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I went for an informal job interview some weeks back. I was asked what other hobbies/interests do I have beside those mentioned in my CV.

I thought for a second (0.732 to be exact) and replied, "Stackoverflow-ing".

Is that something you will do? My reply came out without hesitation and I'm wondering if it make any sense.

PS: I'll leave this as a Community Wiki post (kind of expecting it to be closed too :P)

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  • 1
    "Superuser-ing" would sound a bit pretentious, though.
    – Gnoupi
    Apr 14, 2010 at 12:19
  • I wouldn't know for what job I should apply to with my SU rep anyway @Gnoupi
    – Ivo Flipse
    Apr 14, 2010 at 14:03
  • What about "Serverfault-ing"?
    – fretje
    Apr 14, 2010 at 14:33
  • Isn't .732 seconds how long Data thought about becoming a Borg in Star Trek: First Contact?
    – George Stocker
    Apr 14, 2010 at 17:02
  • You're really hoping Randall Munroe reads meta, aren't you?
    – Pops
    Apr 14, 2010 at 17:06
  • @pop: I think he is. The XKCD reference density in this post is beyond acceptable norms.
    – snicker
    Apr 14, 2010 at 17:25
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    @Ivo - customer support, of course! In a very general field, with preferably lot of beginners who also have an iPhone to ask question about, when you are done with their computer.
    – Gnoupi
    Apr 14, 2010 at 18:37
  • So when are we getting a Super User Careers site? @Gnoupi
    – Ivo Flipse
    Apr 14, 2010 at 19:29
  • 1
    @Gnoupi I prefer suing (su==super user + unix command). Course no one will hire you if you say that.
    – Earlz
    Apr 14, 2010 at 21:14

4 Answers 4

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They might assume you are joking about how often your code literally produces a stack overflow, to which they will laugh heartily "Oh ho-ho!" ... and then will write in a private note:

Writes code that crashes and thinks it's funny -- NO HIRE

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  • hahaha that's funny. really :P
    – o.k.w
    Dec 2, 2009 at 4:14
  • 2
    "Writes code that crashes and thinks it's funny -- NO HIRE - Perhaps hire as entertainment for next company meeting...?"
    – Pollyanna
    Apr 14, 2010 at 12:52
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    @Polly more like "Writes code that crashes and thinks it's funny -- NO HIRE - possibly next motivational speaker?"
    – Earlz
    Apr 14, 2010 at 21:15
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Nope, that will make no sense unless the interviewer knows what StackOverflow.com is. That could be good or bad. Depends on the person.

Unless you got this offer through careers.stackoverflow.com? haha, then you might be in business.

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    Of course I did explain further what SO is about :P
    – o.k.w
    Nov 18, 2009 at 1:05
  • 2
    "Unless you got this offer through careers.stackoverflow.com? haha, then you might be in business." They would probably put you in their Dept. of Redundancy Dept then.
    – Alvin Row
    Nov 18, 2009 at 1:06
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Reworking the wording would likely pass better. At the very least explain (briefly) that you are part of a community of enthusiast programming experts.

Also, you like golf. If your answer is no, you are wrong. You like golf, starting now.

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0

I was under the impression that you should use hobbies/interests to demonstrate that you do things other than programming/development. Usually team sports, but also things that could be indirectly related to what you work on - business knowledge is as valuable, if not more in some situations.

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  • Yes of course :) SO is not my only 'hobby'.
    – o.k.w
    Dec 2, 2009 at 7:11

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