Dilbert is always good for a laugh. Make sure you have common sense when you interview. Don’t trash your previous managers or coworkers. Relate your experience to something useful for the hiring manager. Send me things you wish you’d never heard in an interview (whether it was from you or the other person) and I’ll […]
I’ve long been a fan of phone screens, to make sure I only invite candidates for an in-person interview who are a reasonable fit for the job. Now that online services and some recruiters make candidates list every technical tool they’ve ever seen on their resume, it’s hard to tell who’s actually qualified for the
I spoke this morning at WIND (Wednesday is Networking Day), helping candidates learn how to interview when the interviewers don’t necessarily ask great questions. At one point, one of the participants said, “Start with a zinger, then explain with data, then discuss your process.” When you answer a question such as “Tell me about a
Recently, two colleagues got stuck in their negotiations over a job offer. The candidate thought he heard “How little will it take to make you happy?” The hiring manager thought he said, “What do you need?” Argh. Both of these are bad questions. When you’re asked how little you need, you feel as if you’re
If you’re a hiring manager, you may want to know a candidate’s greatest strength and/or weakness. Unfortunately, if you ask openly like this, it becomes a not-so-hot interview question. See Practice Before Interviewing. If you were to ask me about a weakness, I could answer this way, “Well, I have a tendency to work a
I was reading Andy Tinkham’s “Disproportionate amount of introverts in software testing” (post is now missing) and saw a comment that one person tends to discriminate for introverts in testing. I agree with the intent of the comment, that the hiring manager wants people who are organized and pay attention to the work. However, I