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by jaredklewis
2921 days ago
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> It is my opinion (based on experience) that companies that insist on a whiteboard test, despite years of programming on your resume and open source code, are either Ball-Pit companies (who don't know what it means to be a professional) or Clown-Nose companies (who know what it means to be a professional but still treat you like a commodity). Just walk away. This is the typical HN vs the world attitude. "Boycott the world!" I understand the sentiment and I certainly have heard and experienced a good deal of interview horror stories. But as career advice, I think your anger is getting in the way of your reasoning. "Turn down Google and Facebook because they don't respect you enough!" is most likely terrible career advice for the OP. The big tech companies pay world class salaries and (despite your experience) do not have a reputation for being terrible places to work. Indeed, big tech companies (the same ones with Kafkaesque and soulless interview practices) regularly make lists of the top 10 best places to work in the US. My own experience is that every company I have ever worked at had varying level of bullshit, but that there has not so far been any correlation with the interview technique used. |
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As for the myth of "world class salaries" I know, for example, that my nephew who works at one of the Top 5 companies, has a salary that is higher than I ever made. But he also lives near the company and has to share the rent with 4 other "world class salary" colleagues because he can't afford an apartment. I used to work in NYC with a "world class salary". One place I looked at to rent was $2000/month... which was a couch in the living room behind a japanese screen and kitchen privileges. Salary is relative (as in, it helps to have a relative with a basement apartment).
I've been to Google. What I saw was a large area of desks with no partitions, a literal sea of "the best and brightest". A historically accurate counterpart might be https://bakethiscake.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/sewing-room...
However, the coffee is fresh and free. The sleeping pods are available. Laundry and haircuts can be had onsite. The food is first class and available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There is, in fact, no valid reason to leave the building. It's almost like working from home.
If you're fresh out of college and just passed your data structures final you probably can quote the order of an algorithm off the top of your head. If you hate your current job enough to put up with anything, sure do the whiteboarding. I certainly have done it. I'm not above it for some jobs. If you don't mind travelling to a location and talking to people who have no idea what you might do, why you're there, or who you might report to, then go for it. If you're being laid off and need a new job in a hurry, go for it. If you're not confident in your abilities as a professional, go for it.
But if you're job shopping and looking for a company that respects you as a professional, give some thought to the interview process. That process is dictated by management so it is a direct representation of how management views you. If you are considering a job change and looking at other companies, look carefully at what is being presented.
I've had bad interviews that were directly with the hiring managers. But at least I was pretty sure that I was turned down because they didn't need or didn't want what I could do for them. And I didn't have to remember that Coopersmith-Winograd is O(n^2.375477).