4 ms·

Instead of literature go read some of the top posts at /r/cscareerquestions . Students are expected to put in tons of hours "grinding" study sessions for interv

Instead of literature go read some of the top posts at /r/cscareerquestions . Students are expected to put in tons of hours "grinding" study sessions for interviews. Recently there was a post about a new grad who felt he wasn't doing very well at his job because he spent to much time practicing for interviews

taeric 8y ago
I was hoping for something a little rigorous on the data provenance. :(
driverdan 8y ago
> Students are expected to put in tons of hours "grinding" study sessions for interviews. You should never study for interviews. If the company isn't asking questions relevant to the work or you can't answer those types of questions then it's best to not work there. General interview skills are different than studying CS problems.
- Konnstann 8y ago
  Are you making a distinction between studying interviewing skills and preparing for specific interviews? I think studying the company you want to work for is a key part of making a good impression.
- dabockster 8y ago
  > If the company isn't asking questions relevant to the work or you can't answer those types of questions then it's best to not work there. Tell that to every company in the Seattle area. They all seem to think that Hackerrank-ing everyone is a good way to hire because the bigger companies do it. It's an evolution of "nobody got fired for buying IBM" but instead they're buying the interview methods that Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are using.
- pmiller2 8y ago
  In a perfect world, where my bills got paid and there was food on my table regardless of whether I passed someone’s arbitrary screening questions, I would never study for an interview. It’s stupid and encourages companies to design bad interviews. But that’s not the world we live in.
dabockster 8y ago
> /r/cscareerquestions People should really stop using that place as a credible source of information. The very nature of Reddit skews the posts that show up in favor of either over-the-top success or major depression. You never hear about the middle ground (the guy/gal that gets a so-so job in CS but still has time to spend with his/her kids on the weekends). As for the student thing, this is industry's fault. It's an evolution of "no one got fired for buying IBM". In this case, they're buying the interview techniques of the big players (Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc) since they are perceived as bringing in top performers. So someone at or near entry level is going to have to deal with bullshit HackerRank tests until the industry changes its hiring practices.

taeric 8y ago

I was hoping for something a little rigorous on the data provenance. :(

driverdan 8y ago

> Students are expected to put in tons of hours "grinding" study sessions for interviews. You should never study for interviews. If the company isn't asking questions relevant to the work or you can't answer those types of questions then it's best to not work there. General interview skills are different than studying CS problems.

Konnstann 8y ago
Are you making a distinction between studying interviewing skills and preparing for specific interviews? I think studying the company you want to work for is a key part of making a good impression.
dabockster 8y ago
> If the company isn't asking questions relevant to the work or you can't answer those types of questions then it's best to not work there. Tell that to every company in the Seattle area. They all seem to think that Hackerrank-ing everyone is a good way to hire because the bigger companies do it. It's an evolution of "nobody got fired for buying IBM" but instead they're buying the interview methods that Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are using.
pmiller2 8y ago
In a perfect world, where my bills got paid and there was food on my table regardless of whether I passed someone’s arbitrary screening questions, I would never study for an interview. It’s stupid and encourages companies to design bad interviews. But that’s not the world we live in.

dabockster 8y ago

> /r/cscareerquestions People should really stop using that place as a credible source of information. The very nature of Reddit skews the posts that show up in favor of either over-the-top success or major depression. You never hear about the middle ground (the guy/gal that gets a so-so job in CS but still has time to spend with his/her kids on the weekends). As for the student thing, this is industry's fault. It's an evolution of "no one got fired for buying IBM". In this case, they're buying the interview techniques of the big players (Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc) since they are perceived as bringing in top performers. So someone at or near entry level is going to have to deal with bullshit HackerRank tests until the industry changes its hiring practices.