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Questions tagged [interview]

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OFF TOPIC QUESTIONS ARE NOT SUPPORTED!

THIS TAG IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING CLEANED UP AND REMOVED. Interview questions are usually downvoted, closed and deleted by the community, so better stay away from asking them.

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290 questions
154
votes
11 answers

Is my work on a developer test being taken advantage of?

I am looking for a job and have applied to a number of positions. One employer responded. I had a pretty lengthy phone interview (perhaps an hour +) and they then set me up with a developer test. I was told that the test was estimated to take…
CodeWarrior
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128
votes
11 answers

Is it appropriate for interviewers to ask candidates for their Stack Exchange user name?

Would you consider it appropriate if you were asked for your Stack Exchange username in a software job interview (or as a pre-interview screening question)? To me, it seems like a very reasonable request, and one that would be extremely informative…
kmote
  • 3,322
101
votes
16 answers

How can I tell in an interview if a programmer is passionate about programming?

While most interview questions are focused on current knowledge of a candidate or check his/her skill to solve algorithmic problems I would like to hire a developer who is passionate about programming. What if instead of asking questions like What…
Nutel
  • 1,501
84
votes
15 answers

How much help should I give during technical interviews?

I'm asked to perform or sit in during many technical interviews. We ask logic questions and simple programming problems that the interviewee is expected to be able to solve on paper. (I would rather they have access to a keyboard, but that is a…
kojiro
  • 2,105
81
votes
12 answers

How do you interview someone with more experience than you?

The company I'm working for is looking to hire a senior developer with more experience than me, and they expect me to do the technical part of the interview. I've only been programming a few years and am not sure I have the knowledge needed to…
Rachel
  • 24,029
69
votes
7 answers

The Joel Test's equivalent for measuring a programmer

I understand that to measure a project or code, we can use The Joel Test, but is there any simple standard test (like The Joel Test) that is able to measure and filter how good a programmer is? My plan is to have this test as a quick filter first…
Rudy
  • 1,109
68
votes
22 answers

What do you do when you encounter an idiotic interview question?

I was interviewing with a "too proud of my java skills"-looking person. He asked me "What is your knowledge on Java IO classes.. say.. hash maps?" He asked me to write a piece of java code on paper - instantiate a class and call one of the…
user19224
59
votes
16 answers

FizzBuzz - really?

When it comes to "interview test" questions, the subject of FizzBuzz often comes up. There is also a Coding Horror post about it. Now, if you bother reading sites such as this, you are probably less likely to be in the demographic of programmers who…
DanSingerman
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44
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30 answers

"Do you have any questions for us?" In an interview

You know the prospective company fairly well but are asked "Do you have any questions for us?". To show interest, what are some of your favorite questions to reply?
brian_d
  • 391
42
votes
11 answers

How to sell a high SO reputation at an interview

A question with absolutely no relevance to myself: How would a programmer with a stellar SO reputation (like 30k+) market his or herself to poential employers/investors who have never heard of SO? In other words, how can one describe SO in a few…
Ami
  • 2,055
42
votes
9 answers

Why are SW engineering interviews disproportionately difficult (vs. research interviews)?

First, some background on me. I have a PhD in CS and have had jobs both as a software engineer and as an R&D research scientist, both at Very Large Corporations You Know Very Well. I recently changed jobs and interviewed for both types of positions…
stackoverflowuser2010
  • 2,756
41
votes
10 answers

Why was I asked general, non-technical questions during an interview?

I got through the first phone interview at Amazon last week and they asked some basic technical questions during that interview. Today, I had my second phone-interview and I prepared myself well expecting for another technical interview, but it was…
Ashika Umanga Umagiliya
  • 559
41
votes
18 answers

How important is it to be syntactically correct during an interview?

When asking an interview candidate to write a program on the whiteboard, do you expect the candidate to write code that is syntactically correct? I had two candidates, one of which wrote a syntactically correct program but the logic was not up to…
topgun_ivard
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38
votes
28 answers

What's the worst question you were ever asked at interview?

It doesn't have to be programming or software development related, but just asked during an interview for an IT related job. I know some "left field" questions are meant to see how the candidate copes with unexpected and novel situations, but here…
ChrisF
  • 38,938
38
votes
11 answers

How do you respond to "Tell me a little bit about yourself." question in interviews?

I've been asked this in a few interviews. And it always catches me off guard.My professional and academic background are already in the resumé, which the interviewer has obviously looked at. What more to tell him/her? Should I start with my hobbies?…
rubayeet
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