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Re: Python Interview Questions

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  Re: Python Interview Questions yeryomin.igor@gmail.com - 2012-07-08 23:39 -0700
    Re: Python Interview Questions Tim Chase <python.list@tim.thechases.com> - 2012-07-09 06:07 -0500
    Re: Python Interview Questions Roy Smith <roy@panix.com> - 2012-07-09 09:25 -0400
      Re: Python Interview Questions Tim Chase <python.list@tim.thechases.com> - 2012-07-09 12:40 -0500
        Re: Python Interview Questions Rick Johnson <rantingrickjohnson@gmail.com> - 2012-07-09 11:44 -0700
          Re: Python Interview Questions Cameron Simpson <cs@zip.com.au> - 2012-07-10 09:05 +1000
        Re: Python Interview Questions Demian Brecht <demianbrecht@gmail.com> - 2012-07-09 13:11 -0700
          Re: Python Interview Questions Peter <peter.milliken@gmail.com> - 2012-07-09 14:22 -0700
            Re: Python Interview Questions Devin Jeanpierre <jeanpierreda@gmail.com> - 2012-07-09 18:53 -0400
            Re: Python Interview Questions Christian Heimes <lists@cheimes.de> - 2012-07-10 01:33 +0200
              Re: Python Interview Questions Roy Smith <roy@panix.com> - 2012-07-09 19:40 -0400
                Re: Python Interview Questions Christian Heimes <lists@cheimes.de> - 2012-07-10 02:02 +0200
                Re: Python Interview Questions rusi <rustompmody@gmail.com> - 2012-07-09 23:29 -0700
              Re: Python Interview Questions Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2012-07-10 07:33 +0000
                Re: Python Interview Questions Christian Heimes <lists@cheimes.de> - 2012-07-10 10:11 +0200
                  Re: Python Interview Questions Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2012-07-10 16:51 +0000
                    Re: Python Interview Questions Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2012-07-11 02:59 +1000
                      Re: Python Interview Questions Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2012-07-10 17:41 +0000
                Re: Python Interview Questions Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2012-07-10 10:45 +0100
                Re: Python Interview Questions rusi <rustompmody@gmail.com> - 2012-07-10 08:01 -0700
                Re: Python Interview Questions Dennis Lee Bieber <wlfraed@ix.netcom.com> - 2012-07-10 13:12 -0400
                Re: Python Interview Questions Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2012-07-10 18:50 +0100
                  Re: Python Interview Questions Demian Brecht <demianbrecht@gmail.com> - 2012-07-10 11:08 -0700
                    Re: Python Interview Questions Robert Miles <robertmiles@teranews.com> - 2012-08-15 01:19 -0500
            Re: Python Interview Questions Tim Chase <python.list@tim.thechases.com> - 2012-07-09 18:37 -0500
            Re: Python Interview Questions Emile van Sebille <emile@fenx.com> - 2012-07-09 16:56 -0700
            Re: Python Interview Questions Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2012-07-10 02:23 +0100
            RE: Python Interview Questions Shambhu Rajak <Shambhu.Rajak@kpitcummins.com> - 2012-07-10 05:08 +0000
            Re: Python Interview Questions Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2012-07-10 18:03 +1000
            Re: Python Interview Questions Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2012-07-10 10:42 +0100
            Re: Python Interview Questions "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-07-10 16:55 +0100
              Re: Python Interview Questions Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2012-07-11 02:05 +1000
            Re: Python Interview Questions Stefan Behnel <stefan_ml@behnel.de> - 2012-07-11 06:05 +0200
          Re: Python Interview Questions Peter <peter.milliken@gmail.com> - 2012-07-09 14:22 -0700
            Re: Python Interview Questions Roy Smith <roy@panix.com> - 2012-07-09 19:08 -0400
        Re: Python Interview Questions Demian Brecht <demianbrecht@gmail.com> - 2012-07-09 13:11 -0700

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#25069 — Re: Python Interview Questions

