The perfect job interview. IT Professional Version
I have been working as HR manager for more than 8 years. It became interesting to me how IT specialists, with whom I spend Skype or personal meetings, see the perfect interview. So I talked to the developers, timlidami and the owner of the IT project.
I wanted to understand:
Let's see what came of it.
')
The first person I could talk to was Anna Ivanova. She is a beginner web developer. Work experience - 1.5 years. He believes that the HR-manager should tell the junior at the beginning of the interview about how the conversation will be built, that there will be questions about studies, practice, internships, then a story about the company. It is better to give a test task to a novice developer in advance so that he can figure out the code in a relaxed atmosphere, get to the heart of the problem and show what he is capable of. It is unlikely that a junior will immediately be put in urgent, stressful tasks, checking how it works in a short time does not make sense. But to appreciate attentiveness, pedantry in the development of the code, the ability to offer several solutions is exactly necessary. If the mind is flexible, then the beginner quickly adapts to work in the office, but to teach meticulous attitude is not a quick task.
At the end of the interview, it is best to give the novice expert a booklet with information about the company and at least catch a glimpse of the office, to show that it is really pleasant to work in this bright room, with this technique and these guys. “The presentation is too big. This is for investors. And for the candidate - a page on the site, a booklet or a mini-excursion, ”Anna thinks so about the format of the company's presentation to the candidate.
At the end of the interview, the junior expects to receive a response within a couple of days after the meeting. Maximum - 3 days. Otherwise, in the flow of information, one has to feverishly recall which company gave the answer and how special it is different.
Anya advises people who go to the interview to behave naturally, not to “put on the mask”, not to build from oneself what you are not. Adequately perceive criticism. Technical training and the repetition of some topics does not make sense, there is some knowledge, this is your professional baggage that you rent to a project or company.
In work, the most important thing is passion. Anna is inspired by the task of creating a website or making an application with a beautiful, interesting design, perhaps even extremely complex. It's nice to do it, the result is a really interesting and beautiful thing!
Conclusion for the employer - inspire the newcomer with a beautiful and complex design, calm the story about the company in the format of a lively conversation, let's take a homework test task.
Let us turn to the experience of a programmer who has been working by profession for 7 years. Dmitry does not like to remember his first interview. The conversation with the technical director was in perfect order, but the interview with the general director was not successful. They asked awkward questions, poorly comparable with professional knowledge. Dmitry doesn’t like interviews, where they ask questions about their experience with complex technologies, which are not required later. “This is such a dust in the eyes. You come to the project, and you don’t set up challenging and interesting tasks, and the promising direction that was planned to be developed, as they said at the interview, is gathering dust on the last board in Trello, the priority of the routine tasks pipeline and no clearance. It’s better to say this right away when you meet and give a chance to achieve your goal to someone who wants to get involved in routine tasks. ”
The ideal interview is a test task of 5-6 tasks for a maximum of 2 weeks. Give the task to optimize a piece of code. And then in an informal dialogue with the technical director to discuss the course of thinking, to argue a little. Assess the ability of a specialist to offer several solutions, to argue their ideas. It is important to “live” communication! Skype is inconvenient, it turns out “flat” interview. It's like watching tv. It is great when there is an opportunity to hold a meeting in the office where future colleagues work. There is an opportunity to assess the situation, relationships, technology. It is important for the programmer. The live project is always interesting, where people communicate, there is a feedback on the results of the project. Interestingly, when your opinion is considered, you have weight.
“Ideas, excitement and trust are important in the work. Then I will make a choice in favor of the employer, ”says Dmitry.
The opinion of another experienced developer about the attractiveness of job offers is this: “there are monotonous tasks in any project, business, work. You may not like them, but you must accept them and must cope with them too. What is important is not their presence or absence, but the presence of a big goal, development prospects. That's what you do for it. ”
And what do tmlidy say about interviews, search for employees? Stressful interviews are always unpleasant when many “Google” questions are asked at a fast pace. It is annoying, does not allow the person to open up. One of the team leaders recalled that the shortest interview took place when he had almost no experience behind him. The scheme is elementary: he introduced himself, spoke about himself a couple of sentences. The maximum that was asked - why do you need this work? “There was an episode when I was honestly told: we do not need dolphins. I sincerely replied: I do not dolt! That's all".
