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Tech Interview Torture Chamber

mattfriz.com

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Re: Tech Interview Torture Chamber

#91

Post by adrianggg »

dragonwriter wrote: post #76
adrianggg wrote: post #61

> Mildly ill; interminably coughs, sniffs, or sneezes YES! One of my pet peeves. The worst, doing a phone screen/interview with someone who sniffs constantly while you're trying to problem solve. There is a strong correlation between self awareness and intelligence, (I'd google for the white papers for those who will no doubt disagree). Anyone who chronically sniffs is not very smart and not someone I want to work cl…

This: > There is a strong correlation between self awareness and intelligence Does not support this: > Anyone who chronically sniffs is not very smart Chronic sniffing isn't necessarily (or even likely) a sign of a lack of self-awareness.

lol, ok

Re: Tech Interview Torture Chamber

#92

Post by sverige »

snake_plissken wrote: post #48

Heh I've been applying to some gigs recently and those job application pages! They can be infuriatinggggg. Oh, upload the resume that you just spent 2 hours tweaking and feel great about? Simple enough you think. No, a parser tries to extract all of the relevant information from the PDF and place it in the appropriate fields with about a -50% success rate. Now it looks like you've had 5 jobs in the past 5 years. Want…

I've actually gotten to the point where I just skip applying to jobs when I'm redirected to one of those portals. Fuck 'em. The only exception is when I think it's a company I really, really want to work for, and there aren't many of those any more.

Re: Tech Interview Torture Chamber

#93

Post by AnimalMuppet »

bit_logic wrote: post #44

As a senior engineer who already has a good job, here's how I've adapted to the stupid tech interview and plan on doing for future jobs: - Stay at my job longer and push for more raises/promotions. So far this has worked well. I may not get more in raw $ amount vs job hopping, but when risk adjusted (the risks of any new job such as bad manager, etc.) it's worked out ok so far. I think some job hopping is still good…

If you have a job with decent pay, sane management, and reasonably good co-workers, do not casually walk away from it. I've been too many places that didn't have one or more of those. All three in one place... well, think twice before leaving that.

Re: Tech Interview Torture Chamber

#94

Post by pinewurst »

CriticalSection wrote: post #11

Surprised I don't see my main pet peeve - early reference check. Before I even talk to anyone I'm asked to provide three phone numbers of three former managers. So I have to call them up, make sure the number is still working, and ask for the favor that they can give me a reference in case anyone reads my application. All of these other things are on me. References I have to call two or three (or at one company, six)…

Strongly agree with this - as someone else wrote, I respect my references' time (and patience) much more than my own in this situation. I've come to regard early reference checks as a "no go" and have broken off with potential employers over them.

Re: Tech Interview Torture Chamber

#95

Post by flukus »

snake_plissken wrote: post #48

Heh I've been applying to some gigs recently and those job application pages! They can be infuriatinggggg. Oh, upload the resume that you just spent 2 hours tweaking and feel great about? Simple enough you think. No, a parser tries to extract all of the relevant information from the PDF and place it in the appropriate fields with about a -50% success rate. Now it looks like you've had 5 jobs in the past 5 years. Want…

I think most of these start out as as management having to justify sharepoint licenses. I wonder how many of the "can't find qualified people" companies are doing this? It's amazing the steps some employers will take to limit the employee pool.

Re: Tech Interview Torture Chamber

#96

Post by mastratton3 »

palakchokshi wrote: post #26

The one I love is when they ask questions that are completely unrelated to what the position is for. e.g. I applied to a startup company that sold used cars online for a senior web dev position. Their junior dev asked me about a maze solving algorithm. I knew the VP of engineering through one of my contacts and sent him an email asking him how a maze solving algorithm relates to web development. To his credit the VP…

I agree with this mostly, but I've also heard that algorithms questions can be a good proxy for actual software engineering skills. I've never validated this claim but I'm curious if anyone has any research on either side of the argument.

Re: Tech Interview Torture Chamber

#97

Post by JustSomeNobody »

CriticalSection wrote: post #11

Surprised I don't see my main pet peeve - early reference check. Before I even talk to anyone I'm asked to provide three phone numbers of three former managers. So I have to call them up, make sure the number is still working, and ask for the favor that they can give me a reference in case anyone reads my application. All of these other things are on me. References I have to call two or three (or at one company, six)…

For me, these are weed outs. I use behavior like this to weed out the companies I am willing to work for.

Re: Tech Interview Torture Chamber

#98

Post by flukus »

sverige wrote: post #92
snake_plissken wrote: post #48

Heh I've been applying to some gigs recently and those job application pages! They can be infuriatinggggg. Oh, upload the resume that you just spent 2 hours tweaking and feel great about? Simple enough you think. No, a parser tries to extract all of the relevant information from the PDF and place it in the appropriate fields with about a -50% success rate. Now it looks like you've had 5 jobs in the past 5 years. Want…

I've actually gotten to the point where I just skip applying to jobs when I'm redirected to one of those portals. Fuck 'em. The only exception is when I think it's a company I really, really want to work for, and there aren't many of those any more.

And most of those companies tend to not have shitty portals like this.

Re: Tech Interview Torture Chamber

#99

Post by sverige »

johnnyb9 wrote: post #87

I once had to do a take home project... the spec said I could write either a console application or a GUI. Fast forward to the in person meeting, they go through my solution and nitpick random things like "why use NuGet packages" or "why no test cases" (I had written them but they got mysteriously removed from the solution). Finally the CTO speaks up and asked why I didn't write a GUI, as many other candidates had (m…

I think that situation calls for the candidate to preemptively make the decision that it's not a good fit. Who wants to work for a place that is obviously willing to waste your time and then insult you for it?
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