5 ms·

An idea I've tried a bit in the past (and would like to try more, given the chance): ask a question that you don't know the answer to. This shifts the power ba

by jsankey 16y ago

An idea I've tried a bit in the past (and would like to try more, given the chance): ask a question that you don't know the answer to. This shifts the power balance of the interview - you don't automatically have the answer over the candidate. You also don't have your mind closed by your expected answer(s). Both of these make the resulting discussion more comparable to how you will work with a colleague, which is what you are trying to test the candidate for, after all. Doing this requires more effort and guts from the interviewer, but it's still easier than being on the other side of the desk. Finding a supply of suitable questions is probably the trickiest part - you could try looking up some problems from competitions just prior to the interview, or you could perhaps take a real problem you are trying to solve at that point in time (abstracted as required).

brianm 16y ago
I have done this before, usually if I am working on something interesting, and for which I don't like any solution I have yet hit on. In this case, I do the best I can to describe the problem, thinking thus far, etc, and turn the interview into a design session at the whiteboard. I can only recommend doing it with a candidate you are more selling to then evaluating, and whom you think will be a good fit. A strong candidate will jump in and you'll have a great session (I had one in particular with a great young erlanger whom we wound up losing to someone else, but the interview left a lasting impression and we kept in touch long afterwards).
tsycho 16y ago
That's a very good idea. I would go further and tell the candidate that I don't know the solution myself, thus hopefully putting him/her at ease and making it clear that I am more interested in the thought and design process, rather than figuring out the "trick" in the question. The tough part here is to choose a good question.
sangaya 16y ago
This was the approach my current employer chose. They basically were like "Here's the challenges we expect you to tackle once you start. Let's discuss how you would approach each." Essentially a high-level design session where they got to see my thought process and I got to ask lots of questions about the firm. The best part is that when I started they were pretty comfortable with my approach to certain projects as it was previously covered, and I knew what I was getting into. No big surprises for either side.

by jsankey 16y ago

brianm 16y ago

I have done this before, usually if I am working on something interesting, and for which I don't like any solution I have yet hit on. In this case, I do the best I can to describe the problem, thinking thus far, etc, and turn the interview into a design session at the whiteboard. I can only recommend doing it with a candidate you are more selling to then evaluating, and whom you think will be a good fit. A strong candidate will jump in and you'll have a great session (I had one in particular with a great young erlanger whom we wound up losing to someone else, but the interview left a lasting impression and we kept in touch long afterwards).

tsycho 16y ago

That's a very good idea. I would go further and tell the candidate that I don't know the solution myself, thus hopefully putting him/her at ease and making it clear that I am more interested in the thought and design process, rather than figuring out the "trick" in the question. The tough part here is to choose a good question.

sangaya 16y ago

This was the approach my current employer chose. They basically were like "Here's the challenges we expect you to tackle once you start. Let's discuss how you would approach each." Essentially a high-level design session where they got to see my thought process and I got to ask lots of questions about the firm. The best part is that when I started they were pretty comfortable with my approach to certain projects as it was previously covered, and I knew what I was getting into. No big surprises for either side.