6 Hours worth of interview for a humble Test Analyst Job......

[fullyautomatix]

No, don't be silly, doomage. It was just that, despite my having provided plenty of code samples online (including on YouTube where they can actually hear me talk and see me type as I build a solution), maybe I really can't write C# after all? So, a 'debug this ten-page un-numbered print out' test in a freezing cold room set by someone that looked like they'd just walked off a camp site was entirely reasonable for a lead dev position. That's why I hurried along to my next interview for a better-paid position that I won.

You are getting this all wrong to be honest. They are comfortable hiring someone who can decipher the code and find the fault in the code. Presumbaly they have had a past experience where they watched someone code on some video on youtube and then later found them to be a complete nutcase. So from trial and error they have hit upon a technique which they feel is foolproof. They will adopt the same mechanism even if Bill Gates turned up.

[MyUserName]

Isn't this more the case of some companies treat workers like c**p.

If they treat your like that in the interview (e.g. no offer of refreshment, no consideration for you comfort, no effort spent setting up an interview process that tests skills in a meaningful way) then they are almost definitely going to treat you like that if you work there - so why would you want to if you do not have to?

Once you see these signs in the interview process there is no need to go further, you are just wasting everyone's time.

[Gentile]

You are getting this all wrong to be honest. They are comfortable hiring someone who can decipher the code and find the fault in the code. Presumbaly they have had a past experience where they watched someone code on some video on youtube and then later found them to be a complete nutcase. So from trial and error they have hit upon a technique which they feel is foolproof. They will adopt the same mechanism even if Bill Gates turned up.

I doubt that any decent developer would consider debugging a ten page printout to be a legitimate way to determine skill at software development, let alone leading a team. That alone would be enough for most people that know what they're doing to walk.

But, FWIW, I did check the organisation concerned out pretty thoroughly prior to this 'interview'. I pulled their last company return (which didn't look too good). More importantly, I spoke to a former colleague of mine that also happened to have worked there (always the best indicator of a place's real culture in my experience). My former colleague told me that it was a pretty tulip place to work, and explained some specific problems they'd encountered, such as their tolerating jerks on their staff.

I've worked all over and know a lot of people in my field. It's pretty rare for me not to know a lot about the organisations and the people I'm meeting before we even clap eyes on one another. Despite the red flags that had been raised by my former colleague on this occasion, I still turned up with an open mind and prepared to treat the process as seriously as I would any other interview. However, I'm not prepared to sit in a freezing cold room performing a nonsensical task that I wouldn't use to assess a junior developer let alone a team lead for anybody.

[alreadypacked]

I doubt that any decent developer would consider debugging a ten page printout to be a legitimate way to determine skill at software development, let alone leading a team. That alone would be enough for most people that know what they're doing to walk.

But, FWIW, I did check the organisation concerned out pretty thoroughly prior to this 'interview'. I pulled their last company return (which didn't look too good). More importantly, I spoke to a former colleague of mine that also happened to have worked there (always the best indicator of a place's real culture in my experience). My former colleague told me that it was a pretty tulip place to work, and explained some specific problems they'd encountered, such as their tolerating jerks on their staff.

I've worked all over and know a lot of people in my field. It's pretty rare for me not to know a lot about the organisations and the people I'm meeting before we even clap eyes on one another. Despite the red flags that had been raised by my former colleague on this occasion, I still turned up with an open mind and prepared to treat the process as seriously as I would any other interview. However, I'm not prepared to sit in a freezing cold room performing a nonsensical task that I wouldn't use to assess a junior developer let alone a team lead for anybody.

But you don't seam to know when people are just winding you up

HTH

[Gentile]

Isn't this more the case of some companies treat workers like c**p.

If they treat your like that in the interview (e.g. no offer of refreshment, no consideration for you comfort, no effort spent setting up an interview process that tests skills in a meaningful way) then they are almost definitely going to treat you like that if you work there - so why would you want to if you do not have to?

Once you see these signs in the interview process there is no need to go further, you are just wasting everyone's time.

Yup, that pretty much covers it. I'm quite sure that if I'd turned up looking like a tramp they'd have concluded I wasn't taking things seriously. If I'd then handed them a pencil and paper, asked them to write a 500-word essay on what it takes to be a great place to work, then made to leave for the warmth and doughnuts next door (which as I think I did say were jam), I'm pretty sure they'd have told me where to get off. It cuts both ways.

[Gentile]

But you don't seam to know when people are just winding you up

HTH

I don't think you quite understand. These were jam-filled doughnuts we are talking about. They were full of jam. Who would kid around about something like that?

[fullyautomatix]

I doubt that any decent developer would consider debugging a ten page printout to be a legitimate way to determine skill at software development, let alone leading a team. That alone would be enough for most people that know what they're doing to walk.

But, FWIW, I did check the organisation concerned out pretty thoroughly prior to this 'interview'. I pulled their last company return (which didn't look too good). More importantly, I spoke to a former colleague of mine that also happened to have worked there (always the best indicator of a place's real culture in my experience). My former colleague told me that it was a pretty tulip place to work, and explained some specific problems they'd encountered, such as their tolerating jerks on their staff.

I've worked all over and know a lot of people in my field. It's pretty rare for me not to know a lot about the organisations and the people I'm meeting before we even clap eyes on one another. Despite the red flags that had been raised by my former colleague on this occasion, I still turned up with an open mind and prepared to treat the process as seriously as I would any other interview. However, I'm not prepared to sit in a freezing cold room performing a nonsensical task that I wouldn't use to assess a junior developer let alone a team lead for anybody.

Trust me you havent been to that many interviews if you have not experienced an interivew where they tell you to

1) Debug code on a sheet of paper.
2) Write an ecommerce app in one hour with no access to internet.
3) Write some mathematical algorithm on a board.
4) Write a lot of code using notepad only.
5) Write some OO based app using Visual studio without using any kind of help with the interview sitting right behind me and breathing down your neck.

Many many more I can cite. Many I passed and many I failed. Writing tons of code on a board was very common and mostly derived from Google and used by others who wanted to pretend to be as cool as Google.