Interviewing Questions

This is something that I have some experience with. The problem is that you want to find someone with skills and TALENT, not just skills. Skill can be acquired just by reading books.

The first questions you ask should be the obvious ones. If you were hiring for a C++ developer, you would ask questions about features of C++. What kinds of a parameters are allowed on function calls? What ++i mean inside the definition of a loop?

Then, bring on some harder questions. Things like "what technique would you use to xxx"? Then, give them some code fragments, and ask them to tell you what it does. Don't make this complex, because they've got to do it in their head in just a few seconds or so.

The last sorts of questions should giveyou an idea of how they will work on a team. What would you do if you found a bug in someone else's code? What would you do if your spec is uncertain but the author is away? This will help you identify the loose cannons.

Don't forget to "grade" them on how clear and concise their answers are. Someone who rattles on for 10 minutes may not know the answer and is using a shotgun approach, or they might be someone who has difficulty staying focused.

One word of advice: ensure that your questions do not violate any labour laws, union agreements, or human rights codes. If your firm has an HR and/or legal group, run the questions by them. It might save you a lawsuit.

In short, though, the questions MUST focus on someone's abilityto do the job. Skin colour, country of origin, religeous belief, etc. don't matter.

There are two links that are posted by the Tech Republic that provide good questions that can be asked and also that should be avoided.

Try:

https://www.techrepublic.com/download_item.jhtml?id=dr00219991220eje01.htm

Also:

https://www.techrepublic.com/download_item.jhtml?id=dr00619991111eli01.htm

This one is for trainers, but after reviewing, many could apply to anyone being interviewed.

Hope these help, I know they helped me.

Paul

Personally I look at a mix of technical and personal skills. The specific questions depend on the position but here are some examples:

Tell me about some projects you have recently completed.

Describe your current work environment and how it affects your performance.

What is your favorite part of your job? What is your least favorite?

Here is my personal overall favorite:

Tell me your favorite work story. (This one tells me how they perceive their job, their customers, etc.)