Add post on interviews

_posts/2011-08-30-fine-tuning-the-autostart-in-ubuntu-server.md

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 ---
 title: Fine-tuning the autostart in Ubuntu Server
 date: 2011-08-30 22:41:12 +0200
-categories: [Posts, Others]
+categories: [Posts, How-To]
 tags: [Ubuntu, Linux, System-V, VirtualBox]
 mermaid: false
 img_path: assets/img/fine-tuning-the-autostart-in-ubuntu-server/

_posts/2024-01-31-my-lessons-after-100-interviews.md

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+---
+title: My lessons after 100 interviews
+date: 2024-01-31 10:48:00 +0400
+categories: [Posts, Career]
+tags: [Interviews]
+mermaid: false
+img_path: assets/img/my-lessons-after-100-interviews/
+image:
+---
+
+People can have such different experiences with interviews. The reason is that the people involved in the interview process have different experiences and may have a variety of overt and covert agendas. In some cases, the interviewer may not be interested or motivated to conduct the interview, and the candidate may not be either. Let's look at the process from both sides and see what we can and can't do about interviews based on my experiences from both the interviewer and candidate sides.
+
+## Unsuitable roles
+Sometimes people waste time applying for an inappropriate job that sounds similar to the one they already have. In this case, they may not be interested in the position and may not be able to pass the interview. For example, if you are a software engineer who has worked as a hardware test engineer, you may not be interested in the software test engineer position. However, the job title may look the same. This could be considered a mistake and should be clarified by the candidate by reading the job description and by the hiring manager.
+
+**Suggestion:** Read the job description carefully and ask questions on the first call.
+
+## Unwelcome guests
+In my experience, the company asks an employee to conduct the technical interview. The company prefers to choose the most talented people for this kind of job who are willing to conduct interviews. Usually, the interviewer tries to decide whether he wants to see the candidate as a co-worker and check if he can sort out tasks. However, this is not always possible. There may not be a fully suitable person at the moment, as when we are trying to hire the very first specialist of a role. Or the interviewer may be forced to conduct interviews and therefore not motivated to do the job. He may even treat the candidate as an opponent who can do his job. Sometimes even the company does not fully understand who exactly they are looking for, or they expect too much from one person. In this case, there is no way to successfully pass an interview. In addition, you may be facing an inexperienced and untrained interviewer who may not be able to properly assess your skills. Finally, we are all human and can make mistakes.
+
+**Suggestion:** As a candidate, try not to take the interview results too seriously if you feel you have been in this situation. The only way to prove your skills is to pass interviews at other companies. However, this is not a solution if you want to work in exactly the same place. In that case, you should try to find a way to talk to other people there. Talk to the HR department and ask for detailed feedback to compare with your expectations. Share your experience of the interview and ask if it's possible to repeat the interview with someone else. This is not guaranteed to work, as HR is more likely stands for the company. However, there is a chance that it might work. Especially if you are not the only one with concerns about the same interviewer.
+
+## Uninvolved persons
+It is a well-known fact that candidates can pass interviews without being interested in the job. They want to challenge themselves, find out their gaps, and research other information. There is nothing the company can do about it, and it would prefer not to spend time with such candidates. Sometimes, however, candidates take an overly casual approach to the interview process. Hopefully, these are rare cases, and they will certainly be rejected because of their lack of commitment to the process.
+
+I once interviewed a person who could not get on the phone on time and then asked me to wait so he could make a cup of coffee. He argued that he had a busy day and did not have time to relax. This happened 2 times in 30 minutes. He didn't rock on the technical questions either, and that might not make much difference. In fact, you don't need to do that to successfully pass the interview. Life may be complex, but in this case it would be more productive to reschedule the interview, no matter what your goal is.
+
+**Suggestion:** It's okay to talk to HR about rescheduling the meeting, as well as discussing any other questions or complications you may have. If you are not bothering people much, they will probably be happy to talk to you. If not, this may not be a place where you want to work.
+
+## Pre-interview mood
+We are human beings and we have feelings. But sometimes we judge ourselves in advance. If you are not sure of your abilities and readiness, you usually have time to prepare. When the time comes for the interview itself, be sure to accept yourself and pass with confidence. It's okay to say you don't know something, even for experienced candidates.
+
+I once had an onsite interview and we used a whiteboard to solve interview problems. The candidate was so nervous that he had trouble holding a marker to draw more or less straight lines. He often apologized and asked me to wait for him to relax, but to no avail. This situation did not allow us to talk much. More importantly, this can be extrapolated to your future work, so you may be good enough technically, but you're not suited to participate in challenging meetings and situations.
+
