6 ms·

Wrong question - the right question is "which companies don't have the typical whiteboard interview". Wrong assumption - the majority of my on-site interviews

by ccdev 9y ago

Wrong question - the right question is "which companies don't have the typical whiteboard interview". Wrong assumption - the majority of my on-site interviews don't even use whiteboards. They involve discussing real world problems and work experiences with me. I still do not get offers from them.

karmakaze 9y ago
> They involve discussing real world problems and work experiences with me. This seems like a good interview process. If you're qualified for the position, then what part of the interview is working against you?
- Joof 9y ago
  Not the parent, but I'm someone with quite a lot of social anxiety. I fall apart when I have to give presentations (working on this skill) or I'm in a high-pressure social setting. Everyone does to some degree, but for myself and others like me, it's an order of magnitude greater. I can certainly work with a team and I can program at least as well as most of my peers, but interviews are difficult for me.
  - KGIII 9y ago
    Would you like some unsolicited advice? You could go find your nearest open-mic night and sing/play for the audience. You can read poetry or sing karaoke. It's probably going to suck the first time you do this. However, keep doing it. Eventually, you will get more comfortable and confident. It takes lots of practice. I did a lot of stage performances as a musician. I used to vomit before going on stage. Eventually, I got used to it. Eventually, I was able to interact with the crowd. Eventually, I got comfortable. This confidence helped with many other areas of my life. It did take work and pushing through the discomfort and fear. It was not easy. This may work for you.
    - sbmassey 9y ago
      I found going to acting school a help. I doubt I could have mustered up the courage to do stuff in front of an audience back then, but being given a script to perform in front of a small group of other acting students was much easier.
      - KGIII 9y ago
        A public speaking course may also help. Things like that get you used to working through discomfort while maintaining a level of concentration.
martijndwars 9y ago
To be honest, I agree with the parent that the question is wrong. No company wants employees that are bad at interviewing. No company wants employees that are bad at anything, in fact. Maybe it helps to contact the company that rejected you and ask them why they rejected you. This would allow you to narrow down your weaknesses and improve these skills. I've never tried this myself, so I'm not sure how common such a request is, but it seems like a sensible thing to do.
- bjelkeman-again 9y ago
  I don't think you will get very straight answers from most.
  - Clubber 9y ago
    Or even a response for that matter.
    - dabockster 9y ago
      Or, if you do get a response, it's usually a "can't sue me" copout like "not enough experience" or "wrong cultural fit".
  - headcanon 9y ago
    Doesn't cost anything to try though. We actually do attempt to give straightforward answers to candidates that are not a good fit, although we are a smaller company that doesn't have the concerns that a large corporation has
  - vram22 9y ago
    Or any answers. At least for the US, I've read before here on HN that it may be due to the company's fear of being litigated against for some sort of discrimination.
brians 9y ago
Can you find a nearby hiring manager—someone who hires regularly—to give you an interview and tell you why you wouldn’t be hired? I’d be happy to do this for acquaintances near me (Cambridge, Mass.)
- kclay 9y ago
  How would you even go by looking people to do this? Especially someone familiar with the tech field for example? "hiring manager technology" doesn't return the best results in trying to find someone.
  - ineptech 9y ago
    Gonna have to talk to friends and coworkers. I've done this (mock interviews for people who are bad at interviewing) for friends and even friend-of-a-friends, but I wouldn't want to be on a searchable directory of such people.
    - kclay 9y ago
      Yeah that seems to be the common theme, "Ask friends and coworkers" I guess I need to do a bit more networking at meetups at such. Its been word of mouth from previous clients for all these years so I never bother to reach out to build a network.

by ccdev 9y ago

karmakaze 9y ago

> They involve discussing real world problems and work experiences with me. This seems like a good interview process. If you're qualified for the position, then what part of the interview is working against you?

Joof 9y ago
Not the parent, but I'm someone with quite a lot of social anxiety. I fall apart when I have to give presentations (working on this skill) or I'm in a high-pressure social setting. Everyone does to some degree, but for myself and others like me, it's an order of magnitude greater. I can certainly work with a team and I can program at least as well as most of my peers, but interviews are difficult for me.
- KGIII 9y ago
  Would you like some unsolicited advice? You could go find your nearest open-mic night and sing/play for the audience. You can read poetry or sing karaoke. It's probably going to suck the first time you do this. However, keep doing it. Eventually, you will get more comfortable and confident. It takes lots of practice. I did a lot of stage performances as a musician. I used to vomit before going on stage. Eventually, I got used to it. Eventually, I was able to interact with the crowd. Eventually, I got comfortable. This confidence helped with many other areas of my life. It did take work and pushing through the discomfort and fear. It was not easy. This may work for you.
  - sbmassey 9y ago
    I found going to acting school a help. I doubt I could have mustered up the courage to do stuff in front of an audience back then, but being given a script to perform in front of a small group of other acting students was much easier.
    - KGIII 9y ago
      A public speaking course may also help. Things like that get you used to working through discomfort while maintaining a level of concentration.

martijndwars 9y ago

To be honest, I agree with the parent that the question is wrong. No company wants employees that are bad at interviewing. No company wants employees that are bad at anything, in fact. Maybe it helps to contact the company that rejected you and ask them why they rejected you. This would allow you to narrow down your weaknesses and improve these skills. I've never tried this myself, so I'm not sure how common such a request is, but it seems like a sensible thing to do.

bjelkeman-again 9y ago
I don't think you will get very straight answers from most.
- Clubber 9y ago
  Or even a response for that matter.
  - dabockster 9y ago
    Or, if you do get a response, it's usually a "can't sue me" copout like "not enough experience" or "wrong cultural fit".
- headcanon 9y ago
  Doesn't cost anything to try though. We actually do attempt to give straightforward answers to candidates that are not a good fit, although we are a smaller company that doesn't have the concerns that a large corporation has
- vram22 9y ago
  Or any answers. At least for the US, I've read before here on HN that it may be due to the company's fear of being litigated against for some sort of discrimination.

brians 9y ago

Can you find a nearby hiring manager—someone who hires regularly—to give you an interview and tell you why you wouldn’t be hired? I’d be happy to do this for acquaintances near me (Cambridge, Mass.)

kclay 9y ago
How would you even go by looking people to do this? Especially someone familiar with the tech field for example? "hiring manager technology" doesn't return the best results in trying to find someone.
- ineptech 9y ago
  Gonna have to talk to friends and coworkers. I've done this (mock interviews for people who are bad at interviewing) for friends and even friend-of-a-friends, but I wouldn't want to be on a searchable directory of such people.
  - kclay 9y ago
    Yeah that seems to be the common theme, "Ask friends and coworkers" I guess I need to do a bit more networking at meetups at such. Its been word of mouth from previous clients for all these years so I never bother to reach out to build a network.