7 ms·
Ask HN: Feedback on how we communicate our interview loop and work environment
Looking for feedback not on our interview loop, or our work environment, but how we communicate that to prospective candidates in our job ads about what to expect.
Yes? No? Too cringey? Not professional enough? We aren't adjusting how we perform the following interview loop or our workday, but I'll take criticism on how we communicate it to candidates.
* The Interview Loop *
Assuming you pass each stage, our interview loop consists of a brief screening chat with a principal engineer. A follow-up chat with the CEO. Then a day of one-on-one interviews with each principal engineer. We will grill you on your core competencies, we’ll look at your github if you have one, and we will crawl all through those github repos that belong to you, we’ll look at projects you’ve created and worked on, both personal and professional, and we’ll ask penetrating questions about your past work, but what we won’t do is “leetcode” you or give you an interminable take home project.
* How We Work *
We’re an international team. We work out of California, New Mexico, Oregon, Paris, Canada, Italy, China and often anywhere our feet take us. We gather in San Francisco and Paris every few months for several days where we can work on problems together, cook together (one of our engineers is a professionally trained chef), make music (some of our engineers are professional musicians), and figure out what our next steps will be. Our in-person gatherings are similar to “makerspace meetups” than professional office environments - we write code, wire up circuit boards, 3D print new components, trade stories, cook food, make decisions, make noise and make a mess. Our in-person gatherings are intense and a different type of work than what you do at your keyboard every day and they are never the same twice.
* Our Work Day *
Starting around 10AM PST or 10AM GMT depending on your local time zone.
We look for core overlap in our work days.
Being connected via Discord and email during our workday and being responsive when needed.
But also putting out the “do not disturb” sign when we need an extended period of focus.
Keeping up to date on the development of each other’s work.
Working remotely can be an isolating lifestyle, following each other’s work let’s us stay connected.
Keeping abreast of the latest developments in the high-end, cutting edge VR space.
Pushing and pulling to and from our code repo regularly.
We’d rather you push something that doesn’t work yet, twice a day, than push perfect once a month.
Showing our work, even when it is broken and not ready to be shown.
We’d rather see the engine disassembled in pieces, scattered across your living room floor, and you excitedly talking about what problems you are having and the solution you think will work than hiding everything away until it is ready.
Updating our tasks on Trello
And sometimes we do this diligently
And sometimes we forget
But the important thing is to communicate
Taking a once a week all hands meeting to discuss important issues.
Take a once a week one-on-one with your team lead/CEO.
Update everyone at end of day via Discord on what you worked on, what you’re going to work on tomorrow, and just keeping everyone in the loop in how your workday is going.
Saying “I don’t know how to do that... yet” an awful lot because we’re breaking new ground here, every day.
- yuppie_scum 5y agoI think it’s going to take you forever and a half to hire someone. But I do agree with no leetcode.
- justinlloyd 5y agoPerhaps you are latching on to "Then a day of one-on-one interviews with each principal engineer." and interpreting that as "a full day interview with each principal engineer." I will look in to rewording it if that is the case.
- vanusa 5y agoA brief screening chat with a principal engineer. A follow-up chat with the CEO. Then a day of one-on-one interviews with each principal engineer. A full day here, a full day there... seriously, how many days do they have to clear for your interview process altogether? It's sounding like quite a lot. Might be justified if you're offering outsize compensation, but something tells me you're probably not.
- justinlloyd 5y agoWhere are you reading a full day here, a full day there? Perhaps this sentence could be clarified: "Then a day of one-on-one interviews with each principal engineer." But I am unsure of how to say "it's about a day to interview with each principal engineer" because even though it is only about 4 hours or so of time, total, people need to take breaks. > Might be justified if you're offering outsize compensation, but something tells me you're probably not. I wonder how you could imply that based on our interview loop and how our team is structured.
- vanusa 5y agoA brief screening chat with a principal engineer. A follow-up chat with the CEO. Then a day of one-on-one interviews with each principal engineer. Sentences 1+2 together easily sound like a good chunk of a full day (considering breaks). As in, just from that description: "I don't know how long these 'brief' chats will take - sometimes they go on for hours and hours. And how many principal engineers? 2, 3, 4? I guess I'll find out when it all happens. So to be on the safe side, and considering time gaps, I'm going to essentially have to block of most of my day to talk with these people." And then sentence 3 is another full day, by your own acknowledgement. Which won't be just any day, either: "We will grill you on your core competencies, we’ll look at your github if you have one, and we will crawl all through those github repos that belong to you, we’ll look at projects you’ve created and worked on, both personal and professional, and we’ll ask penetrating questions about your past work." So that's 2 days. Plus whatever other overhead before/after. What I'm trying to get at here is that - taken all factors together - some companies seem to have a cavalier attitude about accessing the candidate's time. I don't think that's your intention here. But it's something to be aware of. So to be more charitable: you could do well to explicitly "timebox" the request for the candidate's time. Like this, for example: "Round 1 (2 hours max) will consist of introductory chats with 2-3 principal engineers, and then with our CEO. Round 2, scheduled for another day, or spread over 2 days if that's easier for your, will consist of three 60-90 minute sessions again with the engineers, in which <blah, blah> but hopefully taking no more than 5 hours max." The point is you should convey the impression that you understand that the candidate's time is extremely valuable to them (which of course it is). And not the opposite impression (as so many companies do), that the candidate's time is essentially "on tap".