I read it, and I don't agree that he explained why Helix sucked. Unless I'm reading it wrong, he seems to think a voice-controlled rig would be better for live performance?
I understand that the tone of these user's comments might be rubbing people wrong, but the criticisms were absolutely spot-on (including the one that got flagged/removed). As a DIY project, I think it's awesome...but as a product being brought to (a heavily saturated, well-trod) market it deserves criticism/skepticism.
FYI, if you interview with these guys, be prepared to be left hanging. I did a coding interview with them and heard absolutely nothing back afterwards. Whether or not a company wants to hire you, it's common courtesy to at least respond with "we've decided to consider other candidates" or whatever. Saying nothing is poor form.
Not condoning what they did, but saying nothing seems to be par for the course, based on limited personal experience, and a lot of chatter from colleagues the past few years. Sad, but true.
Just because behavior is common doesn't mean it's acceptable or should be tolerated. Companies expect candidates to be professional and can't send a simple email? What else would they be cutting corners on?
How do you "not tolerate" it? Send them a nasty email? Create a 'wall of shame'?
One thing I've heard from larger companies is they often do not say anything because almost anything can be construed in to a lawsuit. I think this is a bit of a copout, and I think in most cases, it's just easier to do nothing, but the lawsuit thing probably isn't a total non-issue for some companies either.
"Thank you for your time and interest. We were faced with a tough choice with a lot of candidates, and we ultimately went with another candidate for this position" seems as inoffensive and bland as could be - why these aren't sent out it, I don't know.
Job poster here. I definitely do try to let the candidates know of the outcome once they make it past the coding interview phase. throwawaybcporn completed his interview fairly recently and a decision on that round of interviews had not been made yet. The candidates will hear back this week.
As with any startup, we are a small team doing a million things, and sometimes things (such as interview rounds) may take longer than they should because a critical need for the business was prioritized.
If you work on these technologies, the future's a bit iffy for now whoever you work for. I'm guessing though, based on Graeme Rocher's comments a week ago [1], that he'll roll Groovy into Grails to make a single project, and get funding for both as a rump team under one project management, himself.
Thanks for the interview. Since I only interviewed very few people from my post last month, I have a good idea of who you are.
The reason you haven't heard back yet is because the most recent interview round is still on-going and a decision has not been reached yet. You should expect to hear back this week.
> Rather, it's a byproduct of a seriously messed up world/society/personal relations landscape, that depressed individuals are more sensitive to or have felt more deeply.
As I went to bed last night, I found myself thinking about this comment.
A couple of years ago, I was working at a well-known tech company and doing very well. My boss was a legitimate, clinical psychopath, but I made the most of it, working hard, coming in on weekends and snow days, etc. For my effort and talent, I received a raise and super-secret "restricted stock units we only give to the people we want to keep" after only a few months. My final performance review was glowing.
Having had enough of my boss and feeling that I'd built up enough runway to make a jump, I asked my boss's boss for a transfer to a different manager. The request was received positively and as it was in process, my immediate boss found out (probably from another manager asking about me) and summarily fired me. The act of cleaning out my desk and saying an awkward goodbye to people in the office is as clear to me as if it happened yesterday.
Because he had neglected to consult with his management chain about it, he was also out the door as soon as the threat of a lawsuit from me had passed a few months later. (If you're wondering, I did make some empty legal threats after the fact, which is why I couldn't go back. In retrospect, I probably could have returned if I'd kept my cool. I regret this mistake more than anything I did beforehand, without a doubt.)
Since then, I've suffered from PTSD, extreme anxiety and secondary depression, have been almost completely unemployed and largely withdrew from normal society. I don't have many friends anymore, don't date, don't go out... I basically just keep to myself, code, and play video games. Interacting with people didn't work out so well, so I guess, subconsciously and maybe a little consciously, I just decided not to deal with them anymore.
Getting back to your comment, @coldtea, I've often wondered which is true: Do I (a) have a "chemical imbalance" caused by unmet life expectations that causes me to be anxious and depressed or am I (b) depressed because the veil that had theretofore kept me from seeing/understanding the true shitty nature of the world was lifted?
