Interviewing for the first time

Hey LP,

I'm flying back east Saturday to interview a programmer for my new company. This is the first time i'm striking out completely on my own. I've already done lots of reading on the subject but was hoping to get some gems of genius from you guys. Is there anything you wish knew when you started interviewing, what's your preferred type of interview (casual in a resturant/cafe or a more formal interview), things along that nature. I'm just feeling a little lost because I've never experienced first hand what to look for when interviewing or what to make sure i ask. Thanks for any input.

first and only worthy advice do not employ american programmers, hire russian overseas

Behavioral interviewing was effective for my needs. Basically - you ask them questions to elicit stories about skills/behaviors you are looking for. You want to get them talking.

 

Let's say one skill you need is someone who can self direct as project manager.

 

You might ask: "Tell me about a time when you had to manage a project with little direction"

 

They'll start to tell you their experience. You should listen carefully, pay attention to detail, and then ask follow up questions

to dig deeper for the bits/pieces that either interest you or may appear as red flags.

 

Ask for details. If they are making everything up - you'll likely trip them up or see them hesitate as they try to build a lie.

Not foolproof - but no technique is.

Behavioral interviewing gets the applicant to tell stories about their experience.

 

If understanding their social behavior is important then take them to breakfast/lunch.

If it doesn't matter - I prefer a quiet setting like hotel meeting/board room where you don't have distraction.

 

If you are interviewing someone young - just out of college - tell them they can draw on experiences from school, work or anything relevant. Sometimes they get stuck thinking it's gotta be a work related story when they don't have enough to draw from. If they had to organize the family reunion, and coordinate logistics and pull it together doing planning and communication - that "counts". Even though it wasn't a "job", they demonstrated some skillsets you may be after. They may also pull from course work where they had to lead a group project for a semester (or whatever).

 

BEFORE you go - decide what you are looking for. Choose the most important 3-5 skillsets/experience, in priority. You want to be focused - not all over the map. If you go in with YOUR specific requirements - you can rule out someone if they lack your top priorities even though they may demonstrat other talent. If there are others in your company that should have input - get it - and agree on the list of skills that will produce success in the position.

 

Good luck!

 

 

heres my tip... interview more than one!

hire big breasted women

What sort of programming? I'd give them a practical test as well, something that would take 2-4 hours to complete. Interview more than one and compare results.

If someone doesn't have questions for me at the end of the interview, they are out. I want someone who shows some interest and initiative.

 

I also want an example of problem solving...need to be sure they have a logical thought process. Hence, I wouldn't normally hire a woman. Unless of course, she has big breasts!

@cake (didn't wanna quote a long post) Thank you! tons of info pretty much covered everything. Going to use a lot of this.

 

What sort of programming? I'd give them a practical test as well, something that would take 2-4 hours to complete. Interview more than one and compare results.

the UI/functionality of a website, server side knowledge will probably be needed as well. I like the idea of a practical test. I read a few places that all say ask for example of code, but i like the idea of something closer to a practical test more.

 

If someone doesn't have questions for me at the end of the interview, they are out. I want someone who shows some interest and initiative.

 

I also want an example of problem solving...need to be sure they have a logical thought process. Hence, I wouldn't normally hire a woman. Unless of course, she has big breasts!

I agree completely something in the forefront of my mind was and is making sure they show interest.

Don't get your programming interview questions from Google. I've interviewed several programmers in the last few years. Most have memorized the top 20 o 50 or so questions that are always asked regarding Object Oriented Programming.

 

If you are doing Web/UI, definitely ask for products they've produced in the past. Get a feel for their style. A lot goes into building a clean UI, and the ones that do it best produce the cleanest and simplest results. It's not just about someone's creativity. There are proven rules that need to followed when designing UI. Which leads to the point below.

 

Ask for books they've read on designing UI. There are a handful that are almost required reading. I think that someone who is serious about UI design will have continued their learning after their academic career. Off the top of my head, one book that most UI developers reference is "Don't make me think."

 

Also, if you are hiring a programmer and not just a "web designer" you'll also want them to have some database background. You might want to prepare some problems to solve with SQL. These aren't things you can memorize.

