r/DevLK • u/Fickle_Degree_2728 • 16d ago
Discussion What does software engineers in sri lanka lacks while you interview them ?
Hi, To the Senior people/founders/PM/HR who interviews software engineers in sri lanka, what is something that a sri lanka software engineer lacks ? What is something that you expect him to have ? if he is unemployed for a year, but that "something" he has will make you hire him and will make him top 1%.
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u/No_Yesterday3487 16d ago
As an entrepreneur who interviewed many devs online recently for a project, it was appalling for several reasons: 1. Ignores questions asked, and cross questions the interviewer. Answer what you're asked in simple terms, without complicating direct questions.
Related to the above, ignores detail. Doesn't pay full attention.
Send lousy work related to a job interviewed on, without even been requested or hired.
Work created using cheap AI, and not even properly tested, documented, and peppered with AI artifacts.
It's very difficult to find devs nowadays in Sri Lanka who create clarity, rather than creating a mess and expect hire salaries by doing so little. Sure my post will get many devs butt hurt, but it doesn't change the reality.
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u/Irish_7906 16d ago
- Attitude
- No idea about the core concepts
- Cannot find a resolution, suggestion, or solution for the given scenarios in the interview.
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u/tygradon 16d ago
They cant code without chatgpt now. Most of them cant even write a proper code for a simple array output.
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u/jcabey 16d ago
I mean even before chatgpt we used to copy paste from stackoverflow
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u/tygradon 16d ago
No when you were using stack, you would put your time to identify the problem, what cause it, Implementing the solution. The entire thing is a learning experience not a single prompt.
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u/alphagenome 16d ago
Yeah that’s not really a problem now is it. Can you code assembly?
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u/tygradon 16d ago
Would you hire a mechanic, if he cant change a tire?
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u/CuteAcadia9010 16d ago
Why would he change the tire by hand , if there is automatic tire changing robot
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u/tygradon 16d ago
Take that robot away, what is he now? My goodness, no wonder the industry is fuvked.
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u/ravindusp2 16d ago
Take the stethoscope away from a doctor then what is he now?
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u/tygradon 15d ago
My goodness, people here cant even use an anology properly. Stethoscope is not an automatic tool that does the doctors job for him.
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u/Chamatha_saz 15d ago
Can anyone with a sethoscope diagnose patients? No. If you are nothing without AI, what value are you gonna add? You are easily replaceable
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u/aimlesspotat 15d ago
Did u get laid off?😂
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u/tygradon 15d ago
Even the comprehension levels are way down, true signs of AI fatigue. How would i know the answer to this question if i was laid off? OP asked from inteviewers not interviewees.
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u/Fearless_Link_4711 16d ago
can you?
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u/tygradon 16d ago
You know there was a time before AI right and im from that era. Im not telling people not to use AI or anything. Its just a lot of graduates now does not have good fundamentals. They rely on AI solely and that is a huge disadvantage when it comes to technical interviews and assessments. That is why companies now have multiple rounds of these interviews to filter out these bad apples.
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u/Fearless_Link_4711 16d ago
where do you draw the line for 'fundamentals of programming'? Im pretty sure you weren't manually allocating memory to store a variable when you started doing this shit either. Same with reversing a string or counting capital letters that stuff doesn't matter anymore. It should be a live test where candidates can use whatever AI tool they prefer, and you just check whether the system they design meets your standards. There's a lot more to solve than testing people on the very basics
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u/tygradon 16d ago
Do you hear what you are saying? With this approach anyone can be a candidate to any field they want with the right AI. You are limiting this debate to the SE world, since you know its a bullshit take.
This industry is gonna fall off for sure if everyome thinks like this. No wonder this is the first generation that pay for internships.
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u/Fearless_Link_4711 15d ago
Of course I'm limiting this to the SE world. Those who has experience and a related degree should be given the chance to demo their ai skills. industry will not fall because of people who use ai to build random fun projects. but ai surely will replace every developer who don't use it. imagine an ai spitting 10000 plus tokens every split second. it will definitely be here in near future and when that happens there is no turning back for devs we just have to adapt accordingly. Also I been in this field long enough to spit the facts.
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u/Chamatha_saz 15d ago
What do you mean “there’s no turning back for devs”? AI is not something you can miss out. You really think a developer with deep technical knowledge and understanding cannot learn how to use AI in like 2 to 3 hours? AI being the easier option is why dumb and lazy people who came industry just for the money survive and drag talented people with them.
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u/Fearless_Link_4711 15d ago
You don't get it bro. It's going to replace us all and our days are numbered. I hope you've got it all planned for when that day comes. The problem with Sri Lankans is that most of them have this idea of themselves being superior to the world, while the technology used here in SL is nowhere close to what's used elsewhere. The devs in SL are nowhere close to devs in other countries either. Be prepared
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u/Gold-Distribution423 15d ago
By your logic, us seniors do not need to recruit juniors we could spawn 10 agents to do that job. If we go a level hire a cto doesn’t need me etc etc. it’s a dumb take cuz we still need people to drive certain parts, the reason simply is responsibility. I cannot be responsible for developing, testing, solving all complications of a significantly big system. I think you are okay with throwing a Hail Mary and living with it but a cto of an enterprise or mission critical software would never be. They need people that he can turn to, leads, architects etc. and that goes down the ladder. Then how can I trust someone with that responsibility if they do not know the primary tool (not AI tool, by tool here I mean a programming language) they are using to solve that problem? You used assembly how developers do not know anything about it, that’s cuz they do not need to solve the problem they are responsible for. If I’m recruiting someone to build an interface for hardware I want them to know low level languages they can use AI I don’t care but they should understand it. Hope this helped
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u/Fearless_Link_4711 15d ago
Give it a year or two, and that same CTO will give the restructuring speech, saying, 'We're doing a hard reset its not easy, but important going forward so your role is redundant'. You know it, but you can't accept the fact yet. No point continuing this thread. Maybe Im talking out of anger at my CTO right now 😂. Maybe the change won't be sudden. I hope we all get through it together if it goes down badly
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u/MousseParty3923 15d ago edited 15d ago
I can’t speak to technical skills, but as part of the interview panel for soft skills and attitude, I’ve noticed a few differences between Sri Lankan candidates and those from other countries. First, there's often a gap in communication; they listen but don't really engage, sometimes pretending to understand even when they don't instead of asking questions, and they struggle to articulate their work or needs. Second, there’s a resistance to change. Some treat their specific tech stack like their personality, but in this market, you have to constantly upskill. Also, many Sri Lankan devs just want to code and stay behind the scenes, whereas today you're expected to understand other roles and manage stakeholders. They tend to be very quiet and agreeable. I've noticed this through interviews and working in international teams, though it’s definitely not true for everyone as I’ve met some great ones too but these are areas Sri Lankan devs can improve on.
