Other posts related to rutgers

My thoughts on/experience with brain teaser interviews

November 15, 2009 11:28 am

I was reading this article, and it reminded me of a terrible interview I had looking for a job after graduating…

Some years ago, someone at Microsoft noticed that they were having a bit of a Resources problem. A Human Resources problem to be specific. There were a whole lot of job openings (thousands, in fact) and a whole lot of applications (hundreds of thousands, in fact), and no easy way to match the right applicants with the right jobs. So they decided to reinvent the Job Interview.

Traditionally, job interviews are used to ascertain two things: how competent the candidate is and how well his personality (or lack thereof) will fit in with the organization. With their introduction of Job Interview 2.0, Microsoft included both of those features and added one additional: how the candidate responds when presented with asinine, utterly pointless, and completely ridiculous brainteaser questions.

Of course, common sense tells us that a candidate who enjoys solving silly riddles would most likely enjoy solving a silly riddle at a job interview. The same can be said about pepperoni pizza: chances are, if a candidate enjoys eating pepperoni pizza, he will also enjoy eating pepperoni pizza at a job interview. Both are facts which, while completely enthralling (no way, you like pepperoni pizza, too?!), are equally as irrelevant when determining whether someone would make a good programmer.

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Graduation

May 21, 2009 11:45 pm

Today I woke up a little hung-over from Ethan and I going to Kelly’s Korner.  We were there till last call to celebrate my moving into the new apartment (which is awesome!).  I went to the Computer Science reception, and arrived a little bit late.  None of my past professors were there, but I saw a bunch of people from classes and that was nice.  I’d told my parents I wasn’t going to graduation, and I kept my word.  They arrived late to the reception, which was pretty much over, so we grabbed a bit of the leftover food and wandered the Busch campus.  I had to pick up my transcripts so we walked over there, then I decided to take them to the French restaurant Scott and Leighton took me to for my last day at Just Collect.  Once again the food was delicious!

After breakfast/lunch (I refuse to say brunch), we went to my place and Mom helped me pack up some stuff as Jeremy and Dad tossed the roof rack on the Volvo.  They took off and brought a few things home, including my car.  But where I’m going, I won’t need it anymore anyway.  I finished packing up and gave away the Kegerator.  That was a sad moment, but it’s going to the hockey house, so I know it is in a good home; and I attached a few conditions to it, so I can take it back at any point.

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