But seriously, a successful interview implies that you can easily find a common language with the HR manager and director, you see the interest of the leadership, the willingness to discuss common topics, find solutions, passion for the work. “I chose the current company because while communicating with the director (and the conversation lasted more than an hour), I saw the leader’s enthusiasm. I realized what kind of person he was and it became interesting to work with him ”- this is an opinion about the interview, after which I want to come to work in the company.
- Imagine yourself as a candidate. How soon would you like to receive a response to the vacancy? According to the results of the interview?
- I'm an impatient person at all. I had an interview, and I want to understand the next day whether I am suitable or not. I understand that the employer has a desire to interview several candidates. But I do not like to postpone the decision on the back burner. And if I am told at the interview that the result will be reported until Friday, and on Thursday there is still no information, I’m already on my guard.
- Do you call back yourself?
- No, I tolerate until Friday. If there is no call on Friday, then on Monday I will definitely ask, I will call.
As a result, the optimal time when you need to give the candidate information on the results of the interview is 2-3 days after the meeting. This inspires confidence in the company, shows how quickly decisions are made on important issues.
- There is another interesting topic - it's interviews on Skype. How effective are they in your opinion?
- Skype-interview is suitable for the candidate and the employer to understand whether they are on the same wavelength or not. It turns out that this is a preliminary scan of the candidate and the employer. And for a full interview you need a personal meeting. Only if there are weighty recommendations about the candidate or he lives in another region, a Skype interview will be enough.
The opinion of the team leader is interesting, about how he conducts interviews, according to what criteria he chooses employees.
Usually when selecting a senior-specialist, designer, analyst, programmer, it is worth looking at examples of their work. It is important to assess the level of competency. And then, as part of a specific project, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of a person’s character, his approach to work. There is an opinion that according to the results of the test task it is very superficially possible to assume which person, how he relates to work. The candidate will try the test task and do it “beautifully,” and when he comes to work, he will write hard-to-maintain code with an incomprehensible architecture. To avoid such risks, in the interview it is first of all necessary to understand what kind of person came to you. Auspicious-restless? Neat-sloppy? If a person is not lazy, then he will grow professionally, figure out the code, learn to program. In such a situation it is useful to evaluate the love of knowledge, the willingness to learn. At the stage of working with the test task, assess how the candidate builds communications. For example, it does not fit into the deadline, he wrote about it to the company, agreed to postpone the meeting - will also relate to deadlines, report on the progress of work.
How to identify the qualities of a person’s character during an interview? Ask "tricky" questions, evaluate motivation. Many ask about what is really interesting specialist. Plunge deep into interests - on the second, third step. To ask about hobbies, the attitude of a person to work, to compare whether his lifestyle corresponds to the values ​​of the company.
It is important that the candidate “fit in with the spirit” of the company. A specialist may be a “seven spans in his forehead”, but if he does not share the values ​​and principles of the company, the overall performance of the work will fall due to a conflict of views on how to conduct the project.
A new employee, coming to the company, passes a certain career development path. Ideally, this path is initially fixed in a rolemap, a table of competencies that reflects all the steps of skill and development of specialists. Then at the interview you can assume how the employee will develop and offer specific options for professional growth.
It is important for the manager to maintain the team spirit in the project; they are not afraid to hire a specialist with a higher level of knowledge than he. It develops the project. And, of course, it is very important to speak honestly about the projects that the company offers. Do not promise the golden mountains of unique projects, but in the end "put specialists on a routine." It is important to develop specialists, then the company will develop!
If we turn to the opinion of the management team of IT companies, then the opinion of Alexey Finashin, head of sales at Freematiq, is significant.
Alexey likes interviews with a clear, concise structure, when it is clear what kind of person the company is looking for. “I like the professionalism, the politeness of the HR-manager, when there is no controversy,“ getting into the soul ”. It is respectful for an honest answer from HRM, why they are not ready to consider me as a candidate, indicate errors, shortcomings of the candidate. And they do not like interviews, when they persistently promise too much - good wages, good working conditions, interesting projects. And when a specialist goes to work at a company, he is left to himself, there is no immersion in work, there is no plan. It is demotivating.
