Sphinxter
Says What?
Well played man. I thought he meant, "Priya", lovely name that.
Responding To A Recruiter's E-mail For A Job
- Thread starter A_SN
- Start date
Oh man I'm a bit stressed out now, the recruiter replied and now I have a phone interview tomorrow :
QUOTE
I will give you a call tomorrow (Friday 1/4) at 10:30AM PST, which should be 7:30PM your time.
I am looking forward to learning more about you. If you decide you want to move forward with the interview process, after we discuss the team in a bit more detail, then we'll have to do a couple of things. First, I will have you complete a self-evaluation over the phone, where you rate yourself on a scale of 1-10, on various technologies. The scale is below so you can get a general understanding of what each number means. Second, I will ask you a few technical questions (in one of three categories: Systems Administration, Networking or Software Engineering). We'll choose the category you feel strongest in. Though by default, if you want to pursue a Software Engineering oriented Google.com role, then our choice will solely be the Software Engineering questions. Where as, if we pursue the Systems Administration oriented Google.com role, we can go with either the Systems Administration or Networking questions.
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Self-evaluation scale:
*Our Self-Evaluation is used for your benefit. Here at Google, we look at it to better gauge your individual strengths. It helps us find the most appropriate fit for you here at Google.
*Be as accurate as possible. If you are not sure, score yourself at the lower end of the range you are thinking of. Think of this scale as worldwide with all the engineers out there, versus just within let's say the people you may have worked with etc.
*Keep in mind, when you rate yourself at 4 and above, that means you are using the subject area daily.
0 – indicates you have NO EXPERIENCE (which is fine)
1 to 3 – indicates you can read/understand the subject area, but would not be comfortable implementing anything in it.
4 to 6 – indicates you are comfortable with the subject area and all normal/routine work in it.
7 to 9 – indicates you are extremely proficient (7) to expert (9), and have a deep technical expertise in the subject, and would be comfortable with personally designing and implementing any project in that area.
10 – reserved for those who are recognized industry experts in a field (i.e. invented it/wrote a book on the subject)
I wouldn't rate myself over 7 for anything (7 would be for C programming only) :-S
QUOTE
I will give you a call tomorrow (Friday 1/4) at 10:30AM PST, which should be 7:30PM your time.
I am looking forward to learning more about you. If you decide you want to move forward with the interview process, after we discuss the team in a bit more detail, then we'll have to do a couple of things. First, I will have you complete a self-evaluation over the phone, where you rate yourself on a scale of 1-10, on various technologies. The scale is below so you can get a general understanding of what each number means. Second, I will ask you a few technical questions (in one of three categories: Systems Administration, Networking or Software Engineering). We'll choose the category you feel strongest in. Though by default, if you want to pursue a Software Engineering oriented Google.com role, then our choice will solely be the Software Engineering questions. Where as, if we pursue the Systems Administration oriented Google.com role, we can go with either the Systems Administration or Networking questions.
--------
Self-evaluation scale:
*Our Self-Evaluation is used for your benefit. Here at Google, we look at it to better gauge your individual strengths. It helps us find the most appropriate fit for you here at Google.
*Be as accurate as possible. If you are not sure, score yourself at the lower end of the range you are thinking of. Think of this scale as worldwide with all the engineers out there, versus just within let's say the people you may have worked with etc.
*Keep in mind, when you rate yourself at 4 and above, that means you are using the subject area daily.
0 – indicates you have NO EXPERIENCE (which is fine)
1 to 3 – indicates you can read/understand the subject area, but would not be comfortable implementing anything in it.
4 to 6 – indicates you are comfortable with the subject area and all normal/routine work in it.
7 to 9 – indicates you are extremely proficient (7) to expert (9), and have a deep technical expertise in the subject, and would be comfortable with personally designing and implementing any project in that area.
10 – reserved for those who are recognized industry experts in a field (i.e. invented it/wrote a book on the subject)
I wouldn't rate myself over 7 for anything (7 would be for C programming only) :-S
Sphinxter
Says What?
Where's the. "Cock Of The Bloody Walk", box? Get a headset, get really comfortable and deeply relax, meditate, find your center, whatever prior to the call, stress of any kind can be reflected in your voice without even realizing it.
Why did I know this was about Google after reading the first two sentences *g*
Good luck with your interview, don't sell yourself too cheaply, the phone interview is not so much about your actual skills but about getting a first impression to further the picture they got through your community activities. Most likely, if you don't behave like a complete ass there will be a follow up face2face.
Also, to answer Squidges question about why looking for skilled people in communities like this one.
