NYCPHP Meetup

[David Krings]

Hi!

I never hired or interviewed anyone, but currently look for a new job 
and can tell you some of the questions that I ask and my point of view 
of things you consider doing during the interview.


Ben Sgro (ProjectSkyline) wrote:
> Hello all,
>  
> /So, once again, depending on the actual job description, I might take 
> some ugly code (in any real work environment, there should be no 
> shortage of that :), print it out, and give the candidate a pad and a 
> pen, or a text editor, and say "Clean this up.  I'll be back in 20 
> minutes."/
>  
> That's a great idea. Our first product (wasn't meant to ever be realesed 
> heh) is a mess. If