Well, when already at the interview stage, there is a small project - a technical task, performing which a person joins in the process and work culture. The applicant feels where he will come. The employer understands the level of professionalism of a specialist. Returning to the topic of what is not pleasant at the interview - I do not like it when they sell and buy “air”. “I want to know which company I go to work with and whom I hire.”
It is most convenient to receive information about the project through the company's website, read success stories, and see team photos.
Following the opinion of business coaches V. Akishev, E. Volkert, Alexey recommends choosing a company so that you agree on the basic principles of business morality with the management of the company. If your business principles are the same, then you will be comfortable. It is also important to choose the sphere in which you are not ashamed to work personally. “When you work in a cool team, you know the product and its benefits, you know who needs it, you can confidently sell and work. There is loyalty and confidence in the HR-brand and the brand of the company. Well, when there is an opportunity at the interview to meet with the owner of the project. Since the ideas are sold and there is an opportunity to feel how close the company values ​​are. And if you do business “for centuries”, then you should take care of the company's reputation. You can simply answer for yourself the question: what business will you leave for the children? It helps to adhere to the principles of moral ethics in working with people. ”
As a result, when preparing for the interview, Alex recommends collecting detailed information about the company. Know your competencies. Be honest with the owner. “As a manager, I can say that if I see that a person is hardworking, but he doesn’t hold out or is aimed at another position, I can always advise him on the job he is looking for or options on how to pump out the missing competencies. You should not try to sell yourself at the interview. If you like to work, then you will certainly be taken to the company. Maybe not now, in a year. But there are specialists with whom I have been interacting on professional issues for a long time, with pleasure I recommend them to my colleagues when such a need arises. ”
The ideal interview, according to the owner of the IT company, should take a minimum of time. Periodically, there are situations when the project owner already after 5 minutes understands that the candidate does not comply with the objectives of the project. And it is probably not fair to spend your time and the time of the candidate on the discussion of formalities. A brief interview is appropriate when both the recruiter and the candidate understand that the conversation will not lead to an agreement on work. Here it will be enough to exchange contact information. On the part of the applicant - a short story about yourself and a message about whether the company is interesting to him in the future. From the employer's side - a short story about the company, information about the company's website, give the candidate a business card, a booklet, a guidebook that will help to get acquainted with the company.
Dmitry Lodnev, General Director of Freematig (in the IT field since 2001) believes that a sign of a good interview is its structure. There are a number of questions - this is part of the technical interview, then the implementation of the technical task. As a result, the first block of work with the candidate lasts about 2 hours. Decision time for the candidate is optimally 1-2 weeks along with the implementation of the test task. The candidate himself determines how much time he needs to complete. “We understand that a person works, and can give our project evening hours and time on weekends. This is a normal practice when a person independently estimates the amount and timing of work. And we thus see the organization of man. If a specialist honestly writes that he does not have time, consider the objective reasons. ”
- Some candidates consider meaningless the question, who do you see yourself in 5-10 years? They argue with the fact that they do not know anything about the company yet, it is unrealistic to present their status in the company after 5 years. What do you think about that?
- This is rather a minus candidate. The project manager, teamlead is able to collect information about the company, plan their long-term career.
Dmitry recommends the applicant to prepare for the interview: to collect information in order to understand the specifics of the company, what you want to achieve in the company. When communicating with management this will be seen. And if the candidate assumes any obligations to fulfill the technical task, then it is worthwhile to observe them.
Having talked with representatives of the IT sphere, I now understand that informational content, trust, and understanding of each other’s values ​​are important to everyone.
What general recommendations can be given to beginner job searches?
Applicant:
Employer:
Each project is unique. There is an opportunity to realize your potential, find a team that will share your values ​​and principles, learn from colleagues and independently, build a business and develop your professionalism endlessly. I hope that information about the interviews, about how they are seen by novice specialists and the owner of the company will help build a career or find an employee in an optimal way.
I wanted to understand:
- In which setting are candidates best interviewed?
- when do they want to receive information about the interview result?
- How is it more convenient to receive information about the company, project, tasks and working conditions?
- What can be advised to specialists, especially juniors preparing for an interview?
- by what criteria the candidate chooses the company, and the head of the employee that inspires in the work.
Let's see what came of it.
