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If You Want This Job, We Must Interview You Forever

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Re: If You Want This Job, We Must Interview You Forever

#41

Post by Trasmatta »

yrgulation wrote: post #36
Trasmatta wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never even interviewed at a FAANG. I've interviewed at like a dozen companies throughout my career, across all sorts of different businesses. All of the interview processes I've been through were awful.

How come? Genuine question. I interviewed at a company once. They asked me to do some funky stuff with some hex css colours, many many years ago. After i proudly failed they said thats what their buddy was tested about at google. Company went under and didnt shed a tear over not joining. Truly a waste of time. Later found a similar “test” in a high school cs “olympiad” book under a different name and context.

How come I went through those interviews? Because I needed a job, and almost every company is horrible at interviewing, so you just kind of have to deal with the hazing ritual. Unless you manage to get really lucky.

Re: If You Want This Job, We Must Interview You Forever

#42

Post by cloverich »

stackbutterflow wrote: post #17

My last job search took a toll on my mental health. I felt like a worthless person for 3 months. I could feel (or imagine?) the disdain of the interviewers as I was failing their tests. The fake enthusiasm on their side as they rejected me ("that was great! But we're not going to move forward with you! Good luck!!!") and on my side while pretending I was excited when in fact I was worried about money and the gap on m…

This was my exact experience. But I scheduled so many interviews I didn't have time to dwell. Which is great, because I am good at dwelling. I bombed many interviews in an embarrassing fashion. After about 10 or so, I started to improve. And as the questions on each successive interview began to rhyme with previous ones, I got faster and better. You know your comfort zone best, but just as a data point, consider whether scheduling interviews like its your job (or your second job) would help. And again just anecdote, but I think if I'd interviews with less than 10 companies, I probably would have convinced myself I was stupid. Instead I went from 10+ straight rejections to multiple offers and a sizable salary bump.

Re: If You Want This Job, We Must Interview You Forever

#43

Post by hammyhavoc »

stackbutterflow wrote: post #17

My last job search took a toll on my mental health. I felt like a worthless person for 3 months. I could feel (or imagine?) the disdain of the interviewers as I was failing their tests. The fake enthusiasm on their side as they rejected me ("that was great! But we're not going to move forward with you! Good luck!!!") and on my side while pretending I was excited when in fact I was worried about money and the gap on m…

Who watches the watchmen? Who hires the people who hire people?

Re: If You Want This Job, We Must Interview You Forever

#44

Post by PebblesHD »

These styles of multi-round interviews inspired by the FAANG collective started picking up in Australia before the pandemic, but it got to a point where most of my more talented colleagues and I all agreed it just wasn’t worth the time for the salaries being offered. 4 round interviews for a ‘senior’ developer position on $120k?

When interviewing my own candidates, I use a 1 hour interview mostly focused on approach and personality. We have a probation period to work out if they’ve over-promised, and most of our tech industry is big banks that won’t notice if they waste a few weeks salary trying someone out. Honestly, for the salaries the local market provides, I think 1 interview is fair. Any more and I think we’re wasting peoples time for nothing.

Personally, I’ve dropped out of application processes when they’ve indicated there are multiple rounds, and my salary hasn’t suffered for it relative to my friends who put up with them, so I feel like I’m ahead.

Re: If You Want This Job, We Must Interview You Forever

#45

Post by denimnerd42 »

jimbob45 wrote: post #15

What’s the ideal interview? HR screen, tech interview, and team lead interview? I don’t know that you can reasonably compress things down to less than three interviews without relying on individuals to be better at interviewing than they might actually be.

people aren't complaining about 3. but it's commonly not 3. it's 5, 6 or 7. Or 3 and one is 4 hours.

Re: If You Want This Job, We Must Interview You Forever

#46

Post by pkrotich »

stackbutterflow wrote: post #17

My last job search took a toll on my mental health. I felt like a worthless person for 3 months. I could feel (or imagine?) the disdain of the interviewers as I was failing their tests. The fake enthusiasm on their side as they rejected me ("that was great! But we're not going to move forward with you! Good luck!!!") and on my side while pretending I was excited when in fact I was worried about money and the gap on m…

I feel your pain! I had an initial phone interview with Yahoo in mid 2000 or so and my anxiety got the best of me on "hello". I went blank! Forgot how to talk - so I hanged up and DECIDED that very minute that I would start my own company and never interview again!

Re: If You Want This Job, We Must Interview You Forever

#47

Post by Retric »

yrgulation wrote: post #30
Buttons840 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Only [well-paid] idiots Working at Google may be going down with the ship, but at least in the end you get to sail away on your golden life boat.

Nothing wrong in playing the game. But believe me there’s better pay out there.

You’re selling your life, focusing on chasing ever more money is a poor trade IMO.

Not saying you have to join a non profit, just consider what you want to work on, who you want to work with, and the kind of hours you want to put in.

Re: If You Want This Job, We Must Interview You Forever

#48

Post by revlolz »

thayne wrote: post #18
revlolz wrote: post #9

If a company sets expectations accordingly I don't mind having several rounds. It gives me time to interview them too. I just think we all need to agree on which poison to fight and that's Taleo.

But many companies don't set any expectations. You typically have no idea how many rounds of interviews there are, or how quickly you will hear back. And there is a pretty good chance that if you don't get the job, you will never hear back either way.

I agree with you, I just hate Taleo with a passion because on top of likely having to deal with some form of ambigious process.... You are expected to regurgitate your resume wasting a ton of time to an archaic enterprise dB with disastrous ux constraints. I at least have more control with setting expectations if I hold recruiters/hm's accountable.

Re: If You Want This Job, We Must Interview You Forever

#49

Post by blagie »

happyopossum wrote: post #27

I’ve seen so many of these jokes and complaints about modern SV interviews that I was blown away when I recently interviewed at a FAANG… I was assigned a recruiter who communicated clearly and often with me, told exactly how many interviews I was doing (3), what each was about, and all 3 were scheduled on the same day, and were handled by extremely smart and supportive people. Offer came through by the end of the wee…

One of the differences is resources. FAANG can effort recruiting departments which treat candidates as customers whom they're trying to sell a job to.

Many fine employers are more disorganized in hiring, but that doesn't translate over to work.

Re: If You Want This Job, We Must Interview You Forever

#50

Post by djmips »

bruce511 wrote: post #37

Interviewing is hard, requires skills precisely zero people are trained to do, and has huge long-term upsides and downsides to a business. I'm a programmer. I trained for years to do that. Then I'm asked to hire someone. A task I have zero experience or training at. Spoiler alert - any actual competence is a fluke. At my peak I was hiring maybe 2 or 3 people in a year. Mostly I hired people I'd heard about who came w…

Maybe I'm accidentally good at interviewing and hiring. At least, all my hires have worked out well. I've never hired anyone who didn't last long and all ended up being great. I don't trust 'professionals' to do that hiring. Maybe what I'm trying to say is we should train the people on the team on whatever it is they are missing in order to hire people better. The people on the team know best what they are looking for and what they need.

It's not much different than being a GM at a pro sports team and drafting and getting free agents.

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