My employer (Safe Software) grills people during job interviews with quite difficult technical questions in an attempt to weed people out. It seems to work quite well.
I was actually impressed with the quiz and have been thinking about potential solutions to them in my head (in Python, sh and Objective-C for #1) just for fun! Michael On Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 8:42 AM, Landon Blake <[email protected]> wrote: > I believe, if properly constructed and administered, the tests could be a > great way to weed out the candidate that knows how to shoot a good line of > bull, but who can’t really deliver the goods. > > > > Of course, depending on your business, you might only be interested in the > employee that can shoot a good line of bull. > > > > Landon > > Office Phone Number: (209) 946-0268 > > Cell Phone Number: (209) 992-0658 > > > > > > ________________________________ > > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ian White > Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 8:34 AM > To: '[email protected]' > Subject: Re: [Geowanking] Urban Mapping seeking Data Wrangler > > > > Fully agreed and no criticism detected! > > I think that pre-screening tests are probably less common in the traditional > geosphere--enterprise/government GIS tends to move at a different pace and > might shy on the more traditional side. For web-based geo it's mainstream. > If/when 'traditional' GIS gets whacked by the web this might change, but > otherwise momentum is a very hard thing to change > > Ian White :: Urban Mapping Inc > 690 Fifth Street Suite 200 :: San Francisco CA 94107 > T.415.946.8170 :: F.866.385.8266 :: urbanmapping.com/blog > > ________________________________ > > From: Landon Blake <[email protected]> > To: Ian White; [email protected] <[email protected]> > Sent: Thu Sep 10 10:21:20 2009 > Subject: RE: [Geowanking] Urban Mapping seeking Data Wrangler > > I didn’t mean to come off as critical. I was just musing. > > > > I know Ian runs a company that does work I consider cutting edge and very > interesting. We have discussed similar types of tests for practical > knowledge for prospective employees at my own work place. We haven’t > implemented them, but we have talked about them. > > > > I wonder how typical this type of test is becoming in the geospatial job > market. Me thinks it wouldn’t have been extremely common two or three years > ago. > > > > Landon > > Office Phone Number: (209) 946-0268 > > Cell Phone Number: (209) 992-0658 > > > > > > ________________________________ > > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ian White > Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 8:14 AM > To: '[email protected]' > Subject: Re: [Geowanking] Urban Mapping seeking Data Wrangler > > > > It's a function of the job market--some candidates will find such tests > arrogant and dismiss those employers out of hand while others find them > attractive ("oh, this company 'gets' it") . All employers want to identify > and cultivate talent that likes a challenge. Also, nobody wants to waste > time on a bad employee/employer match. I've heard some ad agencies make > candidates develop an entire campaign in preparation for a job interview, > something that clearly takes a significant of time. > > > Ian White :: Urban Mapping Inc > 690 Fifth Street Suite 200 :: San Francisco CA 94107 > T.415.946.8170 :: F.866.385.8266 :: urbanmapping.com/blog > > ________________________________ > > From: [email protected] <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] <[email protected]> > Sent: Thu Sep 10 09:46:35 2009 > Subject: Re: [Geowanking] Urban Mapping seeking Data Wrangler > > Reminds me of a job I applied for at a cabinet shop quite a few years ago. > They made me go to the back and measure pieces of wood. It was a good thing > my dad taught me how to use a tape measure. (I didn’t get the job at the > cabinet shop. It was a good thing Safeway was hiring at the same time.) > > > > I wonder if this type of practical testing is more common now that the job > market is in the employer’s favor. It makes me glad I still have a job. :] > > > > Landon > > Office Phone Number: (209) 946-0268 > > Cell Phone Number: (209) 992-0658 > > > > > > ________________________________ > > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ian White > Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2009 6:27 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [Geowanking] Urban Mapping seeking Data Wrangler > > > > Apologies for the crass commercial intent behind this note, but the only > place worth fishing is where the fish are… > > > > Despite challenging economic times, we’re on the hunt for somebody new. If > this sounds like you, please consider yourself a candidate! Urban Mapping is > looking for a recent CS/EECS/CogSci/SymSys graduate with 1-2 years > professional experience, solid academic background and experience working > with large-scale datasets, databases, geodata and maps. You understand good > software design, can build robust tools and know how get things done with > magic on the UNIX command line or scripts. You are confident in your skills > and potential, know when to RTFM, and aren’t afraid to ask questions. > > > > Urban Mapping is an established startup (read: we have paying customers) in > San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood. Our innovative work with geospatial data > and technology is always presenting new challenges. Currently, we need help > to create and manage a massive datastore of geo- and related data. You will > work in engineering as the de facto Data Wrangler but enjoy the > entrepreneurial challenge and will find many areas to shine and learn. > > > > > > Essential knowledge: > > - Linux, shell scripting > > - Intermediate to advanced SQL > > - Very confident in one of: Python, Ruby, C, Perl, Java > > - Exposure to GIS and geospatial tools > > - Attention to detail > > > > The ideal candidate will: > > - Have FOSSG experience: PostgreSQL/PostGIS, GeoDjango, OSM > > - Know rendering and tiling tools (TileCache, Mapnik) > > - Understand cartography, projections, etc. > > - Server-side web development experience > > - Python/Django guru > > - WhereCamper! > > > > If this sounds of interest, please visit our blog to learn a bit more about > us: urbanmapping.com/blog. This is a full time position with salary, health > insurance, other benefits (Fri lunch on the company, occasional > outings/retreats) and equity compensation. To apply, send your solutions the > following two problems, resume and a cover letter to > [email protected]. Credit given for effort, and incomplete > submissions will be ignored. > > > > Problem #1 – Show code to extract a list of unique IPs/apikey pairs from a > log with following format: > > > > napi.urbanmapping.com 208.13.194.18 - - [09/Sep/2009:10:43:11 -0700] "GET > /neighborhoods/rest/getNeighborhoodsByLatLng?lat=43.6366595&lng=-79.4250212&format=xml&apikey=8k3pent5qzztwn > HTTP/1.0" 200 1105 "-" "Drupal (+http://drupal.org/)" "Basic" > getNeighborhoodsByLatLng 1 > > > > tapi.urbanmapping.com 83.40.19.38 - - [09/Sep/2009:10:44:44 -0700] "GET > /find/stations/near_point.json?lat=40.756945&lng=-73.978243&searchrange=1000&transit_system_id=&apikey=a2de289b1a93a8541f998 > HTTP/1.0" 200 2434 "-" > "Pingdom.com_bot_version_1.4_(http://www.pingdom.com/)" "Proximity" > prox_stations_near_point 1 > > … > > > > Problem #2 – You have a dataset of geographic boundaries (Census Blocks) > which aggregate demographic statistics. You want to estimate the same > statistics for an arbitrary polygonal region. Describe a process for > calculating these stats and discuss any problems with your solution. > > > > > > > > Warning: > Information provided via electronic media is not guaranteed against defects > including translation and transmission errors. If the reader is not the > intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, > distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you > have received this information in error, please notify the sender > immediately. > > _______________________________________________ > Geowanking mailing list > [email protected] > http://geowanking.org/mailman/listinfo/geowanking_geowanking.org > > _______________________________________________ Geowanking mailing list [email protected] http://geowanking.org/mailman/listinfo/geowanking_geowanking.org
