4 ms·

> My warm-up questions are usually something like "reverse a singly-linked-list" or "check if a string is a palindrome", and you would be surprised at how many

by egfx 4y ago

> My warm-up questions are usually something like "reverse a singly-linked-list" or "check if a string is a palindrome", and you would be surprised at how many people have just no clue on how to do it, I don’t know how to do it. I would need dictionary.com to find out what a palindrome means and stackoverflow for the rest, but I’ve used and evaluated five different JavaScript frameworks in building full scale web apps. Would you hire me?

Doxin 4y ago
An interview is not a quiz. You're allowed to ask clarifying questions. I'm sure most interviewers won't discount you for being unfamiliar with a fairly obscure word. Needing stackoverflow to check for palindrome-ness would probably be a bigger problem though. Of course during your day-to-day you'll be allowed to google all sorts of things, but checking if something is a palindrome is so basic that all google could possibly provide you is the exact answer to the question.
- egfx 4y ago
  That's exactly the point and in response to the sibling comment as well - using StackOverFlow to find solutions to simple problems is the smart thing to do. Developers on SO compete for the best solutions. You're job as a developer is to curate and pick up new modern day conventions in doing so. The reason I don't waste time on reversing a palindrome is because frankly I'd rather spend time doing more important things for my products, and because its such a fundamental knowledge then how to reverse a palindrome is an answer that is available as fast as my brain could think about it. There are more important and more interesting problems to solve.
iLoveOncall 4y ago
I would explain you and give you an example of what a palindrome is. And if you need stackoverflow to reverse a linked list, no, I would not hire you. Many people have used many technologies. I started programming when I was 12, and I had no idea of what I was doing beyond copy-pasting code from tutorials and putting them together, but if "how many technologies did this dude work with" is your criteria, you would have hired 12 years old me.

by egfx 4y ago

Doxin 4y ago

An interview is not a quiz. You're allowed to ask clarifying questions. I'm sure most interviewers won't discount you for being unfamiliar with a fairly obscure word. Needing stackoverflow to check for palindrome-ness would probably be a bigger problem though. Of course during your day-to-day you'll be allowed to google all sorts of things, but checking if something is a palindrome is so basic that all google could possibly provide you is the exact answer to the question.

egfx 4y ago
That's exactly the point and in response to the sibling comment as well - using StackOverFlow to find solutions to simple problems is the smart thing to do. Developers on SO compete for the best solutions. You're job as a developer is to curate and pick up new modern day conventions in doing so. The reason I don't waste time on reversing a palindrome is because frankly I'd rather spend time doing more important things for my products, and because its such a fundamental knowledge then how to reverse a palindrome is an answer that is available as fast as my brain could think about it. There are more important and more interesting problems to solve.

iLoveOncall 4y ago

I would explain you and give you an example of what a palindrome is. And if you need stackoverflow to reverse a linked list, no, I would not hire you. Many people have used many technologies. I started programming when I was 12, and I had no idea of what I was doing beyond copy-pasting code from tutorials and putting them together, but if "how many technologies did this dude work with" is your criteria, you would have hired 12 years old me.