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When I interviewed at Google for a front end position they didn't ask me a single CSS question. It was all algorithms and easy JavaScript questions. It was just

by winrid 7y ago

When I interviewed at Google for a front end position they didn't ask me a single CSS question. It was all algorithms and easy JavaScript questions. It was just really weird, like at least ask me how to center something. They bothered to ask me how I'd deal with diversity issues if I was in HR, though. I probably didn't get the job because of my answers there...

sombremesa 7y ago
You should probably be glad they didn't ask you to center something. From my experiences interviewing at Google, the engineers there usually have one and only one answer they are looking for. Used flex box? Too bad, we were looking for margin 0 auto.
- hanswesterbeek 7y ago
  Haha yes, at that point, nailing the interview will just come down to how well you are able to gauge what the person at the other side of the table wants to hear. "Hmm, is this a tabs or a spaces guy?"
  - ntsplnkv2 7y ago
    I'm not a developer, I can do some light code and make changes to existing code, but I am just not a developer. It isn't my particular skillset. However, I am in consulting, and was on the bench. My manager forced me to do an interview for coding. The questions were absurd. Literally reading vocabulary terms and looking for exact definitions to things. I continually asked what their problem was, what they were trying to solve, what steps they faced, etc. They just kept asking questions like above. And every time I'd get it "wrong" they'd say "we were looking for... <googled definition here>. Honestly what is the point? I feel really bad for kids today. I get all my jobs through word of mouth and networking now. Why? Because it's much easier and those ways almost always have better outcomes.
1_2__4 7y ago
I was interviewing for a position and when they got to asking me in the initial phone screen various diversity questions I politely told them I didn’t think the company would be for me. I’m all about diversity but if you’re trying to project your “wokeness” in the first conversation I’ll pass thanks.
deanCommie 7y ago
> They bothered to ask me how I'd deal with diversity issues if I was in HR, though. I probably didn't get the job because of my answers there... Strange postscript that suggests you hold some problematic opinions that indicate you can't play nicely with others? Did you fail to get the job because you didn't have the tech chops or is it because you said something wildly inappropriate on the behavioural questions? What did you say?
- winrid 7y ago
  I'm not trying to start a fight on HN. I just said that you should hire the best people you can. I screwed up a sorting impl. that I never bothered to practice.
- ethanwillis 7y ago
  Actually problematic or just problematic to someone at Google?
- lostlogin 7y ago
  The way the (very briefly described) question was asked does sound like a clever way of getting some ideas about candidate views and beliefs.
- vikasg 7y ago
  Sour grapes, more like. If simply asking how they'd work with people from diverse backgrounds was triggering enough for this person, the process worked perfectly in rejecting them.
  - winrid 7y ago
    That wasn't the question... It was, if I was an HR director, what would I do in different situations.
    - lostlogin 7y ago
      I could be very wrong and am no HR expert, but I don’t think that question was actually about what would happen if you were an HR director. They wanted your thoughts on those situations in regards to the position you were apply for.
qxtc 7y ago
Ironic, because I work at Google and just found a bug caused by using percent-based border-radius CSS rules on a non-square element - something anyone with even intermediate CSS experience wouldn't write.
- winrid 7y ago
  Oh, why would you want a percent based border radius?
- Hydraulix989 7y ago
  Is this because of the distortion (it's not a circle anymore)? I work at FAANG as a backend engineer, and so I don't know this one either.
rekabis 7y ago
> They bothered to ask me how I'd deal with diversity issues if I was in HR, though. I probably didn't get the job because of my answers there... Aye, diversity has fuck-all to do with hiring. Competency, skills, and the ability to work well with others _does_. I mean, if you’re left with two equally appropriate candidates whose only material difference between them is one of diversity, fine. Make the SJW pick. But otherwise? The best candidate for the position’s technical and soft-skills needs is the one you should hire, regardless of skin colour or wedding tackle. To suddenly bring in wholly irrelevant filters into the hiring process is to put your company at a competitive disadvantage and make excellent candidates who happen to be “ideologically undesirable” far less likely to apply. And in the end, putting ideology and doctrine ahead of technical and soft-skill requirements will lead to a company staffed with monkeys (to spindle a pay metaphor).

