John Kador, who’s written a number of books about interviewing and a new one coming out, has an article about brainteaser and riddle interviews on Darwin. Kador gives pointers on how to answer the questions, and if you’re a candidate, you should read his suggestions. They will help you in the interview. I have a […]
I was a reference for a senior manager yesterday. At first, the reference started to ask me, “What do you think are so-and-so’s weaknesses?” I hate that question, because it all depends on the context. And I’m smart enough to turn that question around so a weakness doesn’t sound like a weakness. Grr. But then,
A hiring manager recently asked me “How do I assess the motivation of my candidates?” I asked him what he meant by motivation. He replied, “The ability to see what needs to be done and the willingness to see things through.” I’m not sure managers care why people are motivated to work; they care people
Since there’s a (temporary in my mind) glut of candidates, some hiring managers are asking for specific industry expertise, such as: consumer product, enterprise-wide application, or web-content expertise. Unfortunately, that’s shorthand for what I believe people are really looking for: a specific mindset that meets the cultural requirements of the product development process. Here’s an
I spoke at a graduate class last week, presenting my “Interview with Ease” (candidate version, not the hiring version) workshop to the class. One of the questions that arose was: What do I do when I’m faced with a puzzle? In Down with Games and Puzzles, I suggested using an audition instead of a game
Here’s a list of the top ten questions interviewers ask. (How do they know??) I really like the way these questions are framed in behavior-description style. I have a nit to pick with question 2: What did you like best and least about your previous job? I don’t think that’s a question about administrative and
In my Interview Candidates One-on-One post, Christian explained how he’d done some pair interviewing. The lead interviewer and the safety-net is one technique for pair interviewing. When two people, obviously a lead and a safety-net interview me, I tend to talk just to the lead and not to the other person. I don’t think I’m
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
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