How Effective are Technical Interviews? • Hacker News Board

Re: How Effective are Technical Interviews?

#71

Post by acgourley » Thu, Feb 03, 2011, 7:56 PM UTC

sophacles wrote: post #25

I have found that for technical interviews, the following pattern works very well (hiring side): 0. Explain to the candidate this algorithm and why. It isn't magic, there are no right or wrong answers, just testing "fit". This is a case where foreknowledge does not change the outcome! 1. Get a basic grasp of technologies both interviewer and candidate have in common, via say, just chatting. This is vital -- find an a…

I like this method. What i've done so far is ask the candidate to solve something I've recently had to solve or am currently solving. Your approach is more generic because it doesn't require them to be familiar with the technologies I'm currently using, however my approach ensures they are.

I like your point about picking a problem you don't have the solution to. I'm guilty of making them solve something I recently did, and maybe it's not the best approach.

Re: How Effective are Technical Interviews?

#72

Post by stcredzero » Thu, Feb 03, 2011, 7:59 PM UTC

Sometimes it's the interviewer that ends up giving a bad impression. I remember one technical interview I was in:

Interviewer: How would you do this?

Me: Well, that depends. You could do it by doing polymorphism with subclasses, by passing in blocks, or through a Strategy.

Interviewer: Well, actually, I'd do it like this. [proceeds to diagram polymorphic solution using subclasses as if that wasn't the first answer I gave]

A good filter to use as a programmer interviewee: Ask to see their code. Ask to do some pair programming. If they blow you off or hem and haw about it, it's not a good place to work. If the interviewer reveals that they're actually in HR, just walk out.

Re: How Effective are Technical Interviews?

#73

Post by JoachimSchipper » Thu, Feb 03, 2011, 8:03 PM UTC

rhizome wrote: post #61

tptacek wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have over the last 8 years or so become terrified of interviewing techniques that revolve around having a conversation with a candidate, even (or, in fact especially) directed conversations. Like many others before me, I've discovered that there is a huge gap between the ability to talk intelligently and productively about solving programming problems, and being able to actually solve programming problems. It's fin…

But does that perceived gap mean that your technique is actually better for the company? I'm seeing a false dichotomy here where those who can talk about code can't write it, and those who can write code are inarticulate. I have a nagging feeling that being "terrified of...conversations" supplies a bit of confirmation bias to your technique.

Where do you see tptacek implying that those who can write code can't talk about it? He's merely telling us that being able to talk about code doesn't always imply being able to actually produce code.

Re: How Effective are Technical Interviews?

#74

Post by ojbyrne » Thu, Feb 03, 2011, 8:04 PM UTC

orev wrote: post #51

Having been on the interviewing end of a number of interviews, I definitely have found that these types of "quiz" questions ARE EFFECTIVE, to a point. The number of people who claim to know something, but actually don't, are astounding. You'd like to think that people are honest, but they are not. The main issue is that of time. Interviewing people is an enormous time sync, and spending time to get to know them and t…

"time sink"

Re: How Effective are Technical Interviews?

#75

Post by btilly » Thu, Feb 03, 2011, 8:06 PM UTC

patio11 wrote: post #20

I put tech interviews down fifty/fifty to "We don't know any better way of doing this" and "The unavoidable reality is that if a position is advertised openly then 98% of candidates are screamingly inappropriate for it and after applying a few filters to the resume we've gotten that to a more manageable 90% or so for interviews." Happily, there is a simple opt out mechanism. There are two ways to get into any company…

I consider the existence of door #2 a red flag. If decision makers who are likely not technical themselves are making that kind of decision about technical hires, odds are that they are going to make some very bad hires that I won't like living with.

That's not to say that there aren't a lot of companies where your advice works. But I'd prefer to work for the companies where it doesn't.

Re: How Effective are Technical Interviews?

