Random Traffic Through Nick's Brain

1. The interview with CompanyA was interesting. The oddest part is when I had to pay for lunch at the company cafeteria. Every single other interviewer that’s interviewed me over lunch has paid. It was somewhat jarring. I think I flubbed a few parts of the interview because of the language barrier. What do you want to release in a finalizer? Managed or unmanaged resources? Duh. At one point the language barrier was so bad that I was very tempted to get up and leave.
2. I was psyched about CompanyB to begin with. Their web site excited me more about any company since Farsight / D.E. Shaw’s. The interview process, despite being 7½ hours long, the longest I’ve ever survived in one go, did nothing to dispel that feeling, only enhance it. Despite getting the ‘Reverse a linked list’ problem, I felt that I messed it up. My inelegant solution took me too long to figure out. I also didn’t quite get the ‘How long does it take to iterate over the keys of a hash table’ question as well as I would’ve liked. Very good location, very good benefits, smart people, up and coming project, didn’t bat an eyelash at my salary demands. If I get an offer from them, I’m thinking this is the place to beat. They have 10 other open req’s. I’m already considering which friends I’d like to refer for which positions. Yes. Counting my chickens. I shouldn’t.
3. I was psyched about CompanyC, despite trying to downplay that publicly. However, the recruiting process, despite having friends inside the company, has been a bit difficult. They batted an eyelash at my salary demands when they definitely shouldn’t have. Thankfully, through scheduling snafus, they opened up a hole in my schedule that allowed me to interview at CompanyB. I used to think CompanyC was my default, odds-on-favourite. Not so much.
4. I wanted to interview at CompanyD because I’d heard about them (and, also heard that they paid some of the most competitive salaries in the area). That fell through last week when they found a candidate. Well… this week, said candidate fell through. Last week I told myself, and Dina, that I’d probably get an offer from A, B, or C, and it would probably be good enough for me to accept so I was most likely done with interviews. So, I’m torn about scheduling D for an interview. Though I’m excited about them, I’m also excited to be done interviewing soon.
5. K, D, and T have all, at various times, taught both Dina and I not to adopt puppy dogs. It’s a hard thing not to do. They are generally so fun, lovable, and wonderful to get to know. We have renewed resolve on that front… but as always… it will wane. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

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