More Candidate Interview Questions

Implement the following methods:

/*
Given a word, return true or false indicating if the word is a palindrome.
FYI - a palindrome is a word reading the same backward as forward, such as bob, noon, madam, racecar, etc
*/
boolean isPalindrome(String word)

/*
Given an integer number, return a string representation of that number. For example, 481 should return "481".
*/
String intToString(int value)

Thanksgiving on Thursday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzoNInZ2ClQ

Be thankful and do something about this.

Candidate Interview Questions???

You have two buckets - one holds exactly 5 gallons and the other 3 gallons. How can you measure 4 gallons of water into the 5 gallon bucket?

(Assume you have an unlimited supply of water and that there are no measurement markings of any kind on the buckets.)

BTW - There are two different solutions to this problem.

Recruiters

So I just got back from my second interview of the day. Oops, did I just let that slip? Oh well... I'll chance it, and as I've heard, "Interviews are free". At the very, very least, this little experiment has forced me to update my resume. Anyway... recruiters. I'm not sure what to think. I think they make a lot of sense for companies to use, I'm just not sure why people looking for jobs use them. The arguments I keep hearing are:

1. They're in the business of finding people jobs
2. They can better represent me as a perspective candidate
3. Some companies only list openings through recruiting agencies

Do I agree with those statements? Well, let's see.

1. Yes, they are definitely in that business and making sure you know that seems to be vital to this argument. However, what are they really providing? It seems to me that anyone with any level of motivation and know how can do what it takes to get a job interview.
2. Of course, they get paid regardless of which job I ultimately take and they only get paid if I take a job. Now, I didn't say they get paid to get me the best job. It's in their best interest to find me a job as soon as possible. In fact, they probably hope for high turnover in the industry. Makes sense... more people looking for jobs and more jobs to be had. So... remind me again why they can better represent me.
3. Now, do I actually believe this? Why would a company only list a job through a recruiter? What benefit would that provide to the company? Granted the recruiter could perform some initial screening of candidates for the company, but why else? If they were able to find someone to fill a position without going through a recruiter it would save them money.

Maybe I need to meet with the recruiters and have them remind me again of what they're doing for me.

Money Choices

Here's a thought/question...

For the guys, would you rather be tall (6' plus) and make a modest amount of money (~ $75,000) OR short (5'4") and rich ($250,000 or more) ?

For the gals, would you rather have your definition of the "perfect" body and make a modest amount of money (~ $75,000) OR not the perfect body (open to interpretation) and rich ($250,000 or more) ?

Try to make your decision without considering things like "If I was tall, I could marry a model that would support me"

Self Managing Employees

Is it the responsibility of the employee to take ownership for their situation at work and help themself improve upon their situation? How much affect can he/she really have? I'm struggling a lot with this question. I suppose if an employee worked in an environment that fostered that type of ownership, it would seem more plausible, but that's a pretty big supposition. If on the other hand, the employee's environment does not allow for this type of ownership, what then? How does the employee go about improving their situation? A lot of questions my friends. One would hope that the answers will come next... but I'm at a loss. How can I help this employee?

Management

How do non-technical people manage a technical department? Good question. The answer, of course, is that they trust and respect the ability of their technical people to make the technical decisions. "What happens when this doesn't occur?" would be a natural followup question. Chaos, my friends, chaos.

Company Policy

A co-worker of mine sent this to me the other day. Quite relevant to my job these days.

Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb toward the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water.

After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new monkey. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey, then a fourth then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs he is attacked. Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey can ever again approach the stairs to try for the banana. Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done around here.

That is how company policy begins.

Welcome to my head

Finally, a place where I can post whatever... thoughts, feelings, ponderings, etc.

Makes you wonder what will appear here? Me too. I guess only time will tell.