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Interesting, that instinct to Google for the answer is actually one of the 'culture fits' that we look for. There are a surprising number of candidates & engin

Interesting, that instinct to Google for the answer is actually one of the 'culture fits' that we look for. There are a surprising number of candidates & engineers that simply give up when they encounter a hard problem.

protopeer 8y ago
perhaps if you make it clear that it's okay to Google, then you might get a different outcome. it's highly common for candidates to assume that in an interview, it's not allowed or highly penalized to do so.
- aeternus 8y ago
  We do, we let them use their own laptop (or supply one), and also allow them to finish at home.
- nicoburns 8y ago
  I've never googled something in an interview (typically for the face-to-face part I'm not at a computer so that would be difficult, and googling under pressure seems like a bad idea). But I have told interviews that I don't know, but I'd google it if I needed to in a work situation, and that's always been received positively. I guess it depends on what they're asking about though. Some stuff you should know off the top of your head...
maxxxxx 8y ago
I would google for the answer too if the expectation was to find the right solution quickly. I have rarely had an interview where they gave me time to think through a problem. The wanted "the" answer quickly without much thinking.
kanelbullar 8y ago
Interesting, that instinct to Google for the answer is actually one of the 'culture fits' that we look for. Interesting, because many candidates would (rightly and safely) assume that you're asking if they already know the answer - not if (duh) they could just google it. And accordingly, to respond with "just google it" would mark them as a plodding, uninspired programmer - and definitely cost them points (or even outright sink the interview). There are a surprising number of candidates & engineers that simply give up when they encounter a hard problem. It sure is easy (and gratifying) to feel categorically superior to a significant portion of the people who walked in through that door with the idea of landing a job. But Occam's Razor suggest that, rather than being a bunch of gutless dolts - they were (perhaps as a result of being bludgeoned by one soul-crushing interview experience too many) simply assuming a more conservative acceptance level to your question than you thought they were.
- Skrillex 8y ago
  >to respond with "just google it" would mark them as a plodding, uninspired programmer I do not believe that this logic works in all/most/many scenarios. I would not be asking a question in an interview that could "just" be googled. That generally would suggest that I am asking for trivia as opposed to asking for understanding.
dba7dba 8y ago
I know a guy who was an engineer at a very well known US based engineering startup that made real physical products. Lots of top engineering grads from top schools apply there. His observation of young interns from top schools was that when the fresh engineering grads (or soon to be grads) ran into a problem that they couldn't solve, many didn't know how to react or didn't take it well. They all had been able to get that far in their academic career because they had been able to solve problems, and solve them well and quickly. When they ran into hard problems in the real world that they couldn't solve, some couldn't handle it well.

protopeer 8y ago

perhaps if you make it clear that it's okay to Google, then you might get a different outcome. it's highly common for candidates to assume that in an interview, it's not allowed or highly penalized to do so.

aeternus 8y ago
We do, we let them use their own laptop (or supply one), and also allow them to finish at home.
nicoburns 8y ago
I've never googled something in an interview (typically for the face-to-face part I'm not at a computer so that would be difficult, and googling under pressure seems like a bad idea). But I have told interviews that I don't know, but I'd google it if I needed to in a work situation, and that's always been received positively. I guess it depends on what they're asking about though. Some stuff you should know off the top of your head...

maxxxxx 8y ago

I would google for the answer too if the expectation was to find the right solution quickly. I have rarely had an interview where they gave me time to think through a problem. The wanted "the" answer quickly without much thinking.

kanelbullar 8y ago

Interesting, that instinct to Google for the answer is actually one of the 'culture fits' that we look for. Interesting, because many candidates would (rightly and safely) assume that you're asking if they already know the answer - not if (duh) they could just google it. And accordingly, to respond with "just google it" would mark them as a plodding, uninspired programmer - and definitely cost them points (or even outright sink the interview). There are a surprising number of candidates & engineers that simply give up when they encounter a hard problem. It sure is easy (and gratifying) to feel categorically superior to a significant portion of the people who walked in through that door with the idea of landing a job. But Occam's Razor suggest that, rather than being a bunch of gutless dolts - they were (perhaps as a result of being bludgeoned by one soul-crushing interview experience too many) simply assuming a more conservative acceptance level to your question than you thought they were.

Skrillex 8y ago
>to respond with "just google it" would mark them as a plodding, uninspired programmer I do not believe that this logic works in all/most/many scenarios. I would not be asking a question in an interview that could "just" be googled. That generally would suggest that I am asking for trivia as opposed to asking for understanding.

dba7dba 8y ago

I know a guy who was an engineer at a very well known US based engineering startup that made real physical products. Lots of top engineering grads from top schools apply there. His observation of young interns from top schools was that when the fresh engineering grads (or soon to be grads) ran into a problem that they couldn't solve, many didn't know how to react or didn't take it well. They all had been able to get that far in their academic career because they had been able to solve problems, and solve them well and quickly. When they ran into hard problems in the real world that they couldn't solve, some couldn't handle it well.