Me too. I hear you.
You're not going to be accountable for the five-year question; it's important to demonstrate a direction is all. You'll find something more interesting along the way; the plan just keeps you moving in *A* direction.
You're not going to be accountable for the five-year question; it's important to demonstrate a direction is all. You'll find something more interesting along the way; the plan just keeps you moving in *A* direction.
"How many of your existing senior staff could pass the interview question you just asked me" is a FASCINATING rejoinder.
The answer you give (in the US) doesn't really matter, but do call the labor board whenever you're done with the interview and report it.
"There's no wrong answer" means that the Googler asking lacks imagination.
"85. Remind me, what do you do here again?" They might have a job you want that will almost certainly be vacant soon!
The "right" answer is *ALWAYS* "professional growth." Anything beyond that has the potential to rebound on you in ways you don't want.
"Do you not?"
"It's the first thing that comes up when you Google my name; what exactly do you need my permission for?"
"I did X; now, what did you do to improve the situation for your employees during the pandemic? And would a casual Twitter search support that assertion?"
"Honestly? I'm not entirely sure I do yet. I'm talking to a number of different companies; what do you enjoy about working here?"
Great question.
I don't have any offhand, but the takeaway for me is that interviews are always two way streets. It's not about "passing / failing," it's about determining mutual fit.
If a company treats you like crap in the interview, why would you want to work there?
I don't have any offhand, but the takeaway for me is that interviews are always two way streets. It's not about "passing / failing," it's about determining mutual fit.
If a company treats you like crap in the interview, why would you want to work there?
Oh my god if I'm ever on the job market again I will be asking this question. It's amazing.
"Professional growth" is the right answer.
"They agreed not to pursue charges if I left quietly" is on the spectrum of terrible answers.
"They agreed not to pursue charges if I left quietly" is on the spectrum of terrible answers.
"I completely forget about meetings I have scheduled, so I compensate by absolutely living by my calendar. If it's not in the calendar, I don't do it. I'm serious, I schedule my kid's bedtime there."
"Sometimes the signs that a job is going to suck aren't subtle. Thanks for your time!"
"I'm game for anything, but you're going to hate my comp requirement."
"No, 'barely controllable emotion' does not accurately reflect my approach to my work." And watch them backpedal like mad now that they realize that 'passion' doesn't define the way they think it does.
This is a case study in why you never disclose your past or current salary.
"This interview is only for an hour-long slot, and not to put too fine a point on it but... CloudFront."
"I'm interested in a few companies! I value X, Y, and Z in an employer. Would you say that accurately reflects your company?"
"'Let's fight about religion' is a weird interview question, but let's go down that path..."
"For the same reason my email inbox isn't public."
As a candidate, there's nothing that takes the stress off of a job interview like a prospective employer giving the perfect example of a wrong answer.
"You do a lot of X, you won't be able to do that here" for most values of X are great examples.
"You do a lot of X, you won't be able to do that here" for most values of X are great examples.
"Because you'll apparently talk to anyone who finds their way onto your calendar. I have the same issue!"
I always like to tuck away a few nuclear bits of trivia away in case the interviewer gets insulting.
"Yes, I dabble in functional programming. Slight change of topic, your company paid how much last year in severance payments to get rid of Sexual Harassment Panda VPs?"
"Yes, I dabble in functional programming. Slight change of topic, your company paid how much last year in severance payments to get rid of Sexual Harassment Panda VPs?"
"You don't seem to have as many years of experience as we'd hoped."
"Yes, I read your job req. The only person who would is basically @kelseyhightower if he tripped and fell into a time warp."
"Yes, I read your job req. The only person who would is basically @kelseyhightower if he tripped and fell into a time warp."
As usual, @joshdoody has the right answer for this question. fearlesssalarynegotiation.com/salary-expecta…
The average tenure of an engineer is 18-36 months, but somehow we pretend that this will be your Forever Job.
What the answer says is that they'll need to provide a growth path for you, or you'll find one elsewhere. That's a fair employee expectation.
What the answer says is that they'll need to provide a growth path for you, or you'll find one elsewhere. That's a fair employee expectation.
I don't have a good answer for this question. It requires insight into an employment culture I've never experienced. Please reply to Priyanshu if you have ideas!
“The problems I find interesting are increasingly aligned more with people than code. Empowering people to deliver great work is what I want to focus on next.”
“It almost doesn’t matter. The key point is that I then communicate those priorities effectively to the relevant parties so everyone is aware of what is happening when, and can weigh in if there’s a misunderstanding.”
“That should be automated. Isn’t that why they call them ‘shell scripts’?”
The interview is over. Ethics violations are dealbreakers.
The Amazon Detective.
I just put a city on my resume, nothing more. No prospective employer is going to send me a postal letter.
“…I don’t really have one of those. Do most people?” Life isn’t a comic book.
This is your opportunity to wow the interviewer with insightful questions, but it requires an awful lot of preparation about the company you’re dealing with.
“It’s clear you’re trying to gauge how I think about code and algorithms, but this isn’t how I shine. Let’s instead walk through it collaboratively so you can see my process.” This has worked at smaller companies!
I have in fact hired my interviewer before.
“Most days. If I could walk into this job on day one and do every part of it easily, wouldn’t that be incredibly boring?”
“A git branch. Would you like to rebase the question?”
The correct answer is “no.” Any other answers disqualify you from anywhere you’d like to work.
Oof. I do ask “so what’s your story” in a who-are-you sense, but it’s important to bound it to career stuff.
I’d answer the question that way and assume they’d bungled the framing. If they dig further into personal stuff, fuck that place.
I’d answer the question that way and assume they’d bungled the framing. If they dig further into personal stuff, fuck that place.
“…what the hell kind of software do you people write here?!” Questions like this show that someone has severely lost the plot.
“You won’t like my exchange rate.” Work for money, not Dunning-Krugerrands.
