IT is a middle class with a stretch. And how NOT to interview the programmer

Many years of experience in development (or any other IT direction). Dozens of face-to-face interviews. Work in large IT companies with the highest code culture. Skills that any Silicon Valley developer would envy: NONE of this will give you a chance to get interviewed by such people. And it's not a matter of competence ...



What I'm talking about?

Recently I had to wonder how it turns out that about 2 out of 3 interviews I pass with brilliance, and the third I fail with such a crash that I spend a lot of nerves and I want to call in on the physiognomy of someone who conducts a technical interview. After all, it would seem that I am proficient in theory and practice, very often, often even feeling a slight superiority in competence with the person who conducts the interview and asks questions to which I know the exact and detailed answer. Let me just give you two options for typical questions that can be asked on those. interview .net developer. In fact, these are the same questions, but they will be formulated in different ways:

Option 1 :

1. What Architectural patterns do you know, and which of them have you already used?
2. Tell us what * Any system function * is, and what is it used for?
3. How would you build the architecture of the project, if you had to be able to do this and that.
4. Tell us how you will process the request on the server, what are the levels of request processing, and why these levels are needed.

And now Option 2 :

• And what GOF patterns do you use
• And there is such a * any system function *, what is the name of the parameter that it takes?
• You have not heard what DDD is ?, well there is a bouding context. And I heard, well, what?
• But we want to send a request to the server, what will happen? and then what?

Feel the difference?

Does your blood boil when you have to deal with the second option? Congratulations, then you are a healthy person.

Obviously there is a difference in how to ask questions. And she is incredibly huge. Not only because it is formulated more clearly, and is not a blurred, incomprehensible and ridiculous question that requires ten clarifications, but also because it observes a certain culture of mutual respect with the interlocutor. The second option is more like a question from a smoked gopnik at the stall: “But hear what, is there a call?” In addition, asking questions about little things (such as the name of a parameter) is the greatest stupidity in the world. No one can ever remember all the little things in their profession by heart, but for some reason stubborn techies who, by chance, had the opportunity to conduct an interview, are actively practicing. Probably, such people only hire their own kind, bursting with pride that they were given the authority to conduct interviews, or are not hired at all, becausethere is no urgent need for this.

PS I personally noticed that when a company is looking for a developer to replace the one who left - such people really really need to find a person, and they ask you essentially and will never show disrespect. But when “Well, we are expanding, and the new position of the signier has opened,” then there is no urgent need for personnel, and this is more like mocking the candidate, with the desire to “sink” the interlocutor, and find a new one to do the same with him.



Passing an interview successfully is a skill. Everyone agrees with this, but with the fact that you need to be able to conduct an interview, too, and for this you need skill, obviously few agree. And very often, leaders turn a blind eye to this, as a result of which a full-fledged, friendly and strong team without a regular staff leak is a priori impossible.

What if I myself got to such boors?

Do not be afraid to express everything in person. If you are asked a question that can have 5 different answers, and all of them will be correct - this is a bad question, very vague, and it is impossible to answer correctly. If you ask a cunningly hidden and rare term, do not be afraid to say that it makes no sense to remember this, and this is not a matter of substance. Telling the truth is easy and enjoyable. Do not be afraid to wash your interlocutors, remember that the demand for a good specialist will all be high! And there are no pluses to please the boors, and then endure them, I work in a common team.

I would advise you to hang up \ leave the office as soon as you see confident and demonstrative disrespect: Interrupt, ask vague questions, take a deep breath, say "mmm understandable" and ask questions completely off topic.

As stated in the topic of the post. IT is the middle class, and barely stretch it to him. How did it happen that coming to an interview for the position of a loader / janitor \ dishwasher - they will sometimes talk with you more respectfully than during interviews for the position of senior developer, where the RFP can go up to 300k or even more?

It turns out that even if the work is highly intelligent and highly paid, this does not mean at all that the people who work there will be decent, loyal and polite.

The way they behave depends more on the culture of the company, and on what kind of people they hire. Simply put, how much the leader will turn a blind eye to what is happening, because of course it is his responsibility.

“So it’s so obvious!” you say.

Frankly, for me it was not obvious until I went through about 30 different technical interviews.

As in the windows of registries, queues and dark backyards of the ghetto - there are enough boors, ignoramuses and people for whom to amuse your ego - there will always be the highest value. Unfortunately, some people are not deprived of such qualities.

All good, I hope someone will find the article useful :)