

Additional YC interview tactics - jvyduna
http://blog.jeffvyduna.com/additional-yc-interview-tactics

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pg
"Do something weird/clever, give them something weird (snacks?), or wear
something weird. I believe the AirBNB founders brought their ObamaO's."

I would not recommend gratuitous weirdness actually. The Airbnbs' cereal boxes
were interesting because they were an organic part of an impressive story, not
just a prop.

The best way to stick out is to seem like you deeply understand your domain
and your users. That is (unfortunately) a surprisingly rare quality.

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sachinag
I'm astonished that that's rare. Do you tend to select companies to interview
who aren't developing for themselves (non-young men programmers)?

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pg
It's rare simply because it's (nearly) identical with being good at starting a
startup, and in this domain as in any other, being good is rare.

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findm
Is it just me or does it seem like getting into and launching a company
through YC seem a little like american idol? Can't say that I like the way its
going.

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gcv
It seems inevitable. Start a competition. Its prestige and monetary value
attracts a large, rapidly growing pool of interested contestants. The
organizers, with limited time and resources, have to decide between hundreds,
or even thousands, of great applicants. Many applicants are so highly
qualified as to be practically indistinguishable (at least on the basis of the
requested materials).

College admissions work the same way. So does getting a tenure-track position
with a PhD in physics. Or a PhD in philosophy, for that matter. You can
probably filter out the obvious bozos with a high degree of accuracy, but it
still leaves a huge number of smart, capable people to choose from. Result:
crapshoot.

Hats off to YC if it can figure out a way to solve this problem — and please,
share the solution with university hiring committees and admissions offices!

~~~
jacques_chester
Lotteries are fair, simple and hard to game.

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d0m
The first, and most important YC interview tactics, is to get accepted to be
interviewed. So far, no success for me. Had a video, a kickass team, a neat
project aaaand not a damn chance to explain it. Who cares thought, we don't
need it, that would have just been a great experience.