On Tuesday, 30 October 2007 21:24:04 UTC+2, Tim Chase  wrote:
> > I have used Python for a couple of projects last year and
>  > I found it extremely useful. I could write two middle size
>  > projects in 2-3 months (part time). Right now I am a bit
>  > rusty and trying to catch up again with Python.
>  >
>  > I am now appearing for Job Interviews these days and I am
>  > wondering if anybody of you appeared for a Python
>  > Interview. Can you please share the questions you were
>  > asked. That will be great help to me.
> 
> While I haven't interviewed precisely for Python, I've been
> on the other (interviewing) end and can offer a few of the
> sorts of things I ask.  I don't expect perfect answers to
> all of them, but they show me a range of what the
> interviewee knows.  I try and give a scattershot of
> questions from the following areas to try and narrow down
> where they fall in terms of pythonability, and then grill
> more deeply around the edges that I find.
> 
> Basic Python:
> =============
> - do they know a tuple/list/dict when they see it?
> 
> - when to use list vs. tuple vs. dict. vs. set
> 
> - can they use list comprehensions (and know when not to
>    abuse them? :)
> 
> - can they use tuple unpacking for assignment?
> 
> - string building...do they use "+=" or do they build a list
>    and use .join() to recombine them efficiently
> 
> - truth-value testing questions and observations (do they
>    write "if x == True" or do they just write "if x")
> 
> - basic file-processing (iterating over a file's lines)
> 
> - basic understanding of exception handling
> 
> Broader Basic Python:
> =====================
> - questions about the standard library ("do you know if
>    there's a standard library for doing X?", or "in which
>    library would you find [common functionality Y]?")  Most
>    of these are related to the more common libraries such as
>    os/os.path/sys/re/itertools
> 
> - questions about iterators/generators
> 
> - questions about map/reduce/sum/etc family of functions
> 
> - questions about "special" methods (__<foo>__)
> 
> More Advanced Python:
> =====================
> - can they manipulate functions as first-class objects
>    (Python makes it easy, but do they know how)
> 
> - more detailed questions about the std. libraries (such as
>    datetime/email/csv/zipfile/networking/optparse/unittest)
> 
> - questions about testing (unittests/doctests)
> 
> - questions about docstrings vs. comments, and the "Why" of
>    them
> 
> - more detailed questions about regular expressions
> 
> - questions about mutability
> 
> - keyword/list parameters and unpacked kwd args
> 
> - questions about popular 3rd-party toolkits (BeautifulSoup,
>    pyparsing...mostly if they know about them and when to use
>    them, not so much about implementation details)
> 
> - questions about monkey-patching
> 
> - questions about PDB
> 
> - questions about properties vs. getters/setters
> 
> - questions about classmethods
> 
> - questions about scope/name-resolution
> 
> - use of lambda
> 
> Python History:
> ===============
> - decorators added in which version?
> 
> - "batteries included" SQL-capible DB in which version?
> 
> - the difference between "class Foo" and "class Foo(object)"
> 
> - questions from "import this" about pythonic code
> 
> Python Resources:
> =================
> - what do they know about various Python web frameworks
>    (knowing a few names is usually good enough, though
>    knowledge about the frameworks is a nice plus) such as
>    Django, TurboGears, Zope, etc.
> 
> - what do they know about various Python GUI frameworks and
>    the pros/cons of them (tkinter, wx, pykde, etc)
> 
> - where do they go with Python related questions (c.l.p,
>    google, google-groups, etc)
> 
> Other Process-releated things:
> ==============================
> - do they use revision control
>    (RCS/CVS/Subversion/Mercurial/Git...anything but VSS) and
>    know how to use it well
> 
> - do they write automated tests for their code
> 
> Touchy-feely things:
> ====================
> - tabs vs. spaces, and their reasoning
> 
> - reason for choosing Python
> 
> - choice of editor/IDE
> 
> Good luck with your interviewing and hope this helped,
> 
> -tkc

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#25076

On 07/09/12 01:39, yeryomin.igor@gmail.com wrote:
> On Tuesday, 30 October 2007 21:24:04 UTC+2, Tim Chase  wrote:

yes, yes I did, almost 5 years ago. :-)

You didn't include any questions/comments on my email, so it's a bit
hard to respond.

