Started from notepad, now i'm here.
Consulting for Startups in San Francisco while working on a few products for the maker community
codersnippets.com javacriptpros.com formakersbymakers.com
Location
San Francisco
Work
Founder & Head of Engineering at For Makers, by Makers
when the employer asks you questions about yourself you should have your 30 second pitch ready, and remember that your answers don't necessarily have to be very long.
Be careful with this. As someone who's been on the other side of that chair, it's very obvious when you're just going through a memorized script. I can tell that you're talking at me and not with me, when you're giving me a memorized response.
One of the main things the interviewer in hiring a programmer is to make sure the person enjoys what he does.
Correct. Out of a group of equally qualified candidates, I've previously narrowed it down to the person who was most active on dev communities (StackOverflow, etc). It was a good indicator of their passion, but it's also not totally necessary. There's nothing wrong with this just being your job. But the idea that you love something enough to do it even when you're not getting paid is certainly something people will take notice of.
is not whether you know the solution, but whether you can communicate that solution.
Correct. Furthermore, your ability to find that solution means more to me than you memorizing it.
I was a little too relaxed
I don't think there's anything wrong with this. Especially in contrast to you previously having a panic attack. Believe it or not, I've had someone suffer from a panic attack mid-interview. Its our job to empathize with that. Its our job to understand how much pressure you're under and make you feel comfortable enough to proceed with the interview. If we can't do a good job of that during the interview process, then how will we do it during the day-to-day stresses of work? So yes, feel relaxed. Feel free to see the person interviewing you as a friend you're coding with, because chances are (depending who's interviewing you) that's what you want them to eventually be. That doesn't mean you need to take it any less serious.
When starting to study data structures and algorithms, there's definitely the challenge of trying to remember all of them
The idea that someone would expect you memorize most, yet alone "all" is absurd. Instead, focus on memorizing how to correctly re-surface the answer. Whether that be google, SO, personal notes, etc. I'm not a fan of the "show me you memorized this algorithm" approach to interviewing. While I appreciate the approach still exists, I think many are getting away from this. I'm more interested in your ability to find an answer than I am in you memorizing it. The former will be useful even on topics unknown. The latter has plenty of limitations.
I appreicate you taking the time to give me your perspective to help clarify some of the things I was trying to voice from my experience.
I agree with your point on being relaxed, I think at the end of the day, I was leaning to being in that mindset, mainly because you can't think when your mind is anxious. I also, appreciate you sharing your desire to help interviewees, I think this helps understand the interviewers' perspective and to overall trust you guys more, haha.
As for memorizing an 'act', I agree. It's definitely easier to memorize a solution for a type of problem, than to actually understand the problem and the solution, so you can better understand how those apply to specific situations. I feel like this is mostly due to my lack of experience/practice, and also creating good habits like understanding the problem before I choose to code and try out a half-baked solution.
Started from notepad, now i'm here.
Consulting for Startups in San Francisco while working on a few products for the maker community
codersnippets.com javacriptpros.com formakersbymakers.com
Location
San Francisco
Work
Founder & Head of Engineering at For Makers, by Makers
Yea, of course! I think its awesome that you're sharing this with the world. Reflecting in public like this takes a lot of courage and is very useful for others. So my hat's off to you 🤘🏻
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Be careful with this. As someone who's been on the other side of that chair, it's very obvious when you're just going through a memorized script. I can tell that you're talking at me and not with me, when you're giving me a memorized response.
Correct. Out of a group of equally qualified candidates, I've previously narrowed it down to the person who was most active on dev communities (StackOverflow, etc). It was a good indicator of their passion, but it's also not totally necessary. There's nothing wrong with this just being your job. But the idea that you love something enough to do it even when you're not getting paid is certainly something people will take notice of.
Correct. Furthermore, your ability to find that solution means more to me than you memorizing it.
I don't think there's anything wrong with this. Especially in contrast to you previously having a panic attack. Believe it or not, I've had someone suffer from a panic attack mid-interview. Its our job to empathize with that. Its our job to understand how much pressure you're under and make you feel comfortable enough to proceed with the interview. If we can't do a good job of that during the interview process, then how will we do it during the day-to-day stresses of work? So yes, feel relaxed. Feel free to see the person interviewing you as a friend you're coding with, because chances are (depending who's interviewing you) that's what you want them to eventually be. That doesn't mean you need to take it any less serious.
The idea that someone would expect you memorize most, yet alone "all" is absurd. Instead, focus on memorizing how to correctly re-surface the answer. Whether that be google, SO, personal notes, etc. I'm not a fan of the "show me you memorized this algorithm" approach to interviewing. While I appreciate the approach still exists, I think many are getting away from this. I'm more interested in your ability to find an answer than I am in you memorizing it. The former will be useful even on topics unknown. The latter has plenty of limitations.
Hi Gio,
I appreicate you taking the time to give me your perspective to help clarify some of the things I was trying to voice from my experience.
I agree with your point on being relaxed, I think at the end of the day, I was leaning to being in that mindset, mainly because you can't think when your mind is anxious. I also, appreciate you sharing your desire to help interviewees, I think this helps understand the interviewers' perspective and to overall trust you guys more, haha.
As for memorizing an 'act', I agree. It's definitely easier to memorize a solution for a type of problem, than to actually understand the problem and the solution, so you can better understand how those apply to specific situations. I feel like this is mostly due to my lack of experience/practice, and also creating good habits like understanding the problem before I choose to code and try out a half-baked solution.
Yea, of course! I think its awesome that you're sharing this with the world. Reflecting in public like this takes a lot of courage and is very useful for others. So my hat's off to you 🤘🏻