Ben Halpern
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What’s the most frustrating thing about the process of looking for work or interviewing?
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Latest comments (74)
Tell me about it. I interviewed on the phone with a netsec place in Cedar city, Utah (GuardSight?).
The HR rep forgot to call me at the scheduled time. So I called the recruiter to ask them about it. About 5 minutes later I got a frantic phone call from a different HR rep who told me that he would be doing the call instead.
And his "interview" consisted of asking me 25 useless aptitude questions verbatim from the application I had already submitted. Immediately rejected because apparently I didn't have the right certs (not listed in the original ad).
Was infuriating.
Totally agree with (5). I have not had a single interview where the HR has gotten back to me with feedback, despite my asking with utmost politeness.
I feel this should be made mandatory as part of the interview process. If I were to interview someone, I would definitely want to let the candidate know the good and the things that need improvement (constructive criticism).
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I didn’t see this post earlier and yesterday created similar one but maybe I will delete it - dev.to/martinbelev/what-do-you-thi...
The things I dislike most:
Looking for work
Not having a job 🙃
Being told I'm a perfect fit by the HR person, then knowing within about a minute talking to the hiring manager that I am not even close to being what they are looking for.
Learning that money, only sucks less than people who have been corrupted by the notion of power and self-entitlement
The inability to say "NO" to a job that you know deep down isn't the job.
The interview process having you complete coding algorithm exercises that have NOTHING to do with what you'll be doing on the job. As someone who consults for multiple companies on a regular basis, I know for a fact that I can do the job that's required. But I also know that I would bomb the majority of job interviews because the interviews don't align with what the job entails.
1. Potential clients who reach out before they have their resources in place
Often this is because they see securing specialist developers as one of the early steps in their plan, so they can then sell the plan to their investors or clients.
I fell for this several times in recent months, then found myself chasing after them with follow-up emails, which they didn't respond to, before they finally reply with things like "our funding didn't come through" or "we're still waiting for our client to come back to us etc.".
I've since learned to just ask up front if they have all those resources in place, mentioning the frustrations I've had in the past.
The other day, however, I got a client inquiry, with a wonderful Austrian firm, and I just said "yeah that sounds great, I'm into it" adding how I was frustrated with previous flaky meetings and how refreshingly organized these people were.
They laughed and said "we hear you! Yes we have resources, don't worry, we're solid on this" (they were a software development studio, so they had these experiences too).
I use that as my benchmark. If a client doesn't have that forthcoming attitude and understanding then I bypass them and use the time/ energy hustling to get the next client. We should expect an understanding answer straight up, to those delicate questions, and if it offends them, that's a red flag.
I'm looking forward to giving this lot a quality product.
2. Meetings with startups posing as potential clients
I've had a few meetings this year with people who, though they appear interested, are not really interested in hiring me, but wanted to discuss the technical problems they're facing while developing their product. I had one guy with whom I had three of these meetings, a very friendly dude indeed.
These are just information mining exercises, and I've fallen for it a few times. I could hear them go quiet, then hear that scribbling sound while they take notes. But I'm pretty wise to that now.
The good thing is that I also took notes, on what their requirements were, and recently realized that, hey I could develop a generic solution, with help from a couple of friends, right now, that I could sell as a licensed product, that to be honest, would be better than what they're planning.
3. Employers who don't bother preparing for interviews
I remember my first interview, for a holiday internship when I was a student. A couple of guys who'd just had lunch (and probably a couple of beers by the looks of it). It was like "um..." (looking at each other) "what do you, ah, like best in computing?" (eyes glazing over). I got all amped and replied a whole bunch about certain algorithms I though were beautiful etc, and they sort of look a little worried, eyes widening a little bit, because now they have to show some sort of engagement. When it came to my questions, as seats were being pushed back from the table, about things like their process, what work they were doing, they struggled to come up with answers (they didn't expect a student to actually have any questions).
Two good friends of mine got those internships, and spent the whole time alone, teaching themselves C++, with nobody actually giving them any work to do, it was a bit awkward apparently!
Expect people to respect your time. If they don't, it's a red flag.
My 2c!
Whiteboards
I spent 2 weeks interviewing with this company, had 4 rounds of 4-hour interviews, met the whole staff, and the CTO said "We'll talk in an hour and I'll give you an offer", then at the end I had no communication for two weeks, only to be told there were problems with the "team dynamic" and they wouldn't take me. Sheesh...
Trying to explain to people that your "expertise" is in quickly mastering new technologies and being able to bootstrap others.
Technical tests. Once you reach a certain level and have a proven track record on your CV, at home technical tests that take about 2 hours are really frustrating. The last thing I want to do when I've been developing all day at work is go home and do more development.
Not just one thing, but the most of the interview that I recently went through was a nightmare. Needles to say that the company was in the top 20 of Fortune 500.
I was contacted by a company's HR representative with the job offer. First thing - they sent me job offers multiple times over the last year.
Being fed up with the current job, I finally agreed for a phone call. The phone call turned out to be first phase of an interview! In the middle of the call I was asked to go to a link that was sent with the invitation and do some live coding... Wait?! What link? Oh no one sent you the link? We will do it now.... but what if did not have a computer with me?
Next, it turned out that they do have multiple positions they are hiring on, and I am interviewed in general and assessed. Later, one of the managers will decide on me later, in the process. That did not feel right...
I made it to the second phase - 6 hours of interviews, comprising writing code on the whiteboard, going through basic data structures and algorithms, and being interviewed about the C++ by people knowing only Java. That did not feel right at all...
Interviews with engineering managers asking a questions: "What if you were asked to ....", or "From your experience, what if you did not agree to ...", or "Imagine that you are...". This is just plain stupid.
At the end of the long day I was told by the HR representative, that I will cannot give me feedback, but if I will not be selected I can re-apply for a job after six months. That felt completely wrong...
Going back, the entire process was frustrating and infuriating. The best part of it is I did not get the job and I am very glad it turned out that way.