Funny interview answers
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My job is to give such answers. I was taught to do so by my father. A recent test asked for three things make for a successful meeting; I answered: bagels, cream cheese, and brevity. In the real (IT) world, those are much more important than the concepts expressed in the class. I hope you don't write system specs like that question.
I agree 100%.... horrible question... What is worse... is he expected a different answer... I hope his code is not like that ...
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Yes, the question is wanting.
I disagree... the question is a yes / no answer question... A better question would have been : In a short coding example, show how to use the C++ casting operators. Gets what you want and the answer can be written in a very short code snippet: double x = 3.1; int i; i = (int)x;
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I disagree... the question is a yes / no answer question... A better question would have been : In a short coding example, show how to use the C++ casting operators. Gets what you want and the answer can be written in a very short code snippet: double x = 3.1; int i; i = (int)x;
Or, still better:
double x = 3.1;
int i;
i = static_cast<int>(x);-- gleat http://blogorama.nerdworks.in[^] --
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What a horrible question... The question was not open ended, not behaviorial driven and least of all not asking for demonstrative proof that they knew the information you were looking to obtain. I would be laughing at you as an interviewer.
M i s t e r L i s t e r wrote:
What a horrible question... The question was not open ended, not behaviorial driven and least of all not asking for demonstrative proof that they knew the information you were looking to obtain. I would be laughing at you as an interviewer.
What a waste of time! How did you get the idea that I was the "interviewer". There was some sort of written test going on, and I just happened to know a funny reply given by a candidate through a colleague (he was correcting the test papers). Had you read the whole thing before starting to type out a reply, it would have been much easier. Why don't you laugh at yourself for not being able to read?
It's time for a new sig. Seriously.
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I disagree, I think the intent of the question was clear to anybody with half a brain. We already have something that will follow the literal instructions given, their called computers. We need people who can do the fuzzy reasoning to translate a slight vague question into something definite and precise. Kinda like what you just did.
Wjousts wrote:
We already have something that will follow the literal instructions given, their called computers. We need people who can do the fuzzy reasoning to translate a slight vague question into something definite and precise.
And when you start to blur the line in thinking between a computer and a human, then you become awesome. ;P The ability to be coldly logical and completely abstract at the same time. Get it right and debugging will be a breeze. The actual coding itself can sometimes be annoying though, too logical and you have no idea what they're asking you to do. :laugh:
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Usage determines language, not the other way around. Unless you're French.
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So, my lead was correcting these written test papers and he burst out in laughter suddenly. I went there to see what was it about and found this answer written by a candidate:
Q: Can you identify and define the C++ casting operators?
A: yes.:laugh: :laugh: Yes?! I also reckon a telephonic interview in which a candidate defined function overloading as "stuffing in too much of code in any given function". I muted the phone and laughed like mad before telling him I'm done with the call. :laugh: Have you ever been given such funny answers by any candidates? :)
It's time for a new sig. Seriously.
A couple of years ago, I was interviewing for a C++ Windows developer position, and the interviewer asked me if I knew how to map a network drive from a command prompt. It had been so long since I had done it that way I couldn't remember, but I told him how to do it in Windows. He said "some of us prefer to do things the old way." I replied "some of us prefer to keep our skills current." Needless to say, I didn't get the job.
Mark D. Collins
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Cromulent[^] as defined by the Urban dictionary. References an inherent Simpsons reference[^] (item 3).
Sarchasm : The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
There's also the collective noun for baboons: "flange". :-)
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A couple of years ago, I was interviewing for a C++ Windows developer position, and the interviewer asked me if I knew how to map a network drive from a command prompt. It had been so long since I had done it that way I couldn't remember, but I told him how to do it in Windows. He said "some of us prefer to do things the old way." I replied "some of us prefer to keep our skills current." Needless to say, I didn't get the job.
Mark D. Collins
On the brighter side, it was probably going to be too bad of a job if they were all doing things the old way (especially things like mapping a network drive from command prompt). You could be glad you weren't sucked into it. :)
It's time for a new sig. Seriously.
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So, my lead was correcting these written test papers and he burst out in laughter suddenly. I went there to see what was it about and found this answer written by a candidate:
Q: Can you identify and define the C++ casting operators?
