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Don’t do interviews, do discussions

thinkingthrough.substack.com

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Re: Don’t do interviews, do discussions

#31

Post by sillysaurusx »

CalRobert wrote: post #26

I've finally reached a point in my career where I have a great paying job and like it well enough, and really don't give a shit what interviewers think. Paradoxically, I think I interview a lot better. I can steer conversation towards stuff I care about, and if they insist on being annoying, just thank them for their time and leave. Though this might just be a result of being pickier about who I interview with. If no…

This is the proper way to negotiate. Most people don't do it while they have a job, only when they want one, and it puts them at a serious disadvantage.

Re: Don’t do interviews, do discussions

#32

Post by mattnewton »

CalRobert wrote: post #26

I've finally reached a point in my career where I have a great paying job and like it well enough, and really don't give a shit what interviewers think. Paradoxically, I think I interview a lot better. I can steer conversation towards stuff I care about, and if they insist on being annoying, just thank them for their time and leave. Though this might just be a result of being pickier about who I interview with. If no…

I wonder how much "interviewing" is really testing the kind of performance anxiety that people without other good offers yet have.

I experience this too as I not just as I progressed in my career, but even within one batch of interviewing. I've always tried to batch as many interviews as I can. By the third interview I am feeling much less anxious and just perform much better and by the fourth or fifth I am nailing them to the wall - performance seems to be inversely proportional to how much I am worried about doing well in this particular interview.

Re: Don’t do interviews, do discussions

#33

Post by kube-system »

jstx1 wrote: post #25
monocasa wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Discussion style interviews aren't about pretending they're not interviewing you though.

The title is "Don't do interviews, do discussions". That's repeated in the main text. The author seems to be concerned about the feeling of "I am being evaluated". I think that's counterproductive because it's false - being evaluatated is the whole point of the conversation and it's better if both sides were honest about it instead of lying to each other and playing games.

The tone of an evaluation can change the experience and isn’t boolean.

Re: Don’t do interviews, do discussions

#34

Post by halfmatthalfcat »

jstx1 wrote: post #27
arketyp wrote: post #11

I've been involved in interviews for new hires a couple of years now. I'm pretty sure I could have the interviewee talk about cucumbers for 10 minutes and I could determine if its a good hire or not. It's all about getting insight about how the person thinks.

If I'm kind of stiff in conversations with strangers but decent at programming, does that mean that your company doesn't have a place for me?

Are you stiff when talking about programming? Regardless what you're talking about, you're going to have to work with a team and communicate the problems at hand. I think that's really the crux of "having a conversational interview". Can you communicate technical things, both broadly and in depth, effectively.

Re: Don’t do interviews, do discussions

#35

Post by sillysaurusx »

arketyp wrote: post #11

I've been involved in interviews for new hires a couple of years now. I'm pretty sure I could have the interviewee talk about cucumbers for 10 minutes and I could determine if its a good hire or not. It's all about getting insight about how the person thinks.

In all likelihood, you've rejected phenomenal candidates and you didn't even realize it.

Re: Don’t do interviews, do discussions

#36

Post by monocasa »

jstx1 wrote: post #25
monocasa wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Discussion style interviews aren't about pretending they're not interviewing you though.

The title is "Don't do interviews, do discussions". That's repeated in the main text. The author seems to be concerned about the feeling of "I am being evaluated". I think that's counterproductive because it's false - being evaluatated is the whole point of the conversation and it's better if both sides were honest about it instead of lying to each other and playing games.

In context, I take it to mean "don't do the normal format of interviewing, use discussions". No amount of phrasing is going to convince you that you aren't sitting in an interview. I wouldn't want to convince you you're not in an interview anyway, that seems pretty dishonest. There's just way more value in having a (albeit can be fairly technical) discussion rather than typical call/response style of interview that consists pretty much solely of "did you memorize what I'm looking for". Particularly because I don't expect the person I'm interviewing to be a master of everything, having a discussion can lead to some common ground where we can go in deep on some of your actual previous experience.

Re: Don’t do interviews, do discussions

#38

Post by sevagh »

dudul wrote: post #22
Daishiman wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can advance your title and earnings while also simultaneously not lose your will to live. I've done the whole money+title things at places where my work barely made any impact. You'll pay for it later on; 40+ hours of weekly grind takes a toll on your mind and body.

I dont disagree. The parent's only metric was "advancing your career". Not being happy or feeling fulfilled or anything else. If the only thing you focus on is career advancement, you don't need to be at a great place that makes you the most productive.

Agreed with this.

Oftentimes, you even _have_ to painfully grind out advancements in your career from unfulfilling, unhappy places, because amazing jobs aren't abundant and you have to eat (and also you have to have experience and a resume to apply for amazing jobs).

Re: Don’t do interviews, do discussions

#39

Post by indymike »

I'm not even sure what an interview that is not a discussion would look like and even less sure it would provide value, especially when it comes to technical talent. There's far too much time spent on validating "can this person do X that they claim they do." That can be easily tested or validated with reference checks. What is hard is knowing if an interviewee knows when to do X, when to do Y, and can they coordinate with teams A and B to get it done.

Re: Don’t do interviews, do discussions

#40

Post by EGreg »

I do that on my own show, when I interview Noam Chomsky, former regulators etc. I don’t like to fawn over them and ask the same questions as everyone. I try to bridge what they talk about and modern technology, and see if we can have a meaningful DISCUSSION about freedom of speech or sociopolitics or economics or regulations. Here are some episodes:

Economics: Thomas Greco, community currency economist https://community.intercoin.org/t/interview-with-thomas-h-gr...

Regulations: Sara Hanks, former SEC regulator and author of Regulation S https://community.intercoin.org/t/interview-with-sara-hanks-...

Freedom of Speech: Noam Chomsky, sociopolitical commentator and linguist https://community.qbix.com/t/freedom-of-speech-and-capitalis...

I don’t hold back, in the Noam Chomsky discussion I accuse him for example of having a lot of social capital (followers and influence is a form of capital that is convertible to other forms) and he brushes it off. Overall the discussions tend to focus 99% on substance, and deal with the Web, Social Platforms, Blockchain and Cryptocurrency, how they can change the world and the issues surrounding them.

PS: I know that for now no one has heard of Intercoin or Qbix or my interviews and I am OK with that. Eventually it will be discovered once our products are more mainstream. I am looking forward to interviewing Edward Snowden and a few other people next.

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