Getting a take home task isn't what I take issue with, what I take issue with is being given the task at 11pm on the Friday with the expectation it would be completed that weekend. I agree, OP needed to push back about availability, but receiving a task that late at night isn't on it. Fair enough I don't work in IT anymore in any form, but I certainly wouldn't be happy with that.
Declined interview after accepting
- Thread starter Bassmansam
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Really!?!?! OK, I work in IT but after having over 30 interviews for the past 5 months. I never been giving an take-home exercise for an interview.
Indeed, it's very much expected you'd complete such a task 'out of hours' (i.e. over a weekend) but it raises alarm bells that they're sending the task at 11pm on a Friday (expecting completion for a Tuesday interview?) and it's only sensible to give some consideration to what that potentially says about the expected working practices - is he doing that at 11pm because he's desperate for staff and is massively overworked or because the company culture is that people work crazy hours and it's considered normal to set people work at that time?
Yeah but they made him aware of it before then, it's not like the 11pm e-mail was out of the blue.
Just because the e-mail arrives 11pm doesn't mean you need to start on it then - he knew it was going to be sent for him for that weekend already, so long as he has it in time to be able to work on it on Saturday/Sunday then why is that a problem? Doesn't matter if it arrived 3am Saturday morning (the manager got home and realised he'd forgotten to send it perhaps) as long as he has it available to him that weekend.
What sort of roles were you going for?
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The interview date was confirmed last Friday and i was told at about 5:30 that day that there would be a task to do, I was already on my way out at the time of the call to inform me of this. My boss had a look at the task today and gave me some pointers so I think I'm on the right track now. Going to wake up early and finish it off(interview is at 10am).
Yup, exactly, so it didn't come out of the blue via an e-mail at 11pm (which is what people seemed to be taking issue with), you were called (presumably by the recruiter right?) and really should have just pushed back and said you weren't free to do a take-home exercise that weekend.
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Well i could have pushed back and they could have said fine we'll go with x other person. I don't know tbh, this is the first job I have gone for thats had a recruiter involve. I will keep that in mind for future apps though, cheers.
Soldato
xlookup only with 365 I think. A lot of users do not seem to know about power query I have begun to realise and its been available for ages!
Ah, fair enough. that is a possible risk but it would be a bit ridiculous of them to drop a candidate who simply wasn't free to do a take-home test until the following weekend.
If they need the test done before the interview they'd already scheduled then they should have informed you first - though quite possibly the recruiter might have made the mistake there too.
Worth keeping in mind that recruiters interests aren't aligned with yours - they tend to want to get you through the process ASAP and get the deal closed ergo if it was say a question of "is the candidate available to take the test this weekend" the recruiter might well be motivated to try and not even leave it open as a question but just push you to do it that weekend.
Be wary of things like salary negotiation too, sometimes if there are fixed pay bands then there genuinely might not be room to budge but where there aren't recruiters don't want to take much risk here, they'd rather get the deal closed regardless of any spiel they might give about how it's better for them if you get a higher offer etc... I'd certainly ask for more here if you get an offer - especially as your current job pays more + it seems they're not exactly overwhelmed with candidates.
IT System Engineer, Cloud Engineer and Cloud Architect roles.
Soldato
My thoughts from this thread:
I'm a web dev so tests are the norm now. I was given a test to complete in ~24 hours for a framework I'd never used. I was candid with them about it and they assured me it's just a test, there's no pressure to fully complete it and it was more about how I presented the task and explained my thoughts during the second interview that was important. They wanted to see my problem solving ability and basic understanding.
The key thing is, between submitting the test and the interview, you will have invariably thought more and researched more about the problem and they give you the opportunity to present this. You've done exactly this, so don't just throw in the towel, it's better to fail than give up.
When it comes to salary, ask for what you are on now. You have nothing to lose and they clearly want someone in the door. If you're the only candidate they might at least meet you half way, if they say no then you're still getting what you expected. Don't let the location come into it, that shouldn't matter to them.
