If you hear any of the following ... you don't want the job.

(1) The "Outer Joins" Question: Apparently, someone out there is utterly convinced that you are an expert in SQL if you know what an outer-join is. (And/or, what a stored-procedure is.) If this very-elementary fact is used in an interview question, it means that the company will never expect any more from you.

(2) "Write code on the spot" Questions: If someone wants to use "join.me" to connect to your desktop to watch you write source-code extemporaneously in Notepad ... you don't want the job. Companies should instead want you to submit a few representative code samples, and leave it at that. If they want to look over your shoulder at hiring time, to see if you actually know which end of a programming-wrench to hold in your hand, you don't want the job.

(3) "Brain-Teaser Questions: It's an urban myth that "companies like Google and Microsoft" actually use such questions to screen candidates. If you encounter this tactic in an interview, it just means that they want to watch you squirm, and things won't get any better on-the-job.

In short, if you enounter questions that are not directly and obviously relevant to the job, and/or questions that could be answered by a properly-trained chimpanzee, then this is not going to be the job for you. You do have better alternatives than this. Go find them.

Remember ... the actual function performed by a software professional is: to cause a digital computer to effectively address business problems. Programming languages, databases and so-forth are the tools of the trade, and everyone is more or less a specialist in this vast undertaking. Look for jobs offered by companies who really understand these things, and be alert for signs, during the interview process, that they do not.

So do you mean if you get any two out of the three you should walk out the interview?

As for 1&2, I do expect someone applying for a Linux systems admin job to have enough knowledge to be asked "Give me an example of shell commands to count the number of running apache processes on the server" and give an accurate answer

3, I've walked out an interview on that one

My general suggestion is that ... if "your gut" is telling you very-loudly that these questions are beneath your personal level of comfort and experience, then, "trust your gut!"

Most-unfortunately, the computer-programming business today is struggling to absorb (or, to cast-off, as the case may be ...) a thick wad of people whose actual level of technical experience is minimal. Yet, since such people are perceived to be cheap, such people are considered to be attractive. Therefore, your first order of business must be to separate yourself from that crowd, one way or the other. And-d-d-d-d... there are two ways that this could go!

The good (for you ...) way is that the interviewer is trying to filter the wheat from the chaff. Since you are "the wheat," you can (of course) effortlessly "rise above" that question and see what happens next.

However, there is also the very-real possibility that is bad for you: that the interviewer is really looking for "the chaff." The company has already "gleefully outsourced" its entire IT operation, and what it (thinks that it) needs now is "a handful of 'local folks'" (who don't mind making phone calls at 2AM local-time ...), and who only need to know barely-more than the "cheap" folks do.

And, mind you, this is not a "racial slur!" No, the human-beings on the other side of this coin have things far worse than "we" do, and none of them did anything (quite the opposite) to deserve it. But, still, and "at least for the moment," here we all are.

The presence of these "trivial questions" should be your first warning-sign, and, if you see them being played, you should immediately guide the interview(!) in such a way that you can see (your gut will tell you ... trust your gut ...) whether the hiring company's expectations are "good" or "bad." If they are "good," then proceed. Otherwise, cut your losses(!!) and extricate yourself gracefully, leaving them to their own fate.

In, say, another five years' time, things will be (totally) different. But until then, your objective is "to find work to do." Therefore, apply this basic salesman's precept: "qualify the prospect." If the job appears to be one that you would not take, then you aren't obligated to finish the interview. Let them find, and hire, whomever (else ...) they may find to hire. C'est la guerre.

Better yet, start your own business.

Been there. Done that. You still have to face the same misconceptions.