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You Hate Technical Interviews- Nightcap #4

October 16, 2020
4 min read

The hate for technical interviews is real. So is the hate for Google Stadia.

Welcome to Nightcap #4! Nightcap was a nightly series that covered daily content consumption with insights.

In This Post

  • Technical interview rant
  • Google stadia rant (Iā€™m a fan- for the record)
  • All the YouTube videos I watched today

Technical interviews

Spent most of the day working and some of the night doing tech screenings/interviews. I mostly hate technical interviews. On the one hand, the puzzle aspect could be fun- but it determines your potential future.

I did one that was a bit different. They made me solve some logic puzzles and pattern matching. It was not programming-related. Similar to what they use to ask for standardized tests and checking your general intelligence in high school. Or engineering visualization exercises I did in college.

I donā€™t think all technical screenings and code interviews are all evil. But in general, companies use them in silly ways.

If you are testing to see if someone would be a good tech lead- it would probably make more sense to give them a piece of code.

Donā€™t ask them to program. Ask them to:

  1. Analyze the code to figure out what it does
  2. Give them a set of user requirements of additions that need to be added
  3. Have them write up a card that SOMEONE else would then have to implement.
  4. Give it to the most junior member of your team and see if they understand it.

Technical leads at many companies around here spend 80% of their time remediating meetings and writing stuff up. The rest of the time might be coding/prototyping. Why would coding an arbitrary solution quickly be the solution to finding quality technical leads?

This test would be more honest about the day-to-day process, show more about how the company works to the potential employee, shows more about soft skills, and takes less time for everyone than reviewing code.

Technical screens donā€™t test:

  • soft skills (which is why companies then say, ā€œwell, we will just have a whiteboard/face to face then!)
  • technical skills (solving a puzzle has nothing to do with your workflow or code style)
  • general intelligence (whether this should be tested at all is questionable)
  • work ethic (you might know what to do, how to do it, and still be a lazy fellow)

Having a take-home project might be better depending on the situation, but it has many more cons.

  • tends to be a bigger time commitment
  • some people can do more than others, leading to a potentially unfair process

I could go on with the pros and cons- but I donā€™t think either of these solves the main issue. Some companies need screening. They are inundated with too many applications or too few skilled individuals.

I think, as an industry, we really need to look into alternative ways to both narrow down candidates and get rid of ā€œfreeloaders.ā€

Another thought that comes to mind: not everyone should be an absolute superstar. You can be a diligent worker that gets a lot of results for a company without being superman. Taking only the top 10% of people using arbitrary metrics eliminates some culture fits. Unless your company values impersonality, facelessness, and false ubermensch.

Speaking of hate, letā€™s talk Stadia.

Google Stadia Rant

I like Google Stadia. My internet is decent, and I have no need for hardware. Iā€™ve been a hardcore gamer and a casual one. I donā€™t think Stadia is for everyone, and I see the critiques people make. Most people I know, should not get it. But I love it. I downloaded the new ā€œfreeā€ games (you pay $10 a month, similar to a Humble Bundle, but also gets you 4k access). Watched some of the new game trailers (Baldurā€™s Gate 3).

I donā€™t game much at all, which is another part of the appeal of Stadia.

The main selling points they are pushing seem to be:

  • No install time
  • No boot-up time
  • No need for physical hardware
  • Access to BETTER hardware for cheap.

Google often misses the initial marketing push. What many donā€™t know is STADIA IS FREE. You also donā€™t need to buy a Chromecast. You can use your computer right now.

Pro lets you do 4K. I donā€™t even own a 4K monitor. I DO have a 4K TV, so I can take advantage of that. You also get free games.

It is a niche product that will hopefully become a more mainstream product. I think the internet infrastructure outside of cities needs to get better for the true acceptance of any cloud game provider.

YouTube

Hey! You know me. Well, maybe not. Either way- I'm Lucas Puskaric! This site captures a small part of the nonsense I get up to. I'm not a vegan, but I do program stuff occasionally. I read books too. Stick around for unique big boy content.

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