I couldn’t decide how to start this story. I’m thinking about to share my story about feeling insecure and how I try to overcome this feeling.
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Great article! Maybe there is a point that you're not completely seeing. IMHO, it's pretty difficult for people to recognize their own weknesses, but here, you're sharing yours openly. So from my point of view, in this article you're showing your strength!
If you have troubles with puzzles I recomend you to follow this online training effective-thinking-through-mathema..., you'll see some topics about puzzles, solving them is not a matter of cleverness, it's more about having strategies when you face them =D.
Keep trying!
Totally see what you say there Alan, but I'm sure that If I was good to this kind of problems I would have the same opinion about them. I think giving someone a project to work on/ improve or find a bug will be more valuable to them than this coding puzzles. With that said, I'm even though I don't like such challenges I'm trying to improve and become better! P.s Thanks for the resource Alan, I'm gonna dig into this 🤓
Of course! Solving puzzles just shows one part of the skills you have. But it's not enough because is not possible to see how a person will work with other people, and many other skills that are so important while you're working. Anyway, in many companies the first filter is to show how you can solve this kind of exercises. But don't feel bad, they are difficult for all of us!
You know, everyone feels insecure one way or the other. Many developers have something called impostor syndrome (the feeling you don't know as much as you do despite visible proofs, the feeling that you are an impostor). It may be visible when you are anxious about code review, pair programming, or showing others your code. And in the stressful situation, like an interview, it's even harder. It even can lead to a depression.
There are many aspects to it too, but there are few things that help. Talking, or generally spending time with people helps. Especially when you can finally rant about it. Olso putting your thought in writing as you did here. There's one more thing though, that I cannot stress enough: exercise. Really. 15 (or even 5) minutes of walk every day can work miracles.
Ah, and one more thing, the recruitment process in our industry is screwed up. It's like asking to the band on their knowledge about the history of classical music when you want to hire them for a jam session. But it'll take time before all hiring managers get that.
Good luck!
Every company has a different interview process, and it's better if you fail in them because sometimes you are just not suited to their type of work culture.
I gave an interview recently, where they wanted an MVC developer, but the interviewee grilled for 1.5 hours on OOPS, and afterwards I got a feedback from HR that I did not have good OOPS concepts so was rejected. I really felt down that day, because even after 7 yrs exp you are getting such kind of feedback, it's really hard to digest.
But the key as you say is keep working towards a goal.Failures are more part of developer's life than success, just accept this fact and move on.
Great article -- And I have over 17 years of development experience and I still suffer from Imposter Syndrome. This article helped me a lot: Scott Hanselman's I'm a phony. Are you?. But like you, it helps motivate me to get better at my job and learn new things. And if only we can foster a culture of failure being acceptable, we can then feel good and safe to be able to learn through our failures. One of my motivators is Elon Musk. He understands failure is a necessary part of growth. I love that he posted the many failures of his SpaceX rockets on YouTube: .
Keep going Agis! You are not alone, and you only get better with time!
Thanks for this!
Thank you, Ben! I hope that this post will help other people too that they have the same insecurities. It was a tough couple of months but with friends/family/coworkers supporting me made the process a lot better.
I think it has!
The feeling of insecurity; not being secure. The opposite of safety? What is there to be afraid of? (LOTS), but is the feeling necessary? Maybe. You have to be afraid of that poisonous spider, if you're going to manage to jump away from it (WITHOUT THINKING). I'm sometimes scared I won't make it as a web developer. That pushes me forward and makes me work even harder (I THINK). I agree - maybe insecurity can be a good thing. But don't be afraid. We have nothing to fear (REALLY), including fear itself! :)
After 20 years of development I still basically suck at coding challenges in interview settings. I've never been a fan of them. The odd thing is that I've probably implemented and designed more algorithms than most programmer's will ever get the chance to. A lot of my work is actually directly related to algorithms. Yet I still suck at the "challenges".
Naturally, given the time to think, and the freedom to work through the problem normally, I can solve any of these interview challenges. But surprise me with a random question, sit my down in a totally new environment, actively watch me, and set a crazy low time lime, then I'll do poorly.
Oh man, it was almost like me writing this. I am a slow learner and I have struggle with that my whole life too! Today I am learning to accept this, apply my strengths and work on my weaknesses.
I am also working on my insecurities, that's not easy at all. As a woman, I think that is a problem even bigger...
Very good post, good luck on your projects!
