Were I ever to interview again

I'm positively amazed at the impetus of influence. Last night I read a most interesting article on interviewing while purusing the uproxx.com site whereby they posed questions of Mr Drew Houston, the CEO of dropbox.com, a successful secure file sharing and storage‎ site.

Having recently been involved in the development of a site wide ftp endeavor for the powers that be at work one of those frequent things I heard was how it should be "like dropbox" and how people didn't like the software acquired by an employee no longer with the crew ... and how it really was unpopular the entire time it was being used.

I suppose that adage I keep hearing in the workplace that "you get what you pay for" is in reality quite true. This package we're replacing with an inhouse solution has been out of support for the good part of a year and it really wasn't much of a proper implementation and the most that it did was piss everyone off.

Soon it should be gone ... but as usual, I digress.

The uproxx.com article mentioned five job interview questions sure to ake you sweat. THAT was what caught my eye. So I engaged the meat of the issue presented and gave the questions a go.

1.	Who is the best in the world at what you do?
2.	Who are your influences?
3.	What have you learned in the last year?
4.	And if you were able to sit yourself down 10 years ago, what advice would you give your younger self?
5.	What are the most important lessons you’ve taken away?

The CEO Of Dropbox Has Five Job Interview Questions Sure To Make You Sweat
https://uproxx.com/life/interview-questions-dropbox-ceo/
E.S. Huffman 06/14/16

Though I don't view these questions quite as foreboding as apparently others in my midst; it's obvious that not wish to work for the CEO of Dropbox because he asks questions which are irrelevant to employment interviews of the nature required for my line of work.

The first question regarding who is the best in the world what I do would certainly be "me" though the answer sought is probably some topically relevant mainstream guru who likely doesn't do what I do: hardware, software, media, coding, operating systems, artificial intelligence, expert systems, and so forth. I don't really know of many mainstream generalists in this world of subspecialization where people know a lot about a little ... and not a lot about a lot.

The second question soliciting influences would require an answer that is equally obtuse given that we are the sum total of our experiences. Of course I would include my many mentors over the years but scattered through the notables would be others whom I likely would have been better off never meeting in my lifetime.

The third question requesting what I have learned in the past year would likely run the gamut from subject matter expertise in practical Unix operations, postgressql, and the software lines offered by the fine fellows at Apache as well as a smidge of new hardware configurations and the pitfalls of attempting to mix legacy with the cutting and bleeding edge components available.

The fourth question is the most interesting of all, regarding advice to one's younger self were that possible. I would have to say that ten years ago I would simply say "persevere" for the skill set is there and the opportunities will eventually follow. Perhaps I would have also stated that cessation of the teaching of college will be the best thing that could ever happen to you.

The last question involves learned lessons and those too would be many and varied. Of course, there are the aspects of technical skill acquired. My exponential contempt for google and microsoft, their product lines, and the way they do business, and those people skills and insights derived — both good and bad — from those from whom I've passed along the way.

Of course, sitting here in the comfort of my office at my 24 inch monitor pecking away at notepad is far less stressful than being in the presence of a bunch of potential cohorts vetting an interviewee ... however, one of those secondary lessions I've taken from this journey is paramount to the interview process: never let them see you sweat. I don't either. Besides, I truly feel my interviewing days are over.