Interview tips
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Wjousts wrote:
They were hired by a non-programmer and enjoyed a good couple of years of being able to BS their boss who didn't know a thing about what they were doing. The stuff they got away with is just shocking.
It sounds like you haven't done a lot of interviewing yet. :sigh: If my experience is anywhere close to typical after the first 20 or so phone screens you'll probably want the original guy back. I've had people tell me things like they stopped writing code since the wizards in visual interdev were so good. Just asking basic questions about jobs on their resume has been the best indicator for me on that part of the interview. Asking things like what aspects of their contribution to the project where they the most proud of. What were some of the difficult issues they had to overcome etc. The ones that you bring in. I'd definitely have them write some pseudocode on a whiteboard. Nothing too complicated, the most important thing is to get them to show you their thought process when they write code. Are they thinking about error conditions. Why they choose one approach over another. Ask them to re-write it with a different approach. That's worked best for me.
Using the GridView is like trying to explain to someone else how to move a third person's hands in order to tie your shoelaces for you. -Chris Maunder
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Paul Brower wrote:
Don't have them write code in the interview. That is simply a waste of time. Most good programmers would struggle with that.
Today's WTF article is about absurd interview questions. http://worsethanfailure.com/Articles/Riddle-Me-An-Interview.aspx[^]
Farhan Noor Qureshi
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Wjousts wrote:
one interviewing a candidate
Here is a section for the employers might be of some help[^] Best
Omit Needless Words - Strunk, William, Jr.
Vista? Cryptography Next Generation (CNG) here
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Anybody got any? I'm actually the one interviewing a candidate to replace a programmer that I inherited. They were totally incompetent.They were hired by a non-programmer and enjoyed a good couple of years of being able to BS their boss who didn't know a thing about what they were doing. The stuff they got away with is just shocking. However, they were nice enough to resign (a few months after I became their boss) before we had to fire them. Now we need a replacement and I'm want to make sure I can weed out the crap and the clueless. Anybody have any magic questions that can really reveal if they "get it"?
What was the biggest problem they were unable to solve?
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Anybody got any? I'm actually the one interviewing a candidate to replace a programmer that I inherited. They were totally incompetent.They were hired by a non-programmer and enjoyed a good couple of years of being able to BS their boss who didn't know a thing about what they were doing. The stuff they got away with is just shocking. However, they were nice enough to resign (a few months after I became their boss) before we had to fire them. Now we need a replacement and I'm want to make sure I can weed out the crap and the clueless. Anybody have any magic questions that can really reveal if they "get it"?
Ask what was the most challenging problem he/she faced and *why* was that so challenging. Then ask how was it solved and *why* he/she picked that particular solution.
Farhan Noor Qureshi
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What was the biggest problem they were unable to solve?
Trollslayer wrote:
What was the biggest problem they were unable to solve?
Hey! My suggestion was exactly the opposite. May be both questions make a good pair. Tsk tsk, poor interviewees!!!
Farhan Noor Qureshi
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Anybody got any? I'm actually the one interviewing a candidate to replace a programmer that I inherited. They were totally incompetent.They were hired by a non-programmer and enjoyed a good couple of years of being able to BS their boss who didn't know a thing about what they were doing. The stuff they got away with is just shocking. However, they were nice enough to resign (a few months after I became their boss) before we had to fire them. Now we need a replacement and I'm want to make sure I can weed out the crap and the clueless. Anybody have any magic questions that can really reveal if they "get it"?
