Comment by BubbleRings
2 days ago
One thing I watched closely for in interviews is the moment when an applicant said “I don’t know.” I have not had great experiences with tech co-workers who are incapable of saying that.
2 days ago
One thing I watched closely for in interviews is the moment when an applicant said “I don’t know.” I have not had great experiences with tech co-workers who are incapable of saying that.
I willingly say it and tbh if you wont hire me for saying I dont remember or am drawing a blank I am glad, I dodged a bullet. Obviously I dont purposely say it but sometimes you get so nervous it escapes you.
Yea, this is a great one. I've had a lot of success in the past using the backpack problem / box packing as an interview question for problem solving / pair programming parts of the interview. It has "I don't know" built right in. It also has "I don't know, I'm going to make this decision for now but I expect it's wrong" built in.
Every time someone mentions a good idea for interviews, I imagine the interview prep people adding it to the standard performance ritual. Then the signal is lost for the needle in a haystack who actually embodies what you sought to find.
With how ridiculously performative and disingenuous the techbro interviews have become, if we don't want to play that game, we have to keep some signal unspoken.
Yeah being a good interviewer is an art. Some people give up and rely solely on whiteboard / algo questions because it typically guarantees technical skills but does not account for soft skills.