A: yes.:laugh: :laugh: Yes?! I also reckon a telephonic interview in which a candidate defined function overloading as "stuffing in too much of code in any given function". I muted the phone and laughed like mad before telling him I'm done with the call. :laugh: Have you ever been given such funny answers by any candidates? :)
It's time for a new sig. Seriously.
We should have a list of bad interview questions. I hate the ones where they ask you if you know the precidence rules, as if that shows the person's a goor programmer or not. Or they ask to see if you know the parameters of some funky API function. Also, I'm not sure I like the kind of questions that have a single direct answer. Sometimes the way they answer tells me about their background. Here's type of questions I typically like to ask, if I'm testing for their programming competency: 1. Data structures – when would you pick a list over an array? 2. What is a binary search? 3. What is hashing? 4. What is a heap? 5. What is a checksum? 6. What is a callback? 7. What is reference counting? 8. What does it mean to be type safe? 9. What does it mean to be exception safe? 10. How do you think people will program 5, 10, 20 years from now? As examples, for #1, someone might say "what do you mean by list?" you mean a generic list in .net, or a listarray? is this a dynamic array? Or are you talking about the list<> template in C++? Is this a linked list? Is it doubly-linked? A computer-science person may not talk about the specific implementations. They may assume it's a generic term for a container. Or they may assume it's a linked list. A good answer would at least touch about the time-space aspects. you can insert in the middle of the a linked list in O(1) time, but not an array, but you can randomly access an array, but not a linked list, etc. For #5, if the person asks "what is a checksum?" that may be telling. Or they'll say, "what type of checksum? a modular sum where you add all the bytes, or, do you mean checksum generically, so you could use a CRC or parity-byte" For #7, if they start talking about COM, it's possible that's their only exposure to it. Would they use a reference counting system anywhere else where it might make sense? Would they use it at the application level in .net or java? who knows. #10 changes with the wind, 5-10 years ago if they said functional programming, then you know they're thinking. If they say it now, then you know they've watched a few channel 9 videos, because that's a rather obvious answer. But what other problems do programmers have today that they don't even consider to be an issue, but some new language or system might help them. I can go on and on, but you get the point. Also, none of the above questions are related to a specific technology such as .NET, Java or even a particular programming language. These question
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What did you expect, when you ask a yes / no question?
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We should have a list of bad interview questions. I hate the ones where they ask you if you know the precidence rules, as if that shows the person's a goor programmer or not. Or they ask to see if you know the parameters of some funky API function. Also, I'm not sure I like the kind of questions that have a single direct answer. Sometimes the way they answer tells me about their background. Here's type of questions I typically like to ask, if I'm testing for their programming competency: 1. Data structures – when would you pick a list over an array? 2. What is a binary search? 3. What is hashing? 4. What is a heap? 5. What is a checksum? 6. What is a callback? 7. What is reference counting? 8. What does it mean to be type safe? 9. What does it mean to be exception safe? 10. How do you think people will program 5, 10, 20 years from now? As examples, for #1, someone might say "what do you mean by list?" you mean a generic list in .net, or a listarray? is this a dynamic array? Or are you talking about the list<> template in C++? Is this a linked list? Is it doubly-linked? A computer-science person may not talk about the specific implementations. They may assume it's a generic term for a container. Or they may assume it's a linked list. A good answer would at least touch about the time-space aspects. you can insert in the middle of the a linked list in O(1) time, but not an array, but you can randomly access an array, but not a linked list, etc. For #5, if the person asks "what is a checksum?" that may be telling. Or they'll say, "what type of checksum? a modular sum where you add all the bytes, or, do you mean checksum generically, so you could use a CRC or parity-byte" For #7, if they start talking about COM, it's possible that's their only exposure to it. Would they use a reference counting system anywhere else where it might make sense? Would they use it at the application level in .net or java? who knows. #10 changes with the wind, 5-10 years ago if they said functional programming, then you know they're thinking. If they say it now, then you know they've watched a few channel 9 videos, because that's a rather obvious answer. But what other problems do programmers have today that they don't even consider to be an issue, but some new language or system might help them. I can go on and on, but you get the point. Also, none of the above questions are related to a specific technology such as .NET, Java or even a particular programming language. These question
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What a horrible question... The question was not open ended, not behaviorial driven and least of all not asking for demonstrative proof that they knew the information you were looking to obtain. I would be laughing at you as an interviewer.