+**Suggestion:** Do yourself a favor and try to relax before the interview and try to have fun with the process. To reduce the pressure and make interviews more enjoyable, you may want to practice more by talking to people at meetups, conferences, sitting in on some classes where strangers are having discussions, etc. The most productive option may be to do more interviews. In this case, you may find yourself in this situation at the very beginning. Just accept it as you take your first steps in this direction. A good interviewer will also help you feel as comfortable as possible. Also, let me share a secret with you: even though it may not be visible, the interviewer may be just as stressed as you are during the interview. So you are both in the same boat for about an hour.
+
+## Irrelevant questions
+I remember once a candidate for a QA position exclaimed indignantly: "Why are you asking me about the HTTP protocol? This question has nothing to do with my job! Well, each interview costs the company a lot of time and money. The interview process is reviewed, tweaked, and improved over time to best serve that purpose. In most cases, if the question is asked, then it is an important thing for a project. How would you test a web application, web API, investigate problems and write bug reports for those who do not know the basics of their work? I don't expect you to remember the protocol specification, but to explain it at a high level. I bet you use a web browser every day and already know some of this.
+
+**Suggestion:** Do not prejudge questions. If you don't see the point of something you didn't use on your last project, it doesn't necessarily mean it won't be used elsewhere. As long as the questions stay within the technical scope, let the interviewer ask what they think is important to the company or a project.
+
+## Hard questions
+If you're asked a tough question that you don't know the answer to or are unfamiliar with, it doesn't mean you're doing badly. The interviewer may be trying to determine the depth of your knowledge, which may not be required for the position, but is testing your potential for growth. A good basic knowledge or some knowledge of modern technology will make the candidate learn faster in a certain direction, and this is a good sign.
+
+**Suggestion:** You may not know everything. This is a possible situation at work, when you are faced with challenging tasks for which you are not an expert, and so you have to work out possible solutions. I bet you have done this before. If this is the case, don't give up immediately, but try to describe what you would do to solve this task if you were given such a task in real life. Sometimes, however, the interviewer may only expect a yes or no answer.
+
+## Extrapolated answers
+This is a rare case, but sometimes when people ask a question, they mean something different. For example, if the question is asked in the context of past experience and the exact project, as an example of the discussion, can be completely extrapolated to you. Let's say you're discussing some of your past projects and the interviewer asks: "What patterns did you use here? If you say: "None" means that you do not know any of the design patterns.
+
+**Suggestion:** Even if this is an interviewer's omission, keep in mind that the interviewer may not be interested in the project itself, but is trying to ask a general question. If you say that you did not use something in this particular project, add that you are willing to discuss the question outside of the project context.
+
+## Google search
+It can be suspicious if the interviewer hears you using your keyboard. In fact, you might reply to someone that you are busy and will connect later. However, this suspicion is understandable because you may be using Google to find an answer. Typically, this is not something the interviewer expects you to do. This may become more common in the future with the availability of ChatGPT.
+
+**Suggestion:** Do not type on the keyboard during the interview.  If you need to respond to someone, tell the other person behind the webcam so there is no misunderstanding.
+
+## Swear words
+I think that should be obvious. We don't use profanity at work, so you don't have to.
+
+This also applies to materials you share. One person shared a link to her blog to demonstrate her proactivity and commitment to the profession. I was surprised to see so much bad jargon and words that were too much even for a public personal blog, not a professional one.
+
+**Suggestion:** Avoid using swear words. This is like a bad habit that grows out of everyday conversation. In fact, I would suggest not using them at all.
+
+## Conclusion
+The interviewer represents a company and people may decide not to work there just because of him. So he should be nice enough, polite, try to enjoy the process and see what he can learn from others. Minimize stress for young specialists, as they may not have enough experience at this point and someone needs to cheer them up so we can help build a replacement for ourselves.
+
+How the candidate behaves during the interview can be extrapolated to the future job, so you may be technically good, but if you act arrogant, show no interest in the interview, use profanity, you may be rejected. While knowledge, skills and past performance are important, your demeanor and confidence cannot be overestimated.
+
+As a candidate, do not take each interview evaluation too seriously. Each one will give you a certain amount of experience and ideas to grow from. Remember that the interview process can be a good point to evaluate if this is the place you want to work. Not only you are being tested, but you are also evaluating the company. It may be better to fail an interview than to have a bad experience while working for it.
+
+To get more opportunities, take the time to create a good resume, a public profile like LinkedIn to showcase your experience, and build your professional connections there. Create public projects on GitHub to showcase your skills and collaborate with others to redeem experience, or create a professional blog for the same purpose. There are options to choose from for extra fun.
+
+---
+
+It would be interesting to know what situations have you faced during interviews and what would you suggest to young professionals? Please share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below. 👇