interviewing ftw

The interview process - what a mess.

Sometimes, superstar candidates get looked over.  Sometimes, less than stellar candidates get hired.  I've pondered this at length... it's frustrating.

As an interviewee, you're at the will of an unpredictable, inconsistent, filtering process.  As such, I suggest the following conventional wisdoms:

• Your resume and cover letter should present your best efforts and qualities.  Sell your "wins".
• Enumerate your skills, e.g., C++, SQL Server, Perl, etc.  It might seem trivial, especially if you think of yourself of more than just a set of skills, but if you don't, you'll be at a competitive disadvantage.
• During the entire interview process - from the first contact, the first phone call, and the first interview - speak calmly and purposefully.  Answer questions directly, don't speak wastefully, and communicate as eloquently as possible.
• Whether asked or not, when you're posed with a "thought" question, speak through it.  Reveal yourself, your manner of thinking, and above all, be honest - in particular, when you don't know an answer, say so.
• Know something about the position and company for which you're interviewing.  Think of poignant questions to ask your interviewer(s).

The frustrating part is this:  even if you're at 100%, your interviewers might not be.  They might be facing deadlines of their own, interviewing other candidates that day, or just having an "off" day.  You simply cannot control their perspective on that particular day, regardless of how prepared you are.

For interviewees, that's the reality of it:  despite your best efforts and best qualities, your interviewers may fail to expose how awesome you are.  If your interviewers decide to pass on hiring you, that's their loss, unless in fact, you're not awesome.  But that's another issue altogether.

So let's assume you are awesome.  Now we need to examine the process from the interviewer's standpoint.  Because the failure is the interviewer's if they choose not to hire you.

As an interviewer, you're faced with a huge responsibility.  Being one of three to five interviewers (typically), you share the responsibility of whether to spend tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new hire.  Will they be worth more than their salary?  Will they add to the social glue of the team?  Will they motivate their fellow team members, junior and senior, to rise to new levels?  Holy crap this is a big deal.

Here's the weird thing about hiring:  typically, senior staff will conduct interviews.  Being senior, they'll have biases.  Their opinions on hiring will be based on 1) whether the candidate shares similar personal/educational growth, and 2) the statistical pattern bias of their hiring history.  For example, if the interviewer has spent ten+ years becoming a master at recursion, they will take a negative bias of the candidate if they don't firmly grasp recursion - regardless of how much recursion is used in their products.

If you're an interviewer, here's my advice:  erase your biases.  Think of every candidate of being great until you've proven otherwise.  Your job is to discover the candidate's qualities - not eliminate them because they don't have the same technical "chops" as you.  This becomes the interviewer's challenge...  so how do you do it?

I have an approach to interviewing.  Of course, it is biased to my personal viewpoints and past interview experience.  But I strive desperately to avoiding succumbing to my biases.  I honestly believe that, as an interviewer, I am burdened with the challenge of discovering the candidate's greatness in 45 minutes or less.  So let's get to the meat of it - my approach to interviewing:

• At some point during the interview, I like to take a negative stance to something the candidate expresses a belief in.  I'm trying to evoke a response - because work isn't all positive.
• All good workers care deeply about the quality of their work.  So I might ask them to explain, comprehensively, how they ensured the quality of a particular project they implemented.
• As I interview, I listen to every word choice - and every sentence.  Communication skills are paramount.  This is a potential teammate - they need to be articulate.
• Also, as I listen, I am measuring the candidate's passion.  I am seeking natural, unforced passion.  The best workers are naturally motivated.
• Finally, I want to measure the candidate's talents for the position.  Being technically savvy is crucial - and I usually pose a handful of technical questions to measure their technical aptitude.

That's just a flattened perspective on conducting a decent interview.  The fact is, I cannot write a recipe on how to conduct the perfect interview.  I will say that, as an interviewer, I am always prepared:  I've read and researched the candidate and their past few employers, I've written my questions on paper, and I am mentally prepared to make the most of the few minutes I'll have with the candidate.

Regardless of what side you're on, I suggest putting forth a strong effort.  Distinguish yourself, whether interviewee or interviewer - your (potential) employer will recognize the effort.