Ask HN: Why do we exclude other types of engineers from the “fix hiring” issue?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19060397

by aerovistae • 7 years ago

3 3 7 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I've noticed that we talk constantly about how messed up software engineer interviewing is, and there's many services (from hired.com to triplebyte to many others) trying to "fix" it.

My friends who are hardware and mechanical engineers keep asking me how I'm finding so many employers to talk to, and I have nothing for them because there don't seem to be services like this for any type of engineer other than software.

Why is that? Judging from my friends' experiences, finding a job and finding qualified talent is just as difficult, and the interviews just as questionable.

sidlls• 7 years ago

Most of my friends are in aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering type positions. Their interviews are not even as broken as the software industry's. What kinds of jobs are your hardware and mechanical engineer friends applying for? Are they "tech companies" or, say, defense contractors like Boeing? If the former I can easily see them having the same broken Interview process. Tech companies are just generally shit at interviewing.

mlthoughts2018• 7 years ago

I’d also add that companies like TripleByte or leetcode, contrary to the OP, are hugely adding to the problem and essentially exist to reinforce the already horrible candidate evaluation practices of the industry.

jacob9706• 7 years ago

As someone who is a Sr. Software Engineer at this point in my life, I started in mechanical engineering. I've been on both sides of the table for both positions and the differences between how candidates are evaluated is vastly different.

Mechanical engineers from my experience essentially go through talks with their future boss and coworkers to evaluate if the person would be a good fit on the team, with technical ability coming up very rarely as it's ON THE RESUME.

Software engineers on the otherhand are treated as if they do not have past experience in industry and are subjected to college tutoring whiteboard sessions (I was also a tutor in college). From my experience, the interviews rarely even introduce you to the team, or even talk about the toolings required for the job.

The hands down best software interview I've been through, unsurprisingly was not at a "tech" company, but rather Alaska Airlines. Talked about the project with the manager and how I would be able to contribute, met the team, did an actual coding exercise RELATED to the actual project that lasted 5 minutes and landed the job.

Ask HN: Why do we exclude other types of engineers from the “fix hiring” issue?

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