4 ms·

Completely agree. Like you, I have fortunate genes & much younger mindset.

smoyer 12y ago
One more anti-pattern to avoid during interviews - don't be the naysayer during your interview! If they say they're going to be trying "technology/algorithm/framework X", don't immediately say "that will never work!". Sure you've got 30 years of experience and you've tried that and failed with it 15 times but they're young and impressionable and they can do anything. Plus they might be right in this instance! Instead, you're the flexible guy who balances his experience, intuition and caution with the realization that while X might have failed you in the past, there might be situations where it's the right fit. So play the wise sage and say something like "that's an interesting idea, I'd be careful about Q, R and S but if it's implemented correctly that might be exactly the right plan (for instance, sometimes people really do need a NoSQL database, but often it should be put next to an RDBMS ... don't just choose one!). And you'd certainly like to be on the team working with X right? (you are presumeably at the job interview to get the job). So the right play during the interview is to look like you'd be a valuable member of the team. Once you've joined the team you can help guide them to a proper solution - whether or not it includes X. Bonus: Do not in ANY CIRCUMSTANCES get drawn into flame wars during your interview. Editors, IDEs, editors versus IDEs, languages and frameworks are tools - your position is that you use the one that best fits the project and maximizes productivity.
- MichaelCrawford 12y ago
  I often get into flame wars during my interview. If the hiring manager says something that indicates he is a jackass, I will quite bluntly inform him of that fact. For example, Apple's CoreEdit is profoundly nonportable, as well as clearly designed to implement vendor lock-in. There are all manner of ways to store structured data that are quite portable. So if my interviewer asks me if I have experience with CoreEdit, I will quite emphatically tell them "No, because it's nonportable," then supply some portable solutions such as SQLite. I don't want to work for a bad manager. What I have a problem with is someone making assumptions about me, just because they see my grey hair, and the wrinkles in the skin of my face.
  - devopsproject 12y ago
    > I get lots of interviews, but quite commonly I find that my interviewer starts finding reasons not to hire me > I often get into flame wars during my interview. If the hiring manager says something that indicates he is a jackass, I will quite bluntly inform him of that fact Do you see the correlation? If you said this to me in an interview it would be over immediately.
    - MichaelCrawford 12y ago
      No. I get lots of interviews with managers who use technologies I'm quite happy with. When I say I am discriminated against because of my age, it's because I can tell they don't want to hire me, the very instant they look at me. Do you know the term "code word", with reference to discrimination? With me, I am often told I would not "fit the company culture". My ex-wife was one a motel manager. She was specifically told not to rent rooms to First Nations people (ie. Native Canadians). A friend once interviewed to be an apartment manager. She was specifically told not to rent to black people. However, the owners of that hotel and that apartment, did not specifically come right out and say so. They used "code words", for example the apartment owner told my friend to inform people that spoke in a certain way, that there were no apartments available.
      - steven2012 12y ago
        Just from your responses in this thread, I think it's more your personality rather than your age. It probably a lot more of a factor than you believe.
        MichaelCrawford 12y ago
        In meatspace, I am in reality quite mild-mannered, reserved and polite. As I said, the consummate professional. Quite likely you and the others who raise objections, have never been subjected to age, racial, religious or sexual discrimination. Those who have know what I'm talking about. When was the last time you met a Mexican-American computer programmer? One who actually had a job? The education in Mexico, I understand, is very very good. Even born and raised American citizens don't find much work in technology, if they are of Hispanic heritage. That's not just me saying it - I am an Anglo. I've observed that to be the case everywhere I have ever worked, I've also read about it in the trade press.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]

One more anti-pattern to avoid during interviews - don't be the naysayer during your interview! If they say they're going to be trying "technology/algorithm/framework X", don't immediately say "that will never work!". Sure you've got 30 years of experience and you've tried that and failed with it 15 times but they're young and impressionable and they can do anything. Plus they might be right in this instance! Instead, you're the flexible guy who balances his experience, intuition and caution with the realization that while X might have failed you in the past, there might be situations where it's the right fit. So play the wise sage and say something like "that's an interesting idea, I'd be careful about Q, R and S but if it's implemented correctly that might be exactly the right plan (for instance, sometimes people really do need a NoSQL database, but often it should be put next to an RDBMS ... don't just choose one!). And you'd certainly like to be on the team working with X right? (you are presumeably at the job interview to get the job). So the right play during the interview is to look like you'd be a valuable member of the team. Once you've joined the team you can help guide them to a proper solution - whether or not it includes X. Bonus: Do not in ANY CIRCUMSTANCES get drawn into flame wars during your interview. Editors, IDEs, editors versus IDEs, languages and frameworks are tools - your position is that you use the one that best fits the project and maximizes productivity.

MichaelCrawford 12y ago
I often get into flame wars during my interview. If the hiring manager says something that indicates he is a jackass, I will quite bluntly inform him of that fact. For example, Apple's CoreEdit is profoundly nonportable, as well as clearly designed to implement vendor lock-in. There are all manner of ways to store structured data that are quite portable. So if my interviewer asks me if I have experience with CoreEdit, I will quite emphatically tell them "No, because it's nonportable," then supply some portable solutions such as SQLite. I don't want to work for a bad manager. What I have a problem with is someone making assumptions about me, just because they see my grey hair, and the wrinkles in the skin of my face.
- devopsproject 12y ago
  > I get lots of interviews, but quite commonly I find that my interviewer starts finding reasons not to hire me > I often get into flame wars during my interview. If the hiring manager says something that indicates he is a jackass, I will quite bluntly inform him of that fact Do you see the correlation? If you said this to me in an interview it would be over immediately.
  - MichaelCrawford 12y ago
    No. I get lots of interviews with managers who use technologies I'm quite happy with. When I say I am discriminated against because of my age, it's because I can tell they don't want to hire me, the very instant they look at me. Do you know the term "code word", with reference to discrimination? With me, I am often told I would not "fit the company culture". My ex-wife was one a motel manager. She was specifically told not to rent rooms to First Nations people (ie. Native Canadians). A friend once interviewed to be an apartment manager. She was specifically told not to rent to black people. However, the owners of that hotel and that apartment, did not specifically come right out and say so. They used "code words", for example the apartment owner told my friend to inform people that spoke in a certain way, that there were no apartments available.
    - steven2012 12y ago
      Just from your responses in this thread, I think it's more your personality rather than your age. It probably a lot more of a factor than you believe.
      - MichaelCrawford 12y ago
        In meatspace, I am in reality quite mild-mannered, reserved and polite. As I said, the consummate professional. Quite likely you and the others who raise objections, have never been subjected to age, racial, religious or sexual discrimination. Those who have know what I'm talking about. When was the last time you met a Mexican-American computer programmer? One who actually had a job? The education in Mexico, I understand, is very very good. Even born and raised American citizens don't find much work in technology, if they are of Hispanic heritage. That's not just me saying it - I am an Anglo. I've observed that to be the case everywhere I have ever worked, I've also read about it in the trade press.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]