4 ms·

As an interviewer, I've usually made up my mind by the time I let the candidate ask questions. My "tell" in interviews is that I tend to forget to give people I

As an interviewer, I've usually made up my mind by the time I let the candidate ask questions. My "tell" in interviews is that I tend to forget to give people I've rejected a chance to ask me questions. So, I'm not looking for the candidate to show deep insight with just the right set of questions But, asking a bunch of overly aggressive questions will earn a candidate a "might not play well with others" footnote on my evaluation. The questions in the article are great. Getting confrontational when you're supposed to be making a good impression is a bit of a warning flag. My advice: Use your questions to make sure you understand what kind of work you'll be doing. Use them to understand the team dynamic. Carefully use them to understand if the company has a reasonable business plan. Don't be a jerk and ask a lot of confrontational or trick questions.

artmageddon 15y ago
>But, asking a bunch of overly aggressive questions will earn a candidate a "might not play well with others" footnote on my evaluation. The questions in the article are great. Getting confrontational when you're supposed to be making a good impression is a bit of a warning flag. Can you give examples of these kinds of questions that you've been asked in the past? I'm imagining a question like "You think you can kick my ass in arm-wrestling?" to be one but I'm sure you have different thoughts on it :)
- jacquesgt 15y ago
  My favorite one was the guy who looked up my name on a list of resumes he had printed out from LinkedIn or something and asked me why I was in such and such a role when I was clearly more suited for another role based on my experience. First of all, he was wrong, and second, creepy! Just in general, be respectful. If you disagree with an answer, ask a clarifying question or move on. Don't tell me in the middle of an interview that out whole approach is wrong, especially when it's on a fairly subjective matter. We're doing the interview to learn about each other, not to convince each other about development philosophies. If you don't understand that there's a time and a place for disagreement, it's a warning sign to me (not saying disagreement is bad, but there are times when it's much more appropriate than others).

artmageddon 15y ago

>But, asking a bunch of overly aggressive questions will earn a candidate a "might not play well with others" footnote on my evaluation. The questions in the article are great. Getting confrontational when you're supposed to be making a good impression is a bit of a warning flag. Can you give examples of these kinds of questions that you've been asked in the past? I'm imagining a question like "You think you can kick my ass in arm-wrestling?" to be one but I'm sure you have different thoughts on it :)

jacquesgt 15y ago
My favorite one was the guy who looked up my name on a list of resumes he had printed out from LinkedIn or something and asked me why I was in such and such a role when I was clearly more suited for another role based on my experience. First of all, he was wrong, and second, creepy! Just in general, be respectful. If you disagree with an answer, ask a clarifying question or move on. Don't tell me in the middle of an interview that out whole approach is wrong, especially when it's on a fairly subjective matter. We're doing the interview to learn about each other, not to convince each other about development philosophies. If you don't understand that there's a time and a place for disagreement, it's a warning sign to me (not saying disagreement is bad, but there are times when it's much more appropriate than others).