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Don't worry you're not alone. I did something similar in the past. I hate theoretical questions too and never ask them in interviews. The surest way to hire bright minds is to give them problems and see how they approach it and come up with solutions.
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Shameel wrote: give them problems and see how they approach it and come up with solutions.
that is what i do when i take interview.
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When conducting an interview, it seems like I just about never get to questions anywhere close to that. I have a hard enough time getting interviewee's to tell me the difference between "public" and "private"!
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Hah! Public vs Private? That's easy![^]
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952)
Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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I doubt they even knew THAT version of it! 
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Easy: Everyone can access public, but only class members and the NSA can access private 
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Yes, there is something wrong with you.
I agree that the questions were dumb but so what? Did you bother to ask any questions? And it is beyond rare that that when you start the job they are all sitting down and pontificating about solid or dry or whatever and that is all that they do. Interviews are a two-way street - you are also interviewing them!
You turn a job down because you don't like the location or the rate/salary or the interviewer was rude or whatever, not because you didn't like the questions they picked that day!
As a side note I like enthusiasm and passion from a candidate. I don't mind if someone doesn't know what something is as long as they say that they don't know and ask me to explain.
I have 5 set questions I always begin with and they are not technical. The first and most important is: What was a project that got you excited and why? The way that they answer that pretty much tells you everything you need to know about a candidate.
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair.
Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection
nils illegitimus carborundum
me, me, me
me, in pictures
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What are the other four questions our of interest? The first would of hit a positive note for me.
Simon Lee Shugar (Software Developer)
www.simonshugar.co.uk
"If something goes by a false name, would it mean that thing is fake? False by nature?" By Gilbert Durandil
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mark merrens wrote: Yes, there is something wrong with you.
it might be true. But a kind of questions tells you a lot about other person's knowledge and what you are getting your self into.
mark merrens wrote: Did you bother to ask any questions
yep i did . They asked a question about generations in memory management. i explain them the concept and asked how the question was relevant and his answer was if you know the how generation works you can control how and which object should go to which generations.
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That's not what you should be asking.
At a minimum, ask 3 questions at the end of the interview. Have them written down. Ask them and expect good answers. You might ask "What are you expecting from me in the first 90 days?" or "Can I see where I'll be working?". The former will tell you how organized they might be and/or if they even thought about what you will really be doing and what they want from you, the second will demonstrate an interest but will also show you all the other poor bastards you have to work with. 
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair.
Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection
nils illegitimus carborundum
me, me, me
me, in pictures
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I agree completely with Mark here.
The point isn't to test the interviewers knowledge on what you think is important technical knowledge at that point in time. Its to test the companies requirements from you.
What are your expected goals in the next 3 months?
What are their key performance indicators used?
What technologies are you expected to be working in or proficient in?
What is your expected role within the company?
If they are actually part of the SDLC process, then you can ask what their average working day is like.
There are a ton of relevant questions that will show them how professional you yourself are, and also give you extremely relevant information in return on whether the company will be a good fit for you.
Any monkey can show of technical knowledge, and even learn it. Always remember, don't burn bridges. You don't know who they are connected to or if a few year later you may want a job with them, and their resources department has you red flagged an uncooperative.
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Yeah... the second is specially important to catch a feel of the environment. Is it engaging? Stimulating? Or just a bunch of monkeys pushing buttons? 
To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems - Homer Simpson
----
Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction - Francis Picabia
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Noted and will make sure i ask the questions. See that is why i need third opinion. Thanks a lot. it's never too late to learn 
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CS2011 wrote: you can control how and which object should go to which generations
Mmmhh... I don't know much about managed memory, but I do not see what the point may be. Optimizing code for .NET  ?
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus
Entropy isn't what it used to.
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Rage wrote: Optimizing code for .NET ?
well that is different and really impotent if you want to write good code and controlling the generation..Well am not sure there is way to control generations in C#. But if it's possible i would like to learn.
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CS2011 wrote: Any one who has access to internet can tell you the definitions
It gets worse when they believe they actually understand the concepts 
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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No what's worse is when the interviewer ALSO got the questions and definitions from the same source on the internet. Actually had it happen once. Looking back now, I could have probably told them an Array was what Dark Helmet used on people's jewels when they went over his helmet. [^] Or could have gotten away with defining Friend Classes as the parts of code written with the Paired Programming technique.
Someone mentioned knowing between Private and Public.. That's easy! Private is the code I am not willing to share with anyone.. Public is the code I got off CodeProject 
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I wouldn't let stuff like that put you off. It's just the sort of rubbish people ask in interviews. Design patterns is a favourite. Usually can you just name a few which is probably the extent of the knowledge the interviewers have.
Far more important is whether they come across as 'normal' people (provided you're normal yourself of course).
Regards,
Rob Philpott.