I find my mind frequently drifting into "wow, everything is fucked up" territory. And there's plenty of fuel to keep the engine running. Everything from terrorism to wealth inequality to labor destruction to race issues to dictatorships to privacy loss to partisan gridlock in Washington... the world is absolutely and in a thousand different ways, flagrantly unfair. Then I get even further depressed about feeling depressed when I compare my relatively cushy life to that of, say, a Palestinian or Ugandan.
Wealth (and as a corollary, race) inequality is the one that gets me the most. Technology is advancing to post-scarcity -- the point where there are enough resources on this globe that everyone should be able to make it by with minimal (or even zero) effort.
But that's not what's happening. Keynes was wrong about the 15-hour work week of the future. Instead, we've gotten a bi-modal distribution of the disgustingly wealthy and growing numbers (in the US) of the destitute who have to work more hours at degrading jobs just to get by. Most people still have to work at things they do not enjoy, an artificial construct held in place by the powers that be. In this 21st century, there is enough to go around, it's just not distributed properly.
To be clear, I don't mind working and have a long history of hopefully-interesting side-projects (which I'd hoped would break me out of the must-work 99% group). What I do mind is working for "them" because I need to make X dollars to live in the world "they" have constructed. Even when I did work for "them" I didn't hate it. But now... it's harder to accept.
What pill is going to make me forget these harsh realities of the world? What pill is going to make me say "Oh sure, I'll get a wife and have some kids, even though they'll be relegated to psuedo-slavery just like I am." None.
So I think what you said (which I quoted above) is dead-right. Because of an event in my life, my eyes were opened to the real unfairness of the world.
And that's the real reason I struggle with depression -- my understanding of the world improved.
I'm feeling this, too. I was out in the valley recently and talked to a guy in his mid-to-late-20s who said that Apple's signing bonus for him was near 6 figures. This university position I'm considering doesn't pay that in a full year.
I guess it's like anything else, the talent at the very top of the scale (or at least perceived to be at the top of the scale) is going to command the most offers and most money. I think that would be fine with me, but the frustrating/infuriating part is it feels like an image game and NOT a meritocracy. The names on your resume (universities and workplaces) seem to matter more than your actual skills.
I've seen this at work, first-hand, too. It's hard to describe without giving away an identity, but one of my friends fell ass-backwards into Google as a semi-early employee (pre-IPO) and, on top of a sweet cash nest egg, has been rabidly recruited by everyone under the sun ever since, despite suspect engineering skill. Even went through YC. The snowball effect has been amazing to see up close.
Unfortunately, interviewees don't dictate hiring terms. And suggesting a short-term deal probably makes you look weak. I wouldn't recommend this approach to anyone.
What's hard to stomach about the no sleep aspect of everything is that I think companies/interviewers think "Well if it's fair for one, it's fair for all. They're all under the same pressure, so we'll see who overcomes it."
But that's not true. I know it's not true because I used to be one of the people who didn't feel interview pressure. When I landed a dream-type job a few years ago (which ended up being a nightmare due to a psychopathic boss, but that's beside the point), I remember going into the interviews head-strong, cocky and almost arrogant... which they apparently loved bc they hired me on the spot.
Ha! It makes me laugh now. I'm twice the engineer I was then, but half the interviewee simply because my ego has been recalibrated to reality.
The key part of your story is that you've made it to SF. I got lucky in 2010 and found a company that would hire me and let me move to a tech hub from my home state. Once I left that job and then the big city (to reduce my burn and work on my independent project), I found it damn near impossible to get back. The fact that I wasn't in the city was a killer for almost all companies, especially startups (where I really wanted to be).
So I moved to the city again for a few months and had a dozen interviews in the first couple of weeks. Some I rejected... some rejected me (obviously), but the activity difference was stark. It was like the floodgates opened.
Everyone should keep that in mind when job-hunting. If you've left or lost your job in a tech hub make use of the time you have left in your apt.
I wish I could downvote this. Maybe the guy went to Stanford or MIT. Maybe his Ruby work is available on Github and is solid. Maybe he did an independent project that showed remarkable creativity and drive. There are any number of reasons his resume could be "very impressive" with only 3 years under his belt. Don't be a dick.
I mean, have your own opinion and all but if you don't read, then it's not as valid.