Perfect IT interview
- Dad, does a perfect job interview exist?
- No, son, it's fantastic.
(with)
Ideal interviews, unlike gophers, almost never occur in the wild IT environment. But the desire for a better die out should not, therefore, we bring to your attention a few tips on how to conduct a perfect interview.
I think everyone will agree that the interview for the position of junior developer and top manager should be different. But you need to dance not from the position, but from the goals that you set for the future employee.
')
Here lies the first catch. Companies like to say that they need only the best people. But in reality, very often they take not the best , but those that fit under certain criteria (not always related to quality), invented in the company, or, even worse, born in the head of the Eychara. As a result of such activities, the company does not employ the best specialists, but employees selected according to a certain pattern.
Let's see what needs to be asked and what to look for when interviewing IT specialists at various professional levels. In each case, I will speak about the average applicant, and not about the genius that many of you naturally are.
Junior developer aka “Junior”
The task of the younger developer to quickly learn and learn from experience. Doing minor project work is one of the ways to learn, not the reason why you should take it to work. The task of the company is to make a junior middle for the shortest possible time (ideally 2-2.5 years).
* Many companies may be tempted to recruit juniors to sell them as middleware. To sell juniors for the price of midles is, of course, profitable, but it is much more profitable to sell the middleies for the price of two seniors.
In order to understand how quickly a junior can learn and develop, ask at the interview what he did three years ago, two years ago, a year ago (even if at that time he was at university). Ask what books he is reading now, what films are watching and what he is studying at the moment. Look at the progress. If over the last year or two in work, hobbies, literature and cinema nothing has changed dramatically, then, most likely, at such a leisurely pace, it will “work” with you.
Want to ask about what algorithms does he know? You can do this, but you should understand that without practice, any knowledge of the algorithms will mean that he, most likely, has memorized them. It is better to ask about his term paper or thesis. A person who really wants to learn and develop at this moment will be transformed and will begin to very enthusiastically and more naturally talk about his ownuseless piece. But for an enthusiastic person, this “hand-made article” is the most important project in the world.
If he starts telling that the university did not give anything, in five years nothing interesting happened to him - this is a disturbing bell. Since IT, by and large, is not a talk show where you are the main character, but an ordinary routine for digging out legacy code and writing bicycles. There is a possibility that he will do your work with the same enthusiasm.
It’s pointless to ask who a junior sees himself after 5 years. He will agree to work in the first company that will not mind taking it and give some money for a new sweater.
* Not so long ago, a new category of “juna” appeared, which, after reading on the forums about large salaries of IT people, are beginning to ask (even, we would say, insistently demand) stopitsot money and a masseuse in addition for the opportunity to see His Majesty slowly playing solitaire from operators and classes, two or three hours in between going to university and nightclubs. You can ask them when and where the next great party is scheduled and ... say goodbye. Although, in fairness, we add that this virus is seen not only among young professionals.
Developer aka “Middle”
A middle developer is your packhorse who will do most of the chores and generate maximum profit. Therefore, for the middle it is important to be a “hard worker” and not a “star” or a “cool dude”. Consider that among the middleware most of all are not recognized table tennis champions.
During the interview, it is necessary to place a strong emphasis on the availability of certain knowledge and skills (without deepening into theoretical jungles). The more technical questions you ask, and the more correct answers you get, the better for you. Be sure to ask how the abstract class differs from the interface - as practice shows, this issue is very easy to identify the real middle.
The competence area of ​​middle language is programming languages, tools and technologies. Therefore, the more technical questions and tasks the applicant passes, the better.
Here we make a remark about how best to conduct technical interviews. The first way - “to write code on paper” will not even comment - such interviewers should be burned at the stake (hello, Microsoft and all its imitators). On the second method - to make a mini-project, which you need to kill at least the floor, as a rule, of the working day, also forget.
So, the algorithm is as follows: if the applicant is a speaker, an active and well-known person, you can watch videos of speeches on YouTube, presentations on slideshare, projects on github, codeplex and / or read his questions / answers on stackoverflow. If this does not help or if the information is missing, then you probably want to give a test task. It is better to send it by mail without specifying a deadline for execution. The speed of execution, enthusiasm, quality of execution, correspondence and other things will tell you almost everything about this candidate.
* But if not the applicant responded to your vacancy, and that you invited him for an interview or recommended it to you, you should do everything to minimize the time spent by the applicant on you. And yes, if you spent two months trying to get him to come for an interview, do not ask him questions a la “why do you want to work in our company”. The answer will surprise and upset you :)
It’s pointless to ask who sees himself as a middle in five years. In five years, he is unlikely to work in your company.
Senior Developer aka “Senor”
The problem with senior developers is that such a specialist can perform various roles - technical lead, team leader, interviewer, training specialist, etc. As a rule, these roles are combined to one degree or another.
