3 ms·

> Or they read a prep bible that told them this is how Google does things. Or they read an actual book about a subject (a bit better) but didn't really absorb t

> Or they read a prep bible that told them this is how Google does things. Or they read an actual book about a subject (a bit better) but didn't really absorb the ideas (which is fine! happens to me too!), but wanted to use the thing they learned about anyway. In my experience and from what I have heard from other people, this is just how people generally are. It seems rare that people consider things rather than regurgitating them. As a young guy who doesn't like to cargo cult like that it's sad to hear, but on the other hand it's less competition for me. Though a lot of experienced people are also like that so...

Aeolun 5y ago
I mean, I have 10 years of experience in the field and when someone asks me that in an interview I still go like ‘duuuh?’. They’re like asking me to package up 10 years of experience into a 3 sentence package. How many ways are there to tell you that a caching mechanism is better for a site that barely ever changes than using database replication (yes, answering that question probably gave me some form of trauma). I do a lot of stuff intuitively, and don’t consider the exact reasons behind them every single time. It’s like when my maths teacher asks me to write out the steps to arrive at the solution. “But the answer is 30, right?”, “Yes, but I need to see how you arrive at that solution.”, “I look at the problem. The answer is obvious.” Do I really need to stop and unwind the steps my mind takes to arrive there. I’m not in school anymore, and I don’t have to graduate any more, so my patience for that kind of shit has gone down correspondingly.
- no_wizard 5y ago
  It’s really about approximating the experience as a why to a decision. Usually I try to think through questions and talk out their benefits and things start to get more “obvious” to me as I go. Admittedly, I don’t struggle near as much in system / software design questions, it’s my “niche” (tldr thinking in systems changed my life as a teen) but data structures and algorithms still kill me, in much the same way. I have the correct intuition but can’t for the life of me correctly describe it in Big O notation and I sometimes “freeze” on questions because it’s not something I do every day and I can just well…look things up sometimes, or work through a problem iteratively until I have a solution
- ZephyrBlu 5y ago
  I'm not talking about interviews themselves, but the way people prepare for them. > Do I really need to stop and unwind the steps my mind takes to arrive there If the other person can't tell whether you're regurgitating it or you actually know what you're talking about then yeah probably.
  - Aeolun 5y ago
    I agree this skill is valuble in interviews, but it doesn’t apply nearly so much in my day job, where I’m already the expert. Hence it’s frustrating that the skills necessary for passing an interview do not align with those necessary to do the job.
    - hn_go_brrrrr 5y ago
      I've had a very different experience. Being able to explain my thought process well is a key part of my job, whether its mentoring juniors or building consensus for larger architectural changes.

Aeolun 5y ago

I mean, I have 10 years of experience in the field and when someone asks me that in an interview I still go like ‘duuuh?’. They’re like asking me to package up 10 years of experience into a 3 sentence package. How many ways are there to tell you that a caching mechanism is better for a site that barely ever changes than using database replication (yes, answering that question probably gave me some form of trauma). I do a lot of stuff intuitively, and don’t consider the exact reasons behind them every single time. It’s like when my maths teacher asks me to write out the steps to arrive at the solution. “But the answer is 30, right?”, “Yes, but I need to see how you arrive at that solution.”, “I look at the problem. The answer is obvious.” Do I really need to stop and unwind the steps my mind takes to arrive there. I’m not in school anymore, and I don’t have to graduate any more, so my patience for that kind of shit has gone down correspondingly.

no_wizard 5y ago
It’s really about approximating the experience as a why to a decision. Usually I try to think through questions and talk out their benefits and things start to get more “obvious” to me as I go. Admittedly, I don’t struggle near as much in system / software design questions, it’s my “niche” (tldr thinking in systems changed my life as a teen) but data structures and algorithms still kill me, in much the same way. I have the correct intuition but can’t for the life of me correctly describe it in Big O notation and I sometimes “freeze” on questions because it’s not something I do every day and I can just well…look things up sometimes, or work through a problem iteratively until I have a solution
ZephyrBlu 5y ago
I'm not talking about interviews themselves, but the way people prepare for them. > Do I really need to stop and unwind the steps my mind takes to arrive there If the other person can't tell whether you're regurgitating it or you actually know what you're talking about then yeah probably.
- Aeolun 5y ago
  I agree this skill is valuble in interviews, but it doesn’t apply nearly so much in my day job, where I’m already the expert. Hence it’s frustrating that the skills necessary for passing an interview do not align with those necessary to do the job.
  - hn_go_brrrrr 5y ago
    I've had a very different experience. Being able to explain my thought process well is a key part of my job, whether its mentoring juniors or building consensus for larger architectural changes.