Comment by SubuSS | Hacker News Reader

Comment by SubuSS | Hacker News Reader

I have the reverse question: if you have bandwidth to be able to do 20 interviews and you already know they do ask these inane leetcode questions, why wasn’t it possible to sink a month into solving a few of those and then interviewing?

It is hard to take folks for their resume or at their word alone. The inane questions just provide a common framework for evaluation. It is definitely not indicative of actual work to be done. It is totally an indicator for someone willing to pick up a new skill and learn in a short window. We in fact get the other kind of candidates as well: who can solve these problems very well but can’t do good work. So the interviews at snap at least try to go for a combination of informational and design/technical questions.

Ignore the feedback - we are not really allowed to give exact feedback because of liability issues :/. So it is going to be some super high level things you can’t sue us for.

I agree - you really should sink time into preparing if you can. We prepare for all kinds of other things, but a surprising number of people won't prepare for interviews that are massively affecting the trajectory of their lives.

Leil Lowndes writes books on improving as a communicator, not about tech, but one of her pieces of advice for interviews is to interview at places you don't want to work first, and treat it as practice. In her case the recommendation is meant for people who struggle with being comfortable presenting themselves and talking, but it applies just as well in other contexts.

E.g. find some jobs you're clearly qualified for where you're likely to get an interview relatively easily. Drop your standards - your goal is not to get hired. See what questions you're asked. Use the experience to improve. Amp up the "difficulty" if you get offers.

See how the questions differ, and how the process differs if you try for more challenging positions.

Then go for the job you want.

Figuring out how to pass the interviews in "low risk" situations (because you don't really want the job) is both good practice, good calibration of expectations of what kind of job you can get, and a good way to relax more when you apply for the dream job.

Yeah I'm not surprised he's burned out after doing 20 interviews lol. You have to pace yourself. This guy sounds like the kind of person who bull rushes into things and burns himself out.

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