Job interview IT exam - strange Process

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qosimo

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Hi - i just completed a interview for a Web development job (IT job). It was a second round interview so it was an hour long and followed by a 2 hour test where i had to build a few pages of a website and answer a few multiple choice questions.
I did quite well in the exam but what kinda bugged me at the end was that the manager said that he has a monitoring tool where he can flick onto my screen without me noticing and he's being watching how
i developed the code to understand my thought processes.
Now if i do get the job this guy already sounds like hes going to be a total control freak and a bit of a micro manager.
im not too happy with the idea that people can just flick on to your screen and see what your doing whenever they feel like it.
Just like to know what other peoples thoughts on this are...
 
Would not be happy with that in a day to day working environment, also work in IT
 
It was probably just done for the test. Doubt he does it on a day to day basis.
 
Fair enough to do it during an interview - check if the person is using brute force or thinking out the solution before writing the code, see are they error handling properly or doing 'quick and dirty' tricks etc...

But on day to day - I wouldnt like that.
 
What are the chances that he lied ? My guess is he just said that to make it look as if he knows what he's talking about. In my experience those who can do, those who can't manage.
 
elcato said:
What are the chances that he lied ? My guess is he just said that to make it look as if he knows what he's talking about. In my experience those who can do, those who can't manage.
Click to expand...
no chance really - the questions he asked on my approach afterwards would mean he would had to be looking at my screen.
I got a bad feeling about it really as i know also that the agency im going through owe him a candidate (sort of speak) as the last person that went there lasted less than 3 months.
I got another interview comming up tuesday so hopefully i wont have to take it.
 
The guy had the honesty to tell you that he was monitoring your coding, how many companies monitor what employees do on their machines but never tell the employees.

There are a number of very successful companies that deliver tools to monitor employee activity, they are successful because people buy and use these tools.
 
ontour said:
There are a number of very successful companies that deliver tools to monitor employee activity, they are successful because people buy and use these tools.
Click to expand...

Yes, but most monitoring software is based on producing reports showing the statistics of time spent or tasks performed in certain applications (like number of webpages visited while in IE etc...).

It is unusual for someone to use a monitoring tool that actually shows the persons screen without their knowledge. Its a bit like standing behind them wearing a cloak of invisibility - it doesnt promote a good feeling in the employee.
 
ontour said:
The guy had the honesty to tell you that he was monitoring your coding, how many companies monitor what employees do on their machines but never tell the employees.

There are a number of very successful companies that deliver tools to monitor employee activity, they are successful because people buy and use these tools.
Click to expand...

Theres lots of companies who sell things to people who don't really need them. Thats really not the issue. The aim should be to have happy, productive staff who don't need to be monitored. If you have divert resources to monitor them theres a problem with how you do things.

Basically its the carrot vs stick.
 
AlbacoreA said:
Theres lots of companies who sell things to people who don't really need them. Thats really not the issue. The aim should be to have happy, productive staff who don't need to be monitored. If you have divert resources to monitor them theres a problem with how you do things.

Basically its the carrot vs stick.
Click to expand...


It compliance versus trust. Lots of people thought that the Radiologist in Tallaght hospital was reviewing all the x-rays but that wasn't happening. The monitoring failed.

It is not an ideal world and everything is not a 'systems' or 'process' failure. There are bad / inept/ malicious people who perform brilliantly in interviews but can act differently after some time in a company.

As regards reports, users learn about reports and 'game' the system to find gaps. By monitoring user activities you can see how they interact with systems and use that knowledge to enhance the system. It is also about seeing how users circumvent controls in a system.

If you are working on a computer belonging to an employer, you should not be doing anything that you would not be happy for them to see you doing.
 
People drive one way for the driving test because they are being monitored and another when they are not. There should be cross checks and balances in call systems, and performance metrics. You don't have to watch people coding. The end code should tell you all you need to know. Its called a code review.
 
The fact is most IT departments can see your screen as you are working if they set the security standards on your work PC.

I stood beside our IT guy as he connected to my laptop that was up a flight of stairs to copy something from my harddrive. I didnt have to give him access. Scared me a bit, but I had signed the standard contract saying work laptops are for work, and should not be used for other things.
Also I dont know the name of the software that my IT guy used.

At least he told you. Others probably should be more cautious that computers on a network especially in larger companies will have this facility available, as I have a feeling it is a windows standard of some description,. nothing too fancy hence why I cannot recall the name.

Finally if you have a bad vibe about a job or manager, it is not worth taking. You spend too long interacting with these people that you need to trust them and have confidence in them, but I would not deem looking at your screen as breaking trust unfortunately.
 
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