36 ms·

While at my last job I was tasked with being apart of the interview process. My favorite question was "how do you keep up with web technology and trends? (web d

While at my last job I was tasked with being apart of the interview process. My favorite question was "how do you keep up with web technology and trends? (web development)" and I was surprised at how many people had no answer for that simple question. My response to my manager was "this dude wont work"

markkanof 16y ago
I've experienced the same thing while conducting interviews. The flip side is that some people have great answers and they often open up and show their passion for programming when they get to talk about the things that interest them and aren't as focused on how nervous they are trying to answer your question correctly. I've also has people tell me that they read the study guides for the Microsoft certification exams. I'm not trying to start an argument about the value of certifications. I think it is questionable though when asked how someone keeps up with the latest technology, they reply that they read books with content of questionable real world application, from a single company, that are updated every three or four years.
bugsy 16y ago
My answer to that one would be "I've found it's more efficient to not keep up with the latest fads."
- emehrkay 16y ago
  I would consider that a bad response if you kept it after probing simply because the sales dept likes to sell clients on the lates/greatest tech. And if you were a serious web dev, you'd have to keep up with it in some way. Assuming you are a web dev, Im sure you know which browsers support which html5 features, which ones play which video types natively, and the newest css3 tricks that everyone except probably IE supports. There is changing course with every shift in the wind and there is understanding which way the wind is blowing and charting your course based on the fuller picture. (and of course there is "the wind is blowing?")
- sofal 16y ago
  That's understandable, if a little antagonistic. I'd probably probe further just to make sure your definition of "fad" is not "anything newer than Blub."
krakensden 16y ago
I don't know, I feel like I might be reticent about admitting exactly how much time I've wasted on HN and /r/programming.

markkanof 16y ago

I've experienced the same thing while conducting interviews. The flip side is that some people have great answers and they often open up and show their passion for programming when they get to talk about the things that interest them and aren't as focused on how nervous they are trying to answer your question correctly. I've also has people tell me that they read the study guides for the Microsoft certification exams. I'm not trying to start an argument about the value of certifications. I think it is questionable though when asked how someone keeps up with the latest technology, they reply that they read books with content of questionable real world application, from a single company, that are updated every three or four years.

bugsy 16y ago

My answer to that one would be "I've found it's more efficient to not keep up with the latest fads."

emehrkay 16y ago
I would consider that a bad response if you kept it after probing simply because the sales dept likes to sell clients on the lates/greatest tech. And if you were a serious web dev, you'd have to keep up with it in some way. Assuming you are a web dev, Im sure you know which browsers support which html5 features, which ones play which video types natively, and the newest css3 tricks that everyone except probably IE supports. There is changing course with every shift in the wind and there is understanding which way the wind is blowing and charting your course based on the fuller picture. (and of course there is "the wind is blowing?")
sofal 16y ago
That's understandable, if a little antagonistic. I'd probably probe further just to make sure your definition of "fad" is not "anything newer than Blub."

krakensden 16y ago

I don't know, I feel like I might be reticent about admitting exactly how much time I've wasted on HN and /r/programming.