Re: Perl Interviews

[TheoPetersen]

Before I can help you, I have to interview you :)

Are you interviewing for immediate help (people who will hit the ground running, as it were), or are you working to build a good team in the long run?

It would be nice to do both, I'm sure, but the interview styles are different. When looking for immediate help, you should ask technical questions focused on your problem: do you know how to work with sockets in Perl? Have you scripted with CGI.pm?

To build a good team long-term, interpersonal issues are as important as technical skills. First and foremost, everyone has to get along with you (assuming your interviewing position indicates some degree of team leadership too) so you should be checking for the kind of things that you like in co-workers, and also for things that drive you crazy in people you have to put up with.

You can try asking about what the interviewees like to do off work, but of course they have every right to turn down personal questions. Do ask about their experiences in programming teams previously, and try to get them to air their gripes and talk about what they enjoyed.

If you aren't hiring to fill an immediate niche position, the main thing to establish is learning ability and enthusiasm. Does the interviewee wince at your choice of language or tools? Why? Do they display an interest in languages, and in the subject matter?

You just changed jobs; why? What interested you in the project and company? That should provide some good questions for others considering the same move.

As for figuring out who is faking it, there isn't a simple answer. Barring a really bad blunder, you have to go with your feelings. If someone gives you a bad vibe, then ask yourself, do I want to work with this person? If you have any misgivings, don't hire them. It's far better to go short handed for awhile than to hire someone you have doubts about.

People who are bad interviewees are even more difficult. Ask them to expand on answers. Ask them easy questions first to get them in the habit of answering. If necessary, start with what they had for lunch :) If someone seems promising but is hard to figure, ask them for another interview, at a different time of day; maybe even a different location.

If you have doubts about a person who seems promising, try another tactic. Ask them to discuss a program they've written in detail (bearing in mind that non-disclosures prevent you from seeing the code most of us write for a living). Good programmers love to talk about their best hacks. A little used technique is to ask them to bring a co-worker or friend to an interview. Engage the other person to help draw out the interviewee. You may even find yourself two employees at once.