>> While I haven't interviewed precisely for Python, I've been
>> on the other (interviewing) end and can offer a few of the
>> sorts of things I ask. 
[snip]
>> Python History:
>> ===============
>> - decorators added in which version?
>>
>> - "batteries included" SQL-capible DB in which version?

I've long wanted to update my original post in this department to
include things like the "with" statement as well as my reasoning.
Some of our deployments were stuck on earlier versions (currently
our oldest is a 2.4 deployment that is merrily chugging along,
somewhat stuck due to an external binary dependency for which terms
changed between versions).  At the time I wrote that, we had some
2.2 and 2.3 code in production that couldn't use decorators, and
sqlite wasn't officially added until 2.5 (IIRC).   Now that
everything is at least 2.4, code can now use decorators freely.

I'd also likely include questions about integer division and other
stuff added in 3.x (such as the default new-class behavior).

So my main motivation was to make sure applicants knew that, in some
of our environments, certain features might not be available.  Not
that I wanted to hire a Python historian.

>> Other Process-releated things:
>> ==============================
>> - do they use revision control
>>    (RCS/CVS/Subversion/Mercurial/Git...anything but VSS) and
>>    know how to use it well
>>
>> - do they write automated tests for their code

Don't let the importance of these two escape.  It's SOOOOOOO easy to
grab any of the freely available VCS tools and learn the ropes, or
to write some test code.  Failure to do so just seems like
negligence these days.

-tkc

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#25081

In article <3e0ef383-9615-4b4d-89c1-e5519971189f@googlegroups.com>,
 yeryomin.igor@gmail.com wrote:

> On Tuesday, 30 October 2007 21:24:04 UTC+2, Tim Chase  wrote:

> > - more detailed questions about the std. libraries (such as
> >    datetime/email/csv/zipfile/networking/optparse/unittest)

You need to be careful when you ask questions like this.  I would expect 
somebody to be aware of those and have a high-level understanding of 
what they do, but certainly not remember the details of the exact syntax 
and argument order.  Even with stuff I use everyday (like unittest and 
datetime), I have a browser open to the reference manual most of the 
time.

> > - questions about PDB

Heh.  I would answer that with, "Python Debugger?  I've never used it".

> > Python History:
> > ===============
> > - decorators added in which version?
> > 
> > - "batteries included" SQL-capible DB in which version?
> > 
> > - the difference between "class Foo" and "class Foo(object)"
> > 
> > - questions from "import this" about pythonic code

With the exception of the question about new-style classes, these are 
silly questions.  I was around when both decorators and sqlite3 were 
added.  I couldn't possible tell you when to any precision better than 
"2 dot something".  As for the zen of python, it's cute, and a piece of 
python folklore, but hardly an essential part of being a good python p

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#25088

On 07/09/12 08:25, Roy Smith wrote:
>> On Tuesday, 30 October 2007 21:24:04 UTC+2, Tim Chase  wrote:
> 
>>> - more detailed questions about the std. libraries (such as
>>>    datetime/email/csv/zipfile/networking/optparse/unittest)
> 
> You need to be careful when you ask questions like this.  I would expect 
> somebody to be aware of those and have a high-level understanding of 
> what they do, but certainly not remember the details of the exact syntax 
> and argument order.  Even with stuff I use everyday (like unittest and 
> datetime), I have a browser open to the reference manual most of the 
> time.

Yeah, the aim isn't to grill them on the minutia, but to get a
feeling that they know the basics.  The zipfile module offers a
ZipFile object for reading/writing zip files with or without
compression.  The CSV file allows for reading/writing CSV files with
definable delimiters and quoting/escaping.  Etc.


>>> - questions about PDB
> 
> Heh.  I would answer that with, "Python Debugger?  I've never used it".

The ability to know off the top of your head that it's the "Python
Debugger" is more than enough :-)  That's just first-order
ignorance:  you know what you don't know and can spend a few minutes
reading up on it if you need it.  The second[or higher]-order
ignorance of not knowing what pdb is (or, if you need more powerful
debugging, how to do it) is sign the person hasn't been programming
in Python much.

