IT/Software career thread: Invert binary trees for dollars.

Khane

Khane

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In my experience any company putting you through the wringer like that during the interview process is not a company worth working for. You aren't some pimple faced kid fresh out of college. If the team you'll be working with can't read your resume and interview you in person based on that I'd say just decline moving forward.

And its not because skill assessments like that are stupid (they are but that's not the point). It's because companies like that tend to handcuff employees with idiotic corporate policies to the point you can barely perform basic job functions for all the fucking hoops you have to jump through.
 
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Mist

Mist

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ronne said:
I haven't applied for random jobs in over a decade and am getting pretty fucking floored by some of the interview processes I'm encountering.

I just got an email from HR at a large medical records company after a first round interview asking me to schedule a battery of 3 exams before proceeding to the next interview? And these are like fully proctored shit like you have to take for vendor certs etc:


What is involved in the set-up?
Please make sure your environment is appropriate for testing:
• You must use Google Chrome to schedule and complete the assessments
• Ensure you are in a well-lit, quiet, and private room
• No one else can be in the room with you
• No phones, headphones, or earplugs are allowed
• You will need to disable pop-up blockers and share your screen for the duration of the assessment

There's also a consent form for full control/recording of your desktop/webcam during the exams. This shit seems insane to me and my initial reaction is just to withdraw from the entire process and write this company off as no longer an option, but maybe I'm just too old fashioned and this is the norm at larger places now? Almost everywhere has some level of like basic reading comprehension/cognitive assessment thing to take before actual interviews begin, but this one is beyond anything I've seen so far.

Do you guys put up with this shit in current year job markets or is this place just letting their HR go wild for no reason?
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Are these actual Pearson tests?

I did not have to take any tests during the interview process, but I needed to get 4 development certs from 2 different vendors within the first year.
 
ronne

ronne

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Khane said:
In my experience any company putting you through the wringer like that during the interview process is not a company worth working for. You aren't some pimple faced kid fresh out of college. If the team you'll be working with can't read your resume and interview you in person based on that I'd say just decline moving forward.

And its not because skill assessments like that are stupid (they are but that's not the point). It's because companies like that tend to handcuff employees with idiotic corporate policies to the point you can barely perform basic job functions for all the fucking hoops you have to jump through.
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This is primarily what I'm concerned with - that even if I do accept an offer I'm going to fucking hate working under their structure.

The place is fucking MASSIVE too, EPIC health systems has a whole fuckin Google style compound up in Madison WI and like 10k+ employees, so it's even wilder to me that this is kind of garbage they using during interviews.

It's not actual Pearson exams like official certs are, it's run by some company called Examity? Which appears to be best value brand Pearson for administering garbage like this that has no relevance or significance to anyone but the company themselves.
 
Khane

Khane

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I work for a big company like this in their Healthcare division and it fucking sucks. And I've seen the difference and decline first hand because it's a small startup that I started working for in 2007 that has been gobbled up by private equity and eventually sold off to my current international big house.

I briefly left in 2013 and came back in 2015 for the money and it was the biggest mistake I've ever made. I interview a few times a year with other companies just to weigh my options and stay relevant but it's almost always stories like this, and I know exactly what working for these companies does to your career. I basically pigeon holed myself, it's either jump ship to an equally shit company or take a massive pay cut.
 
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Foler

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You guys need to be job jumping every 2 years otherwise you’re not playing the game right and are leaving an insane amount of money on the table.
 
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Koushirou

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I haven't interviewed since 2018, but I did have the option for ProctorU when I took my GIAC cert, saw the requirements for it and said fuuuuck that. I'll just drive to a PearsonVue center or whatever in person. Their shit also included you had to be in a room with no windows and one door and the camera had to face the door at all times (as well as doing an initial camera sweep of the room). Absolute insanity for a cert, and no way in hell I'd take that shit for an interview. Also, three fucking exams? What the fuck. I had a couple of 15 minute phone calls and some basic competency questions for my current job. I do see horror stories of ridiculous interview processes these days, though. Shit like 5-6 different hour long interviews with team, then HR, then a test, then another team, then some "fitness with everyone" kind of feel good shit. I have to wonder if this isn't some bullshit they put in front of native applicants to get them to give up so they can bitch there's no one qualified and ask for more shit H-1Bs or something.
 
Koushirou

Koushirou

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Foler said:
You guys need to be job jumping every 2 years otherwise you’re not playing the game right and are leaving an insane amount of money on the table.
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I'm a dumb schmuck that actually likes where I work for the most part, even if it's aids sometimes. No middle management on my ass, no over-the-shouldering, etc. Oh some shit came up? Nah, you don't need to use PTO for that. Probably should just browse around, anyway, just in case, these days.
 
