Microsoft's Personnel Puzzle

theodp writes "CNET reports on Microsoft's reputation for arrogance in its personnel practices, citing the experience of Arthur Sorkin, who responded to an unsolicited invitation to interview with MS back in 2000. But instead of trying to sell him on the company or the job, interviewers challenged him with a technical 'pop quiz.' Sorkin, who holds a PhD in CS, withdrew his application. During the past year, Microsoft called Sorkin to say it had scheduled a phone interview with him for another job, although Sorkin hadn't applied for it and no one had asked if he was interested."

Comments

Here I am...

[oldosadmin]

HIRE ME!

I don't care if you ask about my momma, my momma's momma, or what. Tease my brain. Quiz me. Just give me a decent paying tech job.

We all bash on MS, but truth be told, most of us would take a job there if the price was right. Right now my price is low, haha.

Re:PhD in CS is WAY overrated

[91degrees]

I would ask something like handing them a bubble sort with a simple error in it, like boundary checking. If they catch that error, they're qualified to be a junior programmer.

So you want to hire people who make a lot of clumsy mistakes? They're the ones who are good at spotting clumsy mistakes.

If they ask why I'm using my own bubble sort instead of calling the standard qsort() routine, they're senior developer/analyst material.

Is that really a test you'd use? Presumably you're using a bubble sort algorithm as a simple example for the purposes of a test because it fits the requirements. But since I have specualted and come up with a realistic solution based on understanding your requirements and on my previous experience, I'm only qualified to be a junior programmer.

It's a good test. It would mean I'd never work for you.

Re:PhD in CS is WAY overrated

[Nicolay77]

Anyway, I believe that a good matematician that knows how to program can run circles around anyone that just knows how to program.

Just see the greatest names in the past, almost all mathematicians: Turing, McArthy, Knuth...

Even this guy was a mathematician first.