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Admin
I will dictate my comment and the pair commenter will type it in.
Admin
Apparently I'm a fast typist, because the post was still available on Craigslist when I looked.
Admin
You can, however, empty and fill the bottles with water as many ties as you want. How would you get four gallons of water?
Wait - can you fill the bottles with water, or with ties? Where do you even get enough ties to fill a 5-gallon bottle? Are we talking neckties, bow ties, or tie fighters?
This is very confusing.
Admin
Regardless, for making such a truly terrible pun he should also never have been hired.
Admin
"You cannot put four gallons into these bottles because they are odd shaped."
Took me quite a while to figure that one out...:-D
Admin
Shoot the hostage.
Crap, wrong movie/riddle
Admin
You can pick your pair programmer at will call.
Admin
I think we need to get four gallons of ties in a five gallon hat.
Admin
Without the live link to the last one I would never have believed that such a thing was actually real... You would think that a wharton PhD would have taught them about wasting money... guess not. sigh
captcha: abico: The World's Premier Workforce Management Solution
Admin
I guess they are referring to Pair Programming, but nevertheless one is reviewing while the other is typing.. not typing while the other is dictating.
Admin
I think your interview questions are a little weak. The "Why do you like C# more than VB" can demonstrate someone's familiarity level with both languages, but that's about it. Unless you are interviewing for someone who agrees with your opinions one code-style and technique, it's a silly question. Personally, I don't care if they know the little nuances of the language, but rather if they can solve common programming problems.
The water question isn't even a brain teaser. Just a little proof of whether or not you read a book of brain-teasers before. Sure, a few people will solve it without knowing the answer beforehand, but probably not without wasting a lot of precious interview time doing the arithmentic in their heads.
Admin
Did they put a mirror under his nose, then? Did he manage to fog it up?
Admin
We should all flag that "Best of Craigslist"
Admin
Wow! the links on this broadstanalytics.com are all like this: href='/?epl=03280043VGsLXARdBQZXBkQHVwgHWg9aB1oGCFUTDlRRS0xVXwRZTRZRWhYdVw5dRARXCjlBBFIDRQZHCgkVQUUCFxtTF1pVBktNBF1VDUkWClsWSFAOWUkRF0YKUFMDDA0KAghSARIMV006UVgOUwkGXFhAVg9AFFgTTApRTwEEAQ0SRQBGQD1RXVgDEg5AFl5XC0BDDkQTWQdQRVwOWxNLXVVDBl1rEldKWFFbFRYGBksMAV0_XQIKVAMGRwJUQV1fW0McCFMHVlwXWldHQw4KWwA5WgUJVhEQUFYTAl1qTEFEVFhZXQxTHwRfWA5HPQRXCgFfBGsMRF4F&query=botsearch09'
Imagine dictating that!
Admin
For those who wonder about the bottles:
Admin
When we interview candidates, we feel that everthing listed on the resume is an invitation for us to ask technical questions about, but we don't necessarily hold it against the candidate if he admits that he is weak in a certain area. But my candidate got mad and started yelling at me becuase I was asking too many technical questions. He said he was strong in C++, so one of my questions was for him to give an example of when he would use a template. "I would never use a template," he said with a raised voice. I asked why, and he answered because he doesn't know anything about templates. An honest answer, but I didn't like his attitude. Other interviewers at the company liked him, for what reasons I have no idea.
Admin
“of course, Greece! I know so very much about those countries, and love them too. Especially Greece!”
yes, well, we're looking for someone who knows very much about PROGRAMMING. And loves it. Especially the programming part.
NEXT!
Admin
Does the Senior Programmer have no hands with which to type? That would certainly explain the need to dictate to a typist, and a typist who actually understands the code enough to not cause frustration in debugging and formatting.
captcha: vindico. the company that vindicates WTFs Daily...
Admin
Admin
No, it's a good question. I don't care which they actually prefer, but I like to see how their brain works. I sit in on a lot of interviews. The way someone answers a question is more important than the actual answer.
And honestly, I'm not really certain what the "right" answer is to the 3/5 gallon problem. My answer? Put the 3 gallon container in the 5 gallon container, fill the 5 gallon container. Take the 3 gallon out, and put the two gallons you just made into the 3 gallon container. Repeat, but this time pour the 2 gallons in the 3 gallon container into the 5 gallon container.
Admin
Gul Madred: How many gallons do you see there? Picard: I see four gallons Gul Madred: No, there are five. Are you quite sure? Picard: There are four gallons.
Captha: nobis (ora pro)
Admin
Perhaps they meant Au pair programming????
Captcha: gravis (what a great game pad!)
