Subj : Re: Are you a programmer? These interview tips may help
To   : Digital Man
From : poindexter FORTRAN
Date : Fri Nov 01 2019 06:43 am

-=> Digital Man wrote to MRO <=-

> do you think it's because google was known to ask odd questions?

DM> I think Google and the other biggest tech companies' style has a
DM> definite influence on other companies (copy success, why not?).

I'm in IT management and went through a period of job-seeking recently. In
my field, old-school is back. "Behavioral Interviews" were the norm.

On at least 3 occasions I'd be in a room with a panel. They'd have pre-
written self-evaluative questions provided to them that, if vague, the panel
wasn't really able to answer (because they didn't write them).

So, each person would take a turn, you'd have a set number of minutes to
answer a question, and run out of time trying to cover the ambiguity.

I later had to do the same as part of the panel and while I felt it was good
to get an equal comparison of the candidates, wasn't able to get detail on
the individual skills I'd want to learn more about.

The other side of the coin was companies who googled "Technical questions
for IT Managers" and asked the same handful of questions. Describe what
happens when you enter a URL into a browser, asking what port DNS uses, then
whether it uses TCP or UDP (the answer: both - UDP for normal queries, TCP
for larger transactions like zone transfers)

I usually knew those places weren't interested. If you have a team of 20
people and you're more concerned about technical minutae than my management
style and skills, you're focused on the wrong skillset.







I'm not
DM> a fan of riddles and word problems, especially. Most people are
DM> stressed while interviewing and not on their best game, so it's not
DM> really fair to be asking them tricky riddles while in that state and
DM> judging their intelligence based on their answer. But it happens, so
DM> you have to prepare and practice for it. <shrug>

> i have picked up some part time jobs and even for jobs that dont pay well it
> seems like they try to get you off guard with interview questions.

DM> Oh, I've had weird experiences going all the way back to the late 80's.
DM> I remember one interviewer just stopped talking and stared at me for a
DM> solid minute. I just stared right back. I guess I passed that test
DM> because he made me a job offer (which I declined). But I've been asked
DM> some weird questions over the years.

> i was a professional job jumper from 18-28 because i worked regular jobs
> during the winter and then worked at my family's motels during the summer so
> it didnt faze me much. i thought it was funny when they asked what my boss
> would say bad about me. like i would tell them. i told them all my reviews
> have been good for over 15 years so i must be doing something right and i
> didnt lie.

DM> You *told* them you didn't lie, or you actually didn't lie? :-)

> i'm supposed to be a tech for a weather station for a solar farm soon. they
> are dragging their feet with building the station. i just applied because it
> seemed interesting and it was super flexable.

DM> Good luck!

DM>                                             digital man

DM> This Is Spinal Tap quote #25:
DM> Viv Savage: Have... a good... time... all the time. That's my
DM> philosophy. Norco, CA WX: 60.7�F, 9.0% humidity, 0 mph SW wind, 0.00
DM> inches rain/24hrs 
DM> ---
DM>    Synchronet   Vertrauen   Home of
DM> Synchronet   [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net

... So, this is me. Who am I?
--- MultiMail/XT v0.52
� Synchronet � realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org