>>> Python History:
>>> ===============
>>> - decorators added in which version?
>>>
>>> - "batteries included" SQL-capible DB in which version?
>>>
>>> - the difference between "class Foo" and "class Foo(object)"
>>>
>>> - questions from "import this" about pythonic code
> 
> With the exception of the question about new-style classes, these are 
> silly questions.  I was around when both decorators and sqlite3 were 
> added.  I couldn't possible tell you when to any precision better than 
> "2 dot something". 

I'd even be satisfied if a person just knew that such features
weren't there all along and might need to be worked around for older
deployments.

> As for the zen of python, it's cute, and a piece of python
> folklore, but hardly an essential part of being a good python p

[Ed: something appears to have gotten truncated there]  Yeah, it's
more about a person being sufficiently steeped in python to know
bits and pieces of the zen, and their ability to recognize/create
pythonic code.  I've seen enough Java-written-in-Python to know what
I don't want :-)

-tkc

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#25090

On Jul 9, 12:40 pm, Tim Chase <python.l...@tim.thechases.com> wrote:
> The second[or higher]-order
> ignorance of not knowing what pdb is (or, if you need more powerful
> debugging, how to do it) is sign the person hasn't been programming
> in Python much.

So guru knowledge of pdb is prerequisite to being accepted as a
Pythonista? I find that ridiculous since *real* programmers don't use
debuggers anyway.

> [Ed: something appears to have gotten truncated there]  Yeah, it's
> more about a person being sufficiently steeped in python to know
> bits and pieces of the zen, and their ability to recognize/create
> pythonic code.  I've seen enough Java-written-in-Python to know what
> I don't want :-)

I know you are a member of the group who has an aversion to strict OOP
paradigm but is this a justified aversion, or just fear of OOP due to
static evolution? Look, i don't like java's strict approach either,
however, i do not have an aversion to OOP.

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#25102

On 09Jul2012 11:44, Rick Johnson <rantingrickjohnson@gmail.com> wrote:
| On Jul 9, 12:40 pm, Tim Chase <python.l...@tim.thechases.com> wrote:
| > The second[or higher]-order
| > ignorance of not knowing what pdb is (or, if you need more powerful
| > debugging, how to do it) is sign the person hasn't been programming
| > in Python much.
| 
| So guru knowledge of pdb is prerequisite to being accepted as a
| Pythonista? I find that ridiculous since *real* programmers don't use
| debuggers anyway.

You've misread him. He's saying not knowing what PDB is and what it may
be used for is a sign of low experience. Whether one uses it or not
isn't what he's measuring, it's whether one knows what it is for and how
it may be used.

| > [...]  I've seen enough Java-written-in-Python to know what
| > I don't want :-)
| 
| I know you are a member of the group who has an aversion to strict OOP
| paradigm but is this a justified aversion, or just fear of OOP due to
| static evolution? Look, i don't like java's strict approach either,
| however, i do not have an aversion to OOP.

More misreading. "Java-written-in-Python" (and its variants) means non-python
code written in python, in this case from someone with a strong (or
rigid) Java background who is not adept with Python idioms. It has
nothing to do with OOP one way or the other. Surely we've all seen
(and doubtless written) clumsy python code; this is an example.

