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Hired – Technical Interview Score

refdash.com

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Re: Hired – Technical Interview Score

#71

Post by auxym »

mkozlows wrote: post #46
bit_logic wrote: post #24

Have we reached the tipping point yet? How much worse does the technical interview process need to get before the industry finally decides enough is enough? When this all began, it was with the justification that it's not about getting the right answer, it's about seeing how you think and approach a problem. Companies don't even pretend this is the case anymore. It's now just expected rote memorization of algorithm p…

Memorization? It's a factorial function. You shouldn't need to study or memorize anything to implement a factorial function. If you can't come up with this algorithm off the top of your head, that is legit telling something about your problem-solving ability.

I'd still ask for the definition of factorial.

Sure, for various reasons, most programmers know the factorial, but I'd consider remembering the definition of some mathematical operation only common in certain domains (statistics and finance?), that most people only learn in high school and never use again, to be rote memorization.

Re: Hired – Technical Interview Score

#72

Post by dominotw »

blktiger wrote: post #19
alexandercrohde wrote: post #3

I don't know what to make of this. Looks like a potential headache. As an engineer in an interview, we never get told what we're being scored on in advance (naming, speed, coming up with wonky edge-cases, scalability to 1million times workload, versatility, mentioning a bunch of relevant buzzwords (bloom filters!), confidence?). This is one reason why most interviewing is a subjective clusterfuck (not just software,…

To be fair, I'd reject Linus. I wouldn't want to work with someone like him even if he is a well known programmer with leading a well known open source project very successfully. I don't think he'd make a good cultural fit at most of the places I've worked.

I think you missed the point.

Re: Hired – Technical Interview Score

#73

Post by megy »

alexandercrohde wrote: post #3

I don't know what to make of this. Looks like a potential headache. As an engineer in an interview, we never get told what we're being scored on in advance (naming, speed, coming up with wonky edge-cases, scalability to 1million times workload, versatility, mentioning a bunch of relevant buzzwords (bloom filters!), confidence?). This is one reason why most interviewing is a subjective clusterfuck (not just software,…

> This is one reason why most interviewing is a subjective clusterfuck (not just software, I suspect).

This is the thing, all OTHER interviewing doesn't do this, they do it by talking to the candidates. Damn, I am going to get out of development.

Re: Hired – Technical Interview Score

#74

Post by kearneyandy »

CobrastanJorji wrote: post #42

What degree of control do I have over the sharing of my interview score? If I sign up for an interview with Refdash and get an outcome of "1.0/4, do not hire," is that information going to be sent to every employer Refdash works with? Individual interview results for a single candidate vary wildly from day to day. I wouldn't want one bad day to sink my chances with a large number of companies at once; I'd much rather…

The interview data is only ever shown anonymously to companies, even if you apply to a company with it. Only when the candidate and company agree to do an onsite are names revealed.

Basically it's a good chance to practice and get feedback in the worst case, and a way to save some time and get your foot in the door in the best case.

disclaimer: I work for refdash

Re: Hired – Technical Interview Score

#75

Post by kearneyandy »

Just for some context about this document, this is a fake interview with fake interview feedback.

It is meant to highlight some of the criteria which Refdash uses to evaluate candidates and how companies and candidates can expect to receive that feedback.

disclaimer: I work for Refdash

Re: Hired – Technical Interview Score

#76

Post by kearneyandy »

pvelagal wrote: post #13

I am really curious to know why there are businesses such as hired.com build around "interview" tools that rate software engineers only ? What tools are available to evaluate other professions : 1) Doctors ? 2) Engineers from other disciplines such as Chemical engineers, mechanical, civil , electrical engineers ? 3) Lawyers ? 4) VPs / CEOs 5) Financial analysts ?

The biggest thing is that there is more money in evaluating software engineers. There's higher demand than most other professions, so companies will pay more.

