• plasmab (unregistered)

    The real WTF is that the author wonders why he's not getting offered jobs.

  • Anonymous (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous
    Anonymous:
    joeyadams:
    Addendum (2010-06-10 09:25): On a sidenote, Akismet blocked this post as spam until I appended meaningless repetitive text. Remember, Ralphie, if your nose starts bleeding it means you're picking it too much... or not enough.
    This is typical of Akismet, the damn thing is so twitchy that it's flagged a link to the same domain as the originating page. Shows you just how poor Akismet really is; I've had false positives in the past in which there were no links at all! I guess it's better than the spam but I'm sure there are far better solutions out there than Akismet. I've also heard that the developers can be vindictive dicks if you piss them off.
    Anonymous:

    I rest me case. I can't believe this actually happened in the same damn post that I mentioned it in earlier. Can we get an "I Hate Akismet Club" going?

  • div (unregistered) in reply to regeya
    regeya:
    A hash symbol is similar to musical notation to mark a sharp note. If you increment one note up from C in a 12-tone system, the next note is C#.

    So, it's a play on C++.

    Nope. As pointed out earlier, C sharp is a half-tone above C. But C++ is C incremented by one. So it is a clear admission by Microsoft that C# is half a step backwards from C++.

  • greebo (unregistered)
    I never heard from that employer again.

    well, that just takes the piss

  • (cs)

    I like how guys like Anon just chime in to say "You wouldn't get hired at MY company, with that attitude" or "We don't like people like yourself 'round our neck of the woods!" by justifying the unjustifiable.

    The interviewer was just snapping out of control, and I don't mean he was playing the dozens. At best it could fall into the category of those esoteric Hypothetical Question-type interviews.

  • fjf (unregistered) in reply to Listconnt Smalle

    Yeah.

  • (cs) in reply to Johnny
    Johnny:
    Sorry dave but Iain has crafted a very good response here and you couldn't even provide a citation for your "urban myth" assertion. It's pretty obvious who's got the stronger case here. But hey, thanks for your brusque input.
    In contrast to your summary, the odd thing is that Iain's response appears to me to actually contradict his original statement ("until relatively recently it was illegal to displaying weight in anything but metric units").

    So until we have something that supports the original assertion, Dave is entitled to call it an urban myth. Iain's phrase "based on their interpretation of the existing statutes" indicates that there was a belief that imperial measures were forbidden, but the rest of the post indicates that though there may have been an aspiration that imperial units would be phased out, this phasing out has yet to actually occur.

    (And I certainly have seen dual units displayed all the while.)

  • (cs) in reply to div
    div:
    regeya:
    A hash symbol is similar to musical notation to mark a sharp note. If you increment one note up from C in a 12-tone system, the next note is C#.

    So, it's a play on C++.

    Nope. As pointed out earlier, C sharp is a half-tone above C. But C++ is C incremented by one. So it is a clear admission by Microsoft that C# is half a step backwards from C++.

    So are you saying that C++ is really D?

  • (cs) in reply to MyKey_
    A few days later I was, in fact, offered a job, but I turned it down. Not because of the f-bomb, but because of the commute.
    And here lies TRWTF. Why on earth did you go to an interview at somewhere you never planned to work at because of the commute? Thanks for wasting their time scumbag.
  • My Little Pony (unregistered) in reply to Bellinghman

    The problem was that some people only showed the imperial measurements. They got into trouble for that.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metric_Martyrs

  • Brendan (unregistered) in reply to mace

    Hi,

    mace:
    Exactly why does a drug testing company need over a dozen different programming languages? That doesn't sound like using "the right tool to solve the right problem".

    I think it's time to introduce standardised naming conventions.

    Chocolate biscuit = a biscuit made with chocolate Dog biscuit = a biscuit made with dogs Urine/blood testing = testing the contents of urine/blood Drug testing = so smashed you don't know which language to use

    -Brendan

  • Sterile Needles (unregistered) in reply to frits
    frits:
    cconroy:
    Septic Tank:
    I say tom-art-o you say tom-ate-o.

    WhoTF says "tom-art-o"?

    That spelling makes sense if Septic Tank has a non-rhotic accent.

    Correct! cconroy might be surprised to learn that there is life outside of America and it's actually where the English language originated - in Europe, England.

    Isn't it amazing.

  • (cs) in reply to amischiefr
    amischiefr:
    A few days later I was, in fact, offered a job, but I turned it down. Not because of the f-bomb, but because of the commute.
    And here lies TRWTF. Why on earth did you go to an interview at somewhere you never planned to work at because of the commute? Thanks for wasting their time scumbag.

    Sometimes you would consider taking a hit if the compensation is right. Just recently I switched jobs and during the interview process, one company really wanted me. The job they had didn't sound quite as interesting as the other one I had just started interviewing for, but it had good points that pretty much balanced that out.

    If they'd come across on the health-insurance issue I'd have gone with them, but not having a real group health plan turned out to be a deal-breaker (their original plan of paying for private insurance for me turned out to be a no-go because my wife was already pregnant at the time and no private plan would cover her pregnancy).

