Re:Ask HN: Is it possible to get pigeonholed to certain comp...
by itronitron on Sunday August 26, 2018 @11:53PM
(#17849337)
It sounds like your interview team is projecting their own biases onto the interview candidates. I have a hard time believing that you were able to unroll enough of the candidates' work experiences to arrive at your conclusions objectively.
Re:Ask HN: Is it possible to get pigeonholed to certain comp...
by dbt00 on Monday August 27, 2018 @04:37AM
(#17850208)
I know this candidate too, and I've struggled with this hiring decision -- and I always tried to remain unbiased by reading as little as possible about the candidate before interviewing them (as in, don't even look at the resume). There's a certain lack of humility with always being the smartest person in the room in every conversation for several years that causes problems. Hell, I've been that guy in past lives.
FWIW, I've interviewed hundreds of people at major silicon valley companies. I wouldn't presume to diagnose someone's hiring biases (we all have them) without more data than you can find in a single HN comment.
This has been a tough one in the past-interview discussion on many of the interview panels that I've been on. Given a bigger pond, would the candidate jump at the new opportunities and learn? Whether or not we decide to go that route often depends on a number of factors, both from the candidate and the current team dynamics (what's our internal junior/senior team ratio and what's our current mentoring needs/bandwidth?)
I have no way of knowing if this describes you, of course, but might at least be worth ensuring that during the interview you're not giving the above impression.