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The last two frontend devs I interviewed.

First:

He had 15 some years of experience, but couldn't answer our most basic of technical questions, we stopped asking after the first couple.

Based on a technical test I got the impression that he couldn't distinguish between backend and frontend.

So, I posed a simple question "Have you interfaced with REST API'S using Javascript before?"

Which lead him to talk about arrays. I shit you not he droned on about arrays for five minutes.

"I have experience using big array, small arrays, breaking big arrays into littler arrays and putting arrays inside other arrays."

Never been in an interview situation where I've had to hold back laughter before. We refer to him as the array expert.

His technical knowledge was lacking, and he was nervous, so he just waffled. I managed to ease his nerves and the interview wasn't terrible after that, but he wasn't what we were looking for.

Second:

This was a phone interview.

It started off OK he was clearly walking somewhere and was half preoccupied. Turns out he was on his way back from the shop after buying rolling papers (we'd heard him in the shop asking for Rizla), and he was preoccupied with rolling a joint.

We started asking some basic technical questions at which point he faked that he'd seen a fight in the street.

We then called him back five minutes later you could hear him smoking "ah, that's better". After that the interview was OK, not what we were looking for, but not bad.

Top tip: If you require a joint to get through a phone interview, roll and smoke it before hand.

Comments
  • 89
    You could say the first one had a vast array of experience
  • 28
    @Hazarth Yeah but most of it was empty
  • 10
    new Array<Array>;

    Am I hired now?
  • 3
    Fascinating. That 4th dimensional stuff can tend to make one go crazy. Like a library card catalogue full of drawers full of miniature dewey decimal systems.
  • 1
    I have found many devs who are unable to distinguish between what happens at backend and what at frontend.

    More often than not those people I found were used to using server side components like webforms.
  • 1
    "I don't just use arrays.. I can also use lists! A-and dictionaries!"
  • 4
    If only you could find that elusive dev that both knows arrays backwards and forwards, AND can roll a tight joint.
  • 1
    @alexbrooklyn I'm going to have to ask that you break that into smaller arrays for me first.
  • 1
    @dozingncoding He'd done some backend dev in PHP. I think the thing that caught him off guard was that we'd requested he do the "technical challenge" in Angular, and he hadn't worked with SPA's before. The extent of his frontend knowledge was Jquery and vanilla JS.

    However, I'm not sure. He was trying to use a JS HTTP library to POST/PUT/GET from the browser to a JSON file on the server side that wasn't even exposed. Either way for someone with that level of experience - red flag.

    He came across as a CMS (wordpress) developer who would struggle to build anything from the ground up without being able to fallback on the CMS.

    The technical challenge which isn't really a challenge is a "fill in the blanks" to this real world web app.
  • 2
    He wanted to make sure if he got the job that you were always aware he would like A RAISE
  • 2
    var obj = new [[[[[Object]]]]]();
  • 2
    So your second interview wants to get to the 4th dimension and your first interview has the skills to get him there.
  • 1
  • 3
    The first one reminds me this scene from The IT Crowd s1e1:
    - CEO: I'm gonna put you in I.T.
    Because you said on your CV you had a lot of experience with computers.
    - Jen: I did say that on my CV yes.
    I have lots of experience with the whole...
    computer... thing you know, e-mails...
    sending e-mails, receiving e-mails, deleting e-mails...
    - Jen: ... I could go on.
    - CEO: Do!
    - Jen: The Web... Using mouse... mices... using mice.
    Clicking... double clicking...
    the computer screen of course, the keyboard...
    the... bit that goes on the floor down there...
    - CEO: The hard drive?
    - Jen: Correct.
    - CEO: Well, you certainly seem to know your stuff.
  • 0
    @granola xD I need to rewatch them.
  • 0
    @granola Did have an IT Manager with that level of knowledge once, quite similar to Jen too, but far more of a nut case.

    The company was bought out for millions by a huge multinational it had turned over £17 million the year before its buyout.

    Once more, It was sold again a couple years later for £500,000 purely for its contacts, it was shortly liquidated. She was cause of destruction of that company.

    Never met anyone like it. She was in sexual relations with the CEO (this isn't speculation, but fact). She fired devs, testers and BAs without a moments notice if they so much as said a thing against her.

    She'd try and control peoples personal lives outside the office trying to enforce employees didn't speak to one another outside the office.

    She had half the requirement agencies in her pocket, so she'd know if you were thinking of leaving, and instant fire you.

    I put on about four stone of fat at that company over the year before I randomly wrote my notice and left.
  • 0
    hmmm... actually, the joint thing might be cool, as in, if i heard a guy in interview start out sober, give perfect answers, then get high and continue giving perfect answers... i might be tempted to hire him on the spot.

    i've got to try that someday =D
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