London buses: yaaaaaaay! Jolly good news.

Septimus Hedgehog

I've very recently been put forward to a few firms and I was in the fortunate position to have some interviews lined up and even more fortunate to be able to cancel. I had, shall we say, a somewhat ambiguous code test end-last week with a firm in Brighton which I "failed". Both me and the agency disputed their assessment and to be honest, if you have problems with a firm before you start, then who knows what they'd be like if you did? To be honest, I'd not have been comfortable with them after that so I'm happy with the outcome. I then had an interview yesterday with another firm and I apparently did well in their code test and I had one of the best interviews I can remember; meaning, it was really enjoyable and fun and it was more participation than the traditional formal-cum-stuffy me on one side of the table and them on the other. The agency phoned me a little while ago to say they're offering me one of their developer jobs which I'm thrilled to announce I've accepted. I like the feel of the company, the welcome I got when I went through the door, the work they do, the possibility of attending a long-considered deficiency in my CV, namely, web-oriented development to complement the Winforms I do most. I've had great jobs in the past for sure and I see far more positives with this one than some others I've been at. As they say in Zulu, I am a Jubalayo Unogwaja (happy bunny). I start on Monday. I've been at home since end October and I was starting to get a bit stir-crazy. :-D

"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any." - Me (2012).

OriginalGriff

Good for you! :thumbsup: When do you start?

If you get an email telling you that you can catch Swine Flu from tinned pork then just delete it. It's Spam.

Dalek Dave

So, will you be a driver or a conductor?

--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^]

Gary Wheeler

Congratulations! :thumbsup: In my 30+ year career, I had never done a code test until my most recent interview. The interviewer had two tests: a FizzBuzz[^] variant, and a linked-list problem. I missed one of the FizzBuzz considerations, but nailed the linked-list question. The funny thing was, I think the interviewer was surprised, because he told me I was the first interviewee to get the linked-list solution correct. This all sounds trivial, until I mention that these were time-limited tests. He gave me about a minute for each problem.

Software Zen: delete this;

Septimus Hedgehog

Monday. I was thinking of taking a week's leave before I started. :-D

"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any." - Me (2012).

Septimus Hedgehog

Hopefully a driver! If I get to service the clippie, even better, as long as it's not a Brighton & Hove bus; you can't be too careful - look before you cook, shall we say. :-D

"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any." - Me (2012).

Septimus Hedgehog

What language did you use? It takes more than a minute to get MS' splashscreen loaded when starting VS these days. Allow a second or so between typing on the keyboard and seeing it echoed on the screen; a minute to compile "i++"; a few minutes to tell you how many errors there are; same again to produce the exe; an hour to debug; and then the sum of all the times recreating the solution because VS failed to save anything when you told it to. It's impossible, cap'n, it cannae be done.

"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any." - Me (2012).

Jimmy Savile

The wiki link no worky.

Gary Wheeler

C++, and I was coding on a whiteboard. I believe I got bonus points for using a hairy-chested language.

Software Zen: delete this;

Matthew Faithfull

Congratulations, I hope it continues as it's started. A new challenge is a good thing Jubalayo Unogwaja. :jig: :jig: :jig: :jig: :jig: :jig: :jig: :jig: :thumbsup:

"The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom, courage." Thucydides (B.C. 460-400)

Gary Wheeler

Fixed. The hamsters are nibbling on the clipboard logic again.

Software Zen: delete this;

BobJanova

Congratulations! It's excellent if you find a company that's fun to work for. I enjoy my work now and it adds some routine to my life without feeling like it's a chore to go to. I hope you can have the same experience at your new employer of choice!

Gary Wheeler

:jig: == :jig:

Software Zen: delete this;

Nagy Vilmos

Well done, my turn next. :sigh:

Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done. Drink. Get drunk. Fall over - P O'H OK, I will win to day or my name isn't Ethel Crudacre! - DD Ethel Crudacre I cannot live by bread alone. Bacon and ketchup are needed as well. - Trollslayer Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb - they're often *students*, for heaven's sake - Terry Pratchett

JammoD87

Congratulations! Im fresh through the door with actually earning a living as a developer, and the job I currently have I got the developer job by chance.... I hear a lot about code tests when going for a developer job..... my question is what are they like?

Personal Blog: A Software Programmer Twitter: JammoD

Lost User

Great news, I hope it continues to work out well for you.

Septimus Hedgehog

Good luck. Didn't you recently have interviews or other meetings, something to do with the US? Something stirs in the sleepy backwaters (and frontwaters) of my mind.

"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any." - Me (2012).

Nagy Vilmos

I had an offer, but it meant being away 4 days a week. Mrs Wife and the Ickels where not impressed.

Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done. Drink. Get drunk. Fall over - P O'H OK, I will win to day or my name isn't Ethel Crudacre! - DD Ethel Crudacre I cannot live by bread alone. Bacon and ketchup are needed as well. - Trollslayer Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb - they're often *students*, for heaven's sake - Terry Pratchett

Pete OHanlon

Congratulations. That's fantastic news. Well done you.

I was brought up to respect my elders. I don't respect many people nowadays.
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Septimus Hedgehog

JammoD87 wrote:

...code tests..... my question is what are they like?

Code tests mean different things. Some, like the one I "failed", you do from home. There's usually no time limit as they don't know when you start or complete it but they use the time taken into account when deciding who to call for interview; the quicker the time taken the better the chance you'll be called. Others you normally do on-site, sometimes before an interview. On-site tests are either actual coding examples where they give you a relatively small app to develop in order to see if your knowledge of C#, databases and Dotnet namespaces compares to what's claimed in the CV. The problem with actual tests is you need to know the syntax. It's very easy to stumble on some syntax which isn't a problem when you have the leisure time to experiment but which can be difficult when you're are under the cosh with a time restraint. Most practical code tests are intended to be completed in a couple of hours. The spec for what they want you to complete is intended not to trip you up but for you to demonstrate what you know. If 500 people attempted a code test they'd come up with equally as many types of solution so there's no one specific right solution but if all 500 work they'll have a number of common features. The other type of test is a written test where they might give you a Word document with a number of questions; things like "What's the difference between a delegate and an event" which is a common question, or they ask an abstract question to probe a deeper knowledge. The classic multiple-choice questions are less common and in others they'll give you some syntax and ask you to describe what's wrong with it. I prefer the written tests as you can explore deeper knowledge which goes beyond simple language syntax. There aren't that many keywords in C# to master but some questions want you explain what sealed is used for and what a class must do that implements an interface or what must be defined in base classes for override to be used.

"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any." - Me (2012).