by winrid 7y ago

sombremesa 7y ago

You should probably be glad they didn't ask you to center something. From my experiences interviewing at Google, the engineers there usually have one and only one answer they are looking for. Used flex box? Too bad, we were looking for margin 0 auto.

hanswesterbeek 7y ago
Haha yes, at that point, nailing the interview will just come down to how well you are able to gauge what the person at the other side of the table wants to hear. "Hmm, is this a tabs or a spaces guy?"
- ntsplnkv2 7y ago
  I'm not a developer, I can do some light code and make changes to existing code, but I am just not a developer. It isn't my particular skillset. However, I am in consulting, and was on the bench. My manager forced me to do an interview for coding. The questions were absurd. Literally reading vocabulary terms and looking for exact definitions to things. I continually asked what their problem was, what they were trying to solve, what steps they faced, etc. They just kept asking questions like above. And every time I'd get it "wrong" they'd say "we were looking for... <googled definition here>. Honestly what is the point? I feel really bad for kids today. I get all my jobs through word of mouth and networking now. Why? Because it's much easier and those ways almost always have better outcomes.

1_2__4 7y ago

I was interviewing for a position and when they got to asking me in the initial phone screen various diversity questions I politely told them I didn’t think the company would be for me. I’m all about diversity but if you’re trying to project your “wokeness” in the first conversation I’ll pass thanks.

deanCommie 7y ago

> They bothered to ask me how I'd deal with diversity issues if I was in HR, though. I probably didn't get the job because of my answers there... Strange postscript that suggests you hold some problematic opinions that indicate you can't play nicely with others? Did you fail to get the job because you didn't have the tech chops or is it because you said something wildly inappropriate on the behavioural questions? What did you say?

winrid 7y ago
I'm not trying to start a fight on HN. I just said that you should hire the best people you can. I screwed up a sorting impl. that I never bothered to practice.
ethanwillis 7y ago
Actually problematic or just problematic to someone at Google?
lostlogin 7y ago
The way the (very briefly described) question was asked does sound like a clever way of getting some ideas about candidate views and beliefs.
vikasg 7y ago
Sour grapes, more like. If simply asking how they'd work with people from diverse backgrounds was triggering enough for this person, the process worked perfectly in rejecting them.
- winrid 7y ago
  That wasn't the question... It was, if I was an HR director, what would I do in different situations.
  - lostlogin 7y ago
    I could be very wrong and am no HR expert, but I don’t think that question was actually about what would happen if you were an HR director. They wanted your thoughts on those situations in regards to the position you were apply for.

qxtc 7y ago

Ironic, because I work at Google and just found a bug caused by using percent-based border-radius CSS rules on a non-square element - something anyone with even intermediate CSS experience wouldn't write.

winrid 7y ago
Oh, why would you want a percent based border radius?
Hydraulix989 7y ago
Is this because of the distortion (it's not a circle anymore)? I work at FAANG as a backend engineer, and so I don't know this one either.

rekabis 7y ago

> They bothered to ask me how I'd deal with diversity issues if I was in HR, though. I probably didn't get the job because of my answers there... Aye, diversity has fuck-all to do with hiring. Competency, skills, and the ability to work well with others _does_. I mean, if you’re left with two equally appropriate candidates whose only material difference between them is one of diversity, fine. Make the SJW pick. But otherwise? The best candidate for the position’s technical and soft-skills needs is the one you should hire, regardless of skin colour or wedding tackle. To suddenly bring in wholly irrelevant filters into the hiring process is to put your company at a competitive disadvantage and make excellent candidates who happen to be “ideologically undesirable” far less likely to apply. And in the end, putting ideology and doctrine ahead of technical and soft-skill requirements will lead to a company staffed with monkeys (to spindle a pay metaphor).