5 ms·

It’s insane how uniformly bad every interview is these days. Everyone follows the same recruiter->leetcode->5ish “in person” interview process. If someone asks

by spyspy 2y ago

It’s insane how uniformly bad every interview is these days. Everyone follows the same recruiter->leetcode->5ish “in person” interview process. If someone asks me to “design twitter” or about a time I disagreed with my coworker one more time… Seriously considering the woodworking route.

JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> If someone asks me to “design twitter” or about a time I disagreed with my coworker one more time The number of adults with completely dysfunctional conflict-resolution skills is actually mind boggling.
- renlo 2y ago
  Who ever answers these questions truthfully though? It seems that this just tests for the ability to spin yarn at the interviewer. I was recently asked this question, and while I've had some disagreements with coworkers over minor things, I've never had a major disagreement that was noteworthy, so I (to my inevitable detriment) said: "Nothing really comes to mind at the moment but if something like that were to happen, I'd do X, Y, and Z". Given the reaction from the interviewer I doubt I passed. I still have 2 more interviews with this company.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - ativzzz 2y ago
    Preparing for such behavioral questions is part of the standard interview prep process. It's always been part of the interview game and it's really not that hard to come up with something you disagreed with someone on, negotiated with, and resolved. If you don't disagree with your coworkers on some part their technical decisions on a regular basis, then you probably don't review their code > some disagreements with coworkers over minor things Handling minor everyday disagreements gracefully is a valuable soft skill
    - vrosas 2y ago
      > Preparing for such behavioral questions is part of the standard interview prep process Ah the classic "it's not wrong if everyone's doing it" argument. But to me the op wasn't complaining about the content of the question, just the banality of answering it over and over.
    - temporarely 2y ago
      > interview game Yes, mediocre people like to select the same. > Handling minor everyday disagreements is a skill that does not need to be "prepared for" in an interview. And naturally the mediocrities that think asking the standard question and getting the standard answer back are also in for a surprise.
  - w0m 2y ago
    > Who ever answers these questions truthfully though? It's surprising how many candidates will say batshit crazy things not realizing they're bat shit crazy. It's like fizzbuzz at this point, just cuts out a surprisingly large chunk of the cruft out.
  - dudeWithAMood 2y ago
    I literally had a guy who was giving off really hostile vibes in the interview talk about shouting at someone when he didn't agree on the solution. Given this was a workplace where people argued a technical approach with cussing and yelling I didn't need more of that. I agree you'd think this is the dumbest question, and most people will make up something minor, but it does weed people out.
  - rdtsc 2y ago
    A lot of those are really a test of how well you can bullshit your way through. They probably have a fill-in-the-blanks form ready to complete with your answers, with some scoring derived from it, and your answer didn't fit in the form, so they'll pass until they find someone who can make up a good story on that particular topic.
  - Paul-Craft 2y ago
    I answer these types of questions as truthfully as possible. To my knowledge, it's never been these answers that hurt me in an interview. But, of course, there's never any real feedback in the hiring process, so it's borderline impossible to improve one's performance in that area. When it comes to disagreements not being noteworthy, it could also be that you've internalized "disagree and commit." That's not a failing; that's just moving the fuck on and not dwelling on past decisions, unless they actually bear revisiting.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- LouisSayers 2y ago
  These questions are actually ridiculous. They don't want to hear actual stories - in real life some people are just unreasonable assholes, and the conflict you have cannot be resolved in some MBA style procedure. What these questions do is push you into being somewhat sociopathic and twisting the truth to tell them what they want to hear. You'll end up hiring people that are excellent liars that can "navigate social situations".
VirusNewbie 2y ago
I didn't end up working there, but I thought Netflix absolutely nailed it when it came to good interviews. They were quick to schedule them, the people were smart and intelligent, and all their questions were top notch. I had three coding interviews, and they all involved very practical, challenging problems that I hadn't ever seen before. The system design ones was a good back and forth, it didn't feel confrontational or textobok. I highly recommend people looking for a job to at least give it a shot there.

by spyspy 2y ago

JumpCrisscross 2y ago

> If someone asks me to “design twitter” or about a time I disagreed with my coworker one more time The number of adults with completely dysfunctional conflict-resolution skills is actually mind boggling.

renlo 2y ago
Who ever answers these questions truthfully though? It seems that this just tests for the ability to spin yarn at the interviewer. I was recently asked this question, and while I've had some disagreements with coworkers over minor things, I've never had a major disagreement that was noteworthy, so I (to my inevitable detriment) said: "Nothing really comes to mind at the moment but if something like that were to happen, I'd do X, Y, and Z". Given the reaction from the interviewer I doubt I passed. I still have 2 more interviews with this company.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- ativzzz 2y ago
  Preparing for such behavioral questions is part of the standard interview prep process. It's always been part of the interview game and it's really not that hard to come up with something you disagreed with someone on, negotiated with, and resolved. If you don't disagree with your coworkers on some part their technical decisions on a regular basis, then you probably don't review their code > some disagreements with coworkers over minor things Handling minor everyday disagreements gracefully is a valuable soft skill
  - vrosas 2y ago
    > Preparing for such behavioral questions is part of the standard interview prep process Ah the classic "it's not wrong if everyone's doing it" argument. But to me the op wasn't complaining about the content of the question, just the banality of answering it over and over.
  - temporarely 2y ago
    > interview game Yes, mediocre people like to select the same. > Handling minor everyday disagreements is a skill that does not need to be "prepared for" in an interview. And naturally the mediocrities that think asking the standard question and getting the standard answer back are also in for a surprise.
- w0m 2y ago
  > Who ever answers these questions truthfully though? It's surprising how many candidates will say batshit crazy things not realizing they're bat shit crazy. It's like fizzbuzz at this point, just cuts out a surprisingly large chunk of the cruft out.
- dudeWithAMood 2y ago
  I literally had a guy who was giving off really hostile vibes in the interview talk about shouting at someone when he didn't agree on the solution. Given this was a workplace where people argued a technical approach with cussing and yelling I didn't need more of that. I agree you'd think this is the dumbest question, and most people will make up something minor, but it does weed people out.
- rdtsc 2y ago
  A lot of those are really a test of how well you can bullshit your way through. They probably have a fill-in-the-blanks form ready to complete with your answers, with some scoring derived from it, and your answer didn't fit in the form, so they'll pass until they find someone who can make up a good story on that particular topic.
- Paul-Craft 2y ago
  I answer these types of questions as truthfully as possible. To my knowledge, it's never been these answers that hurt me in an interview. But, of course, there's never any real feedback in the hiring process, so it's borderline impossible to improve one's performance in that area. When it comes to disagreements not being noteworthy, it could also be that you've internalized "disagree and commit." That's not a failing; that's just moving the fuck on and not dwelling on past decisions, unless they actually bear revisiting.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
LouisSayers 2y ago
These questions are actually ridiculous. They don't want to hear actual stories - in real life some people are just unreasonable assholes, and the conflict you have cannot be resolved in some MBA style procedure. What these questions do is push you into being somewhat sociopathic and twisting the truth to tell them what they want to hear. You'll end up hiring people that are excellent liars that can "navigate social situations".

VirusNewbie 2y ago

I didn't end up working there, but I thought Netflix absolutely nailed it when it came to good interviews. They were quick to schedule them, the people were smart and intelligent, and all their questions were top notch. I had three coding interviews, and they all involved very practical, challenging problems that I hadn't ever seen before. The system design ones was a good back and forth, it didn't feel confrontational or textobok. I highly recommend people looking for a job to at least give it a shot there.