Occasionally, I have to help hire a contractor so, some of the things I try to do are: Screen out as many people as you can with a take home project. Though try to keep it brief because time is money and I'd never interview with a company that wanted me too spend to much time cutting code for free. Make sure your candidates are balanced individuals, if their only hobbies are coding, programming, and software you may have problems getting them to work well with the users and customers. Some simple pseudo coding of a reasonable problem tends to help. I've found that some people get way too nervous during an interview and they get some kind of programming block. Ask them about data structures and algorithms, this is often where people are lacking. And most of all, make sure you "like them". As you interview more people your will develop you intuition, trust it. -- modified at 18:32 Tuesday 15th May, 2007
My Blog A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - -Lazarus Long
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Anybody got any? I'm actually the one interviewing a candidate to replace a programmer that I inherited. They were totally incompetent.They were hired by a non-programmer and enjoyed a good couple of years of being able to BS their boss who didn't know a thing about what they were doing. The stuff they got away with is just shocking. However, they were nice enough to resign (a few months after I became their boss) before we had to fire them. Now we need a replacement and I'm want to make sure I can weed out the crap and the clueless. Anybody have any magic questions that can really reveal if they "get it"?
Ask them if they know something that you're pretty sure they don't, to see if they tell you the truth. Something that's outside of the stuff you advertised for and actually do, and obscure. As in 'as it happens, we're tending for a project writing software the help with breast screening, have you ever done any image processing with regard to detecting cancerous lumps ?'
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog "I am working on a project that will convert a FORTRAN code to corresponding C++ code.I am not aware of FORTRAN syntax" ( spotted in the C++/CLI forum )
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Occasionally, I have to help hire a contractor so, some of the things I try to do are: Screen out as many people as you can with a take home project. Though try to keep it brief because time is money and I'd never interview with a company that wanted me too spend to much time cutting code for free. Make sure your candidates are balanced individuals, if their only hobbies are coding, programming, and software you may have problems getting them to work well with the users and customers. Some simple pseudo coding of a reasonable problem tends to help. I've found that some people get way too nervous during an interview and they get some kind of programming block. Ask them about data structures and algorithms, this is often where people are lacking. And most of all, make sure you "like them". As you interview more people your will develop you intuition, trust it. -- modified at 18:32 Tuesday 15th May, 2007
My Blog A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - -Lazarus Long
Chris Austin wrote:
Make sure your candidates are balanced individuals, if their only hobbies are coding, programming, and software you may have problems getting them to work well with the users and customers.
Damn, I doubt you'd hire me, then...
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog "I am working on a project that will convert a FORTRAN code to corresponding C++ code.I am not aware of FORTRAN syntax" ( spotted in the C++/CLI forum )
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Chris Austin wrote:
Make sure your candidates are balanced individuals, if their only hobbies are coding, programming, and software you may have problems getting them to work well with the users and customers.
Damn, I doubt you'd hire me, then...
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog "I am working on a project that will convert a FORTRAN code to corresponding C++ code.I am not aware of FORTRAN syntax" ( spotted in the C++/CLI forum )
But you have other loves besides code....
Christian Graus wrote:
Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
Thats the key point....
My Blog A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - -Lazarus Long
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One sneaky practice that's getting popular in India is to steal employees from other companies in the region. Usually this is done by offering a huge joining bonus and a substantial increase in salary. Of course you still need to validate that the candidate is the right one - but you have a higher chance of getting quality candidates when your pool is already filtered (the other company would have done all the interviewing and choosing for you, or if they themselves have stolen the candidate, then the original company would have). It might sound unethical, but it's part of corporate IT hiring :-)
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com linkNishant Sivakumar wrote:
It might sound unethical, but it's part of corporate IT hiring
Nothing unethical about as long as you aren't stealing "secrets". Free markets aren't just for goods, labor should move freely as well.
My Blog A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - -Lazarus Long
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Anybody got any? I'm actually the one interviewing a candidate to replace a programmer that I inherited. They were totally incompetent.They were hired by a non-programmer and enjoyed a good couple of years of being able to BS their boss who didn't know a thing about what they were doing. The stuff they got away with is just shocking. However, they were nice enough to resign (a few months after I became their boss) before we had to fire them. Now we need a replacement and I'm want to make sure I can weed out the crap and the clueless. Anybody have any magic questions that can really reveal if they "get it"?
