Nothing makes me regret going into this field like interview prep. Nothing.

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400Volts@reddit

This is really one of, if not the only field where the interview process is so divorced from the actual job

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steampowrd@reddit

Having worked in other fields I will take the other side of this and say I think it happens more often than you realize

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400Volts@reddit

I have also worked in other fields and that hasn't been my experience. Even technical interviews for other engineering fields are more directly position relevant

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steampowrd@reddit

Engineering sure. I was talking about all fields outside of engineering.

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TainoCuyaya@reddit

Wait until you have NON-technical HR asking you technical questions they have no clue about how to assess your answer how wrong or right your answer is.

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400Volts@reddit

If it's not technical HR it's less about right answers and more about how sure you sound

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TainoCuyaya@reddit

Sorry but that's snake oil BS.

"How sure you sound" is astrology for corporate world.

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400Volts@reddit

Yeah, it is snake oil BS and corporate astrology. That's why it works on HR

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I had an interview with OpenAI and it was this and the absolute worst experience I had. Absolutely 0 technical knowledge HR that was just there to ask the question and record the meeting. They could’ve just done one of those Hirevue interviews or something (which also sucks)

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Slow-Entertainment20@reddit

lol fucking amen. Then you get into the job and realize how shit everyone is even though they used this BS Gate keeping method and it’s like either everyone else knew someone else and got in easier or they literally ALL forgot the system design shit they just studied.

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TimMensch@reddit

I've consulted with companies that don't use that gate.

I guarantee however bad your coworkers are at companies that use Leetcode, the floor is much, much lower at companies that don't bother.

The idea of those tests is to find the candidates who know those answers, not to find the ones that had to cram for the test. At least those who can cram for the test probably internalize some of the concepts. Those who can't even study enough to pass a technical interview are completely incapable of software engineering, though.

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liminal_dreaming@reddit

What an awful take....

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TimMensch@reddit

The best developers I know can do Leetcode without practicing. Same with system design.

We need to raise our standards as an industry, not mock some of the few barriers to incompetent practitioners.

How can you call that an awful take? Unless you're part of the problem.

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Ambitious-Smoke-4218@reddit

what's the context for this?

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mohanhegde@reddit

After 14 years of working 10 hours (or more) everyday for shitty salary and no overtime pay, I wish I was into some blue collar trade career path. At least I wouldn't be asked if I knew how to fix a pipe or install a new electrical wiring based on my previous work experience credibility.

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Groove-Theory@reddit

I pray for our brothers and sisters going through the walk of shame at this current moment.

We pray for your safe travels, as we all will surely follow your footsteps in due time

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Status_Escape6714@reddit

It's frustrating for sure. Then when you do get into the place its just the same old crap as anywhere else.

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ExperiencedDevs-ModTeam@reddit

Rule 9: No Low Effort Posts, Excessive Venting, or Bragging.

Using this subreddit to crowd source answers to something that isn't really contributing to the spirit of this subreddit is forbidden at moderator's discretion. This includes posts that are mostly focused around venting or bragging; both of these types of posts are difficult to moderate and don't contribute much to the subreddit.

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forgot_previous_acc@reddit

Funny thing is, this is probably the only field where even after having a decade of experience you can still get rejected because you failed to answer 2 random useless question that interviewer themselves learn 2 days before interview.

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F0tNMC@reddit

Too true! I recently got dinged in a principal level design and architecture interview for not emphasizing logging, monitoring, and alerting more. I felt like someone trying to explain FFT's and I got dinged for not mentioning that I know how to add and subtract.

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Status_Escape6714@reddit

Thing is you never know if this was the real reason or if interviewer just didn't like you for some other reason.

If an interviewer decides not to pass you they can always find a reason.

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tnerb253@reddit

Lmao what? You're telling me you don't know what this random library function in java 8 does? Auto reject.

