Book details of 'Ace the Technical Interview: Includes Y2K Job Opportunities'

Title	Ace the Technical Interview: Includes Y2K Job Opportunities
Author(s)	Michael F. Rothstein
ISBN	0070540489
Language	English
Published	March 1998
Publisher	McGraw-Hill Professional

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The Virtual Bookcase Reviews of 'Ace the Technical Interview: Includes Y2K Job Opportunities':

Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
I happened to notice, a couple of months ago, a human resources officer working with someone from the MIS department, preparing questions for a set of job interviews. This might have been laudable, were it not for the fact that the time set for the first interview had already passed before they even started and, in fact, the first candidate was waiting in a reception area where their conversation was audible. Given that this astounding incompetence in the hiring process is lamentably common, I will not bother to take any stand in regard to the fairness of "crib sheets" for interviewees. Instead, let us consider whether this book would be effective in helping a candidate to secure a job. Each chapter in the collection is a separate essay by a different author. Thus, the quality varies widely. There are some that give general advice on the interview process, most of which is simple common sense. The remaining chapters address a number of different technologies, heavily weighted towards IBM systems. Specifically, there is coverage of MVS, UNIX, AS/400, RS/6000, Oracle, CICS, DB2, SQL, IDMS, VSAM, IMS DB-DL/1, client/server, COBOL, Java, Sybase, C and C++, Visual Basic 5, PowerBuilder, and Delphi. But the big item, of course, is the year 2000, which gets five chapters all to itself, and mentions in several of the others. Some of the chapters give you material on terminology, which is likely the most helpful. The content on client/server is fairly general, and so would probably be of use as a quick brush up on the essentials. Some provide references, but some of the references are simply the system documentation. Much of the text is trivia, or quite limited. Given the overpowering emphasis on Y2K in this latest edition of this book, we'll use that material as our sample. And the verdict this time is (the envelope please, Shelagh): don't rely on this book. (Surprise!) The introduction to the problem blames it all on punch cards. (The book goes on to state that there may not be enough qualified people in the world to fix the Y2K problem, begging the question of the ethics of a text promoting the playing of job games with such an important crisis looming.) (Then again, it's mostly management's fault that the problem still exists, so ...) A question about hardware issues is answered with functions related strictly to software. Chapters duplicate topics (essentially, is there any difference between "planning" a conversion and "managing" one?) and are disorganized. The information that is provided is mostly the same generic advice that almost anyone in the technical field could come up with off the top of his or her head. In fact, the chapter on managing a Y2K project contains almost no information specific to the year 2000 issue at all. The subsequent chapter on testing does have a little information that relates to Y2K, but less than a quarter of the total material. Content discussing conversion tools is specific to the Year 2000 situation, but is so simplistic that the answers to the sample questions are inherent in the questions themselves. Other advice is simply wish fulfillment. One section asks what upper management is going to look for in a Year 2000 problem manager and answers with a bunch of warm fuzzies. Poppycock! What management is going to look for is a resume with 20 years experience in managing Y2K conversion projects, so you'd better be a good liar and have a bunch of buddies primed and ready to back you up. Reliance on this book to bluff your way through a technical interview depends primarily on the interviewer's being a lot dumber than you are. The assessment of this probability is left as an exercise to the reader. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995
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Book description:

How do you make the bestselling computer career guide even better? By adding brand-new data on Year 2000 (Y2K) jobs, plus full updated information on COBOL, Project Manager, AS/400, Quality Control - Testing, Y2K Methodology, C/S Systems, CICS, IDMS, Java, Visual Basic, Delphi, Power Builder, Oracle, MVS, UNIX, RS/6000, Sybase, DB2, and other areas of expertise. Michael Rothstein shows how to ace Y2K interviews (with 300+ specific Q&As)...double and even triple you income as a Y2K or general consultant...and emerge as top dog in any computer interview, thanks to strategy tips and 2000 proven Q&As.