The Daily WTF: Curious Perversions in Information Technology

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

kuroshin:
Alex Papadimoulis:

He's wearing a powder blue leisure suit with cowboy boots.
So he turns out for an interview like this ? I'm not surprised they were so cold about that.
[image]

For the international readers, that is a blue leisure suit from the 1970's era, often associated with "disco" music/dance craze, typically made with a synthetic material. But those are NOT cowboy boots on his feet!

The acceptability of cowboy boots is region dependent within th US. And like most footware there are styles that are acceptable dress versions and others that aren't. I occassionally wear cowboy boots, and have a pair for dress occasions. But I am aware of when it is or is not appropriate.

On the other hand, I have never worn a leisure suit and hope to never be in one!

captha - knowhutimean ???

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

I see less wrong with the "No Pants Friday" remark than I do the gender of the interviewee.

Yes guys, we live in a world today where you can be shut down from heavy fines & penalties by saying such thing in the presence of a female, especially a random female on an interview. If it can possibly be misconstrued, manipulated or twisted to even have the possibility of a hint of a chance of being of a sexual nature... you're now looking at lawsuit material. Male interviewee would have been SOP.

skington · 2006-12-13 Reply Admin

George Bush has cowboy boots with the seal of the President of the United States on them. They look to me like dress cowboy boots; whether they're ever appropriate is another question entirely.

mbvlist · 2006-12-13 Reply Admin

morry:
Several counter points:

1) Cowboy boots with a suit is perfectly acceptable in some places. There is such a thing as dress cowboy boots. That should not have been a major issue. I've seen men wearing suits and boots and they look fine. Blue seems a strange color though.

2) PLEASE show me a place where HR is NOT useless. perhaps if we told them that a little more often we wouldn't have to deal with it.

2) Not at my place: after 3 months of showing an ad for a software developer on the company's website, they put it on monsterboard, that is: 1 job site. The position couldn't be missed by the way, and we still didn't find a replacement. And by the way, at this moment the development team has decreased from 4 FTE to 1.8 FTE, with one person intensively seeking another job... So if you are in the Netherlands, and need a WTF-job, join us! :P

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

morry:
2) PLEASE show me a place where HR is NOT useless. perhaps if we told them that a little more often we wouldn't have to deal with it.

I've worked at several jobs where HR wasn't totally useless. In fact they were quite friendly and helpful for stuff I needed them for. I have however worked with some HR people at other places where they were quite evil.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
The other one is when they try to get you to solve some current production problem in the interview (because they obviously have no clue what to do)

This happened to me. One of the bullet points on my resume was an automated build system named "BuildMonkey." I stole the name from some other company mentioned in an old Game Developer magazine. Anyways, my system built, branded and deployed a few hundred or so binaries every night. During the interview we talked about it and it seemed like my audience was unusually interested. They started asking more detail about versioning and whatnot, and the idiot that I was thought they were all just amazed by my technical prowess.

Fast forward 5 weeks and it's my first day working for that company. I'm told about an informal party in the afternoon to celebrate the release of their new automated build system, dubbed "BuildMonkey."

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:

I see less wrong with the "No Pants Friday" remark than I do the gender of the interviewee.

I guess our references to Topless Tuesdays are a no-no too.

I went on an interview once - I was being considered for an upper level management position on new product development. During the process, I was introduced to the VP of the Quality Assurance department. This lady was not prepared and was just asked at the last minute to interview this candidate (i'm supposing) to paraphrase it went something like this:

Her: Have you had any experience with Testing and Quality Assurance?

Me: Sure, I do it all the time.

Her: What would you do if you found a bug in the code?

Me: Today? I'd fix it.

Her: Oh - we don't do that here.

Me: Oh. Hmm ok - then i guess i would document it with a repeatable set of steps and hand it to the development team.

Her: We do a lot more than that. I guess you dont really have the experience we're looking for.

Me what level of position would I qualify for?

Her: Maybe a junior tester.

Me: Thanks for your time.

I declined the offer.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

If you're already not comfortable at an interview, you might not pull the joke off as well as you thought. Plus, it sounds like she was in a room of men, which can be a little intimidating until she gets to know them.

So the "pants free Friday" things could have just come off as creepy pretty easily.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Don't call me Shirley.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

"He's wearing a powder blue leisure suit with cowboy boots."

So they were expecting jeans, fannel, and a cowboy hat instead?

