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The Only Interview Question That Matters

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Re: The Only Interview Question That Matters

#21

Post by danielweber »

tootie wrote: post #19
peacemaker wrote: post #7

As a senior guy who's been programming a long time, I honestly don't know what I'd pick in answer to this question. Partly because I've done loads of cool (and no so cool) things over the years and partly because I don't have the best memory in the world. How do you decide which past accomplishment is worthy of a 30 minute conversation? Usually what comes to mind when asked this question are simply the most recent th…

I've been a pro for nearly 15 years and the project that I'm most proud of was something i did as an undergrad. Now I'm sad.

Yeah, if I had to answer "what project did you work on that most changed the life of your customers" it would be my first post-college job where I created a market space that didn't exist before.

But, like you, what does that say about the next 15 years of my career? I'm a waaaaay better developer than I was at the end of my first job.

Re: The Only Interview Question That Matters

#23

Post by 300bps »

nawitus wrote: post #8

So what should software engineers who are "merely" doing solid and great programming on "average" and typical applications respond? It's not like programmers can pick and choose difficult projects.

I think you have hit the nail on the head regarding the purpose of the question. The question is used to find stars. That is, someone who is 50x more productive than programmers:

"merely" doing solid and great programming on "average" and typical applications

Re: The Only Interview Question That Matters

#24

Post by eli »

danielweber wrote: post #16
eli wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They literally don't have one thing that was a significant accomplishment? Something from school? From outside work? That wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, but for someone who supposedly has a bit of experience it's a red flag.

What does "significant" mean? I've worked on many great projects that have ended up going nowhere, sometimes because the market simply didn't materialize, sometimes because management pulled the plug just before shipping, sometimes because the whole company went bankrupt because funding dried up because our lead investor was on a plane that some terrorists blew into a building. These "how to hire the best people!" ar…

It means whatever you want it to mean. The point is to get you talking about a project you care about. About the specifics rather than generalities.

Your comment sounds like a perfectly fine answer to me. I personally would ask you which project was the most interesting to work on? Or which were you most disappointed by when it didn't ship? And why.

At least, that's what I'm looking for when I ask it.

Re: The Only Interview Question That Matters

#25

Post by eli »

danielweber wrote: post #21
tootie wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been a pro for nearly 15 years and the project that I'm most proud of was something i did as an undergrad. Now I'm sad.

Yeah, if I had to answer "what project did you work on that most changed the life of your customers" it would be my first post-college job where I created a market space that didn't exist before. But, like you, what does that say about the next 15 years of my career? I'm a waaaaay better developer than I was at the end of my first job.

So say exactly that. It sounds like a great answer to me.

Re: The Only Interview Question That Matters

#26

Post by jessriedel »

Not sure if the reasoning is the same, but I always thought academics should be judged by their few very best ideas. Applying for your first postdoc: What's your best idea? Assistant prof: what are your two best papers? Tenure decision: what are your 5 best papers?

Everyone likes to churn out a list of triple digit publications, but 99% of those will have no discernible impact on the world.

Re: The Only Interview Question That Matters

#27

Post by kabdib »

I've been in the industry for 35 years now (and hacking computers before that). If I picked just one accomplishment, I'd have to choose just one from all the accomplishments that I'm equally proud of. Furthermore, if I chose one from earlier in my career, one which was really neat and a lot of fun and technically sweet and saved the project's bacon, you might think I'd not done much interesting stuff since then.

If you ask this, you're not going to get much actual data. You won't see me write code, you won't see me react to something totally new.

I might ask this during a screening interview, but it's a soft question that should lead into more concrete technical assessments.

So: Meh. No silver bullet.

Re: The Only Interview Question That Matters

#28

Post by FigBug »

tootie wrote: post #19
peacemaker wrote: post #7

As a senior guy who's been programming a long time, I honestly don't know what I'd pick in answer to this question. Partly because I've done loads of cool (and no so cool) things over the years and partly because I don't have the best memory in the world. How do you decide which past accomplishment is worthy of a 30 minute conversation? Usually what comes to mind when asked this question are simply the most recent th…

I've been a pro for nearly 15 years and the project that I'm most proud of was something i did as an undergrad. Now I'm sad.

Yup, me too. And it's the worst code I've ever written. Miranda IM. Millions of downloads, popular for 14 years. I got bigger than I ever imagined it could.

What have I worked on since: ACDZip, ACDSee, Tracktion, EAW Resolution, SPIN Review. ACDSee was a brief success, but the rest - meh.

Re: The Only Interview Question That Matters

#29

Post by jballanc »

Eh...forgive me for saying, but this is a bit of a cop-out. Especially where the author notes that you then have to supplement this "one question" with 20 min of follow-up. It's essentially saying "the only interview question that matters is having an interview".

I'm not saying that this doesn't work. I've been through my fair share of interviews on both sides of the table, and focusing an interview on various dimensions of a single project is a far, far better strategy than the typical haphazard array of semi-related questions on people skills and technical ability. Really, I think it's not even so important that you focus on the "that you're most proud of" part. This tack would work just as well, I suspect, with the interviewees second or third most notable accomplishment. What's important is that it is a project of sufficient size that you can ask the follow-ups, and in doing so construct a consistent picture of the candidate as an employee.

If you really want one question to get the most information from someone, my goto has always been:

"What is your current favorite language/framework/technology stack? What do you hate about it?"

Ok, so technically that's two (or one two-part question), but I've found that this question will very quickly reveal how able someone is to think critically and to assess all facets of the decisions that they make.

Re: The Only Interview Question That Matters

#30

Post by randallsquared »

This will get you a successful candidate who can talk at length about something they might have done. If talking is the bulk of the job, congratulations. If the job involves actually doing something requiring some skill, perhaps you should be testing for the skill, rather than ability to tell a (possibly true!) story.

Surely everyone has worked with that person who is confident and charismatic, who inspires confidence in everyone who hasn't (for example) read their code, but who produces negative work every day on the job. When that person eventually leaves (perhaps after spending months or years being shuffled around to the places they can do the least harm by their peers), they will have no problem finding a lucrative job elsewhere, because they are easy and fun to talk to, and can go on for hours about the very important projects they were on.

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