Cheers,
-- 
Cameron Simpson <cs@zip.com.au>

A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures.   - Daniel Webster

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#25092

On Monday, 9 July 2012 10:40:59 UTC-7, Tim Chase  wrote:
> On 07/09/12 08:25, Roy Smith wrote:
> >> On Tuesday, 30 October 2007 21:24:04 UTC+2, Tim Chase  wrote:
> > 
> >>> - more detailed questions about the std. libraries (such as
> >>>    datetime/email/csv/zipfile/networking/optparse/unittest)
> > 
> > You need to be careful when you ask questions like this.  I would expect 
> > somebody to be aware of those and have a high-level understanding of 
> > what they do, but certainly not remember the details of the exact syntax 
> > and argument order.  Even with stuff I use everyday (like unittest and 
> > datetime), I have a browser open to the reference manual most of the 
> > time.
> 
> Yeah, the aim isn't to grill them on the minutia, but to get a
> feeling that they know the basics.  The zipfile module offers a
> ZipFile object for reading/writing zip files with or without
> compression.  The CSV file allows for reading/writing CSV files with
> definable delimiters and quoting/escaping.  Etc.
> 
> 
> >>> - questions about PDB
> > 
> > Heh.  I would answer that with, "Python Debugger?  I've never used it".
> 
> The ability to know off the top of your head that it's the "Python
> Debugger" is more than enough :-)  That's just first-order
> ignorance:  you know what you don't know and can spend a few minutes
> reading up on it if you need it.  The second[or higher]-order
> ignorance of not knowing what pdb is (or, if you need more powerful
> debugging, how to do it) is sign the person hasn't been programming
> in Python much.
> 
> >>> Python History:
> >>> ===============
> >>> - decorators added in which version?
> >>>
> >>> - "batteries included" SQL-capible DB in which version?
> >>>
> >>> - the difference between "class Foo" and "class Foo(object)"
> >>>
> >>> - questions from "import this" about pythonic code
> > 
> > With the exception of the question about new-style classes, these are 
> > silly questions.  I was around when both decorators and sqlite3 were 
> > added.  I couldn't possible tell you when to any precision better than 
> > "2 dot something". 
> 
> I'd even be satisfied if a person just knew that such features
> weren't there all along and might need to be worked around for older
> deployments.
> 
> > As for the zen of python, it's cute, and a piece of python
> > folklore, but hardly an essential part of being a good python p
> 
> [Ed: something appears to have gotten truncated there]  Yeah, it's
> more about a person being sufficiently steeped in python to know
> bits and pieces of the zen, and their ability to recognize/create
> pythonic code.  I've seen enough Java-written-in-Python to know what
> I don't want :-)
> 
> -tkc

Definitely appreciate your approach, I've asked similar questions when interviewing.

I also usually like to ask what a candidate likes and dislikes about Python, hoping for the GIL to creep up, along with an explanation as to what it is, implementations that don't have it along with methods of getting around the lock (although that would be a fairly advanced topic IMHO). If it doesn't come up, sometimes I'll pop it in depending on their level of experience.

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#25098

One of my favourite questions when interviewing - and it was 100% reliable :-) - "what are your hobbies?"

If the answer included programming then they were hired, if not, then they went to the "B" list.

In my experience, anybody who is really interested in programming will have it as a hobby (and is keen to learn even if they don't currently have the knowledge you require) - otherwise it is "just a job". Every job has a learning curve - whether it is just the particular domain or even a new language, the individual who sees programming as more "than a job" will come up to speed much faster and be more productive in both the short and long term.

Every programmer I have ever hired using this criteria worked out well.

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#25101

On Mon, Jul 9, 2012 at 5:22 PM, Peter <peter.milliken@gmail.com> wrote:
> One of my favourite questions when interviewing - and it was 100% reliable :-) - "what are your hobbies?"
> If the answer included programming then they were hired, if not, then they went to the "B" list.

Woe is the poor college grad, who wants to appear like a well-rounded
individual and lists capoeira and gardening, instead.

-- Devin

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#25105

Am 09.07.2012 23:22, schrieb Peter:
> One of my favourite questions when interviewing - and it was 100% reliable :-) - "what are your hobbies?"
> 
> If the answer included programming then they were hired, if not, then they went to the "B" list.

on the contrary! When a potential candidate has computer stuff as her
main hobby then she goes on the no-hire list. I prefer people that can
cope with stress and pressure as well as people who can think outside
the box. When you work with computers all day at work *and* at home then
you are unable to shut off mentally.

Gardening is great hobbies for a developer. You need to be patient,
reliable and provide constantly good work to grow your own vegetables.

Christian

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#25107

In article <mailman.1965.1341876813.4697.python-list@python.org>,
 Christian Heimes <lists@cheimes.de> wrote:

> Am 09.07.2012 23:22, schrieb Peter:
> > One of my favourite questions when interviewing - and it was 100% reliable 
> > :-) - "what are your hobbies?"
> > 
> > If the answer included programming then they were hired, if not, then they 
> > went to the "B" list.
> 
> on the contrary! When a potential candidate has computer stuff as her
> main hobby then she goes on the no-hire list.

