2023-05-23

How not to get hired at Canonical 📉💡

Hey everyone, allow me to take you on a behind-the-scenes tour of my adventure applying for a job at Canonical, the powerhouse behind our darling Ubuntu. 🚀

First, let me set the scene: I’m a seasoned software engineer and, like many of you, a huge fan of open source and Ubuntu. I had an itch to work remotely for a really good company and Canonical seemed like a dream come true. 🎯💼

With little hope but a lot of enthusiasm, I threw my hat into the Canonical ring for the “Engineering Manager, Commercial Systems” role. Little did I know that my application would be one drop in a monthly ocean of 50,000!📩🗓️ So, you can imagine my surprise when they actually replied! 😱

They handed me a document to delve into my experience, my school grades in math (throwback much?), and my thoughts on various management topics. I guess they wanted to ensure that my love for math hasn’t faded since school(I actually love Math❤️📚)! I dutifully filled out all 19 pages and sent it back.

Next came the hurdle I dread the most: the dreaded Thomas psychometric test. You see, being an individual with ADHD, these tests and I…well, we have history. If you’re not familiar, Thomas tests basically gauge a person’s cognitive and personality traits.🧠 In a nutshell, it’s not my favorite pastime. Unsurprisingly, my attempt ended with a rejection letter.

But, as they say, when you fall off the horse, you dust yourself off and ask the horse for feedback.🐴✅ So, I did! I asked for a detailed breakdown of my results and sure enough, there were areas I excelled in and others I didn’t.

Spurred by this constructive feedback, I decided to take a detour and applied for an engineering role, thinking, “Well, I could learn from the inside and make my way up, right?”

Once again, I was met with a response. The first round was a déjà vu of the initial test. The second round, however, was a coding session with a simple enough problem: reverse Polish notation. Given 2 hours, I finished it in a speedy 20 minutes! 💪🕒

I naively assumed they might give me a pass on the Thomas test, seeing my previous score. But alas, it reared its ugly head again. After a few days of preparation, I submitted the test and…received another rejection.

I’m still puzzled why a standardized test for quick brains trumps solving actual technical problems in the hiring process. After all, in the real world, there aren’t any psychometric tests, just real problems to solve.

And I thought to myself “Well Ruben, you have tried and you have failed, again…”.

Despite the setbacks, I’m still as determined as ever. Yes, I have tried, and yes, I have failed, not once, but twice. But let me tell you folks, I’m not done yet. 🏋️‍♂️🔥

Canonical still stands high on my list of dream companies, and I’m willing to take another crack at it. The story continues, so stay tuned for the next episode of “Ruben Vs. The Canonical”! 🎬🍿

❤️🖊️🤖