4 ms·
Follow instructions. I like to say "please respond with short, focused answers. Two or three sentences per question max." The interviewer will inevitably r
by runamuck 3y ago
Follow instructions. I like to say "please respond with short, focused answers. Two or three sentences per question max." The interviewer will inevitably ramble on with unfocused stream of conscious word vomit until I have to cut him/ her off.
- jacamera 3y agoThank you for sharing this and for providing explicit instructions during your interviews. It's confusing and awkward when the interviewers set it up as a casual conversation. There are no natural conversational cues when you're talking to muted participants who are looking down writing notes and continue to do so for a few seconds even after you stop talking. It feels rude and uncomfortable to just deliver a short statement and stop but I suppose that's probably always going to be the best strategy. I'm new to interviewing and suspect I just failed a final round due to word vomit. I would have much preferred to be working through a coding problem instead of having a "conversation".
- angarg12 3y agoOne big point I'm missing from this post is "work on your communication skills". People shit on STAR method or variants, but the fact is that unless you are a great communicator (and most engineers I interview aren't), you will do better by adding some structure to your answers. And then there is people who just ignore your questions and ramble on and on. Listen to your interviewer and directly answer their questions.