I think this points out the silliness of these kinds of questions.  
There is no "right" answer.  More to the point, the interviewee, when 
he/she gets one of these questions, probably goes into hyper-analysis 
mode: "Now, just what did he mean by that question?"  He's likely to 
give the answer he thinks you want to hear.

Do you really want to make hire/no-hire decisions based on somebody's 
ability to second-guess what you probably wanted to hear when you asked 
a pointless question?

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#25112

Am 10.07.2012 01:40, schrieb Roy Smith:
> Do you really want to make hire/no-hire decisions based on somebody's 
> ability to second-guess what you probably wanted to hear when you asked 
> a pointless question?

I don't want her/him to second-guess at all. I expect a straight and
honest answer. Second-guessing leads to cheating and lying which doesn't
work in the long run.

"I don't like to disclose my personal life" is also a good answer as it
shows that the candidate self-confidence and doesn't sell privacy for a job.

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#25123

On Jul 10, 4:40 am, Roy Smith <r...@panix.com> wrote:
> In article <mailman.1965.1341876813.4697.python-l...@python.org>,
>  Christian Heimes <li...@cheimes.de> wrote:
>
> > Am 09.07.2012 23:22, schrieb Peter:
> > > One of my favourite questions when interviewing - and it was 100% reliable
> > > :-) - "what are your hobbies?"
>
> > > If the answer included programming then they were hired, if not, then they
> > > went to the "B" list.
>
> > on the contrary! When a potential candidate has computer stuff as her
> > main hobby then she goes on the no-hire list.
>
> I think this points out the silliness of these kinds of questions.
> There is no "right" answer.  More to the point, the interviewee, when
> he/she gets one of these questions, probably goes into hyper-analysis
> mode: "Now, just what did he mean by that question?"  He's likely to
> give the answer he thinks you want to hear.
>
> Do you really want to make hire/no-hire decisions based on somebody's
> ability to second-guess what you probably wanted to hear when you asked
> a pointless question?

Add to that the Heisenberging that happens to interviewees (and
interviewers) from reading this thread

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#25124

On Tue, 10 Jul 2012 01:33:06 +0200, Christian Heimes wrote:

> Am 09.07.2012 23:22, schrieb Peter:
>> One of my favourite questions when interviewing - and it was 100%
>> reliable :-) - "what are your hobbies?"
>> 
>> If the answer included programming then they were hired, if not, then
>> they went to the "B" list.
> 
> on the contrary! When a potential candidate has computer stuff as her
> main hobby then she goes on the no-hire list. I prefer people that can
> cope with stress and pressure as well as people who can think outside
> the box. When you work with computers all day at work *and* at home then
> you are unable to shut off mentally.

...because the stuff you do on computers at work, and the stuff you do on 
computers at home, are obviously exactly the same thing.

If they read for their job, and read at home, does that also mean they 
can't shut off?

This is why I hate job interviews. You have like 30 minutes, or even as 
little as 30 seconds, to make a good impression on somebody who may or 
may not be capable of telling the difference between a cheese sandwich 
and a box of hair -- and even the *good* interviewers are probably making 
their judgement on the basis of subjective factors with no right or wrong 
answers.


> Gardening is great hobbies for a developer. You need to be patient,
> reliable and provide constantly good work to grow your own vegetables.

And live in a house in the suburbs with enough room for a garden, good 
soil, and not in the shadow of buildings. And work hours where you are 
home during daylight hours.

You know what else is a great hobby for a developer? Anything, or 
nothing, at all.


-- 
Steven

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#25127

Am 10.07.2012 09:33, schrieb Steven D'Aprano:
> This is why I hate job interviews. You have like 30 minutes, or even as 
> little as 30 seconds, to make a good impression on somebody who may or 
> may not be capable of telling the difference between a cheese sandwich 
> and a box of hair -- and even the *good* interviewers are probably making 
> their judgement on the basis of subjective factors with no right or wrong 
> answers.

IMHO one category of answers is always wrong: lies. You may oversell
yourself a bit, you can (and should) keep private matters to yourself
but don't lie.

