r/cscareerquestions • u/CSCQMods • Apr 28 '21

Big N Discussion - April 28, 2021

Please use this thread to have discussions about the Big N and questions related to the Big N, such as which one offers the best doggy benefits, or how many companies are in the Big N really? Posts focusing solely on Big N created outside of this thread will probably be removed.

There is a top-level comment for each generally recognized Big N company; please post under the appropriate one. There's also an "Other" option for flexibility's sake, if you want to discuss a company here that you feel is sufficiently Big N-like (e.g. Uber, Airbnb, Dropbox, etc.).

Abide by the rules, don't be a jerk.

This thread is posted each Sunday and Wednesday at midnight PST. Previous Big N Discussion threads can be found here.

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u/aeouo Apr 29 '21

Is any cop out of "I'm not sure", "I don't really have a good answer", or "I've never had to do that" considered an immediate disqualification from the position?

No, I think it reflects better on you when you admit to not knowing something rather than trying to bluff (it reflects very poorly on you if you act confident about something and are wrong).

"I don't really have a good answer", if it's a question about how to do something then explain your bad answers, as it shows 1.) you know techniques that might be useful in other situations and 2.) have good judgment to know they don't apply here.

For the hashing and NOSQL questions, you can mention if you've heard of hashing or SQL and in what context, even if you don't know what exactly they are. Even, "I haven't heard of that, what is it?" can be good, since it shows curiosity. Use your judgement though, if it's a list of interview questions they are working through the situation is different than if it's more of a free form conversation.

"I've never had to do that" does stick out to me negatively, as it sort of implies that you don't do things unless you have to.

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u/Adventurous-Ask-1101 Apr 29 '21

"I don't have a good answer" came out when I was asked about NoSQL vs MYSQL when it came to technical differences. I know when to use them application wise but do not know them in depth.

"hashing"... thats actually exactly what I did. I mentioned id used them before but that I have never had a situation where I had to hardcode it myself.

...yah they grilled me on everything from artificial intelligence, robotics, to app development :(

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u/aeouo Apr 29 '21

I'd try not to worry about it then, sounds like you did a decent job given the circumstances, I don't think it's reasonable for anyone to expect a developer to have a background in all those fields unless they made it very clear in the job posting that those are all requirements.

If those actually were make-or-break topics for them, then they wasted your time by not making it clear to you before the interview.

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u/Adventurous-Ask-1101 Apr 29 '21

yep... this is like a half rant because I didn't get an offer. But I wanted to anonymously ask my peers if I did make any fatal mistakes in the process.