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

or Texas, Oklahoma, or Arkansas. And yes, there's a difference between a formal dress western-style suit and working clothes, and there's a difference between dress cowboy boots and actual working cowboy boots. Wearing the clothes you'd wear to work on your ranch isn't acceptable for an office environment, but generally, western-style suits and dress boots are (if you're in Texas, Oklahoma, or Arkansas).

It's a local culture thing. I would no more chide a Texan for wearing dress boots than I would an Indian woman for wearing a sari to an interview. Both would be respecting the formality of the interview; their only transgression is a failure to immediately assimilate local norms.

UMTopSpinC7 · 2006-12-13 Reply Admin

JamesKilton:
I'll never be able to work at a place that doesn't find 'Pants-free Fridays' funny. This whole trend of "Professionalism" == "depressed stoicism" drives me nuts.
Hell, if an interviewer said that to me, I'd be laughing my head off and immediately have a much better impression of the company.

Good stories!

Yeah seriously. That is hilarious.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

mbvlist:

morry:
Several counter points:

1) Cowboy boots with a suit is perfectly acceptable in some places. There is such a thing as dress cowboy boots. That should not have been a major issue. I've seen men wearing suits and boots and they look fine. Blue seems a strange color though.

2) PLEASE show me a place where HR is NOT useless. perhaps if we told them that a little more often we wouldn't have to deal with it.
2) Not at my place: after 3 months of showing an ad for a software developer on the company's website, they put it on monsterboard, that is: 1 job site. The position couldn't be missed by the way, and we still didn't find a replacement. And by the way, at this moment the development team has decreased from 4 FTE to 1.8 FTE, with one person intensively seeking another job... So if you are in the Netherlands, and need a WTF-job, join us! :P

Even if I lived there, I'm not so sure I'd want a WTF-job

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

The entire 1-10 scale is useless because its completely relative. I know an awful lot about computers and am qualified as a mid-senior level developer in C,C++,Java,C# ... i know SQL very well and I can also work as a MS or Linux network admin. I know my fair share about chip design and have used a few different asm langs. I know entirelly too much about computers and if you ask me on a scale from one to ten how much I know about computers in comparison of everything that is out there... i'm like a .5

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

mbvlist:

morry:
Several counter points:

1) Cowboy boots with a suit is perfectly acceptable in some places. There is such a thing as dress cowboy boots. That should not have been a major issue. I've seen men wearing suits and boots and they look fine. Blue seems a strange color though.

2) PLEASE show me a place where HR is NOT useless. perhaps if we told them that a little more often we wouldn't have to deal with it.
2) Not at my place: after 3 months of showing an ad for a software developer on the company's website, they put it on monsterboard, that is: 1 job site. The position couldn't be missed by the way, and we still didn't find a replacement. And by the way, at this moment the development team has decreased from 4 FTE to 1.8 FTE, with one person intensively seeking another job... So if you are in the Netherlands, and need a WTF-job, join us! :P

A team shrinking doesn't necessarily mean something bad happened! Sometimes it's just that a project has stabilized and folks are moving on to other projects. Of course, this doesn't sound like the case, especially since you call it a "WTF job"

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

It's too bad that the entry-level programmer hadn't been through some HR interviews before encountering the VP of Human Resources, because then he could probably give some valid responses.

Over the years I've heard some really stupid HR statements, but my favorite was when some HR idiot accused me of lying during an interview about my experience with SQL because I didn't pronounce it "squirrel". She also didn't like the way I smirked whenever she talked about programming paradigms, where she pronounced the second word "pair-aye-dig-ems".

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
Anonymous:
Did everyone else miss the part that stated he was wearing a powder blue leisure suit?

No, that is irrelevant. It's like saying someone wearing an Armani should be outright dismissed from consideration for a software engineering or similar position.

I don't follow your reasoning - leisure suits show fashion sense 30 years out of date (and it's probably polyester - eww), while Armani always looks good. If I had the cash, I'd have gotten one.

foxyshadis · 2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
Anonymous:

I've been to Dallas. Cowboy boots are (were?) normal business attire there. I'm surprised the new guy wasn't wearing a cowboy hat to match.
I believe in appropriate attire, but honestly this fashion faux pas wouldn't be a huge deal to me
Agreed! Anyone who would go nuts because someone from another region dressed differently than they do locally probably isn't someone I'd want to work for anyway. The Texan got lucky on missing this one.