> And live in a house in the suburbs with enough room for a garden, good 
> soil, and not in the shadow of buildings. And work hours where you are 
> home during daylight hours.

Almost everybody can garden under ideal conditions. I grow about 15
herbs, strawberries, tomatoes, chillies and flowers on a small balcony
in the middle of the city. This year I'm going to harvest at least 200
tomatoes from two plants in a 1m * 40cm * 40cm box of soil. I even have
a calabash plant that grows like crazy. See? :)

Christian

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#25142

On Tue, 10 Jul 2012 10:11:22 +0200, Christian Heimes wrote:

> Am 10.07.2012 09:33, schrieb Steven D'Aprano:
>> This is why I hate job interviews. You have like 30 minutes, or even as
>> little as 30 seconds, to make a good impression on somebody who may or
>> may not be capable of telling the difference between a cheese sandwich
>> and a box of hair -- and even the *good* interviewers are probably
>> making their judgement on the basis of subjective factors with no right
>> or wrong answers.
> 
> IMHO one category of answers is always wrong: lies. You may oversell
> yourself a bit, you can (and should) keep private matters to yourself
> but don't lie.

If only that were true. I know quite a few people who looked the 
interviewer straight in the eye and told the most bare-faced lies without 
a trace of shame, and got the job. Ten years on, at least one of them is 
making something around $300,000 a year, based entirely on his ability to 
smile and tell customers plausible lies.

I can't lie to save my life, which is why I have trouble in interviews. 
But of course all good liars would say the same thing.



-- 
Steven

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#25145

On Wed, Jul 11, 2012 at 2:51 AM, Steven D'Aprano
<steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> wrote:
> If only that were true. I know quite a few people who looked the
> interviewer straight in the eye and told the most bare-faced lies without
> a trace of shame, and got the job. Ten years on, at least one of them is
> making something around $300,000 a year, based entirely on his ability to
> smile and tell customers plausible lies.

So he's either a politician, a salesman, a lawyer, a counselor, a
manager, a thespian, or a venture capitalist. And maybe a few other
possibilities. Professional liars, all. :)

ChrisA

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#25148

On Wed, 11 Jul 2012 02:59:15 +1000, Chris Angelico wrote:

> On Wed, Jul 11, 2012 at 2:51 AM, Steven D'Aprano
> <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> wrote:
>> If only that were true. I know quite a few people who looked the
>> interviewer straight in the eye and told the most bare-faced lies
>> without a trace of shame, and got the job. Ten years on, at least one
>> of them is making something around $300,000 a year, based entirely on
>> his ability to smile and tell customers plausible lies.
> 
> So he's either a politician, a salesman, a lawyer, a counselor, a
> manager, a thespian, or a venture capitalist. And maybe a few other
> possibilities. Professional liars, all. :)

Actually, he's a senior software developer for a major international 
software company whose name Might Seem familiar to you.

To be honest, I can't tell you too much more about his job, as I've made 
it a practice not to learn too many details.


-- 
Steven

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#25130

On 10/07/2012 09:11, Christian Heimes wrote:
> Almost everybody can garden under ideal conditions. I grow about 15
> herbs, strawberries, tomatoes, chillies and flowers on a small balcony
> in the middle of the city. This year I'm going to harvest at least 200
> tomatoes from two plants in a 1m * 40cm * 40cm box of soil. I even have
> a calabash plant that grows like crazy. See? :)
>
> Christian
>

Big 'ead :)

-- 
Cheers.

Mark Lawrence.

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#25132

On Jul 10, 12:33 pm, Steven D'Aprano <steve
+comp.lang.pyt...@pearwood.info> wrote:
> This is why I hate job interviews. You have like 30 minutes, or even as
> little as 30 seconds, to make a good impression on somebody who may or
> may not be capable of telling the difference between a cheese sandwich
> and a box of hair -- and even the *good* interviewers are probably making
> their judgement on the basis of subjective factors with no right or wrong
> answers.

You make it sound terrible...
But just think which is worse: jobs decided in 30 minutes or marriages
decided in 30 seconds?

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