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Author states that the following threw him off: Interviewer: "you must be writing a lot of Swift" after a few minor syntax errors. Maybe being put off by an am

Author states that the following threw him off: Interviewer: "you must be writing a lot of Swift" after a few minor syntax errors. Maybe being put off by an ambiguous comment was why you didn't get the job? Did you consider maybe in his notes he might've said: "Smart guy but was put off by a single comment (a failed attempt at humour on my part). Probably not someone who would thrive in a lively atmosphere". I had an interviewer ask a question and, not satisfied with the answer, get up and walk out. The other guy apologized and we had a good discussion after the other guy left.

minimaxir 5y ago
Then that's a massive failure on the interviewer's side that they cannot respect that the candidate may be under anxiety.
taurath 5y ago
There is absolutely 0 signal there as to whether someone would "thrive in a lively atmosphere" when you're jumping through hoops for an interview that will determine your financial well being and a good portion of your live for the next n years, and its a fun example of how "engineer social hacks" continuously fail in the real world.
olivierlacan 5y ago
Ah, so you're saying you're financially and emotionally secure enough not to be completely discombobulated by this incredible display of disrespect? Good for you I guess, but maybe don't apply your own mental blueprint to the rest of the world. Recommending candidates have thicker skin isn't really great a way to improve hiring in general.
- Hnrobert42 5y ago
  An incredible display of disrespect? It might be rude, but that’s about it. Depending on the tone of voice, it could have been intended as a way to relieve the author’s tension. It does sound a bit annoying, but if that is the author’s worst interviewing experience, it’s not that bad.
  - markmark 5y ago
    On reading it my thought was the interviewer was making a small joke to put the author at ease: "Ah, you've forgotten some semis, you're probably writing a lot of swift at the moment, it's okay". But he was in the room and I wasn't, so I can only trust his interpretation.
- ProjectArcturis 5y ago
  How is a lame joke about Swift an "incredible display of disrespect"?
- grepfru_it 5y ago
  i'm not sure you can jump to that conclusion either. there takes a certain level of maturity both emotional and financial at certain skill levels. a psychologist once pointed out to me that actors are able to take their nervousness and translate it into energy to use in the moment. at a point in my career i faced a similar dilemma but handled it completely differently than i had earlier. someone made a snide comment "but why would you use bash for this?" and i was able to take it in stride and the result of that comment got me the job. but at the start of my career i may have reacted negatively, i may have clammed up and stammered my way through the rest of the interview etc (i didn't get those jobs). could you imagine being in front of a C-level exec or a $300M customer and being discombobulated? no one wants to hire an insecure pre-sales engineer etc EDIT: i'm assuming engineering levels beyond senior. my past experiences have been around principal/architect roles which require a 'tough skin'. i would not expect rude remarks to a SE1 or SE2 and if that was the role, i would leave flustered with a bad taste in my mouth as well
- throwaway675309 5y ago
  Dial the rhetoric down, we can't really read the "context" in which this line was delivered by the interviewer. Glib? Sure. Incredible display of disrespect? Give me a break.
Cyph0n 5y ago
If you’re making jokes like this in an interview, you shouldn’t be an interviewer. There is a clear power imbalance between interviewer and interviewee that needs to be understood clearly. A somewhat comparable analogy is your manager joking about firing you and then evaluating you negatively when you don’t like the joke.
- Swizec 5y ago
  As an interviewer, I sometimes make comments like that and it isn’t negative or even a joke. Just trying to make the interviwee feel comfortable “Oh hey jumping between languages is hard, looks like you’re thinking in Swift right now, no worries about fumbling on syntax happens all the time”
  - Cyph0n 5y ago
    That sounds completely fine to me. At the end of the day, how you phrase things makes a huge difference, and even more so in stressful situations imo.
    - gkop 5y ago
      Would you spell out for us what is unambiguously Wrong about "you must be writing a lot of Swift"? A charitable interpretation could be this is a shallow joke about semicolons, that could be safe for lightening things up in an interview, especially when the audience is known to be familiar with Swift. My impression from the OP is that they were out of sync with their interviewer, they didn't "click". This is something that happens with humans. The interviewer may have detected this dynamic, and made the joke to break the ice. Obviously it backfired, but with another candidate perhaps it could have saved the interview? Separately, what do folks thinks about the importance of humor on teams, and the degree to which it's acceptable to screen for sense of humor as part of interviews?
      - Cyph0n 5y ago
        Can you explain how making this joke would have saved the interview? Here is how I see it. At best, you interrupt a candidate in the middle of a technical interview to make a joke. At worst, you ruin the interview experience for the candidate. To me, the cost/benefit is clear cut. During a technical interview, you are evaluating the candidate’s technical knowledge. You are not there to become friends. There will be time for that after the candidate goes through the interview process.
pavlov 5y ago
> "Smart guy but was put off by a single comment (a failed attempt at humour on my part). Probably not someone who would thrive in a lively atmosphere" This sounds like a cartoonish training example of the kind of subjective, possibly biased feedback that you absolutely shouldn’t be writing down as an interviewer.
mabbo 5y ago
I don't want to work in your "lively atmosphere". It sounds pretty toxic.

