On asking job candidates to code • Hacker News Board

Re: On asking job candidates to code

#521

Post by throwaway_jyhk » Mon, Mar 21, 2016, 3:30 PM UTC

dominotw wrote: post #215

ryandrake wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Often the "information sideband" is the very fact that the company decided to cut off all communication as a way to convey rejection. If they treat random people that way, how do you think they treat people who are obligated to be on their worksite every day? Companies: DON'T DO THIS! I, for one, actively discourage smart friends from interviewing at places that treat candidates like shit.

I had nightmare of a interview experience with AirBnb in 2012. They asked me take 2 days off from work and fly all the way to SFO after I wasted couple of hours doing their coding homework. The first interviewer started with "your degree is not from a good school" like the very first sentence right to my face. He then asked me a string matching question, and insisted that I code up his brute force solution (with terr…

Applied quite a while back for a non-engineering role, just to give other career paths a try. Had to head down to their office 3 times to meet with at least 4 people, after 3 separate Skype interviews.

After that, I got a month of silence, which I thought meant silent rejection. Cut to a week later, was having brunch with a friend from another valley startup and said person was telling me a joke that a friend from AirBnb had told during a yacht party limited to only people not from my country.

Turns out there was a crappy interviewee from my country who didn't know what was "shared economy", so he decided to reject the guy. Which was fine because maybe it's their company policy or vision. What wasn't fine was said interviewer went on to say "This is why I'll never fucking hire a person from this country."

So I asked my friend, "Is this friend of yours XXX?" "Yeah, how'd you know?" "That's my interviewer. I'm that guy you're laughing about."

It was an awkward brunch.

Re: On asking job candidates to code

#522

Post by GuiA » Mon, Mar 21, 2016, 5:53 PM UTC

dominotw wrote: post #215

ryandrake wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Often the "information sideband" is the very fact that the company decided to cut off all communication as a way to convey rejection. If they treat random people that way, how do you think they treat people who are obligated to be on their worksite every day? Companies: DON'T DO THIS! I, for one, actively discourage smart friends from interviewing at places that treat candidates like shit.

I had nightmare of a interview experience with AirBnb in 2012. They asked me take 2 days off from work and fly all the way to SFO after I wasted couple of hours doing their coding homework. The first interviewer started with "your degree is not from a good school" like the very first sentence right to my face. He then asked me a string matching question, and insisted that I code up his brute force solution (with terr…

Just to add a data point - I interviewed with AirBnB in January 2014 and had a very similar experience.

I was referred by a college classmate and close friend who used to work there at the time, who knows me extremely well, and is easily in the top 1% of engineers I know (Linux contributor, loved by every employer he's ever had, etc.). He told me I totally had the level to work there, and was better than most people he worked with. So I went along with it, and went to their holiday parties, where one of their execs schmoozed with me for a while, told me I sounded like a great fit, and a recruiter would be in touch with me.

I talk to the recruiter on the phone, get assigned a home coding challenge. I spend a Saturday on it, and get a perfect score on it. I don't know if it was by design or not, but it showed me the rankings of every person who ever did that challenge. I was tied for 1st place with 40 or so other past candidates, in a pool of a few thousand participants.

I do their onsite interviews (fortunately I was local to SF) - don't remember much, except that they felt very stilted. But it was the usual "here's a canned problem I know the best answer to, you have 40 minutes to figure it out while I give out cryptic clues". After 3 or 4 of them, I sit in the room alone for about 30 minutes - the recruiter then comes to me and tells me that they won't move forward, bye bye.

My friend met me outside for a smoke, and told me he had no clue what happened. Oh well. AirBnB definitely left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I got a much better gig at a much better company a few months later, so things worked out.

Re: On asking job candidates to code

#523

Post by JeremyMorgan » Mon, Mar 21, 2016, 5:55 PM UTC

dominotw wrote: post #215

ryandrake wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Often the "information sideband" is the very fact that the company decided to cut off all communication as a way to convey rejection. If they treat random people that way, how do you think they treat people who are obligated to be on their worksite every day? Companies: DON'T DO THIS! I, for one, actively discourage smart friends from interviewing at places that treat candidates like shit.

I had nightmare of a interview experience with AirBnb in 2012. They asked me take 2 days off from work and fly all the way to SFO after I wasted couple of hours doing their coding homework. The first interviewer started with "your degree is not from a good school" like the very first sentence right to my face. He then asked me a string matching question, and insisted that I code up his brute force solution (with terr…

The "good school" thing is an entire topic in itself. You get good and bad from any school, but from what I've found over the years is people want Ivy League or close when they want someone just. like. them. Someone that looks like them, talks like them, thinks like them. They want a person who will be a puppet for management, nothing more.

I have worked with, and currently worked with people who are amazing problem solvers and developers who went to community college or trade schools. Recently I worked with one of the smartest people I've ever known who had no college experience at all. He's so good at his job his makes over 6 figures with a high school diploma with no student loan debt.. how could you not call this person smart?

I definitely wouldn't say that people who come top schools aren't top talent, but it's no guarantee and I think it's silly when people require it.

Re: On asking job candidates to code

#524

Post by haylem » Thu, Mar 24, 2016, 1:58 AM UTC

bogomipz wrote: post #491

haylem wrote: post #400

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They then decided they weren't sure if I wanted to work there (apparently because, you know, I'm in the habit of wasting a day of my life interviewing for giggles) That's not really fair though. Tons of people apply for jobs because they need a job. I've surely done it in the past. I've applied and accepted jobs I didn't give a damn crap about. I had to pay rent, feed 2 kids, and pay my wife's tuition. And even did…

> "I also actually did interview at times just for giggles." Then you are an asshole. Seriously you wasted how many people's time for your own amusement? If you want practice or informational interviews there are ways to achieve those without being completely inconsiderate and disrespectful of peoples time. It fits that you are suspicious of other people based on your own questionable practices. Most normal people do…

Giggles is not exactly the right word. I didn't make it just to see if I could pass or take a piss at someone.

I don't think anything is a better practice than an actual interview. Doing a rehearsal or workshops won't compare.

But thanks for the insult, random stranger.

Besides, if that was your only take away from my comment, I think you may have missed the main point. Maybe you were too infuriated by that point already.

And I think that when it comes to cumulative time-wasting, the culprit is usually more the interviewer (or the incompetent recruiting agency).

Also, would be interested in having data on the "most normal people don't do this" bit. I know plenty who do or did at some point, across several countries.