What is it about the software development field that makes people utterly blind to dress codes? Is it just because a lot of people actively escape them nowadays? They're arbitrary and sometimes stupid, but they exist. Acturials are way older-school than developers as a rule.

If you work in an industry where everyone outside california and texas wears a suit, interviewing for a huge company that probably has a lot of hangups, your clients are expecting a nice charcoal suit, and you get told to wear a suit, you'd better not arrive looking like you just stepped off the disco floor! Unless you're Don Johnson. Much the same way if you wore Armani to a fast food interview you'd be laughed out of town.

(Had I been the headhunter, I'd have ensured that I had at least enough time to hit a men's wear, or correct any other noticeable deficiencies, before the clients got to him.)

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

I had been recruiting for maybe 2 or 3 months after having graduated college. We were trying to help a pretty prestigious PR firm find a mid-level developer. I found a guy who seemed to fit the bill. He was well spoken with a great sense of humor, solid work history, good references--you know, he had what it took and I was encouraged.

Set up the phone screen for 3pm. I get a call at 3:16pm from him saying,

"Hey Liam all done. I hope I didn't offend her...."

I'm already pissed off because I know in 16 minutes he's not getting any job....

"why"

"well, she called at 3:04 and I had just ordered a slice of pizza, so I asked if she could call me back..."

I was befuddled. A mix between falling out of my chair and smashing the phone to bits.....took a deep breath and said

"did she?"

"yeah"

"well that's more than I say I'll be doing--good day, Sir"

And from that day forward I learned never to assume that people have common sense and remind them of everything.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
The entire 1-10 scale is useless because its completely relative. I know an awful lot about computers and am qualified as a mid-senior level developer in C,C++,Java,C# ... i know SQL very well and I can also work as a MS or Linux network admin. I know my fair share about chip design and have used a few different asm langs. I know entirelly too much about computers and if you ask me on a scale from one to ten how much I know about computers in comparison of everything that is out there... i'm like a .5

Just respond: "relative to what yardstick?"

Or better yet: "I'm an 11 - I go beyond the basics of <insert name of technology here> and have concentrated on mastering how to effectively apply it"

captcha: hotdog - how appropos

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

No, I'm serious. And stop calling me Shirley

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
The entire concept behind these sorts of questions is bogus anyway. What are you trying to find out? Confidence? Actual Coding ability? Ability to do math? Seems like such a waste of time. I mean, who'd going to give themselves below a 7?

*shakes head*

Me, frequently. If I don't use it in day to day work or home use, I'm a 6 at most. If you were to ask me to rate my Java skills, I'd say 3- I haven't used it since college (and would prefer to never use it again), but I do know the language, know how to program, and could be up and programming in it in a week if needed.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
Got this great logic problem at a recent interview:
You have three people that can cross a bridge but they have to cross with their single flashlight. How quickly can you get across those people that can cross the bridge when it takes them 1, 2, and 5 seconds?

Like all logic problems there's a trick in there somewhere (I hadn't heard this one before). I so struggled for a minute and told her it was 8 seconds. No, she said, my answer was the simple one. Uh it is the right one. I then went on to show her that you had to have more inputs so you could sneak one of the slower people over with an even slower person.

I'd have said 5 seconds: that's the speed of the slowest person and the question doesn't say that they cannot all cross at the same time while one person holds the flashlight to light the way.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
Anonymous:

The entire concept behind these sorts of questions is bogus anyway. What are you trying to find out? Confidence? Actual Coding ability? Ability to do math? Seems like such a waste of time. I mean, who'd going to give themselves below a 7?
*shakes head*
Me, frequently. If I don't use it in day to day work or home use, I'm a 6 at most. If you were to ask me to rate my Java skills, I'd say 3- I haven't used it since college (and would prefer to never use it again), but I do know the language, know how to program, and could be up and programming in it in a week if needed.

I wonder if you'd want a job where they demand you use a skill that you'd prefer to never use again?

I programmed in Fortran IV for a *long* time, and could probably do it now, but wouldn't want to.

I could see it as an interim measure while looking for something else, but really...

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
hat oftentimes, interviewers will ask something that they obviously fought with in production (invariably some obscure piece of minutia) and then expect you to know it. I take it as a red flag of management stupidity.

