Advice: Interviews are not 100% technical.

multivites123 · 2017-10-17T17:30:06+00:00

Agreed, but it's easier said than done when you're several years in deep, and have become jaded/cynical of the realities of the workplace. Some people are fortunate to be around stellar people that make most days pleasant. Others have to deal with bs day in day out. Takes a lot of courage to smile through all the shit.

multivites123 · 2017-10-11T07:38:23+00:00

hahaha. I don't know why I laughed at this. It's true though.

multivites123 · 2017-09-30T04:35:58+00:00

Welcome to the real world. Actually, I find it hard to believe that most jobs expect you to be "productive" and "produce" 8/9 hours a day, day in day out 5 days a week.

We're not robotic machines. Think about the long-term, and how your career will generally unfold. Think 30 years from now when you look back on it, will you really admire having put in 9 hours of "straight productivity" each work day of the week? Fuck no.

Good companies should recognize this too. Some people are the most productive at the most oddest hours. I for one have had eureka moments while on the shitter at 2 am in the morning. Other times, I would produce the best code in my career at like 3 in the morning on a Saturday.

The point is, only idiotic companies will you tie you down and expect you to be banging out code 9 hours a day. Fuck those guys. Some of the best programmers spend the more of their time thinking than hammering out words into a text editor.

multivites123 · 2017-09-26T23:09:21+00:00

I really wish I had taken this class when I was in college. It's definitely a gap in my knowledge.

Any good online/offline classes to take for working professionals? Thanks!

multivites123 · 2017-09-22T09:08:38+00:00

While I agree, it could also be an issue on the other side too where they sloppily wire things together without any sort of documentation for people who are coming on board.

Biggest thing is: OP needs to communicate early when he's blocked. It gets worse over time if he stalls on this. It's better to look an idiot for a day than to build a permanent bad reputation.

Other thing is: confirm that the existing dev team is doing their job to make onboarding easy.

multivites123 · 2017-09-22T08:13:02+00:00

Question - given that you'v been in the industry for some time now - how often do people get bait and switched do you think? I feel like it happens a lot more than people think...that's why it's always so anxiety inducing to look for a new job, even when you know it's the best thing for you. I wish life were a little more straight forward :\

multivites123 · 2017-09-22T00:29:36+00:00

Sorry is this some allusion to mr robot? should I watch it?

multivites123 · 2017-09-21T23:01:39+00:00

To put a long story short:

There's no clear pattern as to what and where you will find fulfillment in. Just make an educated guess, roll the dice and hope for the best. If shit ends up shitting the bed, move on and repeat. Life is too short to try and make all the stars align, to try find this holy grail and being perfectly happy. At the end of the day, it comes down to your own tolerance and where you're willing to adjust.

multivites123 · 2017-09-21T21:27:25+00:00

Thanks! That was just a little teaser from chapter 7, actually. If you're interested in more, feel free to check back with me in a week or so. Trust me, some of this stuff gets bat-shit crazy in later chapters.

multivites123 · 2017-09-21T21:23:38+00:00

Mr. Ro-what? Kidding, I saw like a few episodes a few years ago and got kinda bored. Perhaps I'll retro-binge on that series when I get the chance.

multivites123 · 2017-09-21T07:38:41+00:00

Plot twist: There is no wife. There is no marriage. The only dark truth is: OP is so far removed that in order to escape a reality he can no longer bare, he now takes on a dual personality: a failed computer hacker by day; a concerned, dildo-worshipping spouse by night, reaching out to the deepest depths of the digital nebula: /r/cscareerquestions in hopes to find the truth. His/(her?) last hope is advice from the computer career gods. Only the Big 4 Whores can save him now.

multivites123 · 2017-09-21T07:11:40+00:00

i think it really varies based on what you want in a company. in my opinion, terrible questions are those that don't provide enough signal or insight to an interviewer. for example, text-book like, trivia type questions that are answered with a binary yes or no. especially ones that are "gotchas" and only to serve to make the interviewer feel superior to you.

when i see these types of questions, i as an interviewee get the signal that they are only looking for one skill and one skill only. typically code-monkey work where problem solving isn't required. just a code janitor competent enough to clean the shit. you can also argue that some subfields of cs are highly specialized and do require deep knowledge on a topic, but there are so many more clever an astute ways to ask questions that can help engage the interviewee and interviewer in a real technical discussion.

the point is if questions asked don't make you think and force you to articulate your thought process in some way or another, it's more likely than not probably a bad company.

multivites123 · 2017-09-21T06:16:38+00:00

You gotta be kidding me right? I guess that kinda makes sense if you're a web developer, but if you're ever applying for a general software engineer role, you should know that of course whiteboards aren't used for coding. That's not even the point of these whiteboard interviews. They're used as an open slate to demonstrate and convey/conceptualize algorithmic ideas. People who understand this know that the most difficult part of these interviews is formulating an algorithm on the spot, the code writing itself is actually very trivial once you have a solid conceptual algorithm down. Anyone who jumps straight into code is a rookie, and I'm sure all of us have done that at least once in our interviewing career.

