381–390 of 693 posts
"How many people can actually write BFS on the spot, without preparing for it in advance?" A lot of people. You should too, even if you're just a front-end.
What about the maze solving question? Should all front-end developers be able to create a maze solving algorithm on the spot, during an interview, under time pressure?
I almost want to joke that it's Sahat should have done a bootcamp, since that seems to have been Haseeb's advantage; he learned everything about CS very recently and freshly, in an environment where he would be absorbing material that's tech interview fodder. Coupled with Haseeb's intelligence and quickness in absorbing said material, he must have impressed his interviewers. Whereas, an experienced developer like Sahat is worse off- ironically, by not being new to the field, he lacked the advantage of seeing like a fast learner. It's almost like ageism but specific to how long one has been programming.
And on the subject of hacker bootcamps- I've heard a lot of them not only teach programming, but how to optimize one's interviewing skills. If bootcamp graduates are doing well because of that, does that mean there should be bootcamps for experienced devs who want to switch jobs, just so they can ace interview questions? And is that really what this industry has come to? Memorizing algorithms and strategies for passing data structure logic puzzles in cram schools just to get a job?
The OP is describing the new grad tech hiring process. It looks like an exam because it's for hiring people straight out of school. For experienced people, it's not what you know, it's who you know. You tell your connected friend that you're looking for a job, he tells you who's hiring and gives you a recommendation. You still have an interview, but it's no longer adversarial, it's a formality, it's friendly, it's ju…
The only way out of this mess is to start and bootstrap your own company. Hiring is broken, therefore hire yourself.
The best approach to getting hired (especially if you know you are good) is to reach out via your personal network. Get in via contacts and recommendations. Always keep pushing your existing coding profile at every point of interaction.
It took me a year to find a new job. I got rejected from on-sites 8 or 9 times, a few other rejections before that. I've been through everything the OP has and more. I was once forgotten in an interview room while my interviewer played foosball and then went home. I've managed to pass all rounds with "positive feedback" only to get rejected three days later. I've swam through rivers of aerated bullshit to find a new…
> In my previous phone screen they were looking to hire a single person.The perfect fit. Probably not me What country was this in? In Ireland that qualifies as employment discrimination on the "civil status" ground.
Oh, single person. Ha, it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of civil status. They meant it as "one person".
It took me a year to find a new job. I got rejected from on-sites 8 or 9 times, a few other rejections before that. I've been through everything the OP has and more. I was once forgotten in an interview room while my interviewer played foosball and then went home. I've managed to pass all rounds with "positive feedback" only to get rejected three days later. I've swam through rivers of aerated bullshit to find a new…
> In my previous phone screen they were looking to hire a single person.The perfect fit. Probably not me What country was this in? In Ireland that qualifies as employment discrimination on the "civil status" ground.
I am a VP at a medium size company and I do plenty of interviews. I usually talk about what people are interested in and then ask one question: "You are in front of PC/Mac/Mobile screen, type www.cnn.com into browser, and press enter. A fraction of a second images show up on the screen... How? What happened? Tell me all you can from key press interrupts to underwater fiber cables". This question never failed me. It a…
I hired Sahat as an intern three years ago while he was an undergrad. It was one of the best hiring decisions I have ever made. He was productive immediately and our (small) team felt the loss when he went back to school. This guy is good and gets stuff done, ask people who have worked with him. I wish Sahat had reached out to more of his network before responding to random recruiters. Tech interviews as Sahat experi…
I'm seeing a lot of "reaching out" in this thread. Is this a new thing, like "passion"?