5 ms·

Another data point - I had a very similar Google recruiter "test", being disdainfully dismissed because I couldn't/wouldn't regurgitate the same incorrect templ

Another data point - I had a very similar Google recruiter "test", being disdainfully dismissed because I couldn't/wouldn't regurgitate the same incorrect template answers they had. I've since terminated any approaches by Google recruiters as being a waste of my time and emotional energy.

ThePadawan 9y ago
I'm in a similar boat - I've been approached twice in the past, and both times went on to the onsite interview day only to be told "We are unsure whether we want to hire you, so we will err on the side of caution and ask you to come back in a year". However, I am still getting contacted randomly by their recruiters without any indication why I should invest energy to try again - the result will generally the same. Getting an answer to that question also turned out to be impossible, since I only got stock answers back. Really shameful for a company which (at least in my perception) prides itself on celebrating an engineer-driven culture (instead of one driven by HR).
logicallee 9y ago
This is similar to taking standardized tests where you are smarter than the question-writer. What would you select as the answer to the following question: " x is an integer. If x² = 16, then x =? A. 1. B. 2. C. 4. D. 16. E. Not enough information. " Think hard and tell me what you would select. For me it is VERY clear that I have to select C, 4. It is just as clear that it is the wrong answer, and the correct answer is E, because x can be -4 or 4, and you do not have enough information. How do I know to select C? Mostly, from the context. "x is an integer" is a weird and stupid way to begin a question like that, the whole question is pretty stupid. The choices are just natural whole numbers, and ones that someone might select. Still, the question has a VERY clear correct answer, which is E. It is not the answer you should select. Likewise if you are being given a technical interview by someone reading stupid template questions, then you need to figure out how dumb the template is, and answer on that level. It's not about being correct. The question "standardized test" I just made up and answered should be answered incorrectly. Don't answer questions like that correctly.
- huhwhaa23 9y ago
  I don't get it. Integers include negative numbers, so -4 and 4 are both integers. Why would you select C? Because you're assuming the recruiter doesn't know what an integer is, based on the fact that all the answer choices are positive integers?
  - logicallee 9y ago
    Correct.
  - yomly 9y ago
    I think the point was to deliberately choose an example that would be understood by most the readership but sufficiently technical that it might be seen as an ambiguous question to someone less technical. Reminds me a bit of those facebook clickbait posts "This question is so hard that only 5% of people will get it right"
    - logicallee 9y ago
      I actually mean it as a real example. If given this stupid question I would actually, in real life, choose 4 (while knowing it is the incorrect answer.) This is due to the exact phrasing and the other choices given.
  - TallGuyShort 9y ago
    I think we'd all agree the correct answer is E, but I had multiple math teachers regrade my tests with higher scores after I pointed out that there were multiple correct solutions to the problem. In several cases, other students had provided the same solution I had but assumed they were wrong because the graded test said so. And these were tests the teachers had used for years. So let's change the question: if you're a student taking this test, how do you make sure that you didn't lose points because the test writers thought that C was the right solution? Or do you just trust public educators to grade you correctly?
    - huhwhaa23 9y ago
ajeet_dhaliwal 9y ago
I wonder whether there is some perverse pleasure from trying to make an honest hardworking technically accomplished person who contributes something good to the world feel like a loser.
- oxryly1 9y ago
  I suspect you already know the answer... and it's pretty depressing.
- geekbird 9y ago
  Yes, they get their kicks by feeling superior to applicants.
warty 9y ago
According to their recruiters, I "need to learn Java and algorithms" to get an FTE phone screen.
- danpalmer 9y ago
  I had this when I applied as a grad. I wasn’t clear what they were looking for so I asked if they were looking for algorithms and language agnostic programming ability, or whether they were looking for Java and Java standard library knowledge. They wanted the latter, just Java. I didn’t continue my application.
- geekbird 9y ago
  If I got that response I'd tell the recruiter that "I'm not an RCG programmer, I'm a systems engineer, and that stuff has no relation to the actual work I do." Than I'd ask them not to call me again.

ThePadawan 9y ago

I'm in a similar boat - I've been approached twice in the past, and both times went on to the onsite interview day only to be told "We are unsure whether we want to hire you, so we will err on the side of caution and ask you to come back in a year". However, I am still getting contacted randomly by their recruiters without any indication why I should invest energy to try again - the result will generally the same. Getting an answer to that question also turned out to be impossible, since I only got stock answers back. Really shameful for a company which (at least in my perception) prides itself on celebrating an engineer-driven culture (instead of one driven by HR).

logicallee 9y ago

This is similar to taking standardized tests where you are smarter than the question-writer. What would you select as the answer to the following question: " x is an integer. If x² = 16, then x =? A. 1. B. 2. C. 4. D. 16. E. Not enough information. " Think hard and tell me what you would select. For me it is VERY clear that I have to select C, 4. It is just as clear that it is the wrong answer, and the correct answer is E, because x can be -4 or 4, and you do not have enough information. How do I know to select C? Mostly, from the context. "x is an integer" is a weird and stupid way to begin a question like that, the whole question is pretty stupid. The choices are just natural whole numbers, and ones that someone might select. Still, the question has a VERY clear correct answer, which is E. It is not the answer you should select. Likewise if you are being given a technical interview by someone reading stupid template questions, then you need to figure out how dumb the template is, and answer on that level. It's not about being correct. The question "standardized test" I just made up and answered should be answered incorrectly. Don't answer questions like that correctly.

huhwhaa23 9y ago
I don't get it. Integers include negative numbers, so -4 and 4 are both integers. Why would you select C? Because you're assuming the recruiter doesn't know what an integer is, based on the fact that all the answer choices are positive integers?
- logicallee 9y ago
  Correct.
- yomly 9y ago
  I think the point was to deliberately choose an example that would be understood by most the readership but sufficiently technical that it might be seen as an ambiguous question to someone less technical. Reminds me a bit of those facebook clickbait posts "This question is so hard that only 5% of people will get it right"
  - logicallee 9y ago
    I actually mean it as a real example. If given this stupid question I would actually, in real life, choose 4 (while knowing it is the incorrect answer.) This is due to the exact phrasing and the other choices given.
- TallGuyShort 9y ago
  I think we'd all agree the correct answer is E, but I had multiple math teachers regrade my tests with higher scores after I pointed out that there were multiple correct solutions to the problem. In several cases, other students had provided the same solution I had but assumed they were wrong because the graded test said so. And these were tests the teachers had used for years. So let's change the question: if you're a student taking this test, how do you make sure that you didn't lose points because the test writers thought that C was the right solution? Or do you just trust public educators to grade you correctly?
  - huhwhaa23 9y ago

ajeet_dhaliwal 9y ago

I wonder whether there is some perverse pleasure from trying to make an honest hardworking technically accomplished person who contributes something good to the world feel like a loser.

oxryly1 9y ago
I suspect you already know the answer... and it's pretty depressing.
geekbird 9y ago
Yes, they get their kicks by feeling superior to applicants.

warty 9y ago

According to their recruiters, I "need to learn Java and algorithms" to get an FTE phone screen.

danpalmer 9y ago
I had this when I applied as a grad. I wasn’t clear what they were looking for so I asked if they were looking for algorithms and language agnostic programming ability, or whether they were looking for Java and Java standard library knowledge. They wanted the latter, just Java. I didn’t continue my application.
geekbird 9y ago
If I got that response I'd tell the recruiter that "I'm not an RCG programmer, I'm a systems engineer, and that stuff has no relation to the actual work I do." Than I'd ask them not to call me again.