    I don't consider that to be me having "wasted their time", especially as they knew early on that the insurance was a key issue. They were at least understanding of why I decided the way I did.

    Likewise, although my normal commute range is an hour, I will (and have) gone further if the employer is willing to compensate in some way (work-at-home, paying for mass transit, flex time, or just higher pay).

  • McDonald's is hiring (unregistered) in reply to Yardik

    Sorry, but most interviews aren't like your experiences applying for jobs at fast food joints.

    Your job as an interviewee is, among other things, to find out if the job is one you want. Why kiss ass if it's for a job that you are going to hate? Simply to you can put a notch in your belt and say, "I got an offer at a sucky job?"

    And I'd rather hire someone who is going to enjoy their job and take pride in it. Among other things, I know they're not going to jump ship at the next shiny nickle.

  • Commuting (unregistered) in reply to amischiefr

    I interviewed at a company where I thought was a good match and it was interesting, but the commute was horrendous (let's just say I fly home every weekend.)

    And you know what, I ended up taking the job because it was a good offer, the company was a great fit and because it was the best offer on the table. Sometimes you might be trepidatious about a commute only to find the other factors make up for it.

  • (cs) in reply to Yardik
    Yardik:
    It's a job interview, your job as interviewee is to get the job, by whatever means possible, as long as you believe you can do a good job of it once you're in the door. If that means a little butt smooching.. sweet, pucker up. If you want to be successful in the corporate world sometimes you need to realize it's more important that people *like* you and feel that you fit the org, than your arrogance and pride be demonstrated.

    Coming from someone who has been offered every job they have ever interviewed for. It's all about confidence and manipulation. Screw pride, I'd rather make the big bucks.

    Speaking as someone who's technical-interviewed a number of candidates for several positions, your claim falls down for the following reasons:

    1. If you puff up that resume and try to fake it in the interview, my colleagues and I are going to catch you out and dump you on the street. (I've seen some really sad cases, guys who were passed to us with good marks from management but within five minutes of technical interview clearly wanted to be doing anything but answering the very basic questions we put to them.)

    2. Assuming you lack the skills but are somehow clever enough to fake us out or kiss enough higher-up ass and get the job, we're still going to figure it out pretty fast. Even if we can't get rid of you ourselves, we can make you wish the company would hurry up and fire you already. Not by overt abuse, just by making sure the limits of your competence are thoroughly explored and well-documented.

    3. If you do have the skills, but you still have to kiss the interviewer's butt to get the job, the organization has issues that will quickly make you just as miserable (if not more so) as scenario 2.

    4. If you have the skills, and butt-kissing is not required, but you do it anyway, any half-bright interviewer is going to detect the brown on your nose and think you're doing it because you don't actually have the chops. No job for you.

    So that's two no-jobs, and two jobs you hate. Personally I'd rather do it my way, where I get the jobs I like and leave when I don't like them any more. I don't get everything I interview for, but I always like what I get.

  • (cs) in reply to Herby
    Herby:
    As for languages, Microsoft should have chosen the equivalent: 'D-flat' as a language. Would have made more sense!
    "So what are you coding that in?" "Dee-Bee!"
  • oheso (unregistered) in reply to Jaime
    Jaime:
    It seems that a lot of people in IT simply read the manuals and bang on the keyboard until it works.

    What -- you know a better way?

  • Quirkafleeg (unregistered) in reply to Anon
    Anon:
    […]
    "JBoss?!" the interviewer jumped in, "why didn't they use Tomcat, if they were going to use Java?"

    "I'm not sure,"

    Buzzz, wrong answer. Sure it was a decision made some time ago and of course you can't retroactively change those decisions, but the right answer was to say something along the lines of "well with JBoss you can do x which you can't do in Tomcat...." (or vice versa).
    That wouldn't be answering the question which was asked, though, or it could be lying (implying that you know why). Or it may actually be why.

    I say answer the question as given, then add something like your “well with JBoss” if it seems necessary.

  • Quirkafleeg (unregistered) in reply to Sterile Needles
    Sterile Needles:
    cconroy might be surprised to learn that there is life outside of America and it's actually where the English language originated - in Europe, England.

    Isn't it amazing.

    What? That Europe is part of England? No, not really…

  • foxyshadis (unregistered) in reply to Commuting
    Commuting:
    I interviewed at a company where I thought was a good match and it was interesting, but the commute was horrendous (let's just say I fly home every weekend.)

    And you know what, I ended up taking the job because it was a good offer, the company was a great fit and because it was the best offer on the table. Sometimes you might be trepidatious about a commute only to find the other factors make up for it.

    Plus you can always move once you decide the job is a keeper - it's not like any home is set in stone, no matter how much you have invested in one. It's just another decision to weigh.

    Best of all, the IRS will allow you to deduct your moving costs over 50 miles (+the distance of your old commute) after your regular deductions. It's a win-win unless you can't bear to leave town.

