3 ms·

They say to expect 9 hours of interviews, on top of all this homework. All-in, this looks like it would take at minimum one full day of work just writing on top

They say to expect 9 hours of interviews, on top of all this homework. All-in, this looks like it would take at minimum one full day of work just writing on top of at least one extra-full day of interviewing and that's not including time to research, think, and copyedit the written homework or generate work samples if they don't already exist. Later on it insinuates the candidate would be expected to read internal issues and documentation requiring yet more of the candidates time - all for free without even the promise of an offer yet. This is essentially the same as Canonical's well-known and ridiculed process, except this is from a hot startup so it might get a pass. I have nothing but the strongest distaste for LeetCode interviews but this is another flavor of absurd that still takes a huge time commitment from the interviewee which inherently discriminates against those already employed, those later in life, and those interviewing at more than one company. More evidence for my big binder of evidence that interviewing culture in our industry is entirely some grotesque form of hazing ritual that builds upon itself, with each company and team deciding that the specific form of pain that they had to go through is the ideal form to subject candidates to in order to justify the pain inflicted on them.

steveklabnik 3y ago
For what it's worth, I hear your concerns re: the kind of person that can apply, but in practice, my co-workers at Oxide are more "later in life" than in any other job I have previously worked at. I have personally regarded that as a positive.
- jakebasile 3y ago
  Appreciate the response, and I'm glad you have a team of experienced teammates. This industry struggles with ageism so it's nice to hear when that cycle is broken. As you can tell I take a dim view of most of our industry practices around hiring and it's one of those things that can rile me up. I think the vast majority of interview structures are heavily weighted toward favoring fresh grads (more time to dedicate to prep, fresher knowledge of the type of rote CS stuff that you learn in college but rarely used in industry, more willingness to put up with onerous interview requirements). I think it's likely because less experienced employees tend to be easier for companies to exploit, and so companies allow it to continue by feeding into my above-mentioned theory of hazing. Interview practices like we have impact people in negative ways small and large, yet I have seen no evidence that they produce better results than more humane methods. I hope that as Oxide grows and succeeds (and I do wish y'all the best!) that you're able to either streamline your interview process to be more accessible and/or offer alternate paths.
  - steveklabnik 3y ago
    Thanks. As said elsewhere in the thread, I don’t think we’re perfect. Hiring is very hard. Notably we don’t really have room for more junior folks at this stage of the company, not because we don’t want to help people grow in their careers, but just because we only recently achieved our first revenue. Many folks are looking forward to the days when we can have an internship program and similar. But we have to build a sustainable company first, otherwise we wouldn’t be helping those people grow, but instead invite them into a dead end. Things are tending positively! It just takes time.

steveklabnik 3y ago

For what it's worth, I hear your concerns re: the kind of person that can apply, but in practice, my co-workers at Oxide are more "later in life" than in any other job I have previously worked at. I have personally regarded that as a positive.

jakebasile 3y ago
Appreciate the response, and I'm glad you have a team of experienced teammates. This industry struggles with ageism so it's nice to hear when that cycle is broken. As you can tell I take a dim view of most of our industry practices around hiring and it's one of those things that can rile me up. I think the vast majority of interview structures are heavily weighted toward favoring fresh grads (more time to dedicate to prep, fresher knowledge of the type of rote CS stuff that you learn in college but rarely used in industry, more willingness to put up with onerous interview requirements). I think it's likely because less experienced employees tend to be easier for companies to exploit, and so companies allow it to continue by feeding into my above-mentioned theory of hazing. Interview practices like we have impact people in negative ways small and large, yet I have seen no evidence that they produce better results than more humane methods. I hope that as Oxide grows and succeeds (and I do wish y'all the best!) that you're able to either streamline your interview process to be more accessible and/or offer alternate paths.
- steveklabnik 3y ago
  Thanks. As said elsewhere in the thread, I don’t think we’re perfect. Hiring is very hard. Notably we don’t really have room for more junior folks at this stage of the company, not because we don’t want to help people grow in their careers, but just because we only recently achieved our first revenue. Many folks are looking forward to the days when we can have an internship program and similar. But we have to build a sustainable company first, otherwise we wouldn’t be helping those people grow, but instead invite them into a dead end. Things are tending positively! It just takes time.