4 ms·

Personal anecdote - several months ago I got an interview at a prestigious big tech company. I couldn't sleep properly for at least a week before the interview

by jstx1 5y ago

Personal anecdote - several months ago I got an interview at a prestigious big tech company. I couldn't sleep properly for at least a week before the interview and I failed. I also track my bodyweight and I can see a spike up just after the interview and then another one after I got rejected - I gained over 10kg (22lbs) in the following weeks while before that I was successfully losing weight for a while.

yellow_lead 5y ago
It's hard to not be nervous for these interviews especially when coming from a non-FANG / huge tech company. The salary difference and opportunity can very much change your life. I don't have advice for this, but what you said resonates with me.
- raydev 5y ago
  Personally, I did the phone screen for FB when it would've been a lifechanging 6x compensation boost. And after a couple years trying out at lower-tier-but-still-Bay-Area companies I landed a job that was "only" 4x. I made it to the onsite the second time and failed that, but it mattered less since the money, while still significant, was no longer life-changing. You've probably heard it before, but.... yeah. Practice. All the failures you accumulate do eventually add up to knowledge and some successes. Unfortunately, the failures seem to come at great cost to my physical and mental health. But the money is good.
joelbluminator 5y ago
Are you anxious in general? Or do you have some issue with tests? I hate algorithm interviews like the next guy but it sounds like you have it worse than most.
- jstx1 5y ago
  In general I'm not anxious person at all, quite the opposite. I found it very surprising myself. I actually prefer algorithm interviews, and I had never really been anxious for an interview before. This was also remote - I suspect that it would have been easier in person (I know for a lot of people it would be the opposite though).
curiousgal 5y ago
As someone struggling to gain weight, alright!
- jstx1 5y ago
  It wasn't the kind of weight you want to be gaining.
ssully 5y ago
I don't have it this bad, but I certainly have major anxiety during interviews. I was interviewing for a position at my current company and I blanked on what wget did. Literally a utility I used frequently and I completely blanked on it. So I bombed that interview, but I got a job with another group at the same company. I still get secondhand embarrassment whenever I think about it.

by jstx1 5y ago

yellow_lead 5y ago

It's hard to not be nervous for these interviews especially when coming from a non-FANG / huge tech company. The salary difference and opportunity can very much change your life. I don't have advice for this, but what you said resonates with me.

raydev 5y ago
Personally, I did the phone screen for FB when it would've been a lifechanging 6x compensation boost. And after a couple years trying out at lower-tier-but-still-Bay-Area companies I landed a job that was "only" 4x. I made it to the onsite the second time and failed that, but it mattered less since the money, while still significant, was no longer life-changing. You've probably heard it before, but.... yeah. Practice. All the failures you accumulate do eventually add up to knowledge and some successes. Unfortunately, the failures seem to come at great cost to my physical and mental health. But the money is good.

joelbluminator 5y ago

Are you anxious in general? Or do you have some issue with tests? I hate algorithm interviews like the next guy but it sounds like you have it worse than most.

jstx1 5y ago
In general I'm not anxious person at all, quite the opposite. I found it very surprising myself. I actually prefer algorithm interviews, and I had never really been anxious for an interview before. This was also remote - I suspect that it would have been easier in person (I know for a lot of people it would be the opposite though).

curiousgal 5y ago

As someone struggling to gain weight, alright!

jstx1 5y ago
It wasn't the kind of weight you want to be gaining.

ssully 5y ago

I don't have it this bad, but I certainly have major anxiety during interviews. I was interviewing for a position at my current company and I blanked on what wget did. Literally a utility I used frequently and I completely blanked on it. So I bombed that interview, but I got a job with another group at the same company. I still get secondhand embarrassment whenever I think about it.