Rules for a better interview process

[darmstadt]

You have 20 people. They can all ******* program. Which one can ******* program the ******* best?

The one who brought a crate of beer to the interview

[minestrone]

Been asked about blogs & forums before, then when I gave a few names was asked what was the last think I had read on each site so they could check how often I was reading said blogs. Sneaky fecker. (got the gig )

Realistically there is bugger all chance of me saying "like to hang out on the CUK general forum, posting tulipe & making fun of the fat kids".

[eek]

Been asked about blogs & forums before, then when I gave a few names was asked what was the last think I had read on each site so they could check how often I was reading said blogs. Sneaky fecker. (got the gig )

Realistically there is bugger all chance of me saying "like to hang out on the CUK general forum, posting tulipe & making fun of the fat kids".

Posting on here got me this current gig. : so never say never.

We also reckon NLUK works here. There is a right miserable supposed know it all sat behind one of us.

[eek]

I remember in one project where code was being ripped out because it was "too clever".

Only 1 project. I do that on most of them including this evening.

[mudskipper]

Posting on here got me this current gig. : so never say never.

We also reckon NLUK works here. There is a right miserable supposed know it all sat behind one of us.

Start talking about how you opted out of IR35. That'll flush him out.

[BlasterBates]

You have 20 people. They can all ******* program. Which one can ******* program the ******* best?

I've seen a guy with a PhD apply for a Java job, he got 4% on the brainbench multiple choice we used for screening. Really?

I'd also say that 10 years working for "big names in IT" is no guarantee of competence. I'd add that you need to ask some technical questions (i.e. how would you do X? or explain the difference between A & B) at interview to see if the candidate actually has the knowledge he claims to have. Some people just list the technology the project used, whether they dealt with it themselves or not.

One project team I worked with took on a Java programmer to write c++. If they had tested him on c++ he would have failed miserably. But he was a gr8 programmer.

They didn´t test him at all actually they just took him on

His code was very well structured, although it was full of news without deletes, but with code reviews and a few hints he produced gr8 stuff.

The PhD Java programmer would probably have needed a week or two to get into it but I very much suspect he would producing very well structure code and very well tested code, because PhD´s on the whole are very thorough indeed at what they do.

Not everyone who who is good at technical tests produces good maintainable well tested code that is fit for purpose (pattern mania springs to mind).

In the end the technical tests show the guy is good at technical tests but not engineering software.

[VectraMan]

I'd also say that 10 years working for "big names in IT" is no guarantee of competence.

Plenty of people get by in "programming" whilst actually doing meetings/documentation/customer support/builds/management etc. etc. I think I could spend 5 minutes interviewing a C++ programmer and tell whether they had the real understanding that comes from bitter, hard fought, day to day experience from someone who'd been part of a team doing it but left all the difficult stuff to someone else. You can't really learn that from a CV.

[doodab]

The PhD Java programmer would probably have needed a week or two to get into it but I very much suspect he would producing very well structure code and very well tested code, because PhD´s on the whole are very thorough indeed at what they do.

His PhD project was allegedly programmatically generating java code. His result on the test was much worse than random chance, and it was a basic syntax multiple choice. Something didn't add up. Perhaps he answered all the questions wrongly as a protest.

[darmstadt]

Some things to do in an interview:

-Said he was so well-qualified [that] if he didn't get the job, it would prove that the company's management was incompetent.
-Stretched out on the floor to fill out the job application.
-Brought her large dog to the interview.
-Chewed bubble gum and constantly blew bubbles.
-Candidate kept giggling through serious interview.
-She wore a Walkman and said she could listen to me and the music at the same time.
-Balding candidate abruptly excused himself. Returned to office a few minutes later, wearing a hairpiece.
-Applicant challenged interviewer to arm wrestle.
-Asked to see interviewer's resume to see if the personnel executive was qualified to judge the candidate.
-Announced she hadn't had lunch and proceeded to eat a hamburger and french fries in the interviewer's office.
-Without saying a word, candidate stood up and walked out during the middle of the interview.
-Man wore jogging suit to interview for position as financial vice president.
-Said if he were hired, he would demonstrate his loyalty by having the corporate logo tattooed on his forearm.
-Interrupted to phone his therapist for advice on answering specific interview questions.
-Wouldn't get out of the chair until I would hire him. I had to call the police.
-When I asked him about his hobbies, he stood up and started tap dancing around my office.
-Had a little pinball game and challenged me to play with him.
-Bounced up and down on my carpet and told me I must be highly thought of by the company because I was given such a thick carpet.
-Took a brush out of my purse, brushed his hair and left.
-Pulled out a Polaroid camera and snapped a flash picture of me. Said he collected photos of everyone who interviewed him.
-Candidate asked me if I would put on a suit jacket to insure that the offer was formal.
-Said he wasn't interested because the position paid too much.
-While I was on a long-distance phone call, the applicant took out a copy of Penthouse, and looked through the photos only, stopping longest at the centerfold.
-During the interview, an alarm clock went off from the candidate's brief case. He took it out, shut it off, apologized and said he had to leave for another interview.
-A telephone call came in for the job applicant. It was from his wife. His side of the conversation went like this: "Which company? When do l start? What's the salary?" I said, "l assume you're not interested in conducting the interview any further." He promptly responded, "I am as long as you'll pay me more. "I didn't hire him, but later found out there was no other job offer.. It was a scam to get a higher offer.
-An applicant came in wearing only one shoe. She explained that the other shoe was stolen off her foot in the bus.
-His attache [case] opened when he picked it up and the contents spilled, revealing ladies' undergarments and assorted makeup and perfume.
-He came to the interview on a moped and left it in the reception area. He didn't want it to get stolen, and stated that he would require indoor parking for the moped.
-He took off his right shoe and sock, removed a medicated foot powder and dusted it on the foot and in the shoe. While he was putting back the shoe and sock, he mentioned that he had to use the powder four times a day, and this was the time.
-Candidate said he really didn't want to get a job, but the unemployment office needed proof that he was looking for one.
-He whistled when the interviewer was talking.
-Asked who the lovely babe was, pointing to the picture on my desk. When I said it was my wife, he asked if she was home now and wanted my phone number. I called security.
-She threw-up on my desk, and immediately started asking questions about the job, like nothing had happened.
-Pointing to a black case he carried into my office, he said that if he was not hired, the bomb would go off. Disbelieving, I began to state why he would never be hired and that I was going to call the police. He then reached down to the case, flipped a switch and ran. The bomb went off and no one was injured, but I did need to get a new desk.
-Asked if I wanted some cocaine before starting the interview.

[eek]

I've seen a guy with a PhD apply for a Java job, he got 4% on the brainbench multiple choice we used for screening. Really?

You use multiguess online testing for screening. It would explain a lot.


The people who pass those tests are people who remember minutia. Useful in some places, not so useful in others.