Ask HN: Red Flags for a 1-2 year developer?

1 pointsby moretaivor 9 Jahren2 comments

I recently had an interview where I was asked a combination of whiteboard problems, and a couple of technical term definitions. Whiteboard wasn't an issue, since I think I kind of understand what I am suppose to do. The technical term definitions caught me off guard, but they would ask me things like what is an index, what is a cookie, what is a join, what is object oriented programming, benefits of these, etc. They also asked me to think in SQL, but I wasn't aware of how to do a problem using a join.

Ideally, I know, I should understand these concepts. I didn't prepare for the interview, and honestly, things went well up until the technical definitions.

But I did freak out a little bit, and feel like I should know these things. I should know what a join is, I should know what a cookie is. And I do, I have a very vague understanding of these things. But in my day to day, I don't do complex joins, I don't have to remember what exactly a header is.

I guess my question is that should I be worried? Or was this simply just a matter of not preparing for my interview like a test?

2 comments

andreiconvor 9 Jahren

It helps to have an grasp of these terms meanings, but that doesn't mean you should know their definitions by heart. Try to explain in your own words, it should be enough. Unless you're dealing with some hard heads who want the textbook definition, you'll be alright.

Piskvorrrvor 9 Jahren

Don't. Whether you worry or not, it won't affect the outcome now.

Also, the point in such questions is not a checkbox "can rattle off the definition exactly," but rather a highpass "is not completely lost at sea."