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The advice of going on interviews semi-regularly is one that I tell everyone soliciting advice (even my direct reports, though only once and only if conversati

The advice of going on interviews semi-regularly is one that I tell everyone soliciting advice (even my direct reports, though only once and only if conversation veers that way!). I don’t mean the leetcode hoops (etc, though that is part of the game) but once you’re in the door. It’s a unique skillset that degrades fast, not unlike dating skills.

deeeeplearning 6y ago
Imagine if a Brain Surgeon was quizzed on Liver anatomy every time they wanted to interviewed for a job. It makes no sense and is borderline irrelevant to their actual job of you know doing brain surgery.
- vidarh 6y ago
  I would however imagine them to need to be able to show good skills at communicating the things they actually do, and being good at communicating that is in itself a skill that they will not necessarily use on a daily basis.
  - deeeeplearning 6y ago
    >I would however imagine them to need to be able to show good skills at communicating Yes, that's called an interview. No one is saying there is no need to interview... So you seem to agree that leetcode style questions are irrelevant and pointless?
    - vidarh 6y ago
      Yes, I do, but the comment you replied to above also made the point that those kinds of questions are not the primary reason why you need to practice interview skills, so it's an odd thing to focus on.
- gizmo686 6y ago
  Doctors routinely need to update their certification by taking a formal exam; which includes subjects that they never except when studying for said exam. You don't need technical screenings when just getting through the front door involves passing a rigorous certification process.
  - vonmoltke 6y ago
    > Doctors routinely need to update their certification by taking a formal exam They don't in any place in the US I have lived.
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  > Imagine if a Brain Surgeon was quizzed on Liver anatomy every time they wanted to interviewed for a job. If software developers had the kind of exams getting initially licensed, and the ongoing continuing education requirements imposed to maintain their licenses, that regulated professions tend to have (doctors, lawyers, nurses, even schoolteachers), then they probably wouldn’t have every hiring process trying to compensate for the absence of such prior screening.
_qulr 6y ago
> It’s a unique skillset that degrades fast, not unlike dating skills. It's crucial to continue dating while you're in a relationship. Especially a long-term relationship, which can cause your dating skills to become very rusty.
- xtracto 6y ago
  Haha, the similarities are more than I thought at first: That's a thought process that you would think when you are young and naïve. Playing the "dating" game. But as time passes, you just stop bothering and the "dating game" becomes just natural interactions. Same with job-seeking, as time passes by I find myself more and more reluctant to "play the game". To the point that I won't proceed with a job process if it requires me to jump those stupid hoops (my 2 last jobs, 3 and 7 years ago I got without a real technical interview, and they were both highly technical). This means that right now jobs that I get will be "limited" to people I know and people who knows me. As a head of engineering, right now I am trying to convince a good friend of mine (and amazing technologist) to join my team. I wouldn't dream of putting him through the "normal" that other general candidates go through.
- derekja 6y ago
  Well, actually I'm in a long-term polyamorous relationship and my partner keeps telling me to go do this because I haven't felt much like dating this year!

deeeeplearning 6y ago

Imagine if a Brain Surgeon was quizzed on Liver anatomy every time they wanted to interviewed for a job. It makes no sense and is borderline irrelevant to their actual job of you know doing brain surgery.

vidarh 6y ago
I would however imagine them to need to be able to show good skills at communicating the things they actually do, and being good at communicating that is in itself a skill that they will not necessarily use on a daily basis.
- deeeeplearning 6y ago
  >I would however imagine them to need to be able to show good skills at communicating Yes, that's called an interview. No one is saying there is no need to interview... So you seem to agree that leetcode style questions are irrelevant and pointless?
  - vidarh 6y ago
    Yes, I do, but the comment you replied to above also made the point that those kinds of questions are not the primary reason why you need to practice interview skills, so it's an odd thing to focus on.
gizmo686 6y ago
Doctors routinely need to update their certification by taking a formal exam; which includes subjects that they never except when studying for said exam. You don't need technical screenings when just getting through the front door involves passing a rigorous certification process.
- vonmoltke 6y ago
  > Doctors routinely need to update their certification by taking a formal exam They don't in any place in the US I have lived.
dragonwriter 6y ago
> Imagine if a Brain Surgeon was quizzed on Liver anatomy every time they wanted to interviewed for a job. If software developers had the kind of exams getting initially licensed, and the ongoing continuing education requirements imposed to maintain their licenses, that regulated professions tend to have (doctors, lawyers, nurses, even schoolteachers), then they probably wouldn’t have every hiring process trying to compensate for the absence of such prior screening.

_qulr 6y ago

> It’s a unique skillset that degrades fast, not unlike dating skills. It's crucial to continue dating while you're in a relationship. Especially a long-term relationship, which can cause your dating skills to become very rusty.

xtracto 6y ago
Haha, the similarities are more than I thought at first: That's a thought process that you would think when you are young and naïve. Playing the "dating" game. But as time passes, you just stop bothering and the "dating game" becomes just natural interactions. Same with job-seeking, as time passes by I find myself more and more reluctant to "play the game". To the point that I won't proceed with a job process if it requires me to jump those stupid hoops (my 2 last jobs, 3 and 7 years ago I got without a real technical interview, and they were both highly technical). This means that right now jobs that I get will be "limited" to people I know and people who knows me. As a head of engineering, right now I am trying to convince a good friend of mine (and amazing technologist) to join my team. I wouldn't dream of putting him through the "normal" that other general candidates go through.
derekja 6y ago
Well, actually I'm in a long-term polyamorous relationship and my partner keeps telling me to go do this because I haven't felt much like dating this year!