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Hi. Im a software developer, who was going to study HR or Psychology, and still studies some HR stuff at my free time. SO, I can "see" I.T. recruiting, both, from I.T. Technical view, and, Psychologycal H.R. point of view.
I think you are wrong, because, even if they could do a better job at interviewing, you DID knew the answer, and you DID could help them to change they way they work & interview people.
Now, Im agree that a lot of people can fake their skills at interviews, with access to internet. But, the opposite is also true, its very difficult these days to pass an evaluation, without the internet, even if you have years of proven experience.
I have been tested with several theorical tests, and failed them, yet, when the HR / IT people give me a PC, and ask me to do some test, I usually passed. Most of those theorical questions, that I missed, doesn't mean I care, or I never study them. It's just that there is too much information these days, and its kind of difficult to remember all the details at a job interview.
I believe that experience, also matches a lot of others job prospects.
I do believe, that HR process, these days, in many companies, is doomed, for several reasons. Just doing a plain theorical interview, as your case, is an example. Skipping a practical technical test, because there is too many people to with an interview, is another. Supporting recruitment with a: Calculus, Algebra, Abstract Math evaluation, to I.T. because they require to have strong Math skills, is another common HR error. And, so on.
Cheers.
umlcat [ mail dot uml cat at g mail dot com ]
modified 23-Apr-14 12:18pm.
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IMHO, wrong decision. You cannot generalize group based on individual. Of course, they all may be same but that is not right.
I would have stated in the interview up front that I, personally, believe that we should be focusing on real World problems that I may have to solve during the job rather than knowing definitions.
I have shared my opinions many a times in an interview and was rejected. No, I do not quote that as a reason but it is really awesome coincidence. But I do feel it is not really a good thing to do in interview. Never piss off the interviewer.
I have had privilege to taking interviews as well and I found certain people with all kinds of MS certifications not being able to tell solutions to basic real World problems. For instance, I once asked, "Well, we have plenty of extension methods with LINQ that make is easy to iterate as far as lines of code is concerned. We also have TPL in .Net 4.0 that enables parallel processing. If possible, what do you think we can use if we are to use .Net framework 2.0 and achieve the same? If not, then what do you think would be an optimal way to get close?"
Hence, I tend to stay away from definitions as much as possible. Instead, I try and give small requirement that actually asks for the person to actually use the definition that is readily available on web.
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d@nish wrote: I would have stated in the interview up front that I, personally, believe that we should be focusing on real World problems that I may have to solve during the job rather than knowing definitions.
Well i did that and the answer which i got was hilarious. After 15-20 mins of theory i told them "I am more practical kind of guy and i think it will be better if you ask more real world related problem rather then asking definitions. Like last question about generations of objects. There is no way you can control that so why that is impotent?." His reply "If you the generation you can control which object should go to which generation" and i was like WTF..and the interview continued the same way.
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That was funny. You could have said, "Your generation objectifies everything and dictates terms. Want to take it outside?". Would have been some experience to cherish.
One of the questions that always baffles me is when I am asked about garbage collection and generations and how and when object moves through them. Now, I have no clue as to how exactly GC does it. And primarily, I do not care as I mostly write rather simpler application that do not care about every single nanosecond and every bit. If were to write application of that sort, I would use C or C++ or any other real low level programming language. But well, I am fairly straightforward with my views and I do not filter them. It often comes across as arrogance or rude behavior for many. I am just not going to change an opinion if someone cannot provide a valid justification to do so.
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CS2011 wrote: I always had problem with theoretical questions in interview.
The fact that someone is technically competent doesn't mean that they can competently communicate. And more significantly it doesn't mean that they can ask questions that objectively judge skills.
Some people recognize that but, probably and unfortunately, most do not. Sort of sad to see a technical interviewer fumble about because they suddenly realized that the interviewee knows vastly more than the interviewer and perhaps even knows a more correct answer.
Of course it is even worse when a technical interviewer wanders off into matters that are not technical and which may not even be legally discussed in an interview.
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Not having interviewed in 10 years; can't you pull out your iphone and answer the question?
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"The definition" can say a lot about you. I had interviewed two times before and I asked theoretical questions. It is easy to recognize answer by the book. Definitions learn by heart does not make much sense to the learner.
Definitions used simple words are just reproduction of what interviewee understands (best case, happened to me twice).
Definitions with more complicated words (but self reproduced and not learned by heart) may mean more experience in that area. (happened once).
The shorter it takes to answer, the more recently interviewee used that theory before.
Not knowing the theory itself can also tell how the interviewee acts when it does not know how to do something. If (s)he admits and seeks help it is suitable for team work. If (s)he tries to simulate knowledge, it'll probably simulate work. If (s)he admits, but don't seek help (s)he is probably prefer to work alone.
It is amazing how much information you can get for someone by just answering a simple theoretical question.
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