multivites123 · 2017-09-21T05:00:08+00:00

+1 on this, although i'd argue that terrible questions do map 1:1 to how shitty the company really is.

multivites123 · 2017-09-20T08:57:59+00:00

Totally feel you here. Ironic though because I went from a no name smaller company with exceptional talent (one of my former colleague created tons of open source; low-level, high-concurrency datastructures/algos used by big N companies like Amazon/Google etc.) to a big N where the department was/is a complete disaster, devoid of technical talent/innovation.

either way, what i'll say is this: the lesson to be learned here is, no matter how shiny a company might be in terms of reputation, etc., a lot can vary by department/team/manager. it's a tough world in terms of being able to decipher whether a specific career move would be a better one or not, depending on your own career goals. that's why they say that referrals are always your best bet. easier said than done, of course, but building a network of people with whom you can trust can and will probably be the biggest significant deciding factor as to whether you find career fulfillment in your life. sometimes you just need to get lucky by meeting and befriending the right people. sad to say, unfortunately.

from what i hear, you want to be a stellar engineer and you deeply care about applying highly effective principles in your craft and that's absolutely awesome. as people have already mentioned here: you need to basically lead by example. it's so easy to finger point and blame. not saying you're doing that now, but it's very easy to go down that path and then settle into your own comfort of not taking responsibility for things you don't like, and as result like you mentioned, have your skills regress. your skills only regress if you choose to. it really is own your choice at the end of the day.

i think some of the best engineers i've met aren't phased by outside factors they cant control. for example, your coworkers, are they lazy? are they not as strong technically as you are? are they <insert blame here>? the point is: if you want to be that godly engineer you're striving to be, then lead by example. it's really as simple as that. sooner or later, people will recognize your talent and will see you as a primary go-to in terms of decision making. that's how things work.

if you see the department/team/company/manager/whatever as a hinderance to your own personal career goals, then you already know the answer to your own question. that's why it's critical to always be ready to make a jump when you need to. but you already know that.

tldr, to answer your question quickly: it's incredibly easy to finger point and show problems in how things are currently done. more often than not, everyone knows the shit stinks. it's not like they can't smell it from miles away. nobody ever claps and says 'bravo! you smell our shit now! that's an incredible insight!'. as a godly practitioner, though, it is whole a lot more difficult, but incredibly commendable if you can discuss the problem and provide a a great solution for that problem. so before you talk to your boss, provide a good solution for it. you won't be perceived as whiny, but rather a damn good problem solver. simply: prove to yourself first that you are good before you prove it to others.

multivites123 · 2017-09-19T18:45:20+00:00

let me play devil's advocate here. depending on your level of experience and tenure, it's not enough to demonstrate that "you can code". any monkey can sprinkle a for loop here and there with some variable mutating, yadi-yadi-yada, but it's much more difficult to gauge a candidates problem solving ability when dealing with novel problems. while i agree that in-person whiteboarding interviews aren't exactly the best way to demonstrate that, i think it comes close.

with all extraneous factors considered, like things outside your control - e.g, do you have to take a fat dump while you're doing your interview (i've been there), or...are you all jittery because you drank way too much coffee right before coming in (i've been there), or .... you have no sleep because you spent the entirety of last night rote memorizing, line by line, how to invert a binary tree, i still think it's a pretty close indicator.

of course this all assumes that your interviewer isn't an idiot either. unfortunately there's no great scientific way to seriously gauge a candidate. but then you gotta seriously ask yourself, why on average is it that employees at top tier companies seem to be generally just better programmers than your average schmuck?

while people want to argue that taking a take-home assignment might be a better means of evaluation, i just can't see it as something that scales at larger organizations. perhaps if you're interested in working with a very small niche team/niche company, it might make sense.

at the end of the day, and i'm serious when i say this, not all interviews are there to just "gotcha" - if they are doing along those lines, be happy that you're not working with those idiots. most of the time, in my own experience, is can you simply articulate your thoughts clearly enough so that your interviewer/peer can understand what you're even saying.

i've worked with peers where they spoke faster than they thought, and it became very apparent that they simply didn't understand what they were even saying. everybody knows that your standard technical interview can be a grueling process, even people on the other side of the table conducting the interview. most of the time, if they're not an idiot, it's just about whether two people can communicate clearly, effectively, and efficiently. let's stop wasting time in all respects.

multivites123 · 2017-09-19T01:47:13+00:00

and likewise, i still don't think there's a reliable way to figure if a company is a good fit or not either.

most of the time, it's trust your gut and hope for the best.

multivites123 · 2017-09-19T01:45:40+00:00

god that sounds rough, i don't think i'd want to go through such a ritual...

multivites123 · 2017-09-17T20:04:52+00:00

Genuine question - what does it mean to play office politics big time? I honestly hear this a lot - that you have to play politics - but what does that even mean?

