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I will not do a tech interview

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Re: I will not do a tech interview

#531

Post by rolandhordos »

x0x0 wrote: post #451
tmoertel wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The primary way in which interviews are different from after-the-hire social interactions is that interviews are high-stakes events, and the candidates know it. For some people, that knowledge is enough to put them into a self-reinforcing mental death spiral. Their fight-or-flight response takes over and they literally stop thinking as their bodies switch into survival mode. That's why, when you're interviewing candi…

I'm embarrassed to admit that in one of my first interviews I was asked to code bubble sort and choked for the first 30 seconds (it felt like a lot longer) until I reminded myself "I can do this" and sort of got back into things. I'd be tempted to disagree that this is such a big factor but it happened to me on bubble sort .

Don't be embarrassed, it's more of the same point. Exactly zero percent of my 15 years of development experience include writing a bubble sort. Your post represents perfectly what the author is saying about the disconnected, displacing, time wasting effects caused by conventional wisdom about performing tech interviews. If the developer is not themselves you're not hiring who you think you're hiring. I know you don't choke when you're doing good work. There must be a better way.

Re: I will not do a tech interview

#532

Post by hackinthebochs »

wubbfindel wrote: post #388
untog wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe somebody can explain this better to me -- but if you freeze up in interviews, are you also going to freeze up in developer meetings? During code reviews? When you're in the room with clients? Of course not. Interview situations are very, very different than the others. Meetings and code reviews are with co-workers, whom you know and trust. Meetings with clients could be nerve-wracking for other reasons, but the…

Interview situations are very, very different than the others. Agreed. I once interviewed for a job within the company I already worked for (crazy bureaucratic process aside), and I was being interviewed by my existing boss, and a colleague that used to be on the same team as me. I was asked a question about ASP.NET ViewState which I drew a complete blank on. I just couldn't wrap my ahead around the question because…

Ha, that's definitely a unique situation. The joker inside me couldn't have resisted tossing the most obscure brain-teasers and .NET minutia at you for fun. Hopefully you wouldn't have hated me too much after that.

Re: I will not do a tech interview

#533

Post by heleph »

tmoertel wrote: post #274
clavalle wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may be a negotiation but it is a very asymmetrical one. That by itself might be the root cause of a lot of the anxiety.

True. But it's not nearly so asymmetrical as most people seem to believe. Most interviewers aren't great at interviewing and know it. They're usually open – surprisingly open – to changes that will help them conduct a more reliable interview.

Also in most cases the person interviewing you wants to be able to say yes. They need someone for their team and probably have other things they'd rather be doing than recruitment.

Re: I will not do a tech interview

#535

Post by GhotiFish »

crazygringo wrote: post #62

Granted, there are a lot of bad tech interviews out there (asking about algorithms that nobody ever uses) ... but I do not understand this. Imagine someone's being hired for a front-end position, and we don't have months to get them up to speed. I'm going to ask them to explain how a closure works. How they deal with AJAX. What they think about "!important". Things to be careful about with floats. How CSS precedence/…

   The author says "Other times I just froze on topics that I
   know very well." Maybe somebody can explain this better to me
Personally I find that when I meet new people, I have an instinctual assumption that they are more knowledgeable and better than me in every measurable way, I am intimidated.

It's only when I see peoples flaws that I can operate around them. Only when I know they are not perfect. (By the way I realize this is illogical behavior, I really can't help it, I'm ascared T.T)

I don't think this is anything new, I'm timid around new people. That doesn't impair my productivity, it just impairs how attractive I look as a hire.

Re: I will not do a tech interview

#536

Post by GhotiFish »

ap22213 wrote: post #145
crazygringo wrote: post #62

Granted, there are a lot of bad tech interviews out there (asking about algorithms that nobody ever uses) ... but I do not understand this. Imagine someone's being hired for a front-end position, and we don't have months to get them up to speed. I'm going to ask them to explain how a closure works. How they deal with AJAX. What they think about "!important". Things to be careful about with floats. How CSS precedence/…

This is weird. I would definitely fail your interview. Yet, at the same time, I've shipped over a dozen products, dozens of releases, consistently, to hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people. I have a solid track record of clean, bug-free, efficient code. In 14 years of development, I've never had a bad review, and I've consistently ranked on the 'A-track' at all companies that I have worked for. I have low…

Funny thing: I would pass his interview, I know everything he asked and have opinions on everything he asked, but I am so terrible at javascript + html + css. I HATE doing that kinda work. Those three freaking languages man.

Re: I will not do a tech interview

#537

Post by roycoding »

chollida1 wrote: post #22

> I politely suggest that a short contract job might be the best option for a company to evaluate a senior developer I like the twist of doing the contract off site on the developers own time. Every time I see someone on hacker news saying, "we've solved the interview problem. We just require every new hire to give up their old job and contract with us for a week to see if they are a good fit", I often wonder about t…

I agree that it seems unrealistic to expect someone who is currently employed to put everything down for a few weeks to do a trial project. I've only agreed to them when I was already between jobs. Of course the prospect of multiple weeks-long projects before finding a good position doesn't sound very thrilling. Not sure there is a perfect solution.

Re: I will not do a tech interview

#539

Post by lem72 »

tmoertel wrote: post #373
untog wrote: post #361

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but it's still an indicator. If I have to negotiate to get an interview on terms I think are acceptable, how much am I going to have to negotiate every day if I work there?

It's a weakly predictive indicator. Yes, it tells you something, but not much. Extrapolate at your peril. Look at it this way: Most of the people interviewing you are other programmers – the exact opposite of skilled interviewers. Predicting the day-to-day reality of working with them based on their default interviewing style is just as unreliable as them judging you based on your performance at solving silly brain t…

It would be another indicator for you to suggest change and them either accept it or deny it. You could see how they deal when a curve ball is thrown their way and it gives you some great insight into if you would like to work in the type of environment put forward.

Re: I will not do a tech interview

#540

Post by Bartweiss »

bmj wrote: post #331
Bartweiss wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me this part about preparation is the hidden value of this approach. For most interviewees the interview isn't a 2 hour process, it's far more time spent in potentially-irrelevant preparation. It seems like companies might as well turn that time into a more direct skills evaluation.

And, if I'm reading you correctly, it may end up being a benefit to the interviewee, too. At the end of the process, whether I got the job or not, I have additional "implemented X in Y" experience.

I'm slightly embarrassed to say that didn't even occur to me, but yes. It makes the interview experience helpful for something other than more interviews.
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