Don’t do interviews, do discussions

Re:Don’t do interviews, do discussions by neeleshs on Sunday November 07, 2021 @06:30PM (#29144618)

Thank you! That is a very interesting world indeed.

But, just focusing on the algorithms part of it, I never could answer how exactly a specific algorithm worked, but I've had to use many algorithms in my "normal" job. I just know "oh this needs a modified DFS, or A*, with custom heuristics, or a priority based permutations generator". I cannot answer how any of this works in detail on the fly, but I know where to look. Isn't that sufficient? I certainly would fail a FANG interview, but have gone toe to toe or even better when pow-wowing on some real problems with googlers. Wouldn't consider myself any inferior because I don't know how a specific algorithm works in the interview. Just my two cents

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Re:Don’t do interviews, do discussions by 01100011 on Sunday November 07, 2021 @08:09PM (#29145216)

Is it sufficient? Depends on your interviewer and other factors. I personally wouldn't fail anyone for not knowing absolute specifics(unless they claimed to know as much). I would expect some 'algorithmic thinking' and basic familiarity. The interview is also based on a fair bit of luck. In my case, I was asked about virtual memory, and I had literally just days before done a deep dive through the Linux VM subsystem. If they asked me a week before I wouldn't have gotten the job.

When I started interviewing, I couldn't even do tree traversal. It just wasn't something I was familiar with, and never directly used in decades of coding. I don't blame Amazon for passing on me then.

> gone toe to toe or even better when pow-wowing on some real problems with googlers

I don't think making blanket statements like this is a good idea. Sure, you might be able to code better then them, but can you think of a new solution which is better than the current best practice based on some practical consideration(behavior of your HW, caching behavior, some niche use case, etc)? I think a lot of people are great coders in many ways but that's not always the skill folks are looking for. We don't necessarily crank out a lot of code, but it has to be really good code. You also are expected to come up with self-driven innovations and ways to push the industry forward. It would be nice if there was just a set of problems someone handed me and had me solve, but that's really not what they're paying me for.

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Re:Don’t do interviews, do discussions by neeleshs on Monday November 08, 2021 @08:25PM (#29156578)

That's fair. I think we are saying the same thing, it is just about what you know at that moment, rather than your true capabilities.

Also, my statement was not blanket statement, nor that I wrote more code than others. I was referring to a very specific set of problems that I was working on and not generalizing that I'm better than all googlers. There are many people who are way smarter/better than I am. I'm just saying not being in FAANG does not mean one is not good enough.

I think the interview processes put a bar on if one willing to put in the amount of specific kind of work needed to get in or not. In its own way, it is a good filter (for them)

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