4 ms·

I had a similar, smaller scale of that happen, in a sort of reverse direction a few years ago. My director dropped a resume on my desk for someone coming from a

I had a similar, smaller scale of that happen, in a sort of reverse direction a few years ago. My director dropped a resume on my desk for someone coming from a company I had worked at ten years prior, thinking I might have met them (it was a small organization). I didn't recognize the name, but skimmed through the resume quickly, and their primary claim on their work history was something I invented just six months before leaving the organization. I couldn't believe it. What were the odds of that resume ending on my desk? Basically zero, but what a huge mistake. And they didn't claim they had maintained and extended it, they claimed they had invented it! He didn't get called in for an interview.

dhosek 5y ago
I thought this was going in the direction that I experienced. I had a recruiter try to recruit me for the position that I was already in (we were expanding the team, not replacing me).
steelframe 5y ago
Having conducted technical interviews at FAANG companies for over 10 years, I've gotten to the point where I never believe anything anyone claims on their resumes unless I can independently verify them. I also make it a point to ask probing questions about where they got the idea of "inventing" what they did and what alternatives to "making a brand new thing" they considered at the time. However one of my favorite questions to ask is, "What don't you like about what you invented?" A true creator of something is always acutely aware of its flaws. They're unsettled about its shortcomings and wants to do better. In describing the flaws they demonstrate deep insight into the problem space, and they explain expertly how things don't go perfectly in certain corner cases or how the code could have been better organized. The poser will almost always struggle to come up with criticisms of what they "invented" and try to pass it off as a spectacular feat of engineering brilliance.
- TimPC 5y ago
  Your favourite question has some cultural gaps as in many countries in interview settings people downplay weaknesses and flaws. It’s why a lot of weakness questions are often ineffective. Unless you are acutely aware of when a person is doing this BECAUSE it’s an interview you’re going to get some answers that might lead you to reject good candidates.
  - steelframe 5y ago
    I'm aware of what you're referring to, and I can assure you that this cultural gap can often extend beyond just the interview and into the workplace.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - bradlys 5y ago
    Honesty is something that never goes down well in an interview when it comes to being critical. (At least in the US)
    - bartread 5y ago
      I've made a lot of foul-ups in the course of my career. When people ask me about mistakes I've made and what I've learned from them during interviews it's generally an easy question to answer because I have this overstuffed mental file folder of examples. I can't speak for the US but, in the UK, don't misrepresent your work in a job interview. I can't say you'll never miss out on an offer by being honest, though I don't believe I ever have, but would you really want to work for people who'd prefer you to lie or misrepresent mistakes you've made than be open and truthful about them? To me that's something of a red flag: it's at least indicative of a culture where mistakes are likely to be covered up, leading to a lack of reflection, learning and improvement... and also quite possibly storing up bigger problems for later. (FWIW, I started as a developer and am now the CTO of a mid-sized multinational market research and insight company. This is nowhere near as grand as it might sound, and isn't meant to be a boast, but hopefully illustrates that being honest doesn't appear to have done my career any long-term harm. Some things that have, if not derailed my career, caused me to take some fairly substantial detours: (i) taking things too personally, (ii) placing too much weight on others' assessments of me, (iii) and I say this as somebody who is wary of people who change jobs too often, but... staying in a job way past the point where there was anything else I could learn/give/progress. I am, of course, but a single data point.)
    - steelframe 5y ago
      > Honesty is something that never goes down well in an interview when it comes to being critical. (At least in the US) I wouldn't paint all tech companies in the U.S. with such broad strokes. In the interview loop for the job I have now in the U.S., every single interviewer asked me a question about "how things could have gone better." I talked about mistakes I made, lessons learned, and how I could do better next time. I am told the feedback from that loop was across-the-board "outstanding."
- Aperocky 5y ago
  > "What don't you like about what you invented?" A true creator of something is always acutely aware of its flaws. OH YES. I've done a lot of things for both work and side, and this is the one thing I can go on and on. Things that are a choice of the lesser evil, things that are unfortunate, things that we just don't have time for.

dhosek 5y ago

I thought this was going in the direction that I experienced. I had a recruiter try to recruit me for the position that I was already in (we were expanding the team, not replacing me).

steelframe 5y ago

Having conducted technical interviews at FAANG companies for over 10 years, I've gotten to the point where I never believe anything anyone claims on their resumes unless I can independently verify them. I also make it a point to ask probing questions about where they got the idea of "inventing" what they did and what alternatives to "making a brand new thing" they considered at the time. However one of my favorite questions to ask is, "What don't you like about what you invented?" A true creator of something is always acutely aware of its flaws. They're unsettled about its shortcomings and wants to do better. In describing the flaws they demonstrate deep insight into the problem space, and they explain expertly how things don't go perfectly in certain corner cases or how the code could have been better organized. The poser will almost always struggle to come up with criticisms of what they "invented" and try to pass it off as a spectacular feat of engineering brilliance.

TimPC 5y ago
Your favourite question has some cultural gaps as in many countries in interview settings people downplay weaknesses and flaws. It’s why a lot of weakness questions are often ineffective. Unless you are acutely aware of when a person is doing this BECAUSE it’s an interview you’re going to get some answers that might lead you to reject good candidates.
- steelframe 5y ago
  I'm aware of what you're referring to, and I can assure you that this cultural gap can often extend beyond just the interview and into the workplace.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- bradlys 5y ago
  Honesty is something that never goes down well in an interview when it comes to being critical. (At least in the US)
  - bartread 5y ago
    I've made a lot of foul-ups in the course of my career. When people ask me about mistakes I've made and what I've learned from them during interviews it's generally an easy question to answer because I have this overstuffed mental file folder of examples. I can't speak for the US but, in the UK, don't misrepresent your work in a job interview. I can't say you'll never miss out on an offer by being honest, though I don't believe I ever have, but would you really want to work for people who'd prefer you to lie or misrepresent mistakes you've made than be open and truthful about them? To me that's something of a red flag: it's at least indicative of a culture where mistakes are likely to be covered up, leading to a lack of reflection, learning and improvement... and also quite possibly storing up bigger problems for later. (FWIW, I started as a developer and am now the CTO of a mid-sized multinational market research and insight company. This is nowhere near as grand as it might sound, and isn't meant to be a boast, but hopefully illustrates that being honest doesn't appear to have done my career any long-term harm. Some things that have, if not derailed my career, caused me to take some fairly substantial detours: (i) taking things too personally, (ii) placing too much weight on others' assessments of me, (iii) and I say this as somebody who is wary of people who change jobs too often, but... staying in a job way past the point where there was anything else I could learn/give/progress. I am, of course, but a single data point.)
  - steelframe 5y ago
    > Honesty is something that never goes down well in an interview when it comes to being critical. (At least in the US) I wouldn't paint all tech companies in the U.S. with such broad strokes. In the interview loop for the job I have now in the U.S., every single interviewer asked me a question about "how things could have gone better." I talked about mistakes I made, lessons learned, and how I could do better next time. I am told the feedback from that loop was across-the-board "outstanding."
Aperocky 5y ago
> "What don't you like about what you invented?" A true creator of something is always acutely aware of its flaws. OH YES. I've done a lot of things for both work and side, and this is the one thing I can go on and on. Things that are a choice of the lesser evil, things that are unfortunate, things that we just don't have time for.