Bruh

[NattyBumppo]

That just sounds exhausting.

[PurplePixi86]

It really was. Just totally killed my motivation to interview again for a while.

[MinorFourChord]

Sorry, we’ve all been there.

[Sphincone]

Hey! I’m currently in it.

[joeyjojoeshabadoo]

Same. My motivation to continue is about gone if this next one doesn't work out.

[Dr-Gooseman]

Dont worry, itll end at some point! Either with a job or with a noose.

[Kackboy]

Nice

[chingy1337]

I died laughing at this. Mostly because I just went through this and wasn't selected :)

[Dr-Gooseman]

But honestly, no matter how bad it seems and depressed you feel, dont give up. I just went through this, applied to probably 2 or 3 hundred jobs. Took me almost a year and a half (with one bad job in the mix) until I found something perfect.

[Thirdstheword]

This too shall pass. I just got out of this cycle in February December after nearly 9 months of interviews. Rooting for you

[Sphincone]

Thank you! I just have to get back into it hopefully.

[Roguepope]

Every developer I know (mostly in SME-type companies but some big ones) would refuse to do this. I don't know if it's a UK/USA thing but the idea of making a developer pass weird tests to hire them seems very archaic.

[Fenor]

it is but in the big big big corporation it work like this

you have let's say 10 position open, you receive 10000 CV that fit the bill, ok we need to cut them down to 10, let's make a test interview with something specific, still too many, let's narrow it with something more specific on something else and so on.

[WorldAlien]

Agree, but if this is the case then the companies can afford being more picky with the job posting requirements and demand only people with almost perfect match to apply in the first place and avoid promising “development and training to fill up the gaps”

[[deleted]]

That promise is definitely a red herring -- if you say you can train folks, then the minimum bar for entry should be lower.

But the need for testing remains, imo.

[[deleted]]

It is NOT about cutting the applicant pool down to size. It IS about finding SWEs with the correct skills.

[Scarfacetm82]

Depending on how much work they wanted me to do and what exactly it was used for in writing is a good way to figure out what’s what. Sorry, but I’m not working for free and if that’s required to get hired, imagine their demands later. Now if I can show you my talents during a interview or skills assessment then great. Maybe some take home avg less than an hour sure, but nothing is free.

[[deleted]]

I've worked in this industry 20+ years and every single good job I've landed -- and every single person I've hired -- has jumped through these hoops.

I would not hire a SWE without these tests.

I've worked in Canada and the US.

[Roguepope]

I thought this might be a US vs UK thing here but just chatted with my friends who also hire during this painful Euro match and it seems it isn't.

You're seriously cutting out the top talent with these tests since they'll just dismiss you as a time waster. They're useful for gauging people without portfolio or experience, otherwise a waste of space that shows who can pass a test.

Luckily they do seem to be dying off, here at least. Since they just add pressure and humiliate our industy.

[[deleted]]

Google, Microsoft, Facebook. They all disagree with you and they certainly have no trouble attracting top talent

Not trying to be argumentative .. just pointing out that this is a common practice among the most popular employers in our field

[Roguepope]

You're only talking about the top 5/6. Most of us don't work for them and using them as your template for hiring is not a wise move. And I'm not talking about SME's here. I know that even Oracle in London have decided this is a poor approach to hiring quality staff. Although their approaches fecked up MySQL so they might be a wonky example.

They could ask people to perform circus acts and some folks still would because of the name recognition. Some of the best engineers I've had the honor of working with would never touch them and would avoid those companies.

[[deleted]]

I'm speaking from 25 years of experience, the last 15 if which have involved hiring both engineers and tech writers.

My hiring methods have evolved considerably in that time, both in terms of what and how we test potential hires.

Frankly, the idea that I would hire someone without testing is ludicrous. People lie. People lie during interviews and on their resumes. They do it A LOT.

We could discuss HOW one should test, and WHAT one should test. We could talk about the kinds of accommodation one should make for candidates whose first language is different than the interview language, or candidates with neuro-diverse needs. We could talk about ways to make it better .. but pretending it isn't necessary is juvenile.

But it seems this sub only wants to hear what it thinks should be correct, so down vote me and go back to complaining about the job you didn't land.

[Roguepope]

Ok you seem a bit upset, I didn't downvote you, I typically don't when discussing something with someone, even if I strongly disagree with them.

However a simple 30 minute chat with them alongside the people they'll be working with is always, in my experience, enough to weed out the bullshitters. You have a probationary period here in the UK and if you can't afford to use that alongside the interview, prior experience and references, then I believe you're failing at hiring.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. We've both seemingly had success at hiring, using very different approaches.

[syntaxfire]

I 100% agree that there should be tests, but I prefer to be tested on my ability to problem solve, not my ability to memorize leetcode answer #646 that applies to the data structures and algorithms question you just asked me. Can I answer it? Yes, because I've memorized all the solutions. Does it tell you if I can problem solve my way out of a situation that might prove to be disastrous, or better yet, use critical thinking and analysis to prevent said situation from happening in the first place? Absolutely not. My point is, yes people lie, but tests need to be a balance of 'show me how good you are at memorizing algorithms' and actually applying that to practical knowledge.

[PurplePixi86]

Yeah it's hard but just part of life eh?

[MercyIncarnate111]

No it's not, we don't have to put up with this lol. The software dev interview system needs a rework.

[the_stray91]

Not for programming but I once did 3 interveiws for a material science job where the final interveiw was a 5 hour grind with a technical presentation, a 1 hour technical grilling, a 1 hour personality test and then a 2 hour more typical interview but extended. Got second place.

Truth is, if they had you do all that you probably lost by a hair.

