3 ms·

[Disclaimer: I run http://InterviewKickstart.com http://InterviewKickstart.com. It's a hyper-focused bootcamp on coding interview prep] Probably one of the big

by soham 10y ago

[Disclaimer: I run http://InterviewKickstart.com http://InterviewKickstart.com. It's a hyper-focused bootcamp on coding interview prep] Probably one of the biggest mistakes developers make, is to treat coding interviews like they are standardized tests with a checklist of evaluation. They are not. They are like a date. The other person is judging whether they want to work with you, more than anything else. No matter how good you are, you won't get into a long-term relationship (date) if you don't confirm to the (technical and social) beliefs (and biases) of your interviewer (date). The reverse is also true viz. no matter how mediocre you are, you'll get in, if you do. So, do everything what the author says, but you'll progress faster if you keep your mindset grounded. See this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1WiCGq-PcY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1WiCGq-PcY

p4wnc6 10y ago
Are you suggesting that interviewers should try harder to conform to social beliefs of a company -- as a valid interview strategy? I'd instead suggest that it should never get to the point of an in-person interview unless both parties have already applied the necessary culture filters. Sure, you could get surprised at the on-site and then change your mind, but you're just wasting a ton of your own time if you either don't properly vet the important culture properties aheadof time, or else sublimate away your own culture standards because you believe you have to appear conformist in order to get the job. A good example would be open-plan offices. I have many friends in tech who deeply loathe the cognitive damage done to them by their employers forcing them to work in open-plan seating conditions. Yet they also are too afraid to either speak up or to reject employers who use open-plan seating, thus perpetuating open-plan dogma. My perspective is that if an employer feels I'm worth the investment to bring to the team, they must feel that trivial other things to accommodate what helps me work best are also worthwhile. If, instead, a company would reject me based on "culture fit" for these side issue accommodations, or would refuse to grant them and try to pressure me to work without them, then in either case I'm dodging a massive bullet by either rejecting them or letting them reject me. But one thing I should absolutely never do is to compromise on those issues (e.g. "no matter how good you are, you won't get into a long-term relationship ... if you don't conform"). If my goodness isn't enticing enough for them to not just make the offer but also think hard about what it would take for me to be happy with them and make it happen, then I'm simply better off staying away from them. As it happens, a lot of companies don't really care about the goodness of their employees. They just want warm bodies who will conform to the company line. I understand that represents most jobs. I'd like the future to be a world where that doesn't represent most jobs, so I boycott all such jobs, even if it means my search space is drastically reduced as a result. It's just too cognitively unhealthy to human minds otherwise.
- dimino 10y ago
  The answer that employers are thinking is you shouldn't try to get any particular job, but try to find the job that fits you best. At least in startups (The focus of this site), all the hiring advice is focused around finding folks who are passionate about your problem.
spyspy 10y ago
The hyper- prefix has become the new cyber-.

by soham 10y ago

p4wnc6 10y ago

Are you suggesting that interviewers should try harder to conform to social beliefs of a company -- as a valid interview strategy? I'd instead suggest that it should never get to the point of an in-person interview unless both parties have already applied the necessary culture filters. Sure, you could get surprised at the on-site and then change your mind, but you're just wasting a ton of your own time if you either don't properly vet the important culture properties aheadof time, or else sublimate away your own culture standards because you believe you have to appear conformist in order to get the job. A good example would be open-plan offices. I have many friends in tech who deeply loathe the cognitive damage done to them by their employers forcing them to work in open-plan seating conditions. Yet they also are too afraid to either speak up or to reject employers who use open-plan seating, thus perpetuating open-plan dogma. My perspective is that if an employer feels I'm worth the investment to bring to the team, they must feel that trivial other things to accommodate what helps me work best are also worthwhile. If, instead, a company would reject me based on "culture fit" for these side issue accommodations, or would refuse to grant them and try to pressure me to work without them, then in either case I'm dodging a massive bullet by either rejecting them or letting them reject me. But one thing I should absolutely never do is to compromise on those issues (e.g. "no matter how good you are, you won't get into a long-term relationship ... if you don't conform"). If my goodness isn't enticing enough for them to not just make the offer but also think hard about what it would take for me to be happy with them and make it happen, then I'm simply better off staying away from them. As it happens, a lot of companies don't really care about the goodness of their employees. They just want warm bodies who will conform to the company line. I understand that represents most jobs. I'd like the future to be a world where that doesn't represent most jobs, so I boycott all such jobs, even if it means my search space is drastically reduced as a result. It's just too cognitively unhealthy to human minds otherwise.

dimino 10y ago
The answer that employers are thinking is you shouldn't try to get any particular job, but try to find the job that fits you best. At least in startups (The focus of this site), all the hiring advice is focused around finding folks who are passionate about your problem.

spyspy 10y ago

The hyper- prefix has become the new cyber-.