4 ms·

This will easily pitch you into an adversarial position and give you and your company a black eye. Remember: interviews are bidirectional. If I was pushed to th

This will easily pitch you into an adversarial position and give you and your company a black eye. Remember: interviews are bidirectional. If I was pushed to the breaking point like this in your interview, I'd walk out without saying a word. You're only going to be selecting candidates who can handle pressure -- not skill or ability with this.

Stronico 7y ago
Interviews are certainly bidirectional - and should be conducted as conversations, not third degree interrogations. I would walk out on that too. How is being asked something you don't know the answer to being pushed to the breaking point? Do we expect to learn nothing on our jobs?
chucksmash 7y ago
You're already treating it as adversarial if you're thinking of it in terms of your "breaking points" and "walking out without saying a word." Back in the day I had an interview for a business position where the interviewer's personal printer mysteriously started printing documents part way through. I'd just read "What Does Somebody Have To Do To Get A Job Around Here?" which listed that among other tactics a company might use to see how you handled distractions. I've suspected it was on purpose ever since. Even were it intentional though, it would be more of a gimmicky ploy than an adversarial thing to do. An interviewer should be able to modulate the difficulty of a question without making you feel uncomfortable. Also the job isn't done in a vacuum - being able to remain calm when you don't know the answer is an ability all its own. Interviewers shouldn't be creating artificially stressful situations but you've also got to be able to manage your own stress response!
whymauri 7y ago
My favorite interviews are the ones that have pushed me to the edge of my knowledge and had me derive things that were completely new to me. I love interviews that are genuinely enlightening, which is the opposite of regurgitating Leetcode. Truly, the best interviews I've had have also been the hardest. Different strokes for different folks.

Stronico 7y ago

Interviews are certainly bidirectional - and should be conducted as conversations, not third degree interrogations. I would walk out on that too. How is being asked something you don't know the answer to being pushed to the breaking point? Do we expect to learn nothing on our jobs?

chucksmash 7y ago

You're already treating it as adversarial if you're thinking of it in terms of your "breaking points" and "walking out without saying a word." Back in the day I had an interview for a business position where the interviewer's personal printer mysteriously started printing documents part way through. I'd just read "What Does Somebody Have To Do To Get A Job Around Here?" which listed that among other tactics a company might use to see how you handled distractions. I've suspected it was on purpose ever since. Even were it intentional though, it would be more of a gimmicky ploy than an adversarial thing to do. An interviewer should be able to modulate the difficulty of a question without making you feel uncomfortable. Also the job isn't done in a vacuum - being able to remain calm when you don't know the answer is an ability all its own. Interviewers shouldn't be creating artificially stressful situations but you've also got to be able to manage your own stress response!

whymauri 7y ago

My favorite interviews are the ones that have pushed me to the edge of my knowledge and had me derive things that were completely new to me. I love interviews that are genuinely enlightening, which is the opposite of regurgitating Leetcode. Truly, the best interviews I've had have also been the hardest. Different strokes for different folks.