Foler

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Koushirou said:
I'm a dumb schmuck that actually likes where I work for the most part, even if it's aids sometimes. No middle management on my ass, no over-the-shouldering, etc. Oh some shit came up? Nah, you don't need to use PTO for that. Probably should just browse around, anyway, just in case, these days.
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I mean it’s your life. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Just make sure you recognize the tradeoff of not total comp-maxing.
 
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TJT

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Foler said:
You guys need to be job jumping every 2 years otherwise you’re not playing the game right and are leaving an insane amount of money on the table.
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I've min-maxed quite successfully. I still maintain two remote jobs and I am about to get promoted again in the main/first job!

I interviewed 3 dudes for a junior tech role this week. All of them failed my basic SQL questions but they got all of the python questions right. Which I find interesting.

In my experience if they put you through like a million hurdles it probably isn't worth it. If you're going for a senior role they should be asking you specific questions that are only obvious if you've been around the block and also don't take much time to answer... if you have the experience.
 
ronne

ronne

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Koushirou said:
I haven't interviewed since 2018, but I did have the option for ProctorU when I took my GIAC cert, saw the requirements for it and said fuuuuck that. I'll just drive to a PearsonVue center or whatever in person. Their shit also included you had to be in a room with no windows and one door and the camera had to face the door at all times (as well as doing an initial camera sweep of the room). Absolute insanity for a cert, and no way in hell I'd take that shit for an interview. Also, three fucking exams? What the fuck. I had a couple of 15 minute phone calls and some basic competency questions for my current job. I do see horror stories of ridiculous interview processes these days, though. Shit like 5-6 different hour long interviews with team, then HR, then a test, then another team, then some "fitness with everyone" kind of feel good shit. I have to wonder if this isn't some bullshit they put in front of native applicants to get them to give up so they can bitch there's no one qualified and ask for more shit H-1Bs or something.
Click to expand...

Yea these guys are definitely the most absurd process I've been involved with yet.

I should have probably known I was in for some bullshit when I looked up their campus and saw how LOOK HOW FUN AND QUIRKY WE ARE design

Also their careers section is/was hiring multiple sushi chefs when I applied

Art-F5-Theming-epic-alley-09132018.jpg
 
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TJT

TJT

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ronne said:
Yea these guys are definitely the most absurd process I've been involved with yet.

I should have probably known I was in for some bullshit when I looked up their campus and saw how LOOK HOW FUN AND QUIRKY WE ARE design

Also their careers section is/was hiring multiple sushi chefs when I applied

View attachment 519809
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This looks like Diagon Alley or some shit.

What the fuck? lol.
 
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ronne

ronne

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Oh thats just one piece of the place.

They have a pirate section? And an entire castle? And they employ a few dozen farmers? The place is fucking insanity:

Capture.PNG
 
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TJT

TJT

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Okay IDK if I could work there...

Ride the carousel each day while you go to your cube in the Emerald City?

Is this place an amusement park?
 
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TJT

TJT

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Pretty sure the hierarchy there is all about which attraction your office is in. I wonder where the chump IT boys get put. Assuredly its not Hogwarts office.
 
ronne

ronne

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Bro I have no idea

The first kid I interviewed with literally said 'the cafeteria is the best part of working here, it's like getting to eat at Applebee's for only 5$!'

Like uh sir you are not selling this like you think you are

I won't lie tho having a giant fuckin UN styled meeting room beats the shit out of usual office drudgery

Epic_Conference-Rooms_04-840x1120.jpg
 
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TJT

TJT

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Looks like a gay Legion of Doom boardroom if it was set in the Flintstones universe.

...Never touch anything.
 
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Foler

The_Black_Log Foler

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TJT said:
In my experience if they put you through like a million hurdles it probably isn't worth it.
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The most lucrative software eng jobs usually have extensive interviews. Leetcode + behavioral + system design.

Dunno though, it seems like a lot of people are IT folks and not software engineers. I can’t really speak to the IT interview experience.
 
Foler

The_Black_Log Foler

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ronne said:
Yea these guys are definitely the most absurd process I've been involved with yet.

I should have probably known I was in for some bullshit when I looked up their campus and saw how LOOK HOW FUN AND QUIRKY WE ARE design

Also their careers section is/was hiring multiple sushi chefs when I applied

View attachment 519809
Click to expand...
Lmao looks like Harry Potter world.
 
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