minimaxir 5y ago

Then that's a massive failure on the interviewer's side that they cannot respect that the candidate may be under anxiety.

taurath 5y ago

There is absolutely 0 signal there as to whether someone would "thrive in a lively atmosphere" when you're jumping through hoops for an interview that will determine your financial well being and a good portion of your live for the next n years, and its a fun example of how "engineer social hacks" continuously fail in the real world.

olivierlacan 5y ago

Ah, so you're saying you're financially and emotionally secure enough not to be completely discombobulated by this incredible display of disrespect? Good for you I guess, but maybe don't apply your own mental blueprint to the rest of the world. Recommending candidates have thicker skin isn't really great a way to improve hiring in general.

Hnrobert42 5y ago
An incredible display of disrespect? It might be rude, but that’s about it. Depending on the tone of voice, it could have been intended as a way to relieve the author’s tension. It does sound a bit annoying, but if that is the author’s worst interviewing experience, it’s not that bad.
- markmark 5y ago
  On reading it my thought was the interviewer was making a small joke to put the author at ease: "Ah, you've forgotten some semis, you're probably writing a lot of swift at the moment, it's okay". But he was in the room and I wasn't, so I can only trust his interpretation.
ProjectArcturis 5y ago
How is a lame joke about Swift an "incredible display of disrespect"?
grepfru_it 5y ago
i'm not sure you can jump to that conclusion either. there takes a certain level of maturity both emotional and financial at certain skill levels. a psychologist once pointed out to me that actors are able to take their nervousness and translate it into energy to use in the moment. at a point in my career i faced a similar dilemma but handled it completely differently than i had earlier. someone made a snide comment "but why would you use bash for this?" and i was able to take it in stride and the result of that comment got me the job. but at the start of my career i may have reacted negatively, i may have clammed up and stammered my way through the rest of the interview etc (i didn't get those jobs). could you imagine being in front of a C-level exec or a $300M customer and being discombobulated? no one wants to hire an insecure pre-sales engineer etc EDIT: i'm assuming engineering levels beyond senior. my past experiences have been around principal/architect roles which require a 'tough skin'. i would not expect rude remarks to a SE1 or SE2 and if that was the role, i would leave flustered with a bad taste in my mouth as well
throwaway675309 5y ago
Dial the rhetoric down, we can't really read the "context" in which this line was delivered by the interviewer. Glib? Sure. Incredible display of disrespect? Give me a break.

Cyph0n 5y ago

If you’re making jokes like this in an interview, you shouldn’t be an interviewer. There is a clear power imbalance between interviewer and interviewee that needs to be understood clearly. A somewhat comparable analogy is your manager joking about firing you and then evaluating you negatively when you don’t like the joke.

Swizec 5y ago
As an interviewer, I sometimes make comments like that and it isn’t negative or even a joke. Just trying to make the interviwee feel comfortable “Oh hey jumping between languages is hard, looks like you’re thinking in Swift right now, no worries about fumbling on syntax happens all the time”
- Cyph0n 5y ago
  That sounds completely fine to me. At the end of the day, how you phrase things makes a huge difference, and even more so in stressful situations imo.
  - gkop 5y ago
    Would you spell out for us what is unambiguously Wrong about "you must be writing a lot of Swift"? A charitable interpretation could be this is a shallow joke about semicolons, that could be safe for lightening things up in an interview, especially when the audience is known to be familiar with Swift. My impression from the OP is that they were out of sync with their interviewer, they didn't "click". This is something that happens with humans. The interviewer may have detected this dynamic, and made the joke to break the ice. Obviously it backfired, but with another candidate perhaps it could have saved the interview? Separately, what do folks thinks about the importance of humor on teams, and the degree to which it's acceptable to screen for sense of humor as part of interviews?
    - Cyph0n 5y ago
      Can you explain how making this joke would have saved the interview? Here is how I see it. At best, you interrupt a candidate in the middle of a technical interview to make a joke. At worst, you ruin the interview experience for the candidate. To me, the cost/benefit is clear cut. During a technical interview, you are evaluating the candidate’s technical knowledge. You are not there to become friends. There will be time for that after the candidate goes through the interview process.

pavlov 5y ago

> "Smart guy but was put off by a single comment (a failed attempt at humour on my part). Probably not someone who would thrive in a lively atmosphere" This sounds like a cartoonish training example of the kind of subjective, possibly biased feedback that you absolutely shouldn’t be writing down as an interviewer.

mabbo 5y ago

I don't want to work in your "lively atmosphere". It sounds pretty toxic.