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The worst job interview I ever had

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Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#541

Post by eneveu »

ViktorRay wrote: post #535
JCTheDenthog wrote: post #444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>There's a problem with tech hiring and nobody wants to talk about it because most people are unaware. And those who are aware and bring it up often get accused of racism when they do, making it difficult to spread awareness of this awful practice.

Which countries are you all talking about?

Probably India. I'm from Europe but have read in the past about this on Reddit / HN.

More info: https://qz.com/india/889524/the-us-says-oracle-is-encouragin...

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/09/09/h-1b-san-jose-tech-fi...

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41785265

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#542

Post by slumberlust »

teiferer wrote: post #475
ordu wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Hard to claim the moral high ground if you do eye for an eye. I do not claim the moral high ground. My moral is more flexible, than just "an eye for an eye" or "be nicer than the other side". I can do any of that depending on a situation. I'm starting any communication with the latter, it is a consequence of my upbringing, but if it doesn't work I may do anything. I want to note, I know that "be nicer than the othe…

It's easy to be nice in the beginning or when the other side is nice. Point is to be nice even if the other side is rude or wants conflict. In a sense you are giving in to their game if you are rude back. What really hits them is if their counterpart can't be bothered to be rude back.

I just start blessing hearts.

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#543

Post by LoulouMonkey »

mrguyorama wrote: post #533
LoulouMonkey wrote: post #239

As we're all sharing some bizarre experiences we've had, I feel I have to chip in. I had 2 very weird interviews with the same FAANG company, before actually joining the company in 2021. Anyway, we're in 2011 and my career in tech has just started. I hear back from a recruiter regarding a role I've applied for, and to be considered for this position it is mandatory to be fluent in French. Which shouldn't be a problem…

Seeing as the entire point of FAANG having offices in Dublin at that point in time was a tax evasion strategy, they probably didn't give a shit about hiring or actual employees.

Some people say that things might start changing soon due to layoffs. I personally very much doubt it.

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#544

Post by NBJack »

gspetr wrote: post #423
shantnutiwari wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

" but the interview engine is already running at full speed:" I dont know if this is a recent thing, but I had a similar thing where an interviewer was racing forward, and would only accept the answers he had in mind. In Python, he asked me how to search for substring. I was thinking but he started hurrying me. So I said regex and started writing a regex. "No, there is an inbuilt method" I couldnt remember the method…

Step 1: https://www.google.com/search?q=list+python+string+methods Step 2: Parse the output with your eyes. The method is literally called "find". This one-trick pony failure mode could perhaps have been fine for a guy who did Java and nothing but Java for 10 years, but you are supposedly the person who runs "pythonforengineers" website... 100% correct call by the interviewer.

What about 'in'? index()? There are at least 3 canonical methods for basic string searches, and 8 if your include the more specialized forms (all of which are considered solutions).

Please refrain from personal attacks here. Save that for less reputable forums.

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#545

Post by dangus »

This is a good life lesson to OP of the freedoms they have in these situations.

An interviewer can choose to ask whatever question they want (within legal boundaries).

You can also choose to answer however you want. The interviewer asked you to mentally drain yourself recounting trauma. You didn’t have to give them that.

“I appreciate your approach in asking about the most challenging day of my life. However, I’ll keep my answers in the scope of the workplace moving forward.”

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#546

Post by ryukoposting »

ljm wrote: post #312
supriyo-biswas wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had an interview like this in the past. At the time, I chalked it up to a power trip and the indignant behavior that comes along with it, as it is especially embedded in the culture of the country that I'm based out of. Having said that, talking to a relative, I found out that this style of "interviewing" is often done when they already have someone for the position, but need to show (for compliance reasons, or…

I had a really weird power-trip interview once, and it was the CEO who was joined by a contractor who was ostensibly the technical lead for the project. There was nobody in engineering who worked full-time on the job, everybody was contracted. I was also going in as a contractor so I was aware that the interview would be a bit lighter on process as a result. The questioning very quickly veered away from technical stu…

The most shocking part of this story is the part where you took the job. Not trying to throw shade, just the truth! What on earth was going on that made this your best option?

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#547

Post by ryukoposting »

lz400 wrote: post #77

Truth is, most people who interview people have no idea how to do it. I know because I've done hundreds and nobody ever trained me or explained to me how to do it properly. Over the years I've seen so many people on both sides of the table that I developed a method and I got semi-functional at it but so many people doing interviews shouldn't that bad experiences should be almost expected by now.

I've done at least a few for every company I've worked for. Ironically, the smallest and worst-managed one is also the one that put the most effort into training me on how to do interviews. I'm not sure what to make of that.

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#548

Post by ryukoposting »

eximius wrote: post #59

Earlier this year I was told I failed an interview because when asked why I wanted to join a company, my answer "could apply to other companies in the same stage of life." They apparently required me to be _uniquely_ interested in their company. There were other oddities about their interview process. Some interviewers just want to feel special.

Every time I've been asked this question, I answer with total honesty up to and including the one-word answer "money." I got an offer with that, by the way.

I'd prefer not to work for a firm that's smelling its own farts. I'm happy to have worked for several firms where I really believed strongly in the product and the mission, and I've left companies when I felt they had lost sight of their mission. But at the end of the day, it's a job. I give you labor and expertise, you give me money.

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#549

Post by ryukoposting »

Balgair wrote: post #536

The worst I ever had was a dream to others, possibly. The way I knew that I was not going to work there is they had a net $72,000 401k matching - the maximum allowed.[0] Suffice to say, if that is what they have to do to keep folks on, it's gotta be some really crazy stuff going on in there. [0] I remember it being 25% at the time, but the IRS says that it's a set dollar amount these days, so I will go with that.

You turned down a job because they had good benefits?

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#550

Post by ryukoposting »

mkoryak wrote: post #531
dpark wrote: post #457

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> tell me your favorite 4 letter word Stop

If you answered that, my past self would have appreciated your answer and maybe even stopped. I mostly got things like: "code", "cash", "love" and one time a "fart"

I hope you hired "fart."
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