How I Embarrassed Myself in My Interview With Google • Hacker News Board

Re: How I Embarrassed Myself in My Interview With Google

#31

Post by yongjik » Sat, Oct 19, 2013, 7:26 PM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #26

yongjik wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a Google Engineer, I can assure you that nobody who interviews you will give a damn about your code in github. Unless you're James Gosling or someone at that level. (But then again I don't think they interviewed James Gosling in the same way they interviewed me, so the point is moot.) Google interviewers are interested in how well you can code (or design a solution) in a whiteboard for 45 minutes. I'm not claiming…

(Non snark ahead) Could this be why working at Google is no longer the prize it once was? And why developers would rather go to Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, et al?

(Completely idiotic response ahead) Umm, really? Every day I see thousands of developers who would rather work in Google than Facebook... :)

(Non snarky response) I dunno. I joined Google in 2008, and as far as I know Google was always like that. So, unless you claim developers have preferred Facebook etc. to Google for more than 5 years now, it's probably not related to the interview process.

Re: How I Embarrassed Myself in My Interview With Google

#32

Post by asdfologist » Sat, Oct 19, 2013, 7:26 PM UTC

On a related note, given that Google has been using their hiring and employee performance data to try to improve their interview process (http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130620142512-35...), I wonder whether they have also managed to identify good and bad interviewers.

Re: How I Embarrassed Myself in My Interview With Google

#33

Post by toomuchtodo » Sat, Oct 19, 2013, 7:31 PM UTC

yongjik wrote: post #31

toomuchtodo wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(Non snark ahead) Could this be why working at Google is no longer the prize it once was? And why developers would rather go to Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, et al?

(Completely idiotic response ahead) Umm, really? Every day I see thousands of developers who would rather work in Google than Facebook... :) (Non snarky response) I dunno. I joined Google in 2008, and as far as I know Google was always like that. So, unless you claim developers have preferred Facebook etc. to Google for more than 5 years now, it's probably not related to the interview process.

From Glassdoor's data, it appears Facebook employees rate their experience better than Google employees from 2009-2012:

http://www.glassdoor.com/press/wp-content/files_mf/133228554...

Also base rate is higher at Facebook, and interview difficulty is rated lower at Facebook.

Somewhat disappointing, as I'm a huge fan of Google.

Re: How I Embarrassed Myself in My Interview With Google

#34

Post by ilyanep » Sat, Oct 19, 2013, 7:32 PM UTC

I doubt that you were rejected (even if you were, which it seems like you don't know) based on needing to be prompted about select, and getting syntax wrong, especially for a non-dev position and in a phone screen. If I were doing a phone screen, I'd honestly be probing more for whether you know how code works in general, and if you knew what select was (i.e. when I prompted you, your response wasn't "uh...what's select?")

Also, did you not sign an agreement with Google that you wouldn't share interview questions before you started interviewing? I think sharing questions is generally considered somewhat uncool.

Re: How I Embarrassed Myself in My Interview With Google

#35

Post by tzs » Sat, Oct 19, 2013, 7:32 PM UTC

mortdeus wrote: post #18

If im ever being interviewed by Google, i'm going to say "hold up let me google the solution to that real quick." A good engineer spends about 95% of their time discovering new things to learn about their craft. An even better engineer uses what other engineers have already discovered and shared with the world to further their understanding. If the world only consisted of the "even better" engineers things like this…

> If im ever being interviewed by Google, i'm going to say "hold up let me google the solution to that real quick."

If Google just wanted people to take existing publicly known parts and hook them together, they would be recruiting people fresh out of community college instead of fresh out of masters and PhD programs, and they'd be offering around $50k/year salary.

Google is trying to find people who can create the parts that ordinary programmers hook together.

Re: How I Embarrassed Myself in My Interview With Google

#36

Post by AccordionGuy » Sat, Oct 19, 2013, 7:36 PM UTC

ilyanep wrote: post #34

I doubt that you were rejected (even if you were, which it seems like you don't know) based on needing to be prompted about select, and getting syntax wrong, especially for a non-dev position and in a phone screen. If I were doing a phone screen, I'd honestly be probing more for whether you know how code works in general, and if you knew what select was (i.e. when I prompted you, your response wasn't "uh...what's sel…

I didn't sign any agreements of any sort, and the question was about as generic as "FizzBuzz" that I wasn't giving away anything. If it's a problem, I can make it right by editing the article.

Re: How I Embarrassed Myself in My Interview With Google

#37

Post by garthdog » Sat, Oct 19, 2013, 7:38 PM UTC

I am terribly out of Ruby practice. Choosing Ruby as his language, presumably because it is the language he is best at, and then whiffing on the basics is probably what did him in. The brevity of phone interviews and the need to whittle down a massive pool of applicants to a manageable stream means that the interviewer is going to infer a lot from a little.

He should have chosen a language he is better at. If Ruby is indeed his top language, and he's rusty at that, then perhaps OP just isn't fit for a coding job at this point in time?

Re: How I Embarrassed Myself in My Interview With Google

#38

Post by enscr » Sat, Oct 19, 2013, 7:41 PM UTC

goatslacker wrote: post #24

mortdeus wrote: post #18

If im ever being interviewed by Google, i'm going to say "hold up let me google the solution to that real quick." A good engineer spends about 95% of their time discovering new things to learn about their craft. An even better engineer uses what other engineers have already discovered and shared with the world to further their understanding. If the world only consisted of the "even better" engineers things like this…

While you're not expected to be an encyclopedia of knowledge about any particular language, framework, or API; having the frequent need to look things up is a red flag because if you're always looking things up you may not move fast enough. Also, having the "this is not a problem" attitude is a red flag; what else would this person not consider a problem when I hire them?

you might miss out on a lot of bright bulbs if you keep red-flagging them because you think they won't move fast enough.

Re: How I Embarrassed Myself in My Interview With Google

#39

Post by AccordionGuy » Sat, Oct 19, 2013, 7:43 PM UTC

garthdog wrote: post #37

I am terribly out of Ruby practice. Choosing Ruby as his language, presumably because it is the language he is best at, and then whiffing on the basics is probably what did him in. The brevity of phone interviews and the need to whittle down a massive pool of applicants to a manageable stream means that the interviewer is going to infer a lot from a little. He should have chosen a language he is better at. If Ruby is…

I wanted to use:

- A language with a REPL so that I could check my ideas in a terminal window. - A language that would reduce the amount of typing I'd have to do - A language I that I was half-decent at (at lease at one point)

And Ruby fit all those criteria.

Re: How I Embarrassed Myself in My Interview With Google

#40

Post by garthdog » Sat, Oct 19, 2013, 7:44 PM UTC

mortdeus wrote: post #18

If im ever being interviewed by Google, i'm going to say "hold up let me google the solution to that real quick." A good engineer spends about 95% of their time discovering new things to learn about their craft. An even better engineer uses what other engineers have already discovered and shared with the world to further their understanding. If the world only consisted of the "even better" engineers things like this…

Then you've turned the interview into a waste of time. There is no actionable information that is produced from that answer.

If you honestly are looking for a job and aren't looking to make some kind of F-U 2 The Man statement, do yourself a favor and don't give an answer like that.