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"Whiteboard interview" typically does not mean "sketch a general design of a system", or the other things whiteboards get actually used for on the job. It means
by ubernostrum 8y ago
"Whiteboard interview" typically does not mean "sketch a general design of a system", or the other things whiteboards get actually used for on the job. It means "here's an algorithm challenge, solve it by writing the code on the whiteboard, and we'll flunk you if you make any mistakes".
Not always a whiteboard, either; one of the best engineers I ever knew flunked a Google interview because of a situation where he had to write a bash script and read it over the phone to the interviewer, who apparently didn't transcribe it correctly on the other end. But "they only hire the best", you know, and their practices are rock-solid and proven.
- lfowles 8y agoOof, I've had that experience during a technical phone screen with a different "hires only the best" company. I was asked to write (over the phone) a trivial statistical algorithm and started to describe the algorithm: "Function F returns a double and has two parameters, pointer to the start of the double array P and integer N for length of array." Apparently on the other end of the line was a human compiler that kept rejecting my input and preferred "double F open parens double star P comma int n close parens"!
- scarejunba 8y agoThis is hilarious! Such a strong indicator that you, as a candidate, should reject the employer.
- lfowles 8y agoYes, it was the final straw and led to me rejecting that industry as a whole :)
- pavel_lishin 8y agoWhat are you doing now?
- lfowles 8y agoMakin' games, burnin' savings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7MXfg2wt28&list=PLqJcvcLs4C-RmUZ5BYSw0AR-gUTkk2y0a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7MXfg2wt28&list=PLqJcvcLs4C...
- pavel_lishin 8y agoHah! I love the AXBY code-entering minigame :P This is pretty neat so far. I, too, have a side project I'd love to quit my job to work on, but I think it's less monetizable than an actual game.
- lfowles 8y agoThanks! I really enjoy coming up with the themed minigames. The next one planned is a Kanban board minigame ... think of a cross between Tetris and the boardgame Patchwork.
- drharby 8y agoHa! I did that for a year...and thinking about doing it again. I mean, selling my home and moving to say, costa rica, i could stretch my dollar, dev my heart out, and watch all the sunsets my heart desires