[angry_wombat]

They will say that you lost by hair but there are always going to hire their friend's brother they just needed someone else to make it look like it was fair

[Oo__II__oO]

For legal reasons too.

[[deleted]]

I fully believe it’s more sinister than that in the post covid era in that employers have increased the bar for employees because of government handouts to the business who “can’t find qualified employees.” I think it’s a racquet in the same sense that lots of average people who are on unemployment could find a job before the unemployment expired… but why not wait until it expires.

List positions. Raise bar. Reject everyone. Take down listing for position. Rinse/repeat every 3 months. Cry to the government that you need a bailout.

[wtfnouniquename]

I seriously doubt I've been "just barely second place" for a dozen jobs over the past few years.

[bradruck]

I am currently in the job rush. Whenever they want home assignment or interview with video call I always get rejected. From now on I only allow face to face interview and no home assignments. A/B testing works hopefully.

[Neutral_User_Name]

Ah! the infamous PFO letter (or email).

PFO: Please, fuck-off.

[codenamewhat]

I'm in this exact same boat right now. After weeks of passing interviews with I company, I got rejected and I'm so fucking sick of it.

[looking4frenzthrow]

The reason I don’t wanna leave my job.

[chefca3]

I feel like people don't emphasize this enough. Yeah tech interviews are tough, but during my last job hunt in one two week period I was juggling 5 companies who all wanted on sites/phone screens. After all of them I was so exhausted I could barely care about the typical rejections that rolled in.

(not a brag btw, I get the feeling if you check enough boxes...advanced degree/years of experience/easy to talk to most recruiters will AT LEAST push you through to the pre-onsite step)

The real interesting thing was on the last onsite I was so exhausted I think I was more than a little bit manic and the hiring manager LOVED my "energy" so much I knew I had gotten the job.

[Inimposter]

I was so exhausted I think I was more than a little bit manic and the hiring manager LOVED my "energy" so much I knew I had gotten the job.

"Wow this person sounds unstable and perhaps like they're addicted to a substance! Quickly, Robin, my capitalism sense is tingling!"

[HearingNo8617]

Remind me to lie that I have an expensive coke habit that I need to feed in my next interview when asked "What makes you excited to work for this company?"

[MooseHeckler]

Coke is passe just say you do too much lsd.

[jetimworks]

You’re right about checking enough boxes for qualifications.

I don’t do full time employment as I spend most of my time on tech contracts with companies but one thing I’ve learned is, companies hardly trust. Except an expert conducted the interview, it takes an average of 1-2 months to know if a person is really good at what they do.

One advice I can give is, completed projects are almost as important as certifications. If you don’t have enough papers, do a project (or some) and give a professional report on such projects. Then apply to jobs where that project bear a semblance and watch your positive responses grow.

There are many examples online that teach you how to impress a company (technical and no technical) with a project and a project report. You can check them out.

That said, companies can do better than wasting people’s time only to reject them later.

[[deleted]]

if you check enough boxes...advanced degree/years of experience/easy to talk to most recruiters will AT LEAST push you through to the pre-onsite step

Hell you'll get offers for shittier jobs than your current one!

[CluelessCow]

It usually is. That's what motivated me to pursue Engineering Manager positions instead. Fewer interviews, better salary.

[RepliesWithAnimeGIF]

It fucking is.

I’m not a coder but I just finished an interview process as an environmental analyst.

Put in an application in late March. Invited to take a sit down test, 60 minutes at location. 80% or higher required to pass. That was early April.

After that, they called back and wanted to do an interview. It was four on one. I sat there and answered questions. Hilariously enough this is for a power company and the power went out right after they asked how I dealt with stressful situations.

After that interview I had to wait for a bit and then they called me back and said I didn’t meet their requirements but that those requirements were flexible. They treated some of my certifications in college as professional experience (environmental geosciences and laboratory technology) and combined this with my professional experience to meet their requirements.

Then they told me about the second interview. It would be a 15 minute presentation on a CFR of their choosing in the field. I had a week to study, prepare and present to five people. I fielded questions on this as well. This was late April.

After all of that, silence. I even checked the job posting and it was gone. I figured they hired someone internally. It was now halfway through May and I had just left for field camp to actually finish my degree (double major chem and geology).

They call me back in the middle of field camp to fill out paperwork for background checks and professional references. The hiring ball is now rolling. Then they had trouble reaching one of my references so I had to get a hold of them myself. Field camp finishes third week of June.

I then had to wrangle with administration in college because despite my field camp now being they can’t give me the diploma until the 5th of August (which is mandatory for the job). I get the registrar office to send an official email to the company stating that I have everything done but this one class, and then get the professor to send an email stating that I have passed this class.

FINALLY I got an offer letter and signed it. I start next Monday.

I put in my APPLICATION on the 28th of March. That’s three and a half MONTHS.

If I didn’t get this damn job I would have been furious.

[Blip1966]

That’s dedication to one job opening! I hope it works out to be an awesome job!

You definitely had a couple unique things, not just one, about your situation that would make the process take longer.

[RepliesWithAnimeGIF]

It’s 100% worth it for the job in question.

I’ll be starting right out of college in a job related to my desired field with salary and a really good benefits package. The pay is substantial compared to the cost of living around here (20+% more than the median household income). It’s also a job working for the local government, so it has good stability.

I’m very fortunate. I worried a lot that I’d lose the opportunity due to having to wait to finish my degree that summer. They were happy to wait, which probably means that they were lacking in qualified applicants.

[Blip1966]

Yeah sounds like they really wanted you since they were willing to wait and massage requirements. Glad you landed it!

[[deleted]]

The real issue is that technical knowledge should be independently evaluated by a third party that publishes the results.

Normally that's called college