Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Another Day Another Interview

This is by far the worst interview I ever had.
DBA position at SAP - phone interview.
I actually don't think I want to work for SAP anymore.
They asked me what I know about MS SQL.
I said i know how to create a database, import tables, manipulate data, integrate it with JDBC applications, etc. They weren't impressed. They asked me what experience I have?
I said I did a project on my own that downloads information from IMDB and determines which movies I would like to see, based on correlations with movies I already rank high. It infact also downloads them, which the guy didn't like to hear. They don't like this kind of pirate activity at SAP.
I mentioned that it's only piracy if you download illegal movies, it's up to you what you do with it, but I could tell it wasn't going well with him. Too bad, it's actually a very interesting project.
Then he asked me why I go to SFU and not UBC?
Now what kind of a fucked up question is that.
From this moment on I was on the defense and felt like I was on trial.
The guy even asked me if I'm authorized to work in Canada.
WTF. Don't they read all the crap they get from the co-op office?
What, you're surprised that I have no technical experience? Why do you think I'm applying for a co-op in the first place?

This was a sharp contrast to the last SAP interview.
Turns out it's way harder to impress someone when you don't see them, they don't see you, and you have an accent. Stressed me out like crazy.

I spent about 2 hours practicing SQL queries and reading about databases, although of course, I can't tell whether they use oracle, ms or whatever, so I have to keep it general, but still. I had about 5 pages open ready to assist me with any technical questions that might arise.
Instead I get interrogated about nonsense.

I'm very disappointed in myself and in SAP.
The interviewers didn't seem very prepared either.
I got the feeling that instead of looking for reasons to hire me, they were looking for reasons to write me off the list. Left a very bitter taste in my mouth and totally messed up my day.
Understand that the previous interviewers (for the other position) were very nice and created a wonderful impression of a welcoming work environment. This was a sharp contrast.

I wonder if they're aware of the negative publicity generated for their company every time they treat their applicants like crap.

No comments:

Post a Comment