')
The first person I could talk to was Anna Ivanova. She is a beginner web developer. Work experience - 1.5 years. He believes that the HR-manager should tell the junior at the beginning of the interview about how the conversation will be built, that there will be questions about studies, practice, internships, then a story about the company. It is better to give a test task to a novice developer in advance so that he can figure out the code in a relaxed atmosphere, get to the heart of the problem and show what he is capable of. It is unlikely that a junior will immediately be put in urgent, stressful tasks, checking how it works in a short time does not make sense. But to appreciate attentiveness, pedantry in the development of the code, the ability to offer several solutions is exactly necessary. If the mind is flexible, then the beginner quickly adapts to work in the office, but to teach meticulous attitude is not a quick task.
At the end of the interview, it is best to give the novice expert a booklet with information about the company and at least catch a glimpse of the office, to show that it is really pleasant to work in this bright room, with this technique and these guys. “The presentation is too big. This is for investors. And for the candidate - a page on the site, a booklet or a mini-excursion, ”Anna thinks so about the format of the company's presentation to the candidate.
At the end of the interview, the junior expects to receive a response within a couple of days after the meeting. Maximum - 3 days. Otherwise, in the flow of information, one has to feverishly recall which company gave the answer and how special it is different.
Anya advises people who go to the interview to behave naturally, not to “put on the mask”, not to build from oneself what you are not. Adequately perceive criticism. Technical training and the repetition of some topics does not make sense, there is some knowledge, this is your professional baggage that you rent to a project or company.
In work, the most important thing is passion. Anna is inspired by the task of creating a website or making an application with a beautiful, interesting design, perhaps even extremely complex. It's nice to do it, the result is a really interesting and beautiful thing!
Conclusion for the employer - inspire the newcomer with a beautiful and complex design, calm the story about the company in the format of a lively conversation, let's take a homework test task.
Let us turn to the experience of a programmer who has been working by profession for 7 years. Dmitry does not like to remember his first interview. The conversation with the technical director was in perfect order, but the interview with the general director was not successful. They asked awkward questions, poorly comparable with professional knowledge. Dmitry doesn’t like interviews, where they ask questions about their experience with complex technologies, which are not required later. “This is such a dust in the eyes. You come to the project, and you don’t set up challenging and interesting tasks, and the promising direction that was planned to be developed, as they said at the interview, is gathering dust on the last board in Trello, the priority of the routine tasks pipeline and no clearance. It’s better to say this right away when you meet and give a chance to achieve your goal to someone who wants to get involved in routine tasks. ”
The ideal interview is a test task of 5-6 tasks for a maximum of 2 weeks. Give the task to optimize a piece of code. And then in an informal dialogue with the technical director to discuss the course of thinking, to argue a little. Assess the ability of a specialist to offer several solutions, to argue their ideas. It is important to “live” communication! Skype is inconvenient, it turns out “flat” interview. It's like watching tv. It is great when there is an opportunity to hold a meeting in the office where future colleagues work. There is an opportunity to assess the situation, relationships, technology. It is important for the programmer. The live project is always interesting, where people communicate, there is a feedback on the results of the project. Interestingly, when your opinion is considered, you have weight.
“Ideas, excitement and trust are important in the work. Then I will make a choice in favor of the employer, ”says Dmitry.
The opinion of another experienced developer about the attractiveness of job offers is this: “there are monotonous tasks in any project, business, work. You may not like them, but you must accept them and must cope with them too. What is important is not their presence or absence, but the presence of a big goal, development prospects. That's what you do for it. ”
And what do tmlidy say about interviews, search for employees? Stressful interviews are always unpleasant when many “Google” questions are asked at a fast pace. It is annoying, does not allow the person to open up. One of the team leaders recalled that the shortest interview took place when he had almost no experience behind him. The scheme is elementary: he introduced himself, spoke about himself a couple of sentences. The maximum that was asked - why do you need this work? “There was an episode when I was honestly told: we do not need dolphins. I sincerely replied: I do not dolt! That's all".
But seriously, a successful interview implies that you can easily find a common language with the HR manager and director, you see the interest of the leadership, the willingness to discuss common topics, find solutions, passion for the work. “I chose the current company because while communicating with the director (and the conversation lasted more than an hour), I saw the leader’s enthusiasm. I realized what kind of person he was and it became interesting to work with him ”- this is an opinion about the interview, after which I want to come to work in the company.
- Imagine yourself as a candidate. How soon would you like to receive a response to the vacancy? According to the results of the interview?