A senior developer is a person who can do his team’s weekly work in one day. If you do not disturb him. But he will not do this, because he is a senior developer, which means he will most likely conduct interviews, fill out matrixes for members of his team, drink coffee, attend body (but not soul) at numerous rallies, and also sow inside the companycommunism scrum.
The task of the interviewer is to decide before the interview who the company wants to see: a technical specialist (emphasis on technology) or a team leader (emphasis on management).
If you need a technical specialist, you need to ask him about the domain areas in which he worked, previous projects, his real role, the level of complexity of projects and the size / composition of teams. The technical competence competence area is the individual components of the system and their integration, good knowledge of third-party tools (frameworks, ready-made solutions, CMS and specific libraries). Do not ask him questions on the syntax of the language - some constructions, he, most likely, has already forgotten, and some have never been useful to him in his life. Or be prepared for the fact that instead of a decision, he will express his willingness to beat off his fingers to anyone who writes something similar in a real project.
If you need a tmlid, then the questions should not concern technologies, programming languages, but read books on managing people and projects, aspects of conflict management. Make sure the job seeker looks confident. You can simulate some life situations (but without fanaticism) and offer to solve them. But you need to be prepared that its methods and methods will differ from yours. Tmlid competence zone - the ability to be convincing, to understand at least a little in psychology and management, as well as technology at the level of tools (jira, tfs, asana, etc.).
It must be remembered that there are very few technical people who are both strong specialists and good team leaders. If you just got this - do not scare and do everything possible to get it.
Professional aka “guru”
A guru is a person who, in a critical situation, can pull a project on himself or take a hit. In ordinary life, they can be arrogant, it is difficult to succumb to manipulation and wanta lot of money.
A guru should be proud not of the amount of projects made or the money earned, but of the maximum level of tasks and problems that he solved.
What to ask the guru? This is a difficult question, as the guru, as a rule, has extensive experience in interviewing, so outwitting HR at almost all levels. Perhaps the most appropriate way out is when the guru interviews another guru or someone from the top management. The guru will understand the technical level, the top manager will most likely determine how well a person will fit the company. As a rule, if a person is a guru, then everyone knows that and in this case there should not be any difficult interviews.
Instead of conclusions
If you are looking for specialists up to the level of a timlid or a technical leader, then you need to build an interview based on the position and your requirements (in large companies this task is best to be entrusted to the recruitment agency), if above - based on the person and his future role (here you need to connect personal connections and networking). And the higher the position to close, the more individual should be the approach. All this is due to the fact that the IT sphere is very different from other areas, so traditional cases, stress and other types of interviews will not work. After all, the middle can be a junior in one company and a gentleman in another.
Enjoy your interviews!
- No, son, it's fantastic.
(with)
Ideal interviews, unlike gophers, almost never occur in the wild IT environment. But the desire for a better die out should not, therefore, we bring to your attention a few tips on how to conduct a perfect interview.
I think everyone will agree that the interview for the position of junior developer and top manager should be different. But you need to dance not from the position, but from the goals that you set for the future employee.
')
Here lies the first catch. Companies like to say that they need only the best people. But in reality, very often they take not the best , but those that fit under certain criteria (not always related to quality), invented in the company, or, even worse, born in the head of the Eychara. As a result of such activities, the company does not employ the best specialists, but employees selected according to a certain pattern.
Let's see what needs to be asked and what to look for when interviewing IT specialists at various professional levels. In each case, I will speak about the average applicant, and not about the genius that many of you naturally are.
Junior developer aka “Junior”
The task of the younger developer to quickly learn and learn from experience. Doing minor project work is one of the ways to learn, not the reason why you should take it to work. The task of the company is to make a junior middle for the shortest possible time (ideally 2-2.5 years).
* Many companies may be tempted to recruit juniors to sell them as middleware. To sell juniors for the price of midles is, of course, profitable, but it is much more profitable to sell the middleies for the price of two seniors.
In order to understand how quickly a junior can learn and develop, ask at the interview what he did three years ago, two years ago, a year ago (even if at that time he was at university). Ask what books he is reading now, what films are watching and what he is studying at the moment. Look at the progress. If over the last year or two in work, hobbies, literature and cinema nothing has changed dramatically, then, most likely, at such a leisurely pace, it will “work” with you.
Want to ask about what algorithms does he know? You can do this, but you should understand that without practice, any knowledge of the algorithms will mean that he, most likely, has memorized them. It is better to ask about his term paper or thesis. A person who really wants to learn and develop at this moment will be transformed and will begin to very enthusiastically and more naturally talk about his own
If he starts telling that the university did not give anything, in five years nothing interesting happened to him - this is a disturbing bell. Since IT, by and large, is not a talk show where you are the main character, but an ordinary routine for digging out legacy code and writing bicycles. There is a possibility that he will do your work with the same enthusiasm.
It’s pointless to ask who a junior sees himself after 5 years. He will agree to work in the first company that will not mind taking it and give some money for a new sweater.