You think leetcode/sys design is bad until you run into the engineer that wants to play coding trivia

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studmoobs@reddit

tons of these interviewers in this very sub

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DeterminedQuokka@reddit

I mean I don’t reject people for it but regularly people will be like “there is a Postgres plugin for this I don’t know the name” and I will respond “neither to I, I’m sure in real life Google would tell us don’t worry about it”

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EkoChamberKryptonite@reddit

Nah the prickly, disagreeable, passive-aggressive, combative predisposition some software engineers have grinds my gears too. Some SWEs seriously lack emotional maturity and intelligence.

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psaux_grep@reddit

A lot of SWE’s are on various spectrums.

Hosting and networking people even more so, at least in my experience.

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VBTechnoTitan@reddit

You do all that prep to get the one leetcode question you didn’t practice on

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xypherrz@reddit

it’s more about concepts you can translate than just the question itself

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Infamous-Employ5487@reddit

I never understood this, my interview experience has never been overly technical, it's almost always a vibe check.

Maybe because I'm not going to FAANG.

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steampowrd@reddit

Me too. I work for a tech company, and I define a tech company thusly: the majority of the employees are engineers and the purpose of the company is our software products. But we don’t do leet code in interviews.

I think it also depends on what the person brings to the application process. If somebody has good references that counts way more than the interview tests.

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throwaway_0x90@reddit

Just about every company prior to Google my interviews were some code, mostly just verifying I'm not a bigot or a sociopath. Google was the most technically difficult interview by far.

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Adept_Carpet@reddit

I find the system design stuff to be fairly easy, with the only aside that I'm not fast with diagramming tools. But if it's verbal I can knock them out in a hurry.

Part of it is that I have taught classes and that teaches you how to make a coherent point in fixed time windows in a hurry and how to keep one eye on the clock while you talk.

But the live leetcoding thing is horrible. Been a big career limiter for me. Even if I know the solution it still gets jumbled coming out.

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ultraDross@reddit

Edit: I'm also terrible at pair programming

I had a similar issue until a job that required a lot more paired programming forced me to do it. Knowledge was split up by domain and level and everyone was working remote, so it was necessary for a short while.

Might be worth trying to pair at work flmore often. Not sure how much of a thing this is now with Claude etc.

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stonerbobo@reddit

I just think about how much hiring is dominated by nepotism, connections, the college you went to, some pile of certifications and other bullshit in other fields. For all its faults, hiring in software is probably more objective and meritocratic than most.

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Leather-Rice5025@reddit

Really wishing I had pursued nursing right about now.

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400Volts@reddit

I'm going back to school for EE like I wanted to do in the first place

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considerfi@reddit

Totally. It's the only thing that makes me think I should be some sort of product manager or even just senior manager even though I much prefer technical lead or IC work

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eightnotes5@reddit

Solidarity. It’s demoralizing, for sure.

FWIW, I actually found AI to be a useful interview prep tool: I focused on learning Leetcode problem patterns rather than solutions to individual problems. I told it to use the Socratic method to quiz me; I can’t stand default sycophant mode.

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bashar_al_assad@reddit

Honestly for as bad as it is it's still better than other fields, where the decision just gets made based on things like did you go to grad school or not or did you go to a T14 or an Ivy or not

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BBQ_RIBZ@reddit

It’s additionally bad if you have the experience of being hired both externally and internally because it makes the stupidity of the former just that much more obvious.

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Connect_Detail98@reddit

Never hire people at your level, always look for people who will join and guide.

If you hire people who can only deal with your current architecture, you won't have people who can take the architecture to the next level.

I don't see a problem with aiming higher.

Maybe you should take notes. Trillium is nice and you can deploy it locally. That way you won't have to go through this pain so often. Just read your notes and refresh your memory with your pre-chewed information.

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DuffyBravo@reddit

I alway felt my other peers in Accounting and Marketing fields would not have to pass countless test and extensive technical hurdles in an interview. As a hiring manager I can talk to someone for 15 mins and know if they have the stuff or don’t.

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EuroCultAV@reddit

Same

100%

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No-Response3675@reddit

So true. Amen to that. I’m questioning my entire identity based on the outcome of these interviews. The way I’m being treated, all the questions, expectations! I considered myself as a cool interviewer, don’t know if I was rather weak. Nobody’s even trying to be cool or nice anymore. Anyways. Back to leetcode

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