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Aredna
Mar 17, 2007
Nap Ghost

Melted_Igloo posted:

-Some are just throwing random questions that have no purpose. Someone literally asked me "Do you do any web development?" When I explicitly have HTML/Javascript/AJAX all listed on my resume

You would be amazed how many people I've interviewed that put xyz skills on their resume and when you ask them about it say something like "Some coworkers used it a lot, but I didn't really."

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Aredna
Mar 17, 2007
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Ithaqua posted:

The rule I've always heard (and always lived by) is: You can never over-dress. Unless they explicitly say "dress casually," you wear a suit.

I agree completely with this. It's basically a twist on Pascal's Wager:

Wear Suit, Overdressed: Make a stupid joke about being overdressed and conduct interview
Wear Suit, Match Environment: No impact on interview
Don't Wear Suit, Match Environment: No impact on interview
Don't Wear Suit, Underdressed: May be deciding factor in not getting the job

Aredna
Mar 17, 2007
Nap Ghost

HondaCivet posted:

I guess this is more of a general question but is it generally a waste of time to put your resume in with companies that don't currently have any positions open that you fit into?

If you want to work there, go for it. The worst that will happen is they throw your resume in the trash and you never hear back from them. The best that will happen is they love your resume and either have an position that hasn't been posted yet or keep it for when they have an opening down the road and call you up.

Even if they don't call back, when you apply again when something does open someone may see that you've spent the time to apply twice and give you extra credit for showing that you really want to work there.

Aredna
Mar 17, 2007
Nap Ghost

ironypolice posted:

The best I can come up with is to compare every pair of rectangles, and if they overlap reduce them into components like so:



Then dump the components back into the pile, and repeat until there are no overlaps, then sum up the areas of the rectangles.

That's how I solved it in the past for a problem where you drew colored rectangles in a specific order and then had to say how much of each color was would be on top.

For the single color solution you could even sort the list of rectangles and significantly increase average case performance by reducing the number of comparisons for each new rectangle.

Surprisingly I find this problem easier than selecting a truly random element from a b-tree, but that's probably a result of spending too much time with programming contest type problems and little real world programming experience.

Aredna fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Sep 13, 2011

Aredna
Mar 17, 2007
Nap Ghost

Milotic posted:

Here's a tip, especially if you're a graduate. If you put something like Haskell on your CV, not once, but twice, expect to be able to answer rudimentary questions on it. In fact, if you put anything under the programming languages section in your cv, expect to be able to talk about it. "I haven't done it for two years" won't cut it.

(P.S. it's me, I'm the interviewer from hell)

And if you do put it in your resume and don't know it - don't say you use it all the time when I ask you about a specific feature. Not programming related, but I get asked to validate the Excel chops of candidates of all levels in interviews and I've people applying middle-upper management positions say "I use pivot tables on a daily basis" be completely stumped when I ask them to give me a specific example of when they would want to use a pivot table.

I'm the rear end in a top hat who will make you verify random claims you make during the interview and sit there in awkward silence for a minute while you think about what you just told me.

Aredna
Mar 17, 2007
Nap Ghost
My opinion is to look for a regular job in your field. Not to be pessimistic, but you never know what could change or happen in a year to affect your plans. If the move ends up delayed you'll be glad you have a "real" paying job with better experience.

When you move to a new area, they will fully understand why you left early and having experience at a company will help you land a job and ask for more money.

On a side note, don't make the mistake of telling any prospective employers that you may be moving in a year or less. It will make finding a job challenging (or impossible) and again keep in mind that it's possible things change and you stay with them longer.

Edit: or just listen to Strong Sauce and travel

Aredna
Mar 17, 2007
Nap Ghost
You should ask for more money or something else in almost every situation. Even with the same company I've asked for money money with every promotion offer and even one lateral move to another department and it's added up to about 20% more now than if I'd just accepted each one at face value.

People tend to be worried of asking, but in reality the worst thing that can happen is they say no and refuse to budge.

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Aredna
Mar 17, 2007
Nap Ghost
Include in your cover letter an explanation about how you matured over the years. I know someone that had a similar situation and got ibto a good MBA program by including a short exolanation and elaborating in the interview.

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