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Ah well the hash table wasn't exotic. But, software engineering interviews are pretty rough. It is a uniquely miserable experience. Since I'm a temp worker I h

Ah well the hash table wasn't exotic. But, software engineering interviews are pretty rough. It is a uniquely miserable experience. Since I'm a temp worker I have a lot of them. They don't get easier. I don't know of anyone who likes high pressure time crunch interrogations except maybe the ones getting to do the interrogating part. A take home test isn't so bad. But, ya if you asked me today if I'd be willing to do one like that again I'd say probably not unless I was desperate. The reality is, it is a lot of effort to put in for it to all come crashing down with a rejection anyway. When you're applying at dozens of companies if they're all requiring that level of time and mental commitment from you, you can't swing it really and it's stressful. Interviewing and being under financial pressure at the same time is already a stressful position to be in, let alone being mentally and emotionally flogged for it. All the jobs I was ever hired onto the hiring manager just had a good gut feeling about me and the tests never mattered. And, they were happy with my work. The ones that never hire me usually rely on all the employees to vote on you, if even one says no you're out. Or, the ones that are very fixated on your GPA or whether you can invert a binary tree on the whiteboard while they yell at you "Wrong!" along the way.

kazinator 7y ago
> All the jobs I was ever hired onto the hiring manager just had a good gut feeling about me and the tests never mattered. At one, the resume didn't matter! When through the interviews, got the offer, and then "oh, can you send me your resume, so we have it on file?"
- heelix 7y ago
  Early in my career, I went to an open house sort of thing. Hit it off chatting with one of the chief architects who basically cut through all the red tape and got me a position. A couple weeks after starting work, I get a rejection letter from HR. Was a bit awkward conversation when I went up to their office with the letter to check if I still had a job. (I did, but boy was I sweating at the time)
vonholstein 7y ago
> I don't know of anyone who likes high pressure time crunch interrogations except maybe the ones getting to do the interrogating part. As someone who has been through this early career I agree with the sentiment. But being mid-career it is kind of fun to go through one now, the catch being that you shouldn't give a sh/*t if you get through or not. Think of it more as two-way courting instead of a one-way interview, not all of them pan out.

kazinator 7y ago

> All the jobs I was ever hired onto the hiring manager just had a good gut feeling about me and the tests never mattered. At one, the resume didn't matter! When through the interviews, got the offer, and then "oh, can you send me your resume, so we have it on file?"

heelix 7y ago
Early in my career, I went to an open house sort of thing. Hit it off chatting with one of the chief architects who basically cut through all the red tape and got me a position. A couple weeks after starting work, I get a rejection letter from HR. Was a bit awkward conversation when I went up to their office with the letter to check if I still had a job. (I did, but boy was I sweating at the time)

vonholstein 7y ago

> I don't know of anyone who likes high pressure time crunch interrogations except maybe the ones getting to do the interrogating part. As someone who has been through this early career I agree with the sentiment. But being mid-career it is kind of fun to go through one now, the catch being that you shouldn't give a sh/*t if you get through or not. Think of it more as two-way courting instead of a one-way interview, not all of them pan out.