M i s t e r L i s t e r wrote:
What a horrible question... The question was not open ended, not behaviorial driven and least of all not asking for demonstrative proof that they knew the information you were looking to obtain. I would be laughing at you as an interviewer.
I think it is a good idea to purposely give questions that are a bit vague. I do not want an employee that never takes the time to think. Anyone with a brain would know that a Yes/No answer was not the intention of the question. I think a great way to weed out the smart asses is to give the smart asses a venue to show their true colors.
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I have always found that short programming assignments are much better than a Q&A style interview. Looking for things like self documenting and modular code is more important to me than seeing if the applicant knows what reference counting is.
yes, short programming assignments are useful. I wouldn't go as far as saying that it's better than asking them questions about programming. They're both useful. If a programmer doesn't know the concept of reference counting, then that's fine. I would assume that may not know the terminology, and I would ask them to solve a problem where I think reference counting would be the best solution (multiple owners for an object, when you're not sure which owner is going to get disposed first), and see what they come up with. Hopefuly, they'll do something like referencing counting.
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It's the question that is wrong, not the answer: his answer was perfect. The question should have been: Q: Identify and define the C++ casting operators. If you can't even pose a question correctly how do you expect to be able to carry out a fair and balanced interview?
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me
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So, my lead was correcting these written test papers and he burst out in laughter suddenly. I went there to see what was it about and found this answer written by a candidate:
Q: Can you identify and define the C++ casting operators?
A: yes.:laugh: :laugh: Yes?! I also reckon a telephonic interview in which a candidate defined function overloading as "stuffing in too much of code in any given function". I muted the phone and laughed like mad before telling him I'm done with the call. :laugh: Have you ever been given such funny answers by any candidates? :)
It's time for a new sig. Seriously.
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It's the question that is wrong, not the answer: his answer was perfect. The question should have been: Q: Identify and define the C++ casting operators. If you can't even pose a question correctly how do you expect to be able to carry out a fair and balanced interview?
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me
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It's the question that is wrong, not the answer: his answer was perfect. The question should have been: Q: Identify and define the C++ casting operators. If you can't even pose a question correctly how do you expect to be able to carry out a fair and balanced interview?
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me
I totally agree. This question (i. e. the original one) reminded me of that one: Q: Can I ask a question? A: You just did. I could offer another example from a job interview I was having: Q: How does Windows work? A: Windows works? My response got me some good laughs, but also a reprimand (later) by the senior consultant who was with me to introduce to the company I was supposed to work for as a consultant. On an unrelated note I was accepted after providing the right answer (and some other stuff).
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yes, short programming assignments are useful. I wouldn't go as far as saying that it's better than asking them questions about programming. They're both useful. If a programmer doesn't know the concept of reference counting, then that's fine. I would assume that may not know the terminology, and I would ask them to solve a problem where I think reference counting would be the best solution (multiple owners for an object, when you're not sure which owner is going to get disposed first), and see what they come up with. Hopefuly, they'll do something like referencing counting.
Yeah, Terminology might indeed be an issue. I know for a fact that half the idioms programmers fresh from university are using are foreign to me, not because I don't know the concept, but because I've simply never heard them being called that way when I learned them 25 years ago, or there weren't actually any name associated with that concept at the time. Best example are the design patterns as presented by Gamma et al. Be it Visitor-Pattern, Bridge, Factory, whatever, I've known and used the principles behind these for 20 years and more, just never had a name for it. Took me some time to catch up to the naming conventions, after realizing there wasn't actually any new content, just a new cover ... But then this might just be me. I am the kind of guy who in a physics test spends like 10 minutes deriving the equations for general relativity from the most basic formulas in mechanics, because I was too lazy to learn more than those and prefer understanding the principles over knowing every formula from the top of my head...
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You work with computers and do not recognise a perfectly acceptable answer? Shame on you.
Q: Would you like tea or coffee?
A: Yes
Is also perfectly cromulent.
------------------------------------ I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave
This is the kind of answers my gf gets confronted with every day. In the meantime she's learned to copy my style, and more often than not I'll lose a step when she does. Probably it's a good thing we're not socializing all that much (outside the internet), 'cause anyone visiting is likely to get annoyed and confused at the same time when trying to follow our conversations.... :laugh: To the OP: the answer is truly worthy of a mathematician - the answer is: 1. short 2. accurate 3. utterly useless. ;P
modified on Thursday, July 15, 2010 8:10 AM