Eh, a lot work at Google is pretty heavy on algorithms. It's important to know how to write high performance code and algorithms and data structures knowledge is a large part in that.
Algorithms Interviews: Theory vs. Practice
61–70 of 77 posts
Re: Algorithms Interviews: Theory vs. Practice
#62> When I ask people at trendy big tech companies why algorithms quizzes are mandatory, the most common answer I get is something like "we have so much scale, we can't afford to have someone accidentally write an O(n^2) algorithm and bring the site down". I think people who say this just don't get what's really going on here. If you look at these types of interviews, a big part of what they select for is: 1) Some sort…
I think most interviews are designed to find people similar to the interviewers, whether they realise it or not. If you think it works "well enough", I think you're just fooling yourself. I say that as someone who has gotten a job offer from every interview I've been interviewed, and done maybe 100 on the interviewer side of the table. I put far more weight onto pair programming and anything that resembles a work sam…
Pair programming is a horribly inefficient way of programming, what companies actually use it?
Re: Algorithms Interviews: Theory vs. Practice
#63Opening statement: > When I ask people at trendy big tech companies why algorithms quizzes are mandatory, the most common answer I get is something like "we have so much scale, we can't afford to have someone accidentally write an O(n^2) algorithm and bring the site down" In 20yeara I've never heard someone say anything like that.
Take a look at Bruce Dawson's blog (randomascii) for examples on how O(n^2) algorithm can bring Windows to a halt. Many posts on HN on his blog posts. https://randomascii.wordpress.com/
Re: Algorithms Interviews: Theory vs. Practice
#64> When I ask people at trendy big tech companies why algorithms quizzes are mandatory, the most common answer I get is something like "we have so much scale, we can't afford to have someone accidentally write an O(n^2) algorithm and bring the site down". I think people who say this just don't get what's really going on here. If you look at these types of interviews, a big part of what they select for is: 1) Some sort…
While I don't disagree at all with your assertion that a mixture of intelligence and commitment is highly desirable - and that these are indeed exactly what these interviews are designed to select for - I'd argue that is part of the flaw with these interviews. The problem being that even if you as a hiring manager have successfully selected for people who are able to work gruelling hours on nonsense algorithm puzzles for the benefit of advancing their pay or career, it does not necessarily imply that they have what it takes to be a good employee.
As a manager, I want people who are hardworking, sure, but how I can I know that they're working on their assigned tasks instead of studying up for interviews and trying to jump ship? Also, I want to work with people who are creative, empathetic and collaborative (the latter is a hugely important trait perhaps even more important than raw algorithmic interviewing ability in a highly teamwork driven discipline like Software Engineering) - none of which these kinds of interviews help with. Or maybe I want a mixture of people with different strengths and weaknesses, like a team with an algorithms expert paired with a creative problem solver that can figure out new approaches to business problems. Applying a uniform standard involving mostly rote memorization and practice of the same set of interview puzzles to everyone is in my view antithetical to building a strong engineering organization. But you're right that it works "well enough" and no one has found alternative solutions that work better so it is unlikely to change in the near future.
Re: Algorithms Interviews: Theory vs. Practice
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
If we are one query from bring down the site I don't want to be anywhere near that site.
If you haven't had a single query bring down a service at least once, you just don't have enough industry experience with services. It's surprisingly easy to bring down complete complex services system with a unlucky degenerate case.
Like A site wide outage at StackOverflow being caused by an inefficient backtracking regex engine: https://stackstatus.net/post/147710624694/outage-postmortem-...
Re: Algorithms Interviews: Theory vs. Practice
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
Getting an offer from every interview is impressive, good for you (you don't cite how many but I'm assuming you've done a good number in different contexts). Even the smartest people I've known have had mixed luck with interviews, due to some combination of randomness, poor interview design, or just poor fit for that company. As for administrating 100 interviews, you'd prob rack those up in a 2 year stint at a FAANG…
I'm 40 (ouch!) and I've done about 6 serious interviews - other conversations over lunch and whatnot, that I didn't pursue - I'm not a serial interviewer, granted. Three job offers I declined. Where I work today, I'm in the last round of interviews, to try and reduce the time consumption. My real point is that a work sample is really hard to get in an interview, and it's really not fair to fire someone in their evalu…
Friendly reminder that 40 is not old
Re: Algorithms Interviews: Theory vs. Practice
#67So, amusingly, my referral hit rate at Google is like 1/10. Worse, I only refer people if they've told me that they're certain they wish to go through the terrible process. When I say 1/10, I don't mean 10%, I mean I have entered about 10, and only one got an offer. In my opinion, all were qualified and should have been given offers. For comparison, I've done roughly 100 interviews or something (though not nearly eno…
lol, it's actually much worse than that.
Re: Algorithms Interviews: Theory vs. Practice
#68>"I’ve done maybe 40-ish "real" software interviews and passed maybe one or two of them" I'd say that about mirrors my experience as well. Is this really that common? Here I was thinking that I'm just an idiot.
I'm almost 50. I pass about two-thirds of all my on-site interviews, but have 100% failed my FNG interviews (I got an offer from Amazon 15 years ago but declined because I didn't want to move to Seattle). I've failed Google 4 times, Facebook 3 times, and Netflix twice. I think my biggest problem is because I'm so old, their expectations are even higher than what I realistically am. I'm okay being hired as a "senior s…
> they insist on interviewing me as a staff level
What are the expectations, in an interview for this level?
Re: Algorithms Interviews: Theory vs. Practice
#69Its hard to believe that Dan Luu can’t pass algorithm interviews.
It has a lot to do with psyche. If you have anxiety, it is entirely possible to even fail the most basic questions. And unfortunately, you can't just say "Sorry, I'm having a panic attack. Could we do this tomorrow?". I think the best course is anxiety management. But unfortunately, some people get dependent on drugs just to calm their nerves before something important. I know people that can't hold meetings or prese…
Do those people find jobs that never require going on call?
Re: Algorithms Interviews: Theory vs. Practice
#70Its hard to believe that Dan Luu can’t pass algorithm interviews.
It has a lot to do with psyche. If you have anxiety, it is entirely possible to even fail the most basic questions. And unfortunately, you can't just say "Sorry, I'm having a panic attack. Could we do this tomorrow?". I think the best course is anxiety management. But unfortunately, some people get dependent on drugs just to calm their nerves before something important. I know people that can't hold meetings or prese…
Just FYI - in many interviews, you can just say "Sorry, I'm having a panic attack. Could we do this tomorrow?". One of my friends had a panic attack during her Google interview, left came back the next day, and got the job.
So, YMMV, but people are often able to be accommodating for things like this :)