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On Interviewing as a Junior Dev

lizmrush.com

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Re: On Interviewing as a Junior Dev

#61

Post by Ntrails »

gedrap wrote: post #50

What I sometimes don't understand, is the emphasis on being a female / ethnic minority like in this post. Sure, some people are intolerant, but if you go with 'maybe: being the only female / minority' it gives me a feeling that you expect some special treatment because of your gender or ethnicity. It gives me a feeling that it is an employee who is a potential liability (e.g. the paragraph about sports 'asking a fema…

People basically are racist by default. We fear the different, the other, we seem to be wired that way. Society is training us to be tolerant, it is training us to be better.

Secondly, if your happiness in the place you spend half your waking hours is contingent on the people there not making you feel marginalised/belittled/stupid/irrelevant/worthless, and you have had bad experiences previously, I think it's reasonable for a key decision parameter to be "do I think the employees here are better than that"

Re: On Interviewing as a Junior Dev

#63

Post by NLips »

rurounijones wrote: post #26
butwhy wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you are quoting is out of context. The sentence prior to the one you quoted mentions her specifically. So the proceeding sentence seems to use her personal experience as a basis to then make a broader claim in a more general context.

Ok, previous sentence. > If your code challenge involves a typically male oriented theme, such as sports, consider changing it to something else. Why not use something more neutral? I did a code challenge that involved ranking soccer teams, and while going over the code a developer at the company asked me if I needed the rules of the game explained to me. Statement of fact, no "feminism" on display, no hint of anger…

Combine the following two sections:

1) "...while going over the code a developer at the company asked me if I needed the rules of the game explained to me."

2) "...asking a female candidate if they understand a basic sports rule...comes across as belittling and sexist."

It seems pretty explicit that she found it sexist that they asked if she needed the rules explained. If she finds them sexist for asking her the question (as opposed to not asking), she must think they only asked because she's female. I don't see how it can be read otherwise. However, I don't think this makes the lady an OTT feminist.

A possible workaround would be to provide a cheat-sheet with a rules summary. I think one would be less likely to see or assume sexism if there are hard materials on offer to the interviewee - it implies that the same question and materials are used for a number of candidates, and an interviewer is unlikely to withhold the cheat-sheet just because an interviewee is male.

Re: On Interviewing as a Junior Dev

#64

Post by switch007 »

jarek wrote: post #36
wldlyinaccurate wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My jaw always hits the floor when I see the salaries they offer in SF/NY. Then I remember that working in the UK I typically get twice as much paid annual leave as most people in the USA, usually with the option to purchase more leave. I think I'll always choose more time off over more money.

And there's the matter of what to do with the time off. Prague, Rome, Budapest, Barcelona being a two-hour, £20-40 flight away is difficult to value but a big difference.

I hear this a lot from my foreign friends. It's 2014 and even Ryanair don't sell £20 return flights any more (£30-40 is pushing it. E.g LGW-DUB in Feb is £40).

Also, the Eurozone isn't all that cheap any more. Prior to 2008, £1 bought you 1.4-1.5 EUR. Since then it's typically been between 1.1 and 1.3 EUR. And prices have risen all over Europe.

Even if you found a £20 flight, it'll be the cheapest part of the trip! If you do anything other than a backpacking budget, your flight cost will be eclipsed by: baggage fees, travel to/lunch at the airport, accommodation, transport, entertainment and food.

It starts with a cheap flight and before you know it you've spent £200-400/pp for a couple of days away.

Re: On Interviewing as a Junior Dev

#65

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

neelborooah wrote: post #57
mikecmpbll wrote: post #31

I had to stop halfway through because the pretentiousness was overbearing.

Although she did end up with good results, I too felt that her attitude was a tad too pretentious. But hey, whatever floats your boat.

It didn't seem pretentious so much as unfairly entitled and demanding, and potentially insensitive to the needs and interests of possible co-workers.

But it's interesting to watch someone coming at it from that angle, instead of the usual 'give employers anything they want' view.

Re: On Interviewing as a Junior Dev

#66

Post by jarek »

switch007 wrote: post #64
jarek wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And there's the matter of what to do with the time off. Prague, Rome, Budapest, Barcelona being a two-hour, £20-40 flight away is difficult to value but a big difference.

