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This article is not talking about how broken Google-style algorithmic interviews are. It's encouraging Google-style algorithmic interviews by bringing them to t

by SPBS 6y ago

This article is not talking about how broken Google-style algorithmic interviews are. It's encouraging Google-style algorithmic interviews by bringing them to the candidate as soon as possible. This is achieved by making candidates pay money for mock interviews with interviewers from tech companies. This fundamental problem this article is describing is that recruiters are filtering out too many candidates by pedigree to ever have them end up in an algorithmic interview with a tech company.

decafninja 6y ago
How important is your pedigree in getting a (good) tech job? If you've worked as a SWE in some capacity, it seems like most companies (even top ones) consider you good enough to at least interview you. My pedigree is average at best. I've worked my entire career at non-tech companies (banks, hedge funds) doing decidedly unsexy work. I'm still able to attract enough attention that FAANG and many other top tech company recruiters contact me first. Interestingly enough, it's the top companies in my current sector (finance) that refuse to even have an internal recruiter casually speak with me. i.e. Citadel, Two Sigma, Jane Street, etc. There's also stories I see occasionally on LinkedIn, etc. of people from completely non-technical backgrounds getting hired as SWEs at top tech companies. Taxi drivers, ex-felons, aestheticians, etc. getting hired as SWEs at FAANG and unicorns.
- necubi 6y ago
  My experience interviewing with hedge funds is that they expect candidates to be working with an external recruiter.
  - decafninja 6y ago
    Yup - seems that's the way it works in finance. External recruiter sends my resume to a firm, internal recruiter then does a casual chat with me, and assuming I don't throw any red flags, I proceed to the coding phone screen. Multiple external recruiters have attempted to submit me to Citadel and Two Sigma over the course of the past five years. I always tell the recruiter I've never heard back from them in the past, but they're always confident that they can vouch for me and get me an interview. Of course, I never hear back and the recruiter is puzzled.
  - tomp 6y ago
    I think at least half of the reason for that is that it makes it easier for them to see your pst salary / bonus.
- PragmaticPulp 6y ago
  > How important is your pedigree in getting a (good) tech job? Working at a well-known company can definitely help open doors. It proves that you’ve already completed their challenging interview process and it’s also assumed that you picked up some good engineering practices while working there. However, pedigree alone won’t get you jobs at most places. You still have to go through the interview so they can see how you perform on a level playing field. As much as online comments hate the coding challenge interview problems, they’re actually a great thing for people without impressive career pedigrees. It’s the only way you’re going to get to compete on a somewhat level playing field next to the kid who went to an Ivy League and landed all the right internships due to their parents’ connections. Generally speaking, it’s the people who have jobs at well known companies who want to get rid of coding challenges and go back to hiring based on pedigree, mostly because it benefits them greatly and reduces their competition. In reality, anyone talented enough to work at top companies doesn’t have to study much for coding interviews. This idea that coding interviews are somehow filtering out brilliant engineers and selecting for less qualified people is largely a myth. The reality is that engineers just don’t like being challenged on the spot and would rather employers just trust their resume. That is, if they already have a good resume. The juniors love coding challenges because it’s a way to prove your skills without relying on pedigree or university or family connections.

by SPBS 6y ago

decafninja 6y ago

How important is your pedigree in getting a (good) tech job? If you've worked as a SWE in some capacity, it seems like most companies (even top ones) consider you good enough to at least interview you. My pedigree is average at best. I've worked my entire career at non-tech companies (banks, hedge funds) doing decidedly unsexy work. I'm still able to attract enough attention that FAANG and many other top tech company recruiters contact me first. Interestingly enough, it's the top companies in my current sector (finance) that refuse to even have an internal recruiter casually speak with me. i.e. Citadel, Two Sigma, Jane Street, etc. There's also stories I see occasionally on LinkedIn, etc. of people from completely non-technical backgrounds getting hired as SWEs at top tech companies. Taxi drivers, ex-felons, aestheticians, etc. getting hired as SWEs at FAANG and unicorns.

necubi 6y ago
My experience interviewing with hedge funds is that they expect candidates to be working with an external recruiter.
- decafninja 6y ago
  Yup - seems that's the way it works in finance. External recruiter sends my resume to a firm, internal recruiter then does a casual chat with me, and assuming I don't throw any red flags, I proceed to the coding phone screen. Multiple external recruiters have attempted to submit me to Citadel and Two Sigma over the course of the past five years. I always tell the recruiter I've never heard back from them in the past, but they're always confident that they can vouch for me and get me an interview. Of course, I never hear back and the recruiter is puzzled.
- tomp 6y ago
  I think at least half of the reason for that is that it makes it easier for them to see your pst salary / bonus.
PragmaticPulp 6y ago
> How important is your pedigree in getting a (good) tech job? Working at a well-known company can definitely help open doors. It proves that you’ve already completed their challenging interview process and it’s also assumed that you picked up some good engineering practices while working there. However, pedigree alone won’t get you jobs at most places. You still have to go through the interview so they can see how you perform on a level playing field. As much as online comments hate the coding challenge interview problems, they’re actually a great thing for people without impressive career pedigrees. It’s the only way you’re going to get to compete on a somewhat level playing field next to the kid who went to an Ivy League and landed all the right internships due to their parents’ connections. Generally speaking, it’s the people who have jobs at well known companies who want to get rid of coding challenges and go back to hiring based on pedigree, mostly because it benefits them greatly and reduces their competition. In reality, anyone talented enough to work at top companies doesn’t have to study much for coding interviews. This idea that coding interviews are somehow filtering out brilliant engineers and selecting for less qualified people is largely a myth. The reality is that engineers just don’t like being challenged on the spot and would rather employers just trust their resume. That is, if they already have a good resume. The juniors love coding challenges because it’s a way to prove your skills without relying on pedigree or university or family connections.