How was your latest tech interview experience?

Had two, both were Introductory type conversations, what company does, job expectations etc and then you were given instructions to complete an assessment..

The one has really clear requirements on what had to be completed, you got to choose the deadline and communicate that with the interviewer with the only condition that you complete by that deadline.. however, they expected just about a full stack application.. backend built on docker, with relevant docker files to spin up everything.. API and relevant code built using python and and and..

The other interview assessment was not as intricate or involved, but requirements weren't very clear.. even though I completed the assessment, successfully, the person who assessed it, mentioned several things I did not complete, which we're not specifically stated as a requirement..
 
Phase 1: CV filter to top 5
Phase 2: mgt meet
Phase 3: team meet
Phase 4/5: tech assessment(s)

2 is mostly cultural and introductory
3 is half cultural and half technical
4 is fully technical

We're a small, high performing team that only has 1 new joiner per year/every other year so we're extremely selective and through about who we let in. Unfortunately a necessary evil sometimes
 
My last one was an intense 2 hour technical phone screen, followed by a day of onsite whiteboard interviewing. Additionally, there was a specialized personality assessment.

Generally speaking I feel that it went well and that the process is highly effective. The only thing that I think is a bit contentious today is whether or not senior engineers should be doing online programming assessments. Currently, my company does these for juniors but not for senior hires (although coding is still tested extensively during the on-site interviews).
 
Last edited:
Phase 1 : Meeting with Team and Hiring Manager
Phase 2 : Technical assessment
Phase 3 : Contract or Team Meeting in Person

Anything more than this I am not too interested in
 
I’ve never had tech interview

I’ve interviewed many developers though. I don’t worry too much about technical skills (we are building web apps/sites), and try more to find their character, which is not at all easy.
 
If they want me to program they employ me to do so, but like the joker said if you are good at something you don't do it for free. They are free to look at my portfolio. I can show them my github and I can navigate them to some of my websites online, but I'm not doing any work for free.
 
theMysteriousWanderer said:
If they want me to program they employ me to do so, but like the joker said if you are good at something you don't do it for free. They are free to look at my portfolio. I can show them my github and I can navigate them to some of my websites online, but I'm not doing any work for free.
Click to expand...

I agree that if you show them some of your work on Github it is worth much more than looking at an hour of you programming.
 
theMysteriousWanderer said:
If they want me to program they employ me to do so, but like the joker said if you are good at something you don't do it for free. They are free to look at my portfolio. I can show them my github and I can navigate them to some of my websites online, but I'm not doing any work for free.
Click to expand...
They don't know how how much of your portfolio is copied, how much someone else did, how much is from following a tutorial, how well you met the requirements, or how long it took you to do any particular piece of work. Furthermore, it's much more noisy to calibrate performance for different projects against different candidates. They are being methodical - this is the type of employer you want to work for, not one that makes a decision based on a resume.

Most of my interviews have required phone screens, at least an entire day answering technical interview questions on site, and even a half-day personality/psych assessment in one case. The higher the bar, the better the caliber of your future colleagues, which in turn means more professional growth.
 
cguy said:
They don't know how how much of your portfolio is copied, how much someone else did, how much is from following a tutorial, how well you met the requirements, or how long it took you to do any particular piece of work. Furthermore, it's much more noisy to calibrate performance for different projects against different candidates. They are being methodical - this is the type of employer you want to work for, not one that makes a decision based on a resume.

Most of my interviews have required phone screens, at least an entire day answering technical interview questions on site, and even a half-day personality/psych assessment in one case. The higher the bar, the better the caliber of your future colleagues, which in turn means more professional growth.
Click to expand...
Then our experiences are just simply different. I have never had an interview take more than an hour. Maybe I was just lucky. Personality assessment... jeebuz who da fek do these people think they are? The higher the bar just seems to me the more full of sh@t the employer is.

I tell you what download my repos I will study them and then we can discuss the work for another hour. If I can answer every last question you can have on my portfolio would that prove to you that I did the programming I claimed? Like how long do two web developers who clearly know their stuff have to discuss programming before it becomes apparent to both parties that this person can do what he claims?

Most of my interviews have just been about seeing if I had most of the basic programming concepts down. Employers know that most programmers are going to have the learn the stack their employers use. What they just need to know in the interview is that the candidate knows basic programming concepts so he/she can learn the stack.

