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> in particular, falling in love with what a company stands for People can purport to stand for just about anything, but unless there is a track record there o

> in particular, falling in love with what a company stands for People can purport to stand for just about anything, but unless there is a track record there of standing up for [principle] in the face of [adversity], it's just a politically expedient claim. There are wonderful exceptions, but most ordinary people and most ordinary companies don't deduce their day-to-day behavior from first-order principles, and at any rate, companies the age of AirBnB don't have the track record to enable an observer to distinguish principles from marketing claims. > The idea that all engineers are mercenaries ready to work for anyone and sell themselves to the highest bidder is an aged one, and one I had hoped was no longer true. This is not my view; nobody is saying take the highest offer, and I have said absolutely nothing about money at all. My question is: why do engineers participate in technical interviews? Insofar as I understand it, your response explains why an engineer might (I would say improperly) create a post-hoc rationalization and "fall in love" with the company after-the-fact, but under your own logic it doesn't explain why the engineer takes two days off to go in the first place. Assuming that "falling in love" is even something you can do in two days, the candidate hasn't done it at the point this decision is made.

borski 14y ago
Thanks for clarifying. I suppose my point boils down to the following: 1) If you already love a company pre-interview (which can happen, by the actions of the company), then it makes perfect sense to take an interview. Even in the short lifespan of most startups, there can be enough action and culture shown that you can truly desire to work there / "fall in love." 2) Sometimes it's worth taking an interview to find out more information on both sides - a phone interview is useful, but as you say, IRL conversations are far more useful for the things you can't see on paper or hear over the phone. I'm not saying AirBnB did a great job with this - they clearly didn't - but that doesn't make all interviews useless. Without them, a lot of "bad fit" hires would be made.
- throwa 14y ago
  It is okay to love a company but note that the company never falls in love with you as an employee. They always do what is in their best interest, interpret as what is in the interest of the major share holders and not employees or minor share holders. That is why even when you kill your self for a product launch or their overall success, they still don't hesitate to give you the sack if it is required for something like cutting cost not to talk of when major adversity comes. My point is be pragmatic and not too emotional with loving a company especially if you are not a founder or major share holder. Many people have been burnt by loving someone or an organization that does not have capacity to return that love.
learc83 14y ago
There are 1 or 2 companies I'd be willing to go through a 2 day interview process to work through, because I've already "fallen in love" with them. SpaceX comes to mind (I was contacted by a SpaceX recruiter after I performed well in Sebastian Thrun's original AI class, but it never went anywhere after that). However, I completely agree in principle that a 2 day interview is just ridiculous.
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borski 14y ago

Thanks for clarifying. I suppose my point boils down to the following: 1) If you already love a company pre-interview (which can happen, by the actions of the company), then it makes perfect sense to take an interview. Even in the short lifespan of most startups, there can be enough action and culture shown that you can truly desire to work there / "fall in love." 2) Sometimes it's worth taking an interview to find out more information on both sides - a phone interview is useful, but as you say, IRL conversations are far more useful for the things you can't see on paper or hear over the phone. I'm not saying AirBnB did a great job with this - they clearly didn't - but that doesn't make all interviews useless. Without them, a lot of "bad fit" hires would be made.

throwa 14y ago
It is okay to love a company but note that the company never falls in love with you as an employee. They always do what is in their best interest, interpret as what is in the interest of the major share holders and not employees or minor share holders. That is why even when you kill your self for a product launch or their overall success, they still don't hesitate to give you the sack if it is required for something like cutting cost not to talk of when major adversity comes. My point is be pragmatic and not too emotional with loving a company especially if you are not a founder or major share holder. Many people have been burnt by loving someone or an organization that does not have capacity to return that love.

learc83 14y ago

There are 1 or 2 companies I'd be willing to go through a 2 day interview process to work through, because I've already "fallen in love" with them. SpaceX comes to mind (I was contacted by a SpaceX recruiter after I performed well in Sebastian Thrun's original AI class, but it never went anywhere after that). However, I completely agree in principle that a 2 day interview is just ridiculous.

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