could be -- work at their own office, like how you would if you were an employee on the given problem) This basically strips away the unnecessary pressure.

Now, about the real problem -- It has to be solved by both the parties, for instance, somewhere in the middle of the article the author mentions he was asked to write the BFS algorithm. In this particular scenario, the interviewers should NOT expect the candidate to actually remember the algorithm and write the solution right away like a bot (or a human who has used it very recently) would. Here the interviewers can be more humble, more human. They should check whether the candidate holds the problem solving skills which is what is essential and NOT whether the candidate has a computer-memory. Here, they could explain what BFS is, how it works, and then give the candidate some time to come up with a solution.

Again, interviewers shouldn't expect a correct solution for the problem, it's the attitude of the candidate towards the problem, and the way he/she thinks about it -- that should be enough to give some idea about the skills he/she holds for problem solving.

The idea is simple. Don't just drop some Dothraki (or some language the candidate does not know) algorithm names, and ask what it is instead, skip the names, explain the problem in simple words and ask for solutions.

Re: Hiring Is Broken – My interview experience in the tech industry

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IT (By IT I'm talking about my industry, I'm an IT administrator, not programming) hiring is based a lot on certifications, certifications which are abundantly easy to scam. You can find full exams with answers of CCNA and every Microsoft cert imaginable, I've worked for companies that incentivise certifications, and i watched coworkers use these 'tools' en masse to gain easy pay bumps and pad their resumes. I've had…

Thanks for the downvotes on these comments, I'd love an explanation as to why - Am i not contributing to the discussion with my comments? I guess maybe i insulted some CCNA or MCSE-ers

I downvoted you because your comment was off topic. The discussion is about the interview process for business application developers. That is a very different role than what you do.

Re: Hiring Is Broken – My interview experience in the tech industry

#200
Not sure if it's accurate, but it seems like these inane coding challenges are more common on the coasts. The only time I've experienced any of them was at an interview with Amazon (for an Email Deliverability Manager role, of all things...).

I've been tested on code, but it's never been these inane tidbits everyone went through getting their CompSci degree. Anecdotal, I know.

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