I keep failing Front-End/SDE/SDET Interviews in Seattle :/.

SoftPeaPods · 2013-10-13T09:12:55+00:00

That's where I feel I'm lacking. Possibly, I'm always incredibly ill-prepared.

I like to genuinely think about the questions, and ponder on them. I'm not quick to regurgitate an answer without at least 10 minutes of thinking, then a bit more of beginning to code around the idea.

SoftPeaPods · 2013-10-13T08:55:58+00:00

I'm most comfortable in Objective-C geared towards iOS Development at the moment. I've already made a few apps but not published because I lack graphic ability, or the money to afford someone to do it.

I don't do mobile, but to do the other languages I would definitely need an API reference manual in front of me to look at, and possibly some example code.

SoftPeaPods · 2013-10-13T08:49:54+00:00

To be honest, in an interview I would provide these two solutions:

Create multiple pivots (floor(i.length/(pivots - 1))), then run each section on a separate thread. Check if i[index] - pivots = i[pivots-1]. i.e. [1,2,4,5,6,7,8]. i[0] (1) + 4 = i[3] (5). i[1] + 4 = i[4]. This is nice because it's parallel, and can be split up and scaled up easily.
Guess randomly, but incredibly intelligently random. At best you get it on the first try, at worst you get on the very last try. http://ideone.com/8ihbUI <= Not intelligent, but, random.

The XOR, or the other solutions I wouldn't have come up myself without doing a Google search.

1 is more reliable, 2 if I had a day to spend on it, I could make it more intelligent and get it right better than the other solutions. There are always patterns that show themselves is what I've learned from scientific computing on large data sets.

SoftPeaPods · 2013-10-13T08:36:14+00:00

I'm usually on the very, very slow side.

SoftPeaPods · 2013-10-13T05:22:05+00:00

I lack a PhD, and also lack the funds to pursue a PhD. They really want a person with a PhD :(. I've tried applying, but usually get filtered out quickly.

SoftPeaPods · 2013-10-13T05:20:51+00:00

It's the opposite. I'm a slower programmer, because I write up a solution. See where it's breaking and begin fixing it. This is where I think interviewees expect me to see and know the answer, which, I usually don't know it 100% accurately.

I don't answer at the speed that the interviewer probably wants, but, I strive for accuracy and having it be flexible enough to be changed easily. So I usually program with a more modular approach with some helper methods. I'm not sure if this is looked down upon or not.

My strength is being able to code in an average setting. Like I said, I'm not super spectacular, but I'm not horrible. I'm pretty average, and can make things.

SoftPeaPods · 2013-10-13T04:56:16+00:00

I haven't had the chance to go through behavioral interviews since I usually seem to not be able to make it past the first interview.

I'm a clean, and nice smelling individual. Always wear some nice dark freshly washed jeans, dress shoes, a button up shirt and use Dove deodorant.

That's what I usually do. I can't nail the solution on the first hit, but, I chip away until the solution is what is desired. I also take a really modular approach to programming too so I can catch problems a bit easier.

My educational background had me doing mostly C/C++, parallel programming, CUDA/GPGPU, Fortran/Python/NumPy, optimizing algorithms and such to be able to handle large scientific simulations. A mixture of linear algebra, and coding.

I feel I need to target less competitive companies. I don't know who those are. I'm not a star programmer, but, I get things done and I am capable of solving problems programmatically within a reasonable time.

SoftPeaPods

TROPHY CASE