* Not so long ago, a new category of “juna” appeared, which, after reading on the forums about large salaries of IT people, are beginning to ask (even, we would say, insistently demand) stopitsot money and a masseuse in addition for the opportunity to see His Majesty slowly playing solitaire from operators and classes, two or three hours in between going to university and nightclubs. You can ask them when and where the next great party is scheduled and ... say goodbye. Although, in fairness, we add that this virus is seen not only among young professionals.
Developer aka “Middle”
A middle developer is your packhorse who will do most of the chores and generate maximum profit. Therefore, for the middle it is important to be a “hard worker” and not a “star” or a “cool dude”. Consider that among the middleware most of all are not recognized table tennis champions.
During the interview, it is necessary to place a strong emphasis on the availability of certain knowledge and skills (without deepening into theoretical jungles). The more technical questions you ask, and the more correct answers you get, the better for you. Be sure to ask how the abstract class differs from the interface - as practice shows, this issue is very easy to identify the real middle.
The competence area of ​​middle language is programming languages, tools and technologies. Therefore, the more technical questions and tasks the applicant passes, the better.
Here we make a remark about how best to conduct technical interviews. The first way - “to write code on paper” will not even comment - such interviewers should be burned at the stake (hello, Microsoft and all its imitators). On the second method - to make a mini-project, which you need to kill at least the floor, as a rule, of the working day, also forget.
So, the algorithm is as follows: if the applicant is a speaker, an active and well-known person, you can watch videos of speeches on YouTube, presentations on slideshare, projects on github, codeplex and / or read his questions / answers on stackoverflow. If this does not help or if the information is missing, then you probably want to give a test task. It is better to send it by mail without specifying a deadline for execution. The speed of execution, enthusiasm, quality of execution, correspondence and other things will tell you almost everything about this candidate.
* But if not the applicant responded to your vacancy, and that you invited him for an interview or recommended it to you, you should do everything to minimize the time spent by the applicant on you. And yes, if you spent two months trying to get him to come for an interview, do not ask him questions a la “why do you want to work in our company”. The answer will surprise and upset you :)
It’s pointless to ask who sees himself as a middle in five years. In five years, he is unlikely to work in your company.
Senior Developer aka “Senor”
The problem with senior developers is that such a specialist can perform various roles - technical lead, team leader, interviewer, training specialist, etc. As a rule, these roles are combined to one degree or another.
A senior developer is a person who can do his team’s weekly work in one day. If you do not disturb him. But he will not do this, because he is a senior developer, which means he will most likely conduct interviews, fill out matrixes for members of his team, drink coffee, attend body (but not soul) at numerous rallies, and also sow inside the company
The task of the interviewer is to decide before the interview who the company wants to see: a technical specialist (emphasis on technology) or a team leader (emphasis on management).
If you need a technical specialist, you need to ask him about the domain areas in which he worked, previous projects, his real role, the level of complexity of projects and the size / composition of teams. The technical competence competence area is the individual components of the system and their integration, good knowledge of third-party tools (frameworks, ready-made solutions, CMS and specific libraries). Do not ask him questions on the syntax of the language - some constructions, he, most likely, has already forgotten, and some have never been useful to him in his life. Or be prepared for the fact that instead of a decision, he will express his willingness to beat off his fingers to anyone who writes something similar in a real project.
If you need a tmlid, then the questions should not concern technologies, programming languages, but read books on managing people and projects, aspects of conflict management. Make sure the job seeker looks confident. You can simulate some life situations (but without fanaticism) and offer to solve them. But you need to be prepared that its methods and methods will differ from yours. Tmlid competence zone - the ability to be convincing, to understand at least a little in psychology and management, as well as technology at the level of tools (jira, tfs, asana, etc.).
It must be remembered that there are very few technical people who are both strong specialists and good team leaders. If you just got this - do not scare and do everything possible to get it.
Professional aka “guru”
A guru is a person who, in a critical situation, can pull a project on himself or take a hit. In ordinary life, they can be arrogant, it is difficult to succumb to manipulation and want
A guru should be proud not of the amount of projects made or the money earned, but of the maximum level of tasks and problems that he solved.
What to ask the guru? This is a difficult question, as the guru, as a rule, has extensive experience in interviewing, so outwitting HR at almost all levels. Perhaps the most appropriate way out is when the guru interviews another guru or someone from the top management. The guru will understand the technical level, the top manager will most likely determine how well a person will fit the company. As a rule, if a person is a guru, then everyone knows that and in this case there should not be any difficult interviews.
Instead of conclusions
If you are looking for specialists up to the level of a timlid or a technical leader, then you need to build an interview based on the position and your requirements (in large companies this task is best to be entrusted to the recruitment agency), if above - based on the person and his future role (here you need to connect personal connections and networking). And the higher the position to close, the more individual should be the approach. All this is due to the fact that the IT sphere is very different from other areas, so traditional cases, stress and other types of interviews will not work. After all, the middle can be a junior in one company and a gentleman in another.
Enjoy your interviews!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/288948/
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