I have limited information about interviews for other industries, but other fields are often not evaluated in the same way. Lawyers do not have a mock trial as part of an interview, so tools for some industries would likely just be a video chat.

Also, as a minor correction this tool is Refdash.

Re: Hired – Technical Interview Score

#77

Post by auxym »

ng12 wrote: post #43
sidlls wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why I get a laugh out of developers who think tech has a meritocratic hiring process. The majority of real engineering (I've come to the conclusion that most of software development in the context you would identify with isn't engineering except inasmuch as the Orks in Warhammer are engaged in the practice) doesn't grill candidates to solve math or engineering trivia on a white board in 45 minutes or less.

Please, do tell what lofty work you do that deserves the holy moniker of engineering.

I'm not trying to make a point (namely, that programming isn't engineering) here, but for kicks, here's something I was told by an experienced (mechanical) engineer when I obtained my engineering license after 3 years experience as a junior engineer (aka Engineer In Training in a lot of jurisdictions):

"The only difference now is that you'll constantly have an ethical and deontological loop running in your head."

As an licensed Engineer (once again, PE in most jurisdictions, Quebec just can't agree on using the same terms as everyone else), you have an ethical, deontological and legal obligation to ensure that your work conforms to the "state of the art". You constantly have to think about the consequences of your work on everyone downstream, from workers on the shop floor, to the final customers, maintenance workers, etc.

It's not so much about the actual work (many drafters, technologists, etc could often do something an engineer has done), but about the profound care that went into making sure it was right.

Re: Hired – Technical Interview Score

#78

Post by [deleted] »

throw401 wrote: post #55

The company I work for has turned into an Agile church. My productivity dropped with more than 50%. Most of my colleagues have left already, now I'm stuck with Agile masters, coaches and all the misery they come up with. I know I need to look for a new job, but I hate the hiring process sooooo much that I keep procrastinating. I'm a senior full-stack, have written loads of production software over 20 years of experie…

[deleted]

Re: Hired – Technical Interview Score

#79

Post by CobrastanJorji »

kearneyandy wrote: post #74
CobrastanJorji wrote: post #42

What degree of control do I have over the sharing of my interview score? If I sign up for an interview with Refdash and get an outcome of "1.0/4, do not hire," is that information going to be sent to every employer Refdash works with? Individual interview results for a single candidate vary wildly from day to day. I wouldn't want one bad day to sink my chances with a large number of companies at once; I'd much rather…

The interview data is only ever shown anonymously to companies, even if you apply to a company with it. Only when the candidate and company agree to do an onsite are names revealed. Basically it's a good chance to practice and get feedback in the worst case, and a way to save some time and get your foot in the door in the best case. disclaimer: I work for refdash

Could I ask you to add that to your FAQ? Knowing that the information is anonymous would be super great.

It'd be even better if I could TAKE the interview anonymously. Then I wouldn't need to trust Refdash on whether it was recording my information. Bonus: it's much easier to limit bias when you don't know any demographic information about the interviewee.

I understand that the downside here is that I could potentially take the interview many times until I generated a positive result. But maybe there's a happy middle ground somewhere.

Re: Hired – Technical Interview Score

#80

Post by pseudonom- »

megy wrote: post #73
alexandercrohde wrote: post #3

I don't know what to make of this. Looks like a potential headache. As an engineer in an interview, we never get told what we're being scored on in advance (naming, speed, coming up with wonky edge-cases, scalability to 1million times workload, versatility, mentioning a bunch of relevant buzzwords (bloom filters!), confidence?). This is one reason why most interviewing is a subjective clusterfuck (not just software,…

> This is one reason why most interviewing is a subjective clusterfuck (not just software, I suspect). This is the thing, all OTHER interviewing doesn't do this, they do it by talking to the candidates. Damn, I am going to get out of development.

FYI, most evidence suggests unstructured interviews (talking to the candidates) have very low predictive power about job performance and that work sample tests (take home problems and on-site coding) fare much better in that regard.
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