Then again my interviews may have used the old paradigm. I have not been on an interview anywhere recently. But I would not do a song-and-dance at an interview.
 
theMysteriousWanderer said:
Then our experiences are just simply different. I have never had an interview take more than an hour. Maybe I was just lucky. Personality assessment... jeebuz who da fek do these people think they are? The higher the bar just seems to me the more full of sh@t the employer is.
Click to expand...
Yes, they are, simply because you don't work on complex scientific problems or problems that require incredible problem-solving skills.
theMysteriousWanderer said:
I tell you what download my repos I will study them and then we can discuss the work for another hour. If I can answer every last question you can have on my portfolio would that prove to you that I did the programming I claimed? Like how long do two web developers who clearly know their stuff have to discuss programming before it becomes apparent to both parties that this person can do what he claims?
Click to expand...
Lol. Wow.

theMysteriousWanderer said:
Most of my interviews have just been about seeing if I had most of the basic programming concepts down. Employers know that most programmers are going to have the learn the stack their employers use. What they just need to know in the interview is that the candidate knows basic programming concepts so he/she can learn the stack.
Click to expand...
Rubbish, as someone who's interviewed hundreds of people throughout the years I can tell you 100% that is NOT what we look for.

theMysteriousWanderer said:
Then again my interviews may have used the old paradigm. I have not been on an interview anywhere recently. But I would not do a song-and-dance at an interview.
Click to expand...
Then you'll never get into companies that are world-renowned or employ exceptional talent. Period.
 
netcruiser said:
I agree that if you show them some of your work on Github it is worth much more than looking at an hour of you programming.
Click to expand...
This is the typical mindset of the underachieving developer, no wonder talent in SA is a crapshoot.
 
theMysteriousWanderer said:
Then our experiences are just simply different. I have never had an interview take more than an hour. Maybe I was just lucky. Personality assessment... jeebuz who da fek do these people think they are? The higher the bar just seems to me the more full of sh@t the employer is.

I tell you what download my repos I will study them and then we can discuss the work for another hour. If I can answer every last question you can have on my portfolio would that prove to you that I did the programming I claimed? Like how long do two web developers who clearly know their stuff have to discuss programming before it becomes apparent to both parties that this person can do what he claims?

Most of my interviews have just been about seeing if I had most of the basic programming concepts down. Employers know that most programmers are going to have the learn the stack their employers use. What they just need to know in the interview is that the candidate knows basic programming concepts so he/she can learn the stack.

Then again my interviews may have used the old paradigm. I have not been on an interview anywhere recently. But I would not do a song-and-dance at an interview.
Click to expand...
While I don't doubt that this was your experience, you should be aware that firms that interview like this are likely not going to put you on a great career trajectory. The less selective they are, the less they tend to pay, since the work tends to be more generic. If you're doing well, then great, but I suggest regularly checking in on things like Offerzen salary surveys, or other groups that discuss working remotely for overseas companies and such to see where you stand.
 
semaphore said:
Yes, they are, simply because you don't work on complex scientific problems or problems that require incredible problem-solving skills.

Lol. Wow.


Rubbish, as someone who's interviewed hundreds of people throughout the years I can tell you 100% that is NOT what we look for.


Then you'll never get into companies that are world-renowned or employ exceptional talent. Period.
Click to expand...
Scared to get interviewed by you or cguy even after all these years
 
Going through the process now again.

IKM
Technical Assessment with EL of space.
Psychometrics
Meeting with ELs boss.

This is what I've been advised to expect. Done with IKMs :sick:
 
I spent most of my web development career updating and churning out WordPress sites. I did learn to develop themes and plugins just to learn that my employer could not be arsed about any of it and just needed somebody to churn out these sites on AWS and update them when needed.

It was by no means glamorous but it paid the bills and was relatively hassle-free.
 
semaphore said:
Yes, they are, simply because you don't work on complex scientific problems or problems that require incredible problem-solving skills.

Lol. Wow.


Rubbish, as someone who's interviewed hundreds of people throughout the years I can tell you 100% that is NOT what we look for.


Then you'll never get into companies that are world-renowned or employ exceptional talent. Period.
Click to expand...
Do you want me to work for you or join your cult? What in the gek has my personality got to do with anything regarding my work? World-renowned companies like Google where most of the interview comprises of discussing computer science concepts. If you expect candidates to pass some sort of poppycock Rorschach test to get employed then you and your company are full of ****.

No granted I have been out of the game for a while, but if that is what employers expect of potential candidates then they are full of ****. Are these tests developed by psychologists or psychiatrists? Are they reviewed or created by anyone even remotely trained in any mental health-related field of study? No, they are just some random piece of red-tape BS that is developed by some try-hard HR graduate
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X