Love this post. Why? I was in a similar position when the year began. I was a company and the boss let me go. It hit me hard. Then came the applications to new companies. I got the same replies as you. They were so annoying... "Thank you for your application but we decided to not continue with you in the next phase". It made me feel so bad. But I pressed on.
I finally applied to a place and they so my enthusiasm and skill and took me in.
I totally agree with you on coding challenges, I also suck at coding challenges and even Math, but that doesn't make a bad developer, it's way more important to get skills actually coding not cramming.
Thanks for sharing this experience.
However, I have recently come to know also the other side of the coin. One of my team-mates left us and now we are searching for a new colleague. We as developers have a good say in the process whether we make an offer to an applicant or not. Beside the one how didn't accept our invitation to an on-site interview we rejected all applicants so far.
The point to consider is that we are working in challenging environment, with high demands on all of us. I am personally working hard to wrap my head around the various moving parts of the Spring framework, test infrastructure and Kubernetes deployments; while trying to keep the software design in order.
What do you suggest to find out whether an applicant is a passionate (junior) software developer and can learn to work successfully in a challenging environment or whether he/she will hamper our own productivity?
(Maybe we are wrong about trying to find elite people and should rather fix the system's complexity + develop a better training program. But that is too hard and I'll try to ignore it for now ^^ .)
This is a great article and raises some very valuable points. One thing that employers tend to forget when they these types of puzzles as part of the hiring process is that in the end it's not the solution that's important. It's how they got there. There's more than one way to cat.
Another problem employers have with these types of puzzles is taking the individual's personality into consideration. There are certain personality types that solve tough problems better isolated, on their own. And some are great at solving them in a group setting. However there's not too many people I know that know how to do it on stage.....with people watching......and the prospect of a new job opportunity on the line.
All of that said, it is very important to build confidence in yourself. You don't have to brag or boast or make wild claims. Stick to things that you know or that show your ability to adapt and learn. Some of the best developers in the world are the ones who can fit any team.
"I really enjoy being wrong." is one thing I typically will tell people in an interview. Because it's true. Some of the most interesting lessons I've learned in this field is when something has blown up so horribly we had no choice but to meticulously rebuild, piece by piece.
It is quite funny, because I’m on the same situation right now, I work as a DevOps engineer ( 5 years doing it ) but I’ve been rejected at this moment 4 times. You think you have all the technical requirements for getting a job whenever you like but I find out that is not true. I guess I’ll have to keep practicing and keep trying.
Thanks for this! Just switched from Swift only iOS to react native and am feeling like I know nothing all over again. I needed this.
I struggle with some of the same feelings from time to time, in many aspects of my life, including professionally. It’s inspiring to see other devs openly talk about it! Thanks for sharing!
Those evaluations are certainly pointless and wrong. They predict absolutely nothing about job performance. When I managed software, I never used them. I talked to the candidates at length to discover their development philosophy, personality, and real level of experience. Never had a bad hire. These qualities are far, far more important than the ability to solve tricky toy problems in a specific language under immense pressure.
I also want to say that this hit home for me. When I first started my current job, I was very green and very insecure that I could become a developer.
But, as I grew into it, the company kind of rallied around me and helped me find my groove and become more secure. I also developed a mentor-student relationship with a solid guy who had been just like me. He forced me to get better, so I did, I read books, I did coding challenge, katas, and I got better.
I could hit him up with questions, was X the best way to solve the problem? How do I know when to use X? All of them he answered and more. He told me, he could see me improving and I loved it. I am still green around the ears but thankfully I am growing and improving.
And in the end, that's what really matters. If you can take the critiques and try to get better, then a company can really make use of you, because they are getting a nice return on their investment.
I am not the best and I am a little still insecure about skills, I question myself sometimes and sometimes I was right with my gut. But, that'll come with time.
It takes a lot of hours to become an expert but when you keep striving for improvement then any progress is progress. The worse thing you can do is shut down and refuse to grow.
And, the whole point about katas and code challenges is not how fast you can solve them, but that you can find strategies and see patterns. Sometimes, you have to sit down and plan it out, and all of a sudden, you start to see them unfold. And let me tell you, that is when you really feel like you are a developer.
This is my situation right now. Thanks for this.
That's how I feel myself with not feeling confident enough, I just keep horning my skills and hope that I get better
Thanks for this great article, sometimes I feel the same, you're not alone Agis! Keep working hard! You have all my support, I wish you the best!
I had this feeling when I got into a new company as a mobile app developer with iOS and android and was assigned to backend dev but I got over it and I love it so much now.
Nice article!
Thank you Sohail! :)