4 ms·

> So the 'soft' questions are attempts to weed out 'problems'. Get this through your head: when interviewing, experienced managers are not "selecting the best"

> So the 'soft' questions are attempts to weed out 'problems'. Get this through your head: when interviewing, experienced managers are not "selecting the best" but rather "avoiding the worst". And these questions... they're crapshots in the dark — “how the hell am I supposed to know if this person is OK/normal or a piece of work?” It's even more blurry from the interviewer's side. So they just try to get a 'feel' for it, intuitively. Oh, I get it, I've been on the other side of the table, plenty, and in more than just a "pull in some dev to get their take" role. But you've gotta have some answer to those when you're interviewing and I need some prep + a little fiction to avoid the possible red flag that comes up from simply blanking on them. My goal is to get past them such that no-one thinks about the answers again, not to wow anyone, which I know isn't what anyone's fishing for with those.

K0SM0S 7y ago
Aha... so you know. Hopefully my long piece will be useful to someone else, then. "Red flag", that's the expression I was looking for indeed.
- shantly 7y ago
  Yeah, sorry, didn't mean to dismiss your post with such a short response. It does give good insight into the Hiring Mind, for those who may not have been there.
  - K0SM0S 7y ago
    It's fine, don't apologize. I didn't take it as a dismissal, and I was the one to offer entirely unsollicited advice. No worries, and I do appreciate your replies!
- marcosdumay 7y ago
  Don't worry, that text will very likely impact many people, and nearly none of them will be aware enough of it to tell you what they thought. The worst thing is that, in a cold rational way the optimum strategy for both the company and the employee is hiring with little evidence, and firing relatively quickly. But it's only good if everybody does it, and nobody is actually able to do it.
  - K0SM0S 7y ago
    Haha. Dunno if I should smile or cry. ;) Very interesting remark on the hiring/firing process, I do concur. It's an approach worth keeping in mind; it may one day fit in a much more dynamic labor legal framework provided both sides find interest — closer to a frictionless market[1], yielding more productivity... I think there's a case to be made for a non-zero-sum evolution here. Maybe for the next decade, or the one after. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frictionless_market https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frictionless_market

K0SM0S 7y ago

Aha... so you know. Hopefully my long piece will be useful to someone else, then. "Red flag", that's the expression I was looking for indeed.

shantly 7y ago
Yeah, sorry, didn't mean to dismiss your post with such a short response. It does give good insight into the Hiring Mind, for those who may not have been there.
- K0SM0S 7y ago
  It's fine, don't apologize. I didn't take it as a dismissal, and I was the one to offer entirely unsollicited advice. No worries, and I do appreciate your replies!
marcosdumay 7y ago
Don't worry, that text will very likely impact many people, and nearly none of them will be aware enough of it to tell you what they thought. The worst thing is that, in a cold rational way the optimum strategy for both the company and the employee is hiring with little evidence, and firing relatively quickly. But it's only good if everybody does it, and nobody is actually able to do it.
- K0SM0S 7y ago
  Haha. Dunno if I should smile or cry. ;) Very interesting remark on the hiring/firing process, I do concur. It's an approach worth keeping in mind; it may one day fit in a much more dynamic labor legal framework provided both sides find interest — closer to a frictionless market[1], yielding more productivity... I think there's a case to be made for a non-zero-sum evolution here. Maybe for the next decade, or the one after. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frictionless_market https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frictionless_market