I do that because It's something I've fought with, will likely fight with later (not the same thing, something similar), and am familiar with, so I know a fair bit about the common approaches and blind alleys. I don't expect an interviewee to solve the problem (if he does, that's great) - I want to see their approach to problem solving.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
Anonymous:
Got this great logic problem at a recent interview:
You have three people that can cross a bridge but they have to cross with their single flashlight. How quickly can you get across those people that can cross the bridge when it takes them 1, 2, and 5 seconds?

Like all logic problems there's a trick in there somewhere (I hadn't heard this one before). I so struggled for a minute and told her it was 8 seconds. No, she said, my answer was the simple one. Uh it is the right one. I then went on to show her that you had to have more inputs so you could sneak one of the slower people over with an even slower person.
I'd have said 5 seconds: that's the speed of the slowest person and the question doesn't say that they cannot all cross at the same time while one person holds the flashlight to light the way.

I've heard variations of this one before, and there is usually some stipulation that only two people can cross at once. I think the quote just omitted that fact.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
Anonymous:

hat oftentimes, interviewers will ask something that they obviously fought with in production (invariably some obscure piece of minutia) and then expect you to know it. I take it as a red flag of management stupidity.
I do that because It's something I've fought with, will likely fight with later (not the same thing, something similar), and am familiar with, so I know a fair bit about the common approaches and blind alleys. I don't expect an interviewee to solve the problem (if he does, that's great) - I want to see their approach to problem solving.

That's fair - unfortunately, it seems that most folks who do this aren't looking for general-approach type knowledge.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Regarding the pants comment, I work for a trucking company, you can say ANYTHING here.

--doc0tis

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
Anonymous:
Anonymous:
Got this great logic problem at a recent interview:
You have three people that can cross a bridge but they have to cross with their single flashlight. How quickly can you get across those people that can cross the bridge when it takes them 1, 2, and 5 seconds?

Like all logic problems there's a trick in there somewhere (I hadn't heard this one before). I so struggled for a minute and told her it was 8 seconds. No, she said, my answer was the simple one. Uh it is the right one. I then went on to show her that you had to have more inputs so you could sneak one of the slower people over with an even slower person.
I'd have said 5 seconds: that's the speed of the slowest person and the question doesn't say that they cannot all cross at the same time while one person holds the flashlight to light the way.

I've heard variations of this one before, and there is usually some stipulation that only two people can cross at once. I think the quote just omitted that fact.

Well in that case it is 8 as you'd have the 1 second guy lead them each across and it takes 1 second for him to run back for the 2nd guy. 2 + 1 + 5 = 8 seconds.

captcha: 1337 (yay!)

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

> Male interviewee would have been SOP

Not so.

From a personl side, you just don't know the person, what they've been through, and what their concerns are that day.

Maybe he's gay and was just verbally assaulted shortly before the interview. He may be a little sensitive about it.

From another angle, you may still be in trouble if he doesn't get the job. He can argue that you excluded him by making uncomfortable jokes being the strong Baptist that he is. It doesn't always take alot to get into the lawsuit process... and can often cost alot to get out of.

You really want to be careful about your humor when representing other people.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
Anonymous:
Anonymous:

The entire concept behind these sorts of questions is bogus anyway. What are you trying to find out? Confidence? Actual Coding ability? Ability to do math? Seems like such a waste of time. I mean, who'd going to give themselves below a 7?
*shakes head*
Me, frequently. If I don't use it in day to day work or home use, I'm a 6 at most. If you were to ask me to rate my Java skills, I'd say 3- I haven't used it since college (and would prefer to never use it again), but I do know the language, know how to program, and could be up and programming in it in a week if needed.
I wonder if you'd want a job where they demand you use a skill that you'd prefer to never use again?
I programmed in Fortran IV for a *long* time, and could probably do it now, but wouldn't want to.
I could see it as an interim measure while looking for something else, but really...

I wouldn't. I'd answer a question about it though- if the job was 95% C/C++ and I'd be tweaking Java 1 day a month or so, I'd live with it. But I wouldn't even interview for a job that was based on it in the majority

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
Anonymous:
Anonymous:
Got this great logic problem at a recent interview:
You have three people that can cross a bridge but they have to cross with their single flashlight. How quickly can you get across those people that can cross the bridge when it takes them 1, 2, and 5 seconds?

Like all logic problems there's a trick in there somewhere (I hadn't heard this one before). I so struggled for a minute and told her it was 8 seconds. No, she said, my answer was the simple one. Uh it is the right one. I then went on to show her that you had to have more inputs so you could sneak one of the slower people over with an even slower person.
I'd have said 5 seconds: that's the speed of the slowest person and the question doesn't say that they cannot all cross at the same time while one person holds the flashlight to light the way.

