Worst interview questions for software developers
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Re: Worst interview questions for software developers
#2Depending on where you are, questions 1 and 3 are just straight up illegal. No interviewer in the US would dare ask about vices or your family situation unless they don’t mind shelling out lawsuit settlements to everyone they interview and decline to hire.
Re: Worst interview questions for software developers
#3>4. Why do you change jobs so often (so rarely)?
Am I wrong to think this seems at least somewhat reasonable? Like obviously it's annoying to explain yourself, but it takes time to on-board someone and for them to become productive and it seems reasonable to want someone to stay on long enough for that at least. This naturally applies less to those super engineers you barely need to train and have obvious experienced, but that's probably not the normal case.
Re: Worst interview questions for software developers
#4> Don’t make people cheat you.
Solid general piece of advice there. If the best answer is a lie, it’s not a good question.
Re: Worst interview questions for software developers
#5Ok, what are the best questions?
Re: Worst interview questions for software developers
#6 4. Why do you change jobs so often (so rarely)?
How does that matter? If I am a match for the company
in terms of qualifications and personal qualities, how
will my job history and reflection help? I changed jobs
every year or so. Is that “often” or “rarely”? What’s
wrong with changing jobs frequently?
Several of the questions in the article are very good questions to ask. Their purpose isn't for the candidate to give some canned response, like the article states. Their purpose is to help the candidate shine by asking questions that can be answered with examples from the candidate's background. If the candidate can't give solid answers that's not an issue with the questions.
Re: Worst interview questions for software developers
#7>4. Why do you change jobs so often (so rarely)? Am I wrong to think this seems at least somewhat reasonable? Like obviously it's annoying to explain yourself, but it takes time to on-board someone and for them to become productive and it seems reasonable to want someone to stay on long enough for that at least. This naturally applies less to those super engineers you barely need to train and have obvious experienced…
A short job or two, fine, but at a certain point it’s a pattern that needs a reason. If the reason is “my spouse was in the military and we moved around a lot for that, but we longer do”, that’s fair enough. If the answer is that you weren’t happy enough at your last jobs to stay for more than 12 months, then why should I think you’ll be any different at your next job?
Re: Worst interview questions for software developers
#8> Don’t make people cheat you. Solid general piece of advice there. If the best answer is a lie, it’s not a good question.
I have that same general perspective working with the kids. Don't ask questions where you both know the correct answer is the bad answer. Examples, "Who did this?" "Why haven't you done your homework yet?" "Have you started your homework?"
Much better to do the invitation style questions. "Who is going to help me clean this up?" "What is left to your homework?", etc.
With the obvious major caveat of things being very tailored to the specific kid and situation, of course.
Re: Worst interview questions for software developers
#9Ok, what are the best questions?
I was curious if there were going to be good questions at the bottom. I suspect the general idea is that good questions are essentially unstable due to Goodhart's Law. (That is, as soon as they are on a list, they are no longer good.)
Re: Worst interview questions for software developers
#10#10 is a measurement of ability to mentally model and estimate problems. Relevant to engineering ability.
#8 measures self-awareness. Many people can answer this question with "I know I could be much better at X and I am working on it" which is what it's about.