Contrary to popular belief - don't need to write code. Ask to talk about project they've done or would like to work on. Use 'Behavioral Interview' technique (http://www.google.com/search?q=behavioral+interview&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7WZPA[^]) God bless, Ernest Laurentin
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Ask them if they know something that you're pretty sure they don't, to see if they tell you the truth. Something that's outside of the stuff you advertised for and actually do, and obscure. As in 'as it happens, we're tending for a project writing software the help with breast screening, have you ever done any image processing with regard to detecting cancerous lumps ?'
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog "I am working on a project that will convert a FORTRAN code to corresponding C++ code.I am not aware of FORTRAN syntax" ( spotted in the C++/CLI forum )
woo i have! Bryce
--- To paraphrase Fred Dagg - the views expressed in this post are bloody good ones. --
Publitor, making Pubmed easy. http://www.sohocode.com/publitorOur kids books :The Snot Goblin, and Book 2 - the Snotgoblin and Fluff
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Paul Brower wrote:
Don't have them write code in the interview. That is simply a waste of time. Most good programmers would struggle with that.
Today's WTF article is about absurd interview questions. http://worsethanfailure.com/Articles/Riddle-Me-An-Interview.aspx[^]
Farhan Noor Qureshi
Well.. I disagree with the writer. These are creative problem solving question. He just came up with his own stupid conclusion and find they are stupid, great! Good practical answer to these question sho good problem solving skill, as they say!
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Trollslayer wrote:
What was the biggest problem they were unable to solve?
Hey! My suggestion was exactly the opposite. May be both questions make a good pair. Tsk tsk, poor interviewees!!!
Farhan Noor Qureshi
True, how someone handles success and failure tells you a lot about them. To quote Kipling: "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same"... Elaine (literary fluffy tigress)
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Occasionally, I have to help hire a contractor so, some of the things I try to do are: Screen out as many people as you can with a take home project. Though try to keep it brief because time is money and I'd never interview with a company that wanted me too spend to much time cutting code for free. Make sure your candidates are balanced individuals, if their only hobbies are coding, programming, and software you may have problems getting them to work well with the users and customers. Some simple pseudo coding of a reasonable problem tends to help. I've found that some people get way too nervous during an interview and they get some kind of programming block. Ask them about data structures and algorithms, this is often where people are lacking. And most of all, make sure you "like them". As you interview more people your will develop you intuition, trust it. -- modified at 18:32 Tuesday 15th May, 2007
My Blog A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - -Lazarus Long
Hmm... some of the people I work out can't be left outside if it starts to rain.
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Anybody got any? I'm actually the one interviewing a candidate to replace a programmer that I inherited. They were totally incompetent.They were hired by a non-programmer and enjoyed a good couple of years of being able to BS their boss who didn't know a thing about what they were doing. The stuff they got away with is just shocking. However, they were nice enough to resign (a few months after I became their boss) before we had to fire them. Now we need a replacement and I'm want to make sure I can weed out the crap and the clueless. Anybody have any magic questions that can really reveal if they "get it"?
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Anybody got any? I'm actually the one interviewing a candidate to replace a programmer that I inherited. They were totally incompetent.They were hired by a non-programmer and enjoyed a good couple of years of being able to BS their boss who didn't know a thing about what they were doing. The stuff they got away with is just shocking. However, they were nice enough to resign (a few months after I became their boss) before we had to fire them. Now we need a replacement and I'm want to make sure I can weed out the crap and the clueless. Anybody have any magic questions that can really reveal if they "get it"?
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Anybody got any? I'm actually the one interviewing a candidate to replace a programmer that I inherited. They were totally incompetent.They were hired by a non-programmer and enjoyed a good couple of years of being able to BS their boss who didn't know a thing about what they were doing. The stuff they got away with is just shocking. However, they were nice enough to resign (a few months after I became their boss) before we had to fire them. Now we need a replacement and I'm want to make sure I can weed out the crap and the clueless. Anybody have any magic questions that can really reveal if they "get it"?
Lie :laugh:
Steve