- I'm an impatient person at all. I had an interview, and I want to understand the next day whether I am suitable or not. I understand that the employer has a desire to interview several candidates. But I do not like to postpone the decision on the back burner. And if I am told at the interview that the result will be reported until Friday, and on Thursday there is still no information, I’m already on my guard.
- Do you call back yourself?
- No, I tolerate until Friday. If there is no call on Friday, then on Monday I will definitely ask, I will call.
As a result, the optimal time when you need to give the candidate information on the results of the interview is 2-3 days after the meeting. This inspires confidence in the company, shows how quickly decisions are made on important issues.
- There is another interesting topic - it's interviews on Skype. How effective are they in your opinion?
- Skype-interview is suitable for the candidate and the employer to understand whether they are on the same wavelength or not. It turns out that this is a preliminary scan of the candidate and the employer. And for a full interview you need a personal meeting. Only if there are weighty recommendations about the candidate or he lives in another region, a Skype interview will be enough.
The opinion of the team leader is interesting, about how he conducts interviews, according to what criteria he chooses employees.
Usually when selecting a senior-specialist, designer, analyst, programmer, it is worth looking at examples of their work. It is important to assess the level of competency. And then, as part of a specific project, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of a person’s character, his approach to work. There is an opinion that according to the results of the test task it is very superficially possible to assume which person, how he relates to work. The candidate will try the test task and do it “beautifully,” and when he comes to work, he will write hard-to-maintain code with an incomprehensible architecture. To avoid such risks, in the interview it is first of all necessary to understand what kind of person came to you. Auspicious-restless? Neat-sloppy? If a person is not lazy, then he will grow professionally, figure out the code, learn to program. In such a situation it is useful to evaluate the love of knowledge, the willingness to learn. At the stage of working with the test task, assess how the candidate builds communications. For example, it does not fit into the deadline, he wrote about it to the company, agreed to postpone the meeting - will also relate to deadlines, report on the progress of work.
How to identify the qualities of a person’s character during an interview? Ask "tricky" questions, evaluate motivation. Many ask about what is really interesting specialist. Plunge deep into interests - on the second, third step. To ask about hobbies, the attitude of a person to work, to compare whether his lifestyle corresponds to the values ​​of the company.
It is important that the candidate “fit in with the spirit” of the company. A specialist may be a “seven spans in his forehead”, but if he does not share the values ​​and principles of the company, the overall performance of the work will fall due to a conflict of views on how to conduct the project.
A new employee, coming to the company, passes a certain career development path. Ideally, this path is initially fixed in a rolemap, a table of competencies that reflects all the steps of skill and development of specialists. Then at the interview you can assume how the employee will develop and offer specific options for professional growth.
It is important for the manager to maintain the team spirit in the project; they are not afraid to hire a specialist with a higher level of knowledge than he. It develops the project. And, of course, it is very important to speak honestly about the projects that the company offers. Do not promise the golden mountains of unique projects, but in the end "put specialists on a routine." It is important to develop specialists, then the company will develop!
If we turn to the opinion of the management team of IT companies, then the opinion of Alexey Finashin, head of sales at Freematiq, is significant.
Alexey likes interviews with a clear, concise structure, when it is clear what kind of person the company is looking for. “I like the professionalism, the politeness of the HR-manager, when there is no controversy,“ getting into the soul ”. It is respectful for an honest answer from HRM, why they are not ready to consider me as a candidate, indicate errors, shortcomings of the candidate. And they do not like interviews, when they persistently promise too much - good wages, good working conditions, interesting projects. And when a specialist goes to work at a company, he is left to himself, there is no immersion in work, there is no plan. It is demotivating.
Well, when already at the interview stage, there is a small project - a technical task, performing which a person joins in the process and work culture. The applicant feels where he will come. The employer understands the level of professionalism of a specialist. Returning to the topic of what is not pleasant at the interview - I do not like it when they sell and buy “air”. “I want to know which company I go to work with and whom I hire.”
It is most convenient to receive information about the project through the company's website, read success stories, and see team photos.
