How I was looking for work or How not to conduct interviews

In general, the decision was brewing for a long time, and here, one gloomy St. Petersburg morning, I told the chief that, unfortunately, our paths diverge here. A summary was compiled, a decade of experience in web programming was described more or less, the amount of salary was considered, slightly higher than the average for Peter, but far from top (I have never been a guru), paid for raising the summary to the top every four hours , a program was installed that records all incoming calls (so as not to forget anything), and I sat down to wait. Actually, it was Friday evening, so I had to wait until Monday, but on Monday hell began.



There were many calls, over the next week I attended 17 interviews, 3-4 per day, on Thursday I stopped accepting interviews, and all the calls went and went.



This is not an article from the series, “see how everyone wants me, I'm awesome,” I just want to say that now there is a shortage of IT specialists in Russia, and when the right person comes to your company, it’s not just how much you like it but also how much you like him, because it seems to me that now the competition exists more on your side, on the side of employers, than on the side of programmers. I’ll make a reservation right away, it’s not about any Yandex, Vkontakte and Meilru, everything is clear, we are talking about second-tier companies, the previous level.

IT manager

In different companies, the position is called differently, but in the end, we mean the leading developer. Simpotic girls from the HR department are certainly great, but for me, the face of the company is the chief technical specialist. Usually it is he who is responsible for the technical part of the interview. Take seriously the choice of this person. According to him, I conclude about the level of the company. For example, in one company, I was asked how well I worked with code-injector? My questioning glance provoked a disapproving “hmm ...” and a reference to the line “CodeIgniter” in my resume. “How is that, Volodya, write what worked?” Even now, a very fashionable question “Did you work with MVC?” I always want to answer "Do you even know what MVC is?" There was an impression that most take this pattern for another framework. It is always interesting to see if there will be clarifying questions after my short “Yes”, and if there are, a big plus to the employer.

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Why is this so important to me? I am still young, and I want to develop at work, because how not to twist, and the tasks solved in the company more or less correspond to the level of team lead, and these tasks should not be significantly lower than my level.

HR managers

How much time have I lost because of these people. Several times I came to the interviews, and to my surprise, I found out that there were no projects at all in the company related to my specialization. And by phone I was assured of the opposite. The hit of the season is to confuse Java and JavaScript, so I got three interviews with mobile application developers. There is my fault here, I need to ask managers in more detail during telephone conversations, but more often, they simply do not have enough knowledge to answer my technical questions, and the conversation boils down to the fact that my resume suits them and they have free meals, in the common room, with table football. Perhaps HR-managers justify themselves in other specialties, but in IT, nevertheless, a knowledgeable person should be engaged in hiring specialists. Well, or at least, the HR manager should be in close contact with the technical specialist.

Salary

Oh, the most painful topic. When you dial my number, you should understand that the sum indicated in the resume is not the limit of my dreams, it is the minimum threshold at which I agree to work with you. I really liked the phrase "Well, for a trial period of three months, you will receive one and a half times less, and after that, we will try to pull up to ...". First of all, I don’t smile for three months; secondly, I don’t really understand the word “we will try” ... I have a feeling that I have come to beg for a job from them, I have nowhere to go, and so be it, they will take me to work, but nothing can not promise. In general, there was a very strange case when I was invited to an interview with a company, by listing to me by telephone the projects they implemented that really impressed me. In the cool business center, they put me in a very comfortable chair, asked many questions, clarified the answers, and then, as if by the way, they said that they now have some minor problems, and I will get the next salary only after three months. To my surprised look, they said that it was okay, I can take a loan so far, what would be to live in the near future.

Test

I am all hands for the test task. After all, the future employer somehow needs to determine my level. Some of them have enough conversation at the interview, a detailed story about what I did in past companies, what technologies I used. Some offer a leaflet with questions that I must answer in writing. Some send TK before the interview, or give it as a homework after. The first method, of course, is the most convenient for me, to tell about what tasks I solved, how I solved, what problems arose. It is not so difficult and takes a little time. The second is the most difficult. Firstly, it is very unusual and inconvenient to write code on a piece of paper, secondly, it is very much like an exam, to which, probably, every young man has a persistent dislike at the subconscious level and thirdly, an interview is still stress, which somewhat distracts from programming. Well, the third option, in my opinion, the most optimal. It allows the programmer to solve the TK in a relaxed, homely environment, perhaps over a cup of tea and coffee, using familiar tools.



The truth here is important not to overdo it. For example, one company threw me the TZ of the day for two jobs. I understand that in my implementation of a more or less big task, a lot can be said about me, but you also understand, I run around for interviews all day long, and I simply don’t have time to sit down at a computer for two days. Large TK are relevant only if you are the company in which I really want to work, and do not consider other proposals. If I received such a task, for example, from Google, I would, of course, do it, but let's be clean: are you Google?



Speaking of Google. There was one very strange interview in a small advertising agency, where I was not asked a single technical question, but was given a list of questions from Google . Moreover, if Google has this list is divided by position, they gave me everything. I must say that from there I was not called back. Apparently, I do not work in Google.

Organization of the interview

If any of the managers or HR-managers reads these lines - I would like to contact you: please approach the organization of interviews more seriously. Take into account not only your own interests, but also the interests of the applicant.

The first thing that is very annoying is the quest called “Find our office”. Now the majority of offices are located in business centers. And if finding the BC itself is not a problem, as a last resort I have a GPS on the phone, then finding an office is quite difficult: “Take the escalator to the second floor, go to the left wing, then take the elevator to the fourth floor, there are two doors - our right, go to office 435, then left until you see a red phone. Dial 163 on it and tell me what you need ... ". If you are hard to find in the BC - no need to draw a treasure map, just go down and meet.



It is also a very fashionable practice now - “interview series”. First an interview with HR, then with a direct manager, then with a director. And all this on different days. Often, even in different weeks. And again, this practice works if I set myself the goal to get you to the company. But if I’m looking for a job right now, and you don’t offer anything that sets you apart from the rest of the vacancies, I won’t wait. In one company, I first met with an HR manager, then a few days later, I was invited to a meeting with the head of the personnel department. And after a few more with the CEO. I already refused the last one. The first two meetings were exactly the same, the same questions, respectively the same answers. The technical part did not concern at all. I suspect that the third interview would be the same. Notice, three interviews, and none with a technician.



The worst thing that can occur to you is to arrange a group interview. Three applicants on the one hand, one employer on the other. It was both awkward and stupid. It was like some kind of reality show. I don't know, maybe it was such a psychological test ...

Conclusion

The fact is that programmers are now in a special position, we can choose. This is not luck (how many times I heard such a phrase: “You are lucky, you are a programmer”), this is the result of hard work, when most of our peers spent the night in clubs, we sat for books and claves, when most of our friends watch Comedy after work under a bottle of beer - we are still sitting behind books and claves. Our profession requires a complete return, and it is only natural that we can say no to a company that has not made a positive impression on us. If you want to hire an experienced programmer who can not only solve problems, but also do it competently - go to the interview organization a little more seriously.