I've heard variations of this one before, and there is usually some stipulation that only two people can cross at once. I think the quote just omitted that fact.

THen I think 8 is still the right answer:

1)5s and 1s cross- time 5s

2)1s goes back with the flashlight (can't just throw it to the other side) - time 1s, total 6s

3)1 and 2 cross again- time 2s, total 8s

triso · 2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:

"What I love about working here is Pants-Free Fridays"

Who wouldn't laugh at that? I guess the interviewee did not find that humorous. I've heard more offensive things in my office in the time it's taken me to write this.

It's a good thing you didn't mention Topless Tuesdays.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

I had to the 1-10 thing for a build engineer job eons ago that was entry into a progamming job, and they did it pretty well.

The answers didn't disqualify you at all, they just spawned questions.

I rated myself a 6 on C++ at the time. My interviewer asked my why I did, and I explained.

She then threw a code fragment up on the white board and asked if I knew what it did.

I looked and told her that I wasn't familiar with it.

She asked me what I thought it did, so I made an educated guess, and I was close.

She said I actually probably underestimated myself a little.

My self-score on "real" build processes was a bit higher than I actually deserved, once I talked with her.

In the end, the numbers just served as a starting point for discussion. After the discussion, she not only had info on my skills, but on my self-evaluation skills as well.

(Man was I desparate for that job)

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

You still don't need more than 5 seconds. The 1 second person and the 5 second person start out together. Within a second, the 1 second person is off the bridge so the 2 second person can start. The 2 second person will easily catch up to the 5 second person before he/she is off the bridge. The flashlight would seem to be a pointless distraction unless the problem is defined in a manner even more silly than you describe. If one guy can cross the bridge in a second, it's obviously not a very long bridge so illuminating enough of it so that no one falls off even if they're at different positions on the bridge shouldn't be a problem.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
morry:
2) PLEASE show me a place where HR is NOT useless. perhaps if we told them that a little more often we wouldn't have to deal with it.

I've worked at several jobs where HR wasn't totally useless. In fact they were quite friendly and helpful for stuff I needed them for. I have however worked with some HR people at other places where they were quite evil.

As they say, "the sh*t always flows downhill", in other words from da boss. I like encountering snarky HR types. Shows immediately it's a joint to avoid like the plague.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
Me, frequently. If I don't use it in day to day work or home use, I'm a 6 at most. If you were to ask me to rate my Java skills, I'd say 3- I haven't used it since college (and would prefer to never use it again), but I do know the language, know how to program, and could be up and programming in it in a week if needed.

The trouble with saying that you can pick up anything is that it doesn't get you past HR / recruiters / PHBs ask they are looking for 8 or 9 scoring people that used Version 1.2.3 of program X. Anything else disqualifies you.

I'm not sure how to fight it, there is a definite impedance mismatch between those people and the actual job performed. I do feel a little bit sorry for the HR / recruiters as they're thrown job recs without fully understanding the position or background needed. Or in your case (and mine) someone that's been around the block n times and can pick up something quickly -- but that doesn't equate to what they want to hear.

I'm surprised there aren't more recruiters out there that have an on staff java / C++ / whatever smartie that can ask some coding or architecture questions. It would make for a much less painful process as the recruiting firm would send over better candidates. And I'm not talking about those online testing sites that ask multiple choice questions where 2 of them could be correct as the exam was written over in India by some guy that's copying out of another book.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
Did everyone else miss the part that stated he was wearing a powder blue leisure suit?

Yeah, but that wasn't the part that was italicized. The emphasis placed on cowboy boots made it seem like the submitter thought that was the worst of the two.

I wear cowboy boots all the time with a business suit instead of dress shoes.

triso · 2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:

"Our office was on a dirt road"

WTF?!?! That has to make a good impression on a interviewee..

I bet his customers like it too.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
I've heard variations of this one before, and there is usually some stipulation that only two people can cross at once. I think the quote just omitted that fact.

I was trying to condense it down so the talk wouldn't bog down about the problem. But yes you are correct only 1 or 2 people can cross at one time. The real problem should have people that can cross in 1,2,5, and 10 seconds. The solutions goes:

1 and 2 go over, 1 comes back (3 seconds)

10 and 5 go over, 2 comes back (10+2 = 12 seconds)

1 and 2 go over (2 seconds)

for a total of 3+12+2 = 17 seconds.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

You know, this question ranks right up there with the 'trick' programming questions too.