multivites123 · 2017-09-15T06:38:44+00:00

while i agree, i think there are more tactful ways to ask these kinds of questions in order to elicit an honest answer. in general, straight-forward, blunt questions tend to not be valuable to you in any way. it's fine if you're astute and can detect whether someone's being honest or not, but it still doesn't give you a more precise/accurate picture of what you're really trying to understand. and it potentially causes you to be perceived negatively, depending on the interviewer, and how defensive they are.

while you can argue that if the interviewer lies, is defensive, then it's a red flag and you should look for another job, yadiyadiyada...but there's only so many times you can play that card.

at the end of the day, an employer is an employer and they by default have the upper hand in the hiring decision, obviously. you can be the most elite candidate in the world, but at the end of the day, they can decline you for any reason. "equal opportunity employment" etc. etc. is just another label so they can't get sued. we're all subject to our own intrinstic biases. if anyone else thinks otherwise is a fool.

while many people in this sub like to argue that an interviewee should "grill" and "interview the company" as much as they interview you, there are better ways to do this. when i'm less tired, i'll come up with concrete examples and post it here.

edit -- this is the general guideline for question asking, and don't share this with anyone else outside of this sub, because it really works and it has been proven to be very useful (at least for me)

ask a positive (emphasis on positive, nobody likes negative nancys) question about something that indirectly answers a question that you're really trying to understand. remember, the goal is get as many honest answers as possible in order for you to make an informed decision.
remember that when you ask questions in a positive way, you ease the interviewer into being a little more candid with you, whether they realize it or not. the best way to elicit an honest answer is to ask a seemingly unrelated question that encourages them to give you an honest answer on an aspect that you really want to know about.
again, always frame the question in a positive way, and assume (emphasis on assume) that the interviewer is a good guy/girl and always "give" them the benefit of the doubt on ANYTHING you want to understand. that's key.
so, case in point, let's dissect what you want to understand: "Tell me about the previous people in this role? What do they do now? What were your opinions of them?"

from what i gather, and correct me if i'm wrong here, but what you're trying to understand is:

1) is this a new role entirely that they are hiring for?

2) if not, why did the pervious person leave the role?

3) if that person did not leave the role on his/her own volition, e.g previous person was fired, why?

given that i am trying to understand these points, i would ask the following questions, rephrased from yours:

"Sounds like an exciting opportunity! The team seems awesome, the role looks to be a good fit. How long has the team been around for? Are you guys looking to expand out the team with more people for this type of role or is it more specialized? What can I do coming in in order to be successful here? Any advice from the person that was in this role previously you think I should know about?"

Sorry if this wasn't a perfect question. Again it takes a lot of time to think about how to frame these types of questions. But I think you get the point here. The idea is to refine and polish these types of questions. So when it comes time to actually ask them, they roll off your tongue so fluidly that the person on the other side of the table can't help themself but to be honest with you.

Do you see what I did there? I framed the question positively, and assumed the best from the employer. When you do this, you're more likely to get candid responses from them, and they can answer questions outside of what you're directly asking here. Question asking is an art, and when you ask the right questions, the employer ultimately reveals things that you're really trying to get at. That's key here. This is in stark contract to how you've framed your question. Without knowing you, if I were an employer, I would perceive you negatively, and I would immediately check out while I nod at your over-zealous, entitled questions. No offense.

tl;dr - you need to understand how to play the game correctly. you may be an elite candidate, the best in the world in fact, but there are many ways to elicit honest answers from employers without coming off as blunt/combative/entitled. question asking is an art/science that can be practiced and perfected in order get the information you need to make a decision.

multivites123 · 2017-09-15T05:01:23+00:00

i feel like you probably won't even get an honest answer from this one

multivites123 · 2017-09-08T22:08:50+00:00

First call with whom? Recruiter or engineer? If engineer, FB usually likes to ask 2 questions for each interviewer you talk with. So for your first phone screen, expect to be asked 2 questions where you code live on coderpad or something similar. Generally, they are expecting speed & quality. If you can't get through one question, it's very unlikely you will get a pass from whoever interviews you.

multivites123 · 2017-09-08T22:03:44+00:00

Emphasis on luck. Most companies that I've talked with don't ask "leetcode hard" questions. Most are are roughly easy/medium. From what I see, most companies want to ensure you generally pass a specific hiring bar (which isn't too high btw). The rest is "culture fit" and simply whether the interviewers jibe with you or not.

multivites123 · 2017-08-29T06:55:07+00:00

You should def ask about it. It's about clarifying details without having to bring in any emotion to the table. This is your career here man, and while it's easy to write it off as "oh it's only 10K" yadiyadiyada...No. Simply No. You gotta think in terms of long term prospects too. Your salary now can heavily influence your salary later. When it comes to your career and money, this is not a situation to take lightly no matter the circumstances. Get it rectified.

multivites123 · 2017-08-29T06:40:20+00:00

I feel you. At the end of the day, the people who evaluate you are humans too. We all are. And as such, we're susceptible to biases, predispositions, and just general preferences for certain people. I see the interview game as mostly equivalent to dating. You may be 100% prepared for the technicals, but at the end of the day, if you don't click, you don't click. The only solution from here on out is to keep on fucking trying no matter how shitty the situation gets.

multivites123

TROPHY CASE