I hear this a lot from my foreign friends. It's 2014 and even Ryanair don't sell £20 return flights any more (£30-40 is pushing it. E.g LGW-DUB in Feb is £40). Also, the Eurozone isn't all that cheap any more. Prior to 2008, £1 bought you 1.4-1.5 EUR. Since then it's typically been between 1.1 and 1.3 EUR. And prices have risen all over Europe. Even if you found a £20 flight, it'll be the cheapest part of the trip! I…

I meant one way prices. To my Canadian ears £40 one way is still very cheap.

Berlin, £50 round trip in March, £40 in January. Copenhagen, £50 in March. BCN, £50. Porto, £58.

Stansted Express, round trip 30 days in advance, £16.

Baggage fees, why? For a week or less, even the aggressive easyJet carryon size is sufficient.

Lunch at the airport... it's like you're trying to make a trip expensive.

Food... yep, you'll have to eat anywhere, and nowhere is that cheap. Considering UK grocery prices it might well be cheaper to travel. Dinner for two incl beer, tax and tip for 449 CZK? That's cheaper than cheap places in Seattle.

Was it cheaper in 2007? Maybe, I wasn't here, can't comment. Is it still miles better than travel options out of SEA or SFO? Yep.

(Cheapest SEA-SFO return is £113. SFO-SAN £107 return. Anywhere more unusual is pricier. LON-KEF is half the price of SEA-ANC. London-Split, £142 round trip, occasional £81 deal. SFO-HNL £290 round trip, London-Gran Canaria is £156 return, occasional £75 Norwegian deal, and it's not like Hawaii or LA or even the resorts in Mexico are particularly cheap. Well, I suppose it's cheaper to go to Vegas from SF.)

Re: On Interviewing as a Junior Dev

#67

Post by Yizahi »

Some thoughts about red flags in the article:

"Red Flag 3" is actually a simple fail of the recruiter (uncommon situation, need to thinks that +1 day is not enough etc.). This doesn't convey any information at all whether company is good or bad.

"Red Flag 4" is actually a Green Flag. F* open spaces! You are a developer, not a manager.

"Red Flag 5" also doesn't convey any useful information except that company has typical, average in the industry hiring process. This won't matter at all after I'll get hired.

Re: On Interviewing as a Junior Dev

#68

Post by throwaway9121 »

You'd have to be crazy to hire this person. Let's check the boxes.

✓ Post dripping with entitlement

✓ Arrogantly rejects companies for reasons such as being located an an unhip suburb

✓ Finds offense in almost anything that happens in an interview

✓ Degree in Ethnography

✓ 6 month feminist coding bootcamp

✓ 6 month failed internship

✓ Fluffed up github with virtually no actual code

The lines of code to sexual harassment lawsuits/internet shitstorms isn't going to be good with this one.

Re: On Interviewing as a Junior Dev

#69

Post by nandemo »

deciplex wrote: post #48
nandemo wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say it's US vs rest-of-the-world difference. I recently applied to a senior dev position at the Tokyo branch of a certain American company, which shall remain nameless. They pay 120~160k in the US. They offered me 60k.

I don't think you can lump Tokyo in with the rest of "not-the-US", really, because it's particularly bad here IMO, moreso than mostly anywhere else in the developed world. The market is shallow and the hiring managers are generally clueless. If you're a software developer, living in Japan is bad for your career and probably your health.

It could be so, but I doubt it. From talking to Europeans here, and reading about it on the net, after-tax salaries in most of Northern Europe and France are roughly on par with Japan, taking into account the differences in cost of living. Southern Europe is somewhat worse. Note that tax rates in Europe are considerably higher than in Japan. And rent in places like Paris and London is probably more expensive than Tokyo.

Developer salaries in Canada and Australia seem to be better, though they still aren't on par with the US.

Re: On Interviewing as a Junior Dev

#70

Post by philliphaydon »

uptownJimmy wrote: post #47
_RPM wrote: post #2

> I did a code challenge that involved ranking soccer teams, and while going over the code a developer at the company asked me if I needed the rules of the game explained to me. While it's a good thing to make sure the candidate understands what the problem is, companies need to be aware that these things carry extra cultural baggage and asking a female candidate if they understand a basic sports rule (or any other m…

I'm male and pretty athletic, and I would definitely need the rules of soccer explained to me. That game was not played where I grew up.

I played soccer as a kid a local team, and I would need the rules explained to me 15 years later...
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