4 ms·

I'd guess as an alternative to the "demeaning" HackerRank style tests which are purely meritocratic and allow smaller companies to interview large amounts of pe

I'd guess as an alternative to the "demeaning" HackerRank style tests which are purely meritocratic and allow smaller companies to interview large amounts of people you would prefer nepotism and only hiring and interviewing people with high GPAs from expensive schools?

Apocryphon 10y ago
The problem with meritocracy by standardized testing is eventually you reach Eastern/Southern Asian extremes with cram school culture of people endlessly drilling for tests. It's possible to rotely memorize strategies for applying algorithms until you excel at HackerRank type tests. By then you're just interviewing for candidates who spent the most to enter the most expensive boot camps.
- friendlygrammar 10y ago
  Which is why you A. Don't make the interviews so hard that they require multiple months of preparation. You can be prepared for the google interview by simply having taken an algorithms course and studying for 2 or 3 weeks. B. Make sure the people you hire are good communicators and are a good culture fit. C. Try to make your workforce diverse.
wott 10y ago
That's a strawman if I ever saw one. He never said anything like this.
- friendlygrammar 10y ago
  He didn't provide any alternative and what I described is the status quo for companies outside of software engineering.
cult4you 10y ago
I think the high tech industry has always been ran and controlled by sick people. That' why its not considered a proession like med, law, or finance. When I was younger I worked at DEC for a while, about the time the VAX came out, it was hot. We had a HR manager who required all new hires to strip in a private room, and then if the HR liked what he saw the newbie would get passed on to engineering. I thought this odd, and the HR manager was openly gay, and a sleaze to boot. The simple fact that people of power in our industry can be sadists, and not anybody is willing to step forward hasn't changed one iota since 1970's.

Apocryphon 10y ago

The problem with meritocracy by standardized testing is eventually you reach Eastern/Southern Asian extremes with cram school culture of people endlessly drilling for tests. It's possible to rotely memorize strategies for applying algorithms until you excel at HackerRank type tests. By then you're just interviewing for candidates who spent the most to enter the most expensive boot camps.

friendlygrammar 10y ago
Which is why you A. Don't make the interviews so hard that they require multiple months of preparation. You can be prepared for the google interview by simply having taken an algorithms course and studying for 2 or 3 weeks. B. Make sure the people you hire are good communicators and are a good culture fit. C. Try to make your workforce diverse.

wott 10y ago

That's a strawman if I ever saw one. He never said anything like this.

friendlygrammar 10y ago
He didn't provide any alternative and what I described is the status quo for companies outside of software engineering.

cult4you 10y ago

I think the high tech industry has always been ran and controlled by sick people. That' why its not considered a proession like med, law, or finance. When I was younger I worked at DEC for a while, about the time the VAX came out, it was hot. We had a HR manager who required all new hires to strip in a private room, and then if the HR liked what he saw the newbie would get passed on to engineering. I thought this odd, and the HR manager was openly gay, and a sleaze to boot. The simple fact that people of power in our industry can be sadists, and not anybody is willing to step forward hasn't changed one iota since 1970's.