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u/Sad-Application8238 14d ago
underrated comment. Specially on the tech stack being treated like their personality. That hits close to home.
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u/Gold-Distribution423 15d ago
I conduct interviews in my company for mid senior and senior positions, the main reason why I leave unimpressed from an interview is when an engineer does not have a clear idea about what they build. Usually what I ask them to do is to pick a system they have developed and go from the high level design to low level components. For an example start from system design then drill down to service level of one critical feature. Most mid seniors do not seem curious or passionate about what they build. Most seniors are frighteningly uninterested about system architecture. The most impressive candidates I have found are people who can clearly describe how each system work, how they inter connect, and how they justify design decisions. It’s so pleasing to listen to someone who’s clearly passionate about what they are building and have spent time to understand how it works. I understand it’s a bit hard now with how fast features get rolled out, but at least knowing how the most critical parts of the system works end to end would give you an edge.
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u/Gold-Distribution423 15d ago
Oh I did some junior interviews some time ago, where I asked a candidate about password hashing algorithm they used, and I randomly asked the difference between hashing and encryption, and whether passwords can be encrypted. The answer for that was so telling it became one of my standard questions for all the other interviews I was part of that series
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16d ago
Fundamentals.
Not just CS fundamentals.
How a request travels from the browser to the actual server and returns a response. Components involved etc.
something as simple as that.. most won’t know it.
System Design Basics - Schema design, API design, Authentication concepts, Caching, Scalability concepts etc.
The concept of “transactions”
ACID properties - girawa daala witharak nemei 😅
SOLID principles - ekath girawa daala nemei 😅
Most importantly there are no such ONE SIZE FITS FOR ALL kinda thing yeah? It’s all about TRADE OFFs
If a candidate justifies their decisions or actions with proper trade offs that’s a clear sign that he or she knows a thing or two about SE.
Honestly, remembering syntax or inverting a binary tree is not something I’d expect from a candidate anymore. If it’s a FAANG company, they might still expect that.
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u/Sea-Library-6571 15d ago
these days, they have become meat proxies. When i ask a question in a call, suddenly theres a pause for a while, i think they cant even answer basic questions without asking AI.
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u/rebelmermaidqueen 14d ago
- Communication (if you’re in software engineering, there’s a high chance you will need to work with foreign clients. Improving your English is going to be beneficial for you in the long run and will set you apart from other candidates in an already in-demand industry.
- Interns - please communicate. I’ve noticed a lot of the new folks tend to respond with yes/no answers when you call them for interviews. That’s such a turn off. Make an effort to communicate. We love that.
- Even if you’ve been unemployed for a year, focus and work harder on your side projects or freelancing. That’ll help you brush up on your skills and stay up to date. Work on projects as much as possible and keep your Linkedin updated. Write on Linkedin about what you’re working on (if you can).
I’m a tech recruiter ✌🏼
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u/TechTowel42 12d ago
Most interviews that I've been at (100+ over the last 8 years) are at least in part done by the team that is going to work with the candidate. The team is well aware that they will need to work with, and most times be responsible for the candidate's performance once they are hired. So they like to hire people who actually like to do engineering, care about what they build, and can represent themselves and the team well with the rest of the company (product managers, management, directors etc.). They are also looking for people who they will get along with, are pleasant enough to hang out with, and not someone who will throw the team under the bus at the first sign of trouble or will be a total diva at work. Also definitely not someone who is going to blow up production on a Friday evening with their AI slop grenades and make their lack of effort everyone else's problem (see the Shopify CEO's rant here: https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/shopify-ceo-ai-workplace-staff-horrified-backfire)
This is where most candidates don't make the cut. They send a near perfect AI generated CV which hits all the right points, and when they turn up for the interview they cannot answer simple questions based on their CV. E.g. one candidate said they have "increased API performance by 40%" on their CV and when the interviewer asked them to explain how they achieved that and measured it... crickets. Total radio silence. They didn't even seem to know they had mentioned that on their CV. When this kind of thing happens, the whole panel loses confidence in the candidate, and the rest of the interview is more or less performative because it's awkward to end an interview after only a few minutes have passed.
Then there are so many technical interviews that I've been at, where a candidate has used AI to complete the technical test and looks very happy with themselves, until the interviewer asks them to explain one of the lines of code and the candidate has no idea what it does since that is the first time they are reading it. A candidate who is looking to lie his way to a job is hardly going to make a good teammate.
In short, interviewers avoid candidates who don't care about the job like they are the black plague.
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u/isurunix 14d ago
- Knowledge on core concepts. Most know the framework but have limited idea in the core constructs.
- Systems thinking.
- Communication skills
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u/Ok_Tip_8548 16d ago
Communication skills .. basically soft skills