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So there is this startup that wanted me to help them in their site development. They told me that they are fundless right now and that I will hold shares and once the system shoots, I will have my share. The problem is that I have been interrogatively interviewed. Interrogatively meaning most of the interviews that I have done, which promise payment, are not as deep as that. These guys even wanted to see the code in my projects, to know how I code. What I have come to hate is that, the interviewer could as well be my junior. I became so frustrated that I'm thinking of pulling off from the company. Also, these guys have this mode of conduct that wants to show supremacy. Now, I hate to be supremated by juniors.

Is it pride hating to be interviewed by a person I think is a junior?

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    "I became so frustrated that I'm thinking of pulling off from the company" You mean the fact that they can't actually pay you isn't enough to pull off from this company?
    – sf02
    Nov 16, 2022 at 21:19
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    @emanuelsanga why do you consider yourself a "senior" and this person a "junior"?
    – DarkCygnus ♦
    Nov 16, 2022 at 21:23
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    I've checked their portfolios, linkedin and github... Thanks for such a reflection question
    – emanuel sanga
    Nov 16, 2022 at 21:25
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    "These guys even wanted to see the code in my projects, to know how I code". Then you should show them your code. If your code is of high quality, then they will appreciate it and learn from it.
    – Job_September_2020
    Nov 16, 2022 at 21:29
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    I have been in the position of interviewing a candidate to take over as my own manager. Subordinate does not necessarily mean their opinion isn't important to your application. Learn to handle this.
    – keshlam
    Nov 17, 2022 at 4:59

3 Answers 3

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I think you should take the interview in a professional manner even if the interviewers may have less work experience than you.

Some companies may have many rounds of interviews. For some rounds, you can be interviewed by junior developers to quickly screen out candidates. For other rounds, you may be interviewed by senior developers.

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  • Thanks for this input. The problem is, I'm under that guy now... Meaning he is the one to asses me to see if I'm a fit for the team.
    – emanuel sanga
    Nov 16, 2022 at 21:32
  • Other big developers, who know my work or who see it, dont do it like that. These guys are even screening me for a free service am doing to them
    – emanuel sanga
    Nov 16, 2022 at 21:33
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    But I do appreciate your input.. Let me cool down and think again!
    – emanuel sanga
    Nov 16, 2022 at 21:35
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It well may be that the person interviewing you is the best developer they have and they may be most suited from their company to assess you. Just try to impress them by good quality code and your knowledge, skills and experience which would potentially convinced about your seniority and professionalism.

Wouldn't you be more offended by being interviewed only by a non-technical CEO?

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  • I never really thought about this. Maybe they should not be pumping him like a very big one
    – emanuel sanga
    Nov 16, 2022 at 22:04
  • @emanuelsanga - This is an excellent answer. I've been the interviewer in this exact scenario. There were skills we needed that I didn't have. So I interviewed and hired someone who had them. I've learned a lot from this individual and in retrospect realize how ignorant my interview was. I'm technically his superior but he has his expertise and I don't intrude on that.
    – noslenkwah
    Nov 16, 2022 at 22:36
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    I agree with this. Same situation. My team didn't had anyone else who knows a software. So, I, as a junior developer is selected to lead the technical round. For startups, its very much possible that there is no senior level person for your skill set and they have to use whomever they have.
    – Anish Sheela
    Nov 17, 2022 at 2:26
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    Then, @AnishSheela, it does not make sense to bloat yourself and make yourself appear more smatter than you actually are
    – emanuel sanga
    Nov 17, 2022 at 20:42
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I would refuse to show real code for anything of value if I were you in this situation.

Common thing for small businesses (And even some large ones!) Is to see how much information you'll give them for free under the guise of a potential job or client, which they'll then rip off and never reach out to you again.

Show finished products, don't show finished code. Unless, maybe, it's for an open source project and it's publicly available anyways.

It's possible this junior person is just going to take very detailed notes on these things you've done (which they may specifically show interest in, if it aligns with what they've done) and then learn, himself, how to do it rather than the company shelling out more money/value for a more senior developer.

If they don't have a good way to interview you otherwise... I would think that's more of a lack of skill on their part, and more their problem than yours. If you're interested, you're interested, but it doesn't sound like you're really desperate for this gig. I don't think you should cater to these strange interview tactics. If they're really interested, and really need a strong developer, they will cave when you push back and look at other ways to evaluate you.

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    Interesting perspective, I had a homework which required developing a certain functionality and to pass their tests a non-trivial or even several different algorithms were required and it required quite a lot of work. In the end it was too valuable for me to give away for free and didn't submit it
    – Piotr Golacki
    Nov 16, 2022 at 21:42
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    @PiotrGolacki great instinct. Many companies have been caught using these interview code tests as a way to get free work from potential employees
    – schizoid04
    Nov 16, 2022 at 21:43
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    Yes I didnt show them my work code. I just showed them my own product code. Thanks for this @schizoid04
    – emanuel sanga
    Nov 16, 2022 at 22:04

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