Admin
Whaddaya need 4 gallons for anyways? The 5 shoulda been enough. Ya can always throw the extra gallon out the door.
Admin
Those of you that think that job posting is bizarre have obviously never had RSI. Just sayin'.
Admin
Or a condition like Parkenson's that makes typing difficult. Still, training a computer to do the work, with a human cleaning up might be more efficient.
Admin
Redefining the problem to avoid doing the work. Interesting. "It's not a bug, it's a feature. Just work around it."
Admin
I've often asked this style of question (usually I pick two databases they claim to have worked with, or two OSes). When I ask, I'm not looking for them to agree with what I think. It's part BS detector -- do they know enough about the things they put on their resume to give an informed comparison? It's also a view into how the person thinks. And I'm perfectly okay with answers like "I've been working with X for 5 years and Y for about 3 months, so I'm just more comfortable with X" The hardest part of conducting an interview is getting genuine responses rather than simply what the interviewee thinks you want to hear, and the best way to do that is to ask questions where the information you want has more to do with how the answer is presented than with the specifics of the answer.
Admin
What is that water example for? Testing industrial robots?
Admin
I applaud your trekiness.
captcha: nibh, where the rats went after nimh was destroyed?
Admin
Admin
Actually, I was more interested in the "how would you weight a 747" question, from the click-thru.
I'd weigh it the same way I weight my dog. He's a small dog, but he won't sit still on the scale, so I have to hold him.
So, first I stand on the scale and weigh myself. Then I pick up the 747 and step on the scale again.
Then I subtract.
Admin
I'd go with the alternate solution:
#1 is the 5 gallon jug #2 is the 3 gallon jug
Fill #1, empty it into #2, so 2 gallons left in #1. Grab the sharpie off your desk, mark the water level. Dump #2 out. Pour the 2 gallons into #2. Refill #1 to the mark, then dump the 2 gallons from #2 back in.
Admin
That sounds like something 4Chan would do.
Admin
I'd find the weight of the 747 by reading the service manual.
That's the right answer, right?
Admin
Please don't ever try to solve a problem for me.
Admin
I assume the "Pair Programmer" is for someone with wrist damage or similar. A good programmer who's a company founder and can hire someone to be a keyboard monkey.
Sounded like a good solution to me.. if that's the situation.
Admin
Or severe carpal tunnel syndrome
Admin
Admin
What bugs me about these types of tests is the assumptions they make, and if you ask for clarification they say "just answer the question" (meaning they don't have an answer for you). In this case, they don't actually say the 4 gallons has to end up in the 5-gallon container, just that you have to get 4 gallons. So I would do this: fill the 5, pour 3 into the 3 from the 5, leaving 2. Pour the 2 into wherever it is that you need the water (fishtank?). Repeat. That's 4 gallons in the fishtank. Of course it's wrong because the UNWRITTEN assumption is that the 4 gallons has to end up in the 5-gallon container.
Admin
I would fill the 3 gallon jug, and then tell the end user it's a 4 gallon jug. If he really needs another gallon, he'll get it somewhere. Water isn't hard to find. More likely, he just doesn't understand his own requirements, and will be perfectly happy with what I give him.
Admin
Admin
Admin
Why not, it works, doesn't it? So long as the walls of the container are thin negligible to the volume of the container, you're all good.
I admit, it's not as good as the marker idea, which is really the best answer I've heard, but it does assume extra equipment.
But displacing 3 gallons of volume in a 5 gallon container means the remaining volume is 2 gallons. We've now graduated our 5 gallon container.
Admin
Admin
Admin
It's not an UNWRITTEN assumption. It's the only solution to the problem as stated. If you redefine the problem by adding some external, like your fish tank, then you are solving a different problem. I guess you could call it an assumption since the 5 gallon container is the only one large enough to hold 4 gallons, but if you're not capable of figuring that out yourself...
Admin
I would put the five gallon bottle on the scale and fill water into it until it is 4 kg heavier.
Admin
Then you fail at interviewing. It's actually a very good question which can reveal a lot about a person. First, if they can't point to at least a couple of features that differ between the two languages, then they are lying about being familiar, which is pretty useful to know. Second, if they can talk in depth about the pro's and con's of each, it demonstrates that they have a real passion for programming.
Admin
But, those with severe carpal tunnel but is otherwise a proficient programmer can still use voice recognition software rather than hiring someone. The suspicious part of the ad has to do with the fact that the "senior programmer" wants to "dictate" to the "junior programmer" at a "high level".
Admin
Great answer. Put it on the scale that the problem explicitly stated that you didn't have.