Following the opinion of business coaches V. Akishev, E. Volkert, Alexey recommends choosing a company so that you agree on the basic principles of business morality with the management of the company. If your business principles are the same, then you will be comfortable. It is also important to choose the sphere in which you are not ashamed to work personally. “When you work in a cool team, you know the product and its benefits, you know who needs it, you can confidently sell and work. There is loyalty and confidence in the HR-brand and the brand of the company. Well, when there is an opportunity at the interview to meet with the owner of the project. Since the ideas are sold and there is an opportunity to feel how close the company values ​​are. And if you do business “for centuries”, then you should take care of the company's reputation. You can simply answer for yourself the question: what business will you leave for the children? It helps to adhere to the principles of moral ethics in working with people. ”
As a result, when preparing for the interview, Alex recommends collecting detailed information about the company. Know your competencies. Be honest with the owner. “As a manager, I can say that if I see that a person is hardworking, but he doesn’t hold out or is aimed at another position, I can always advise him on the job he is looking for or options on how to pump out the missing competencies. You should not try to sell yourself at the interview. If you like to work, then you will certainly be taken to the company. Maybe not now, in a year. But there are specialists with whom I have been interacting on professional issues for a long time, with pleasure I recommend them to my colleagues when such a need arises. ”
The ideal interview, according to the owner of the IT company, should take a minimum of time. Periodically, there are situations when the project owner already after 5 minutes understands that the candidate does not comply with the objectives of the project. And it is probably not fair to spend your time and the time of the candidate on the discussion of formalities. A brief interview is appropriate when both the recruiter and the candidate understand that the conversation will not lead to an agreement on work. Here it will be enough to exchange contact information. On the part of the applicant - a short story about yourself and a message about whether the company is interesting to him in the future. From the employer's side - a short story about the company, information about the company's website, give the candidate a business card, a booklet, a guidebook that will help to get acquainted with the company.
Dmitry Lodnev, General Director of Freematig (in the IT field since 2001) believes that a sign of a good interview is its structure. There are a number of questions - this is part of the technical interview, then the implementation of the technical task. As a result, the first block of work with the candidate lasts about 2 hours. Decision time for the candidate is optimally 1-2 weeks along with the implementation of the test task. The candidate himself determines how much time he needs to complete. “We understand that a person works, and can give our project evening hours and time on weekends. This is a normal practice when a person independently estimates the amount and timing of work. And we thus see the organization of man. If a specialist honestly writes that he does not have time, consider the objective reasons. ”
- Some candidates consider meaningless the question, who do you see yourself in 5-10 years? They argue with the fact that they do not know anything about the company yet, it is unrealistic to present their status in the company after 5 years. What do you think about that?
- This is rather a minus candidate. The project manager, teamlead is able to collect information about the company, plan their long-term career.
Dmitry recommends the applicant to prepare for the interview: to collect information in order to understand the specifics of the company, what you want to achieve in the company. When communicating with management this will be seen. And if the candidate assumes any obligations to fulfill the technical task, then it is worthwhile to observe them.
Having talked with representatives of the IT sphere, I now understand that informational content, trust, and understanding of each other’s values ​​are important to everyone.
What general recommendations can be given to beginner job searches?
Applicant:
- It is important to remember what goals you set? Want to find a job for professional development, ask about the goals and prospects for development in the company. It is important that your values ​​coincide with the principles of work in the company, then you will work together for a long time.
- You should not be especially careful to prepare for an interview. It is better to show your real knowledge and discuss the development zone for an interview.
- Recruiters and team leaders ask you about career development simply because they want to understand the logic of your thinking, to hear how you build a dialogue.
- if you are “overwhelming” the terms of the test task, report the dates to the employer, this is an honest approach to cooperation.
Employer:
- talk to the candidate on an equal footing in the office where he will work, introduce, if possible, with colleagues - this is the best presentation of the company.
- tell honestly about the projects, do not build “castles in the air”, but do not downplay the company's plans and plans, share what inspires you in your work and if the candidate likes it, you will find someone who will perform command tasks like your own.
- Give the answer after all stages of interviews in 2-3 days, write letters or call, but be sure to report any decisions regarding the applicant. This is credible.
Each project is unique. There is an opportunity to realize your potential, find a team that will share your values ​​and principles, learn from colleagues and independently, build a business and develop your professionalism endlessly. I hope that information about the interviews, about how they are seen by novice specialists and the owner of the company will help build a career or find an employee in an optimal way.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/370831/
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