 

The next time I interview someone, here's is how it would go. I wouldn't ask too many questions. I'd have a laptop setup with an IDE, Web Server, and Database all ready to go. I'd even let the prospect use Google as a reference. Then I'd have him demonstrate his ability to produce. At the very least, I'd have him create a form that inserts into a table. Then retrieve the records and display them in a list. I'd have a series of these types of exercises. I'd be looking for what he knows by heart, but more importantly I'd be gauging his ability to find what he/she doesn't know by heart. What resources does he have bookmarked etc. How quickly does it take him to find the right class. An interview like this shouldn't take more than 1 hour.

 

 

Typical interviews comes down to:

 

- behavior (tell me about a time when...)

 

- problem solving (puzzle questions, what would you do in this situation...)

 

- technical skills (specific and technical in nature)

 

- run down of candidate's experience and mutual contacts (to establish reference and credibility)

 

For a programmer, emphasis is often more on technical skills and problem solving.

 

We call it STAR interviewing

 

Situation

or

Task

Actions you took to reach objective

Results

 

Works great, and will really give you a good guage of how good they are.

first and only worthy advice do not employ american programmers, hire russian overseas

 

Should have you banned for that....joking or not joking. Please don't push this H1-B visa mentality onto everyone, it's bad enough as it is.

the UI/functionality of a website, server side knowledge will probably be needed as well. I like the idea of a practical test. I read a few places that all say ask for example of code, but i like the idea of something closer to a practical test more.

 

Asking for a sample of code gives them too much time to make something up that may not be relevant to your interest. Have something specific in mind when they come for the interview. Make it technical, yet room for creative input, efficiency improvements, etc.

 

As for location in your initial question, interview in the setting in which they will be working. I don't want to have an interview in Starbucks with my boss in jeans if I'll be sitting in a formal office all day for the job, and vice versa as well.

Why are you going to meet him? Isn't your time more valuable?

 

Thanks to everyone for their input, pretty much confirmed what i suspected. That I was woefully under informed about how to go about this.

 

Don't get your programming interview questions from Google. I've interviewed several programmers in the last few years. Most have memorized the top 20 o 50 or so questions that are always asked regarding Object Oriented Programming.

 

If you are doing Web/UI, definitely ask for products they've produced in the past. Get a feel for their style. A lot goes into building a clean UI, and the ones that do it best produce the cleanest and simplest results. It's not just about someone's creativity. There are proven rules that need to followed when designing UI. Which leads to the point below.

 

Ask for books they've read on designing UI. There are a handful that are almost required reading. I think that someone who is serious about UI design will have continued their learning after their academic career. Off the top of my head, one book that most UI developers reference is "Don't make me think."

 

Also, if you are hiring a programmer and not just a "web designer" you'll also want them to have some database background. You might want to prepare some problems to solve with SQL. These aren't things you can memorize.

 

The next time I interview someone, here's is how it would go. I wouldn't ask too many questions. I'd have a laptop setup with an IDE, Web Server, and Database all ready to go. I'd even let the prospect use Google as a reference. Then I'd have him demonstrate his ability to produce. At the very least, I'd have him create a form that inserts into a table. Then retrieve the records and display them in a list. I'd have a series of these types of exercises. I'd be looking for what he knows by heart, but more importantly I'd be gauging his ability to find what he/she doesn't know by heart. What resources does he have bookmarked etc. How quickly does it take him to find the right class. An interview like this shouldn't take more than 1 hour.

 

Thank you for your thorough response. I'm really looking for a programmer not just a web designer. Didn't even occur me to but i'm going to make sure i find out what books they've read, and going to pick up some reading myself. Your set up idea sounds great, gonna start getting a group of exercises and problems together for that. I've started to go through his work to get a feel of whats hes done and the type of websites he leans towards making.

 

Asking for a sample of code gives them too much time to make something up that may not be relevant to your interest. Have something specific in mind when they come for the interview. Make it technical, yet room for creative input, efficiency improvements, etc.

 

As for location in your initial question, interview in the setting in which they will be working. I don't want to have an interview in Starbucks with my boss in jeans if I'll be sitting in a formal office all day for the job, and vice versa as well.

Good point, its going to be casual so I'll go with a more casual setting but somewhere private.

 

@MODO, I'm taking a trip back east and hes going to happen to be in the same location as me that week so i figured since i was there might as well meet with him. Still if I didn't who would? I'm currently the only employee.

We call it STAR interviewing

 

Situation

or

Task

Actions you took to reach objective

Results

 

Works great, and will really give you a good guage of how good they are.

 

 

 

Next question, Michael - you are shrunk to a pencil size, and placed in a blender. How do you get out?