Ode to a Failed Perl Interview

I've been put in touch with S*mantec network ops by a nice local agency and they set me up for a phone interview for today (very considerate of the agency as I had no wish to trek around the metropolis to Markham for a screening).

The interview was geared around support of network monitoring systems in a network ops environment. The have mountains of Perl code that need maintaining/fixing and that was cool. All well except at the end I queried them about how much Python they want and they said perhaps & possibly a lot and that was the end of it as that's a "P"-word for me (Python).

The other steps that I did not take were solving a non-trivial problem in Perl and a face-to-face with the team.

This is a comical situation: they have a pressing need for a Perl guru (which are not as easy to find as people may think) to keep their code base alive and they go thru a lot of trouble to probe a candidate's Perl knowledge yet they forfeit that for a nebulous future need of a Python minion.

-ulianov

A Quick and Easy Interview

I was contacted by a local recruiter about a 3-month contract in downtown Toronto. The requirements were almost absurd:

• C / C++
• Windows 2000/XP/CE, Linux, Apple Macintosh OS, as well as embedded operating systems (QNX, VxWorks, Integrity)
• Strong knowledge in 3D graphics technology (OpenGL, D3D)
• Knowledge of embedded graphics such as LCD interfaces or bus configurations
• Experience developing device drivers
• Experience in performance analysis of graphics pipeline
• Experience in 2D / 3D graphics, DirectX, OpenGL, Audio, Video, or Game Software Development is an asset
• Experience in networking, data communications, wireless is an asset
• 10 to 15 years experience in professional software development

I tend to call this everything under the sun.

Never mind the job ad. The recruiter was professional, listened to my objections to the job ad and paid attention to my preference for 6+ month contracts.

He agreed to pre-screening call. Have done it after lunch. Apparently these guys make in-flight entertainment systems and are having problems with the OpenGL on a custom graphics board based on an ATI/AMD chip. They need troubleshooting. Unfortunately this is not within my experience and me having said that put an agreeable end to the phone interview.

This is the kind of recruiting that I like: expedient, no time wasting & useless face to face interview with the recruiter and putting the client's needs above the ego and "methods" of the recruiter.

-ulianov