Earlier in the month I applied for a C# programming job and was asked in to take a technical test. The test itself turned out to be a general programming aptitude test with a made-up language, so the week of C#/.NET revision that I'd done wasn't particularly useful, although I thought it might be handy for any subsequent interview and kept at it as I was sort-of getting in to the whole C#/.NET thing, mostly because Visual Studio 2010 is an absolute joy to use compared to the tools I'd been used to in my old job.
Basically, I was getting carried away with the way autocomplete meant I only needed to type about a third of the code, but I digress.
At the beginning of this week, I got a call back saying that I'd done well on the test and that they would like me to come in for an interview. The strange thing was that when the email confirmation arrived for the interview, it was saying that I'd be interviewing for a Java role. I queried this, and was told that it was indeed a Java position, and was I okay with that? I was, because I've done Java Micro Edition before (this isn't Micro Edition work, mind) and I was getting a little tired of the way a lot of C#'s keywords are in there not to help the compiler compile, but to prove to the compiler that the programmer isn't a complete idiot and actually understands what it is that their code is doing (for example having to explicitly add the
override keyword to functions that override a virtual function in the base class. The compiler doesn't need it- C++ manages just fine without it- but it forces programmers to acknowledge that they're masking an inherited function by hitting them with compile errors if they leave it off).The only problem with the sudden shift to Java was that I wouldn't have time to do any Java revision, and Java Micro Edition is a massively cut-down version of Java, especially in the CLDC/MIDP profiles used on phones. I was worried that any technical questions would deal with aspects of Java that I simply hadn't needed to deal with on mobiles, such as the collections framework. I know it's there on Real Java, I know what it does and how it uses generics, but I can't say I've ever written code with it. On a mobile, you have to use the rubbishy old Vector class and the like, which isn't type-safe and therefore makes baby Jesus cry.
Aaaanyway, I went to the interview without any massively high hopes and had a good long chat with the two chaps I'd be working with on a daily basis. I explained where I was at with Java, answered a couple of technical questions, and they said that with the amount of C++ experience I have, it won't be an issue. After an hour or so of that, they went outside "for a chat" and asked me if I wouldn't mind sitting another test, this being a language-and-number-skills fifty questions in fifteen minutes sort of thing. I didn't mind, sat the test and was then asked if I had time for a chat with the Boss of Bosses. I agreed and he talked me to death for an hour before they let me loose with the reassurance that I'd done "really well" on the second test and that I'd hear from them by Monday.
It wasn't until I got home until I remembered Monday is a bank holiday.
Friday afternoon, as I'm walking in through the front door after having gone out for some dog food for the idiot dogs, my mobile goes. It's the people I interviewed with and I immediately think they're ringing me up to tell me that they won't be proceeding etc, etc, etc. Instead, they offer me the job!
The paperwork is in the post and once it arrives, I'll be arranging a starting date. No more dole posts! (hopefully)
No comments:
Post a Comment