I'm a web dev so tests are the norm now. I was given a test to complete in ~24 hours for a framework I'd never used. I was candid with them about it and they assured me it's just a test, there's no pressure to fully complete it and it was more about how I presented the task and explained my thoughts during the second interview that was important. They wanted to see my problem solving ability and basic understanding.
The key thing is, between submitting the test and the interview, you will have invariably thought more and researched more about the problem and they give you the opportunity to present this. You've done exactly this, so don't just throw in the towel, it's better to fail than give up.
When it comes to salary, ask for what you are on now. You have nothing to lose and they clearly want someone in the door. If you're the only candidate they might at least meet you half way, if they say no then you're still getting what you expected. Don't let the location come into it, that shouldn't matter to them.
I appreciate this is probably a bit too late for you to see but good luck. I always approach the interview as a two way thing. I'll answer all their questions but I'll also be interviewing them to see whether I want to work with the company, role, environment and people. If you approach it that way then it seems less stressful as it's more a conversation than a test.
EDIT: Strangely the best financial offers I've had have been where I've told them I don't want the job. The first was for a large US bank based in Croydon. I hated the area so much I straight away told the agent I wasn't interested. The bank came back three times with higher offers and even tried offering a golden handshake. I still refused and it was the right decision.
Then I was surprised to be offered another job a few years later after I refused to do their test. It was a mangement role but at the end they handed me a pen and paper and asked me to write some SQL. I was a little rusty but could have done it with a bit of effort. But I told them if they wanted me to write SQL then they were interviewing the wrong person, or interviewing for the wrong role. I handed the pen and paper back to them and assumed I just blew the interview. I was offered the job then next day.
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I guess that figures, perhaps less likely to have stuff to set if part of the role is more configuration/ops stuff... It quite common in data science/data analyst type roles and seems to be not exactly unusual in software engineering too (though there is also stuff like hacker rank tests etc.. for that).
LOL, I guess it is Croydon!
Shouldn't be too strange though, it's one of the best positions to be in, obviously you were seen as a good candidate too. Being either happily employed and just seeing what is out there or interviewing concurrently at more than one firm and having more than one potential offer in hand is ideal - the employer had then best come up with a strong offer if they want to hire you.
Obvs the reverse is true - someone who is unemployed or desperate to leave their current place or is perhaps a borderline candidate you might give a shot to aren't exactly going to get the strongest offers.
LOL, I guess it is Croydon!
Shouldn't be too strange though, it's one of the best positions to be in, obviously you were seen as a good candidate too. Being either happily employed and just seeing what is out there or interviewing concurrently at more than one firm and having more than one potential offer in hand is ideal - the employer had then best come up with a strong offer if they want to hire you
Yes I was in a lucky position of being employed in a nice area and not in a rush for a new job; Canary Wharf. Many people moan about Canary Wharf being souless and it is. But compared to Croydon it's heaven
I did eventually get a job offer from somewhere I wanted and it was the most satisfying resignation I've ever done. I wasn't desperate for a job by any means but I disliked the new managers agressive style. He was quite a bully. I got the phonecall from the agent to tell me I had the job while I was in a team meeting being shouted at by that manager for something I was trying to help with but wasn't actually at fault for. When the agents name flashed up on my phone I politely made my excuses to step out of his office to take an urgent "production issue" call. Then happily told the agent I'd accept the job, stepped back inside the managers office and let him know I needed to talk to him when the meeting ended. It was perfect timing. I wouldn't recommend people do that though. I'd always recommend waiting until all the paperwork is in place before resigning. But after being shouted at minutes earlier for something I was trying to help him with I couldn't resist it. I sat there for the rest of the meeting with an "I know something you don't" grin on my face.
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***update***
I got the job. They said my presentation had gone into a lot of detail and were impressed ect. No more 90 minute commutes to London for me thank god. Also i have gained the title of analyst instead of admin which is a nice bonus.
I got the job. They said my presentation had gone into a lot of detail and were impressed ect. No more 90 minute commutes to London for me thank god. Also i have gained the title of analyst instead of admin which is a nice bonus.
Soldato
Great news.
Hey well done! When do you start?
Congratulations!
Soldato
Grats buddy!