If I see someone who is releasing quality software all by himself and shows apparent skills in e.g. C++ that tells me two things: This guy is dedicated to his work (if he likes it that is and it is my job to make him like his work) and this guy has skills. Now compare that to a regular CV...
Also, doing job interviews can be quite tedious to filter out the wanna be people from the real skilled ones, especially if you are a popular company.
Sending this answer + your CV and portfolio was the best way to roll here.
Good luck with your interview, don't sell yourself too cheaply, the phone interview is not so much about your actual skills but about getting a first impression to further the picture they got through your community activities. Most likely, if you don't behave like a complete ass there will be a follow up face2face.
Also, to answer Squidges question about why looking for skilled people in communities like this one.
If I see someone who is releasing quality software all by himself and shows apparent skills in e.g. C++ that tells me two things: This guy is dedicated to his work (if he likes it that is and it is my job to make him like his work) and this guy has skills. Now compare that to a regular CV...
Also, doing job interviews can be quite tedious to filter out the wanna be people from the real skilled ones, especially if you are a popular company.
Sending this answer + your CV and portfolio was the best way to roll here.
So, I had my interview. I had 3 technical questions, which the recruiter asked me not to disclose. There was an easy one which she confirmed I had all right, one about sorting algorithms to which I just answered "Well actually I don't know anything about sorting algorithms, I just don't do that" so she moved to the next question, and err, the other question was a real WTF.
The answer seemed obvious, so I kept asking her to confirm details of the question to make sure I had it right, over and over again till I made sure there was no possible doubt, so I told her there there was nothing possible faster than the obvious answer and gave up. She gave me the official Google engineer answer which didn't even remotely make sense. After a one hour discussion on IRC about it, we concluded that it was mostly likely a bullshit question to see if I'd make up a bullshit answer, but a doubt remains. By changing a detail to the question, it would have all made sense, however with all the questions I asked she would have caught it if I misunderstood that detail, so yeah..
The real question is, can you get a software engineering job at Google if you don't know anything about sorting? I have doubts, but I'll be set next Friday when the hearing commission or whatever it's called will review my case.
EDIT : when you think about it, since the person was only a recruiter and not an engineer, if I misunderstood the question and asked her about it then maybe she didn't catch the subtle differences between what I misunderstood and the real question. Ouch.. anyways she had a nice voice.
EDIT #2 : yeah, turns out I misunderstood the question. Crap..
The answer seemed obvious, so I kept asking her to confirm details of the question to make sure I had it right, over and over again till I made sure there was no possible doubt, so I told her there there was nothing possible faster than the obvious answer and gave up. She gave me the official Google engineer answer which didn't even remotely make sense. After a one hour discussion on IRC about it, we concluded that it was mostly likely a bullshit question to see if I'd make up a bullshit answer, but a doubt remains. By changing a detail to the question, it would have all made sense, however with all the questions I asked she would have caught it if I misunderstood that detail, so yeah..
The real question is, can you get a software engineering job at Google if you don't know anything about sorting? I have doubts, but I'll be set next Friday when the hearing commission or whatever it's called will review my case.
EDIT : when you think about it, since the person was only a recruiter and not an engineer, if I misunderstood the question and asked her about it then maybe she didn't catch the subtle differences between what I misunderstood and the real question. Ouch.. anyways she had a nice voice.
EDIT #2 : yeah, turns out I misunderstood the question. Crap..
Sphinxter
Says What?
The questions and thought process are far more important than merely regurgitating answers.A_SN said:
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BaDToaD
"Very" Old Timer
Very true. What you actually know isn't that important if you can impress the interviewing panel.Sphinxter said:
I went for 5 interviews the last time I was made redundant in 2000. I was offered 3 of the jobs including one for Unix which I knew very little about.
In the Unix interview I was asked why I thought I could do the job.
I replied "I use 7 Operating systems on a regular basis to me it's just another OS to learn. I'll be up to speed in a couple of weeks." (Yes they did make me list them)
Just be confident even if you're crapping yourself on the inside
I was offered the job 2 weeks later but had already accepted another.
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Sphinxter
Says What?
I got a job that turned into the most incredible adventure of a lifetime once just by snapping my fingers and uttering the magic words, "Hey, I'm your guy". b-)BaDToaD said:Just be confident even if you're crapping yourself on the inside
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OMars
Well-Known Member
A_SN said:NopeNagelfar said:
That's unfortunate...
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pkostrze
Member
Man, where I work (one of the big 3 US automakers) any notification of "I've got an offer..." is your last day at work, there is no trying to match it. "You got a new job? Don't let the door hit you in the ass."Squidge said:
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lizard808uk
Child of the 80s
I work in IT consultancy, and you can be having leaving drinks one day for someone who then shows up the next day at your client site from a rival firm
