

Most Technical Interviews Suck - jaffoneh
http://mynameisjehad.com/2011/10/28/most-technical-interviews-suck/

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awm
As somebody who has done numerous technical interviews, as well as given some,
I have to disagree with some of the points he makes.

1) "I don't code out loud": neither do I, nor as an interviewer would I
honestly want you too in a 'real' work environment. What I do want to know (or
attempt to know) is how you think. If you can articulate your thought process
as you solve a question, it shows me that a) you can think logically under
pressure, and b) you can convey your thoughts and ideas to somebody who might
be a fellow team mate.

2) Talking about a project you have done is cool, but I personally don't care
what technologies or hacks you used. I want to know if you can code. If you
can't code, then it doesn't matter what you know since I can't use you on my
team. If you can code, then I'll use what I learn from (1) to determine if you
have the ability to choose the right algorithm/tool/technique/etc for a job.

One might retort that (2) can be easily solved by showing them project code.
Unless its a github account, I don't really care, because I can't tell what
you did versus somebody else and it is far to easy to control what the
interviewer sees (as you showed when discussing your "team motivation"
skills).

At the same time, TSC definitely made some simple mistakes in the types of
questions they asked you, especially for an on-site. A proper technical
question (IMO) is one that can tell me easily if it's not a fit, but has
enough different solutions that let me gauge just how good a candidate is. A
question that is a no if you get it wrong, but not a yes if you get it correct
(hex CSS colors) would be a wast of both our time (and would probably get me
kicked off the interviewing team).

~~~
jaffoneh
Thanks for pointing out this from the point of view of someone who conducts
interviews. However, let me address your points:

1) I absolutely understand that "thinking out loud" is just a way for the
interviewer to know how I think. The problem with that, however, (at least for
me) is that now I have two tasks a) to write code and b) to tell what I am
thinking without saying anything wrong. I know that it is ok to say something
wrong, at the end, you don't get the answer immediately but I am under
pressure to show you my best and that what comes to mind.

2) Maybe I didn't show that clearly in the post but I do think it is ok to ask
technical questions, I just think you need to also give the interviewee a
chance to tell you more about who they are, what projects they worked on, and
what kind of technologies they applied. This is essential for many reasons
including a) it gives me the confidence before the technical question, b) it
tells you a little bit more about what I am able to do, and c) it gives you a
better understanding of the interviewee since the question you just asked
doesn't tell you enough about me or my talents (in my opinion)

That has been said, you raise some good points. Thanks for taking the time to
reply!

~~~
MattLaroche
I feel for you. I have failed a few interviews; I choked in the interview
because I didn't simulate the interview environment in practice by
whiteboarding and talking through problems alone. I recommend you read Steve
Yegge's post about interviewing at Google
([http://mlaroche.blogspot.com/2011/10/algo-interviews-are-
ove...](http://mlaroche.blogspot.com/2011/10/algo-interviews-are-
overrated.html)) - especially with regards to smart people having bad days
interviewing. When I realized I'd make mistakes at interviews and still
actually be a good person and good hire, I stopped choking and I stopped
grasping at straws on interviews.

------
MattLaroche
The title is "Most Technical Interviews Suck". The content is about how what a
series of interviews at one specific company sucked, and the interviews didn't
sound all that technical. Bad day, sure. But definitely not supporting the
title.

~~~
jaffoneh
I mentioned at the end that I do acknowledge this is a specific case, however,
it is just an example followed by a conclusion. What I wanted to say is simply
that technical interviews in general tend to focus on the question itself more
than the person being interviewed.

~~~
MattLaroche
I've done a lot of interviews. Hired a bunch of people. And I'll agree that
technical interviews aren't a great proxy for how we really should be handling
hiring (blogged about it a couple days ago
[http://mlaroche.blogspot.com/2011/10/algo-interviews-are-
ove...](http://mlaroche.blogspot.com/2011/10/algo-interviews-are-
overrated.html). Must be college interview season where you are too if we're
both thinking about it.).

Some of the worst candidates have had the best resumes. I'd bet good money
they could have talked coherently about their projects, made it sound like
they'd cured cancer. But when I asked them to do something not much harder
than FizzBuzz on a whiteboard, they choked. Ask them to intersect two lists?
They'd use Excel. Ask them how Excel would implement that? They freeze, the
interview is over. This was a normal pattern. Thankfully, our recruiters
started asking pulse-checking questions, and the number of these interviews
dropped.

Interviews need something that can't be directly prepared for and directly
rehearsed. Unfortunately, I don't think your solution has provided that. I
think it would tend to hire silvertongued people who cut and paste.

~~~
jaffoneh
I just replied to another comment with a similar point. I am not suggesting we
should never ask technical questions. All what I am saying is that we need a
balance between technical questions and knowing about what the person did or
can do. (Look like I might need to update the post to mention that)

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jjacobson
Whatever pop up or ad is on your blog is preventing me from reading it on my
iPhone.

~~~
jaffoneh
I don't have any pop-ups but I do have an ad, now removed, let me know if that
helps.

~~~
jjacobson
Tweeted you a screen shot. Only happens through hacker news tweet link. Direct
visit to your blog is fine. Wouldn't worry to much about it. Great post.

