> A data science interviewer years ago mocked me during a whiteboard test for not knowing the BETWEEN ROW syntax for a window function.
Sad. One needs a thick skin to interview, because the manner of rejection is far more detrimental than rejection itself. I have seen friends cry unable to believe their luck or themselves. Often, due to negative bias, it takes a lot of confidence away from an individual and they start to feel inadequate, doubly so, if they had prepared super hard and yet failed because they couldn't remember a trivia.
One of the best interviewing advice I got from a mentor was, interviews aren't a pissing-off or a dick-measuring contest but often are. It changed the way I approached the interviews as an interviewee. Also, a good thing that I seeked for and got this advice way before I started interviewing candidates.
One point I've made repeatedly here on HN is that technical "interviews" have morphed into a form of entrance exam with very little oversight.
If you read about entrance exams at older institutions and professions with entrance exams (the bar, medical and nursing boards, actuarial exams, and so forth), you'll find that a they are often considered among the more stressful events in a person's academic career. They are often (and should be) very rigorous, but I do think a certain unspoken bill of rights has emerged to protect the student as well was the people conducting the exams. For example, entrance exams should have a study path, a known body of knowledge that is getting tested. They should be graded consistently and fairly, by acknowledged experts in the field. There should be a way to file a grievance, and the evaluation metrics must be "transparent" - if not the specific deliberations, then at least the general approach.
Tech interview exams have none of this. They are conducted very, very capriciously, often by people who have limited skills and experience - even if they are experts in their field (which they often aren't), they may not have any idea how to evaluate a candidate.
One basic tenet here is that you don't "mock" a candidate. Seriously, wow.
Sad. One needs a thick skin to interview, because the manner of rejection is far more detrimental than rejection itself. I have seen friends cry unable to believe their luck or themselves. Often, due to negative bias, it takes a lot of confidence away from an individual and they start to feel inadequate, doubly so, if they had prepared super hard and yet failed because they couldn't remember a trivia.
One of the best interviewing advice I got from a mentor was, interviews aren't a pissing-off or a dick-measuring contest but often are. It changed the way I approached the interviews as an interviewee. Also, a good thing that I seeked for and got this advice way before I started interviewing candidates.