Such as: How do you swap numbers without an interum variable or

How many 8 bit values can you hold in 100 bits of memory

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

The flashlight/bridge problem has been presented incorrectly here. The real version has 4 people, who can cross the bridge in 1, 2, 5, and 10 minutes. Only two people are allowed on the bridge at once and they must walk at the slowest person's pace. What is the fastest time they can accomplish this task in? The answer is straightforward with no "thinking ouside the box" shenanigans (it's 17 minutes BTW for you wannabe interviewees).

FrostCat · 2006-12-13 Reply Admin

catfood:

I've been to Dallas. Cowboy boots are (were?) normal business attire there. I'm surprised the new guy wasn't wearing a cowboy hat to match.
I believe in appropriate attire, but honestly this fashion faux pas wouldn't be a huge deal to me.

The leisure suit, I'd've thought, would be the blocking item, not the cowboy boots, so go figure.

The real WTF is that the quoting function always loses the actual name of the person I'm quoting, and replaces it with "Anonymous"

themagni · 2006-12-13 Reply Admin

FrostCat:
The real WTF is that the quoting function always loses the actual name of the person I'm quoting, and replaces it with "Anonymous"

It looks like it loses non-registered names. (i.e. anyone who's using the captcha.)

I've had no problems quoting registered users.

FrostCat · 2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Pez:

"Our office was on a dirt road"
WTF?!?! That has to make a good impression on a interviewee..

Meh, that doesn't necessarily mean much. I did a long contract at a place where the first location I worked was a complex of buildings a mile out of a small town in Florida, in a cow pasture. Sadly, they shortly after relocated my department to downtown Tampa.

While the first location wasn't actually on a dirt road, any approach to it involved a short section of dirt road.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:

You know, this question ranks right up there with the 'trick' programming questions too.
Such as: How do you swap numbers without an interum variable or
How many 8 bit values can you hold in 100 bits of memory

Hmmm:

swap a and b: a=a^b; b=b^a; a=a^b;

# 8-bit values in 100 bits: obviously not 12.5; some permutation of overlapping xor's??? compression? combination?

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
The flashlight/bridge problem has been presented incorrectly here.

Um, yeah. That was the point: the interviewer didn't know what she was talking about and stated that the speeds were 1, 2 and 5. She thought she knew what she was doing and called my answer of 8 simple, and it took her some time to agree with me that 8 was the solution.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
Anonymous:
The flashlight/bridge problem has been presented incorrectly here.

Um, yeah. That was the point: the interviewer didn't know what she was talking about and stated that the speeds were 1, 2 and 5. She thought she knew what she was doing and called my answer of 8 simple, and it took her some time to agree with me that 8 was the solution.

As a general rule, if I know an answer to be right, and someone starts to argue (as opposed to thoughtfully discussing) it with me, I take it as a sign that they will be argumentative in the job as well, and cut the interview short.

Usually I will politely say I'm not interested, or that the position is not for me. Once, this person was sooooo obnoxious that I simply said that "I just don't want to work with someone like you" and walked out before he could respond.

triso · 2006-12-13 Reply Admin

Anonymous:
Anonymous:

Anonymous:
One question I always ask is "Do you like Gladiator movies?" If the person gets the reference, then they almost always laugh and it tells me something about their personality. If they don't get the reference, then I brush by the question, and this tells me a little something about their personality. I usually don't ask technical questions. I am more interested in their educational background, what technologies they have been exposed to and their overall personality. If I can work with the person, then they can learn what they need to if they don't already know it.

Are you referring to Mark Foley? If so, thats a pretty new reference to be asking someone. If thats not who you're referring to, there must be more than one time that line has been said

Surely you're kidding.

I am kidding...and don't call me Shirley.

2006-12-13 Reply Admin

The leisure suit, I'd've thought, would be the blocking item, not the cowboy boots, so go figure.

One is not sure about the term 'leisure suit', not necessarily the 70s atrocity, to a Bostonian those western suits with bolero ties would be considered leisure suits.

On the other hand a woman was talking the other day about stumbing on a medical career job fair and had seen several potential positions that she was very interested in but did not speak to the people because she had not been dressed for the occasion. Sheesh, how hard is it to explain that you had encountered this event by chance?

Tales from the Interview: A Perfect Ten!

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