#76

Post by JoachimSchipper » Thu, Feb 03, 2011, 8:08 PM UTC

shortlived wrote: post #26

tastybites wrote: post #21

We hire people based on enthusiasm, general intelligence (you can usually tell after a few minutes) and a low level of demonstrated proficiency - we'll ask them to explain a code sample they wrote, or ask for a verbal description of how to solve a problem. We choose the person we like best, and if they don't work out after 2 weeks we fire them. Hot seat quizzing produces way too many false negatives. We are not googl…

Are there laws that allow/prevent the 2 week trial period for a business?

This is allowed in the Netherlands, and I'd wager in most European countries.

Re: How Effective are Technical Interviews?

#77

Post by jewgonewild » Thu, Feb 03, 2011, 8:12 PM UTC

When I interview candidates and get to the technical part, I usually start by discussing technologies and present a problem the team is currently working on and ask for a broad overview of how they would go about solving it.

I start by asking them to talk me through their solution. This is where I filter out most candidates, because I know that if their problem solving skills aren't up to par I can't expect them to write any psuedo code to back up their problem solving skills.

I generally give them another chance by offering a couple of hints, and if this doesn't work out I generally end it. If I like them, I ask them to talk to me about a challenging problem they have recently encountered and the solution to said problem. If I am pleased I ask them a few more questions and keep them in rotation.

After this I ask for some simple psuedo code to back up the solution and that's about it. I am not big on asking any academic questions for the technical interview unless I know that the interviewee is a recent graduate and even then I don't weigh them that much.

To finish off the interview I usually do some basic pair programming, just to see how the person does in a somewhat pressured situation. I find all of this to be pretty effective for the technical interview.

Besides the technical side I strongly believe that a passionate person, that would make a good cultural fit is tremendously important. In my situation, I don't want someone who is smart but can't relate to the rest of the team.

Re: How Effective are Technical Interviews?

#78

Post by bconway » Thu, Feb 03, 2011, 8:21 PM UTC

kenjackson wrote: post #70

sophacles wrote: post #25

I have found that for technical interviews, the following pattern works very well (hiring side): 0. Explain to the candidate this algorithm and why. It isn't magic, there are no right or wrong answers, just testing "fit". This is a case where foreknowledge does not change the outcome! 1. Get a basic grasp of technologies both interviewer and candidate have in common, via say, just chatting. This is vital -- find an a…

The problem with this, IMO, is that it is really soft. Some research has shown we make up our minds within the first 10s (or so) of an interview if we like the person. And the rest of the interview justifies this decision. I have to have some "minimum" requirement questions. These are questions that you have to get right . No matter how good I feel about you, I still will no hire you if you get these questions wrong.…

Share them, it might make someone feel smart today. ;)

Re: How Effective are Technical Interviews?

#79

Post by aaronblohowiak » Thu, Feb 03, 2011, 8:27 PM UTC

btilly wrote: post #75

patio11 wrote: post #20

I put tech interviews down fifty/fifty to "We don't know any better way of doing this" and "The unavoidable reality is that if a position is advertised openly then 98% of candidates are screamingly inappropriate for it and after applying a few filters to the resume we've gotten that to a more manageable 90% or so for interviews." Happily, there is a simple opt out mechanism. There are two ways to get into any company…

I consider the existence of door #2 a red flag. If decision makers who are likely not technical themselves are making that kind of decision about technical hires, odds are that they are going to make some very bad hires that I won't like living with. That's not to say that there aren't a lot of companies where your advice works. But I'd prefer to work for the companies where it doesn't.

Possibly. If they are someone you have worked for in the past, then it can be a great thing.

Re: How Effective are Technical Interviews?

#80

Post by gregzav » Thu, Feb 03, 2011, 8:28 PM UTC

jswinghammer wrote: post #12

tomh- wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the question I may ask?

Implement: itoa

I'm a Java person, but I forced myself to implement it in C.

  #include 
  
  int main() {
  	int integer = -1231232342;
  	int negative = integer


    
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