Why Interviews Are Biased And What Sets You Apart
Interviews are unfair and will remain so, no matter how hard we try they can never evaluate people 100% objectively with clear measurables; and the intuition and gut feel of the interviewer will alway
This edition of the newsletter contains
I have also shared 3 super-interesting articles to read over the weekend. Thank you once again for reading this edition of my Newsletter. Now, without further ado, let’s jump right in.
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Why Interviews Are Biased And What Sets You Apart
Interviews are unfair and will remain so, no matter how hard we try they can never evaluate people 100% objectively with clear measurables; and the intuition and gut feel of the interviewer will always add a small bias.
Interviewers subconsciously assess qualities like confidence, adaptability, and problem-solving. These are difficult to quantify but crucial for success in a role.
While different interviewers value different attributes, there are three foundational traits that, if present, make every other skill or competency an extension of them, and according to me they are,
curiosity - questioning the unquestioned
high bias for action - moving fast and breaking things
extreme ownership - accountability and getting things done
Curiosity makes you question the unquestioned and provides intrinsic motivation. A high BFA makes sure you are moving quickly and not getting bogged down by over-analysis.
Extreme ownership is about stepping up and taking responsibility; not making excuses or pointing fingers is what demonstrates accountability, reliability, and leadership. Remember, the most important projects are given to the people who deliver.
While every interviewer has their own biases, demonstrating these three will always earn you brownie points increasing the likelihood of you making a strong impression during interviews and, as an extension, at work.
By the way,
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Here's a video from me
I published a video - Sharing Databases in Microservices: Anti-Pattern or Practical?
Two microservices should not share a database; what if they do?
There is no hard rule. It looks like an anti-pattern, but it is beneficial for some microservices to actually share a database. Some time back, I published this video talking about this pattern and the challenges associated with it.
More importantly, I also covered ways to mitigate the issues and understand the places where it is actually beneficial to share the database. Like always, the video is highly practical and filled with nuances.
Here's a paper I recently read
I spent some time reading RadixZip: Linear Time Compression of Token Streams
What would it take to compress structured data efficiently?
If you've worked with logs, analytics pipelines, or data warehouses, you know that efficient compression isn't just about saving space - it also directly impacts query speed and costs.
Traditional compression methods like gzip and bzip2 work well but aren't optimized for structured token streams such as log records and database columns. That’s where RadixZip comes in.
Some time back, I read this interesting paper from Google called RadixZip. Instead of treating data as a raw byte stream, like most other compression algorithms, RadixZip sorts and reorganizes tokens that optimize compression without losing structure.
On structured datasets like ad click logs, RadixZip outperforms bzip2 by 10-20% in compression ratio and 10% in speed. Pretty neat. However, it does struggle with raw text and numerical values that don't follow predictable patterns. That's the trade-off.
You can download this and other papers I recommend from my papershelf.
Three interesting articles I read
I read a few engineering blogs almost every day, and here are the three articles I read and would recommend you read.
Thank you so much for reading this edition of the newsletter 🔮 If you found it interesting, you will also love my courses
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