  • (cs) in reply to regeya
    regeya:
    Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to why- we don't even use it to abbreviate the word "pound" in any context that I'm aware of. Unfortunately, it was named before my time.

    A hash symbol is similar to musical notation to mark a sharp note. If you increment one note up from C in a 12-tone system, the next note is C#.

    So, it's a play on C++.

    And a half-step up from C# is Cx. (Or C× if you're going to get all typographical on me.) Which in equal tempering is the same as D. Which leads one to wonder why they still haven't come out with PL/2 or Fivetran.

    (Confession: I've seen the double-sharp notation in actual music maybe twice in the last forty years.)

  • (cs) in reply to da Doctah
    da Doctah:
    (Confession: I've seen the double-sharp notation in actual music maybe twice in the last forty years.)
    I have some sheet music which uses it (more specifically, some flute pieces by Miriam Hyde, if I recall correctly). When you're in a base key with five or six sharps to start with, you tend to get the odd double-sharp cropping up.

    Also, wouldn't it be either PL/J or PL/II?

  • Anonymous (unregistered)

    So let me get this right - Aksimet will happily block legitimate posts from legitimate commenters but it can't manage to block genuine spam from genuine spammers. This is absolutely pathetic.

  • (cs) in reply to amischiefr
    amischiefr:
    A few days later I was, in fact, offered a job, but I turned it down. Not because of the f-bomb, but because of the commute.
    And here lies TRWTF. Why on earth did you go to an interview at somewhere you never planned to work at because of the commute? Thanks for wasting their time scumbag.

    Hmmm, using derogatory 3rd-grade antics for calling someone's alleged lack of professionalism. Fascinating. How does that work for you?

    Rhetorical question aside, you have a very strange notion regarding interviews etiquette. The only time that it is really questionable to walk away from an offer is only after you have accepted it and with just a few days before the start date.

    Everything else is a matter of tact. You and the company are trying to iron out a employee-employer relation based on remuneration, cost and traded benefits.

    It is within the realm of possibilities that you receive an offer with a monetary value below what you need (or want) to drive a certain distance. You can counter offer, or you can decline.

    In principle, there is nothing scumbaggy about it. Welcome to life.

  • EngleBart (unregistered) in reply to Plz Send Me The Code
    Plz Send Me The Code:
    I don't get the 'pipes' faux pas.
    The company person was referring to a production pipeline or queue.

    The interviewee interpretted it as a pun on biological "pipes" (ureter/intestine/colon) which offended the company person.

    Psychic Captcha: genitus. Not exactly what I was talking about, but in the same neighborhood.

  • Mike (unregistered) in reply to Doodle
    Doodle:
    I'd settle for C++++.

    I think they did, not sure if this will come out right but I think the ++++ is basically:

    ++ ++

  • Cbuttius (unregistered) in reply to Herby
    Herby:
    HopelessIntern:
    Pete:
    Good old C-Pound my favourite language.

    I don't even know where that comes from I could understand C-Hash or C-Number. Is it called that in America? I'm from the UK so pound is £.

    Yeah in the states, the # symbol is called a pound. Still, it is no excuse. C-pound is just as wrong as C-hash or C-number, any competent IT-related professional should know it is C-sharp (it makes sense too, its musical notation).
    Back when I was doing telephone work, there was great confusion on what to call the '#' character. One in our staff said "you know like the tic-tac-toe game". Of course the dumb droid on the other end of the phone then knew what we were talking about. As for languages, Microsoft should have chosen the equivalent: 'D-flat' as a language. Would have made more sense!

    except that the game is called noughts and crosses here.

  • Jay (unregistered) in reply to da Doctah
    da Doctah:
    And a half-step up from C# is Cx. (Or C× if you're going to get all typographical on me.) Which in equal tempering is the same as D. Which leads one to wonder why they still haven't come out with PL/2 or Fivetran.

    When I was in college, we used a Fortran compiler developed at the University of Waterloo that implemented the Fortran IV (as in Roman numeral 4) standard, which they called "WATFOR", as in WATerloo FORtran. Then they made a new version that they called WATFIV. It stood for WATerloo Fortran IV, but it was pretty obvious that FIV was chosen to sound like one more than FOR.

  • Jay (unregistered) in reply to Jaime
    Jaime:
    I'd kill to have an interviewee show the slightest amount of passion for his or her chosen profession. It seems that a lot of people in IT simply read the manuals and bang on the keyboard until it works.

    You've known IT people who read the manuals?

  • EJ (unregistered) in reply to Jay
    Jay:
    Jaime:
    I'd kill to have an interviewee show the slightest amount of passion for his or her chosen profession. It seems that a lot of people in IT simply read the manuals and bang on the keyboard until it works.

    You've known IT people who read the manuals?

    If all else fails, read the manual.

  • Poochy.EXE (unregistered)

    "Apparently, my inability to influence past decisions limited my employment opportunities at this new company."

    Did this job, by any chance, require prior experience in working with a flux capacitor?

  • C. Abraham (unregistered)

    Can I use the 'rebutter' as a person who presents a counter-argument in a debate?

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