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I'm sorry if I made it sound like I was born perfect. That wasn't what I was trying to convey. Yes, we learn by making mistakes, and I've sure made at least my

I'm sorry if I made it sound like I was born perfect. That wasn't what I was trying to convey. Yes, we learn by making mistakes, and I've sure made at least my fair share of them. My point is that horking out algorithms on demand is definitely not the same thing as being a competent software engineer, nor is it particularly predictive of the likelihood of developing those skills. Also, I measure my success by the people I've helped and the impact I have on the business. For instance, figuring out how to eliminate 500,000+ lines of code from a codebase strikes me as way more valuable than hopping about at a whiteboard like a trained monkey. Ask better questions, get more impactful employees.

robbiewxyz 7y ago
> I measure success by the people I've helped As someone of younger years (by SV standards), hearing the authenticity in this thread is refreshing. What path in the world of tech will put one around peers who intentionally focus on real impact on people and business?
jiveturkey 6y ago
Agreed!! Sorry I didn't mean to accuse you of anything. I share your criticism for poor interview practices. But not that basic knowledge whiteboard questions are asked -- sadly, it's a requirement -- rather that most don't get beyond that. Or dwell on the classic "OMG how could you not know this piece of trivia that we only learned here at our org after 12 years refining the solution". Anyway I adore that kind of interview. It lets me know I don't want to work there! I call those interviews successful. Most candidates (or at least most discussion of interviews from the candidate POV) seem to think the entire purpose of an interview is to prostrate yourself to the all powerful company, that they may see you as worthy, oh master. It's the wrong perspective. So while I share your criticism, I am not dismayed by it.

robbiewxyz 7y ago

> I measure success by the people I've helped As someone of younger years (by SV standards), hearing the authenticity in this thread is refreshing. What path in the world of tech will put one around peers who intentionally focus on real impact on people and business?

jiveturkey 6y ago

Agreed!! Sorry I didn't mean to accuse you of anything. I share your criticism for poor interview practices. But not that basic knowledge whiteboard questions are asked -- sadly, it's a requirement -- rather that most don't get beyond that. Or dwell on the classic "OMG how could you not know this piece of trivia that we only learned here at our org after 12 years refining the solution". Anyway I adore that kind of interview. It lets me know I don't want to work there! I call those interviews successful. Most candidates (or at least most discussion of interviews from the candidate POV) seem to think the entire purpose of an interview is to prostrate yourself to the all powerful company, that they may see you as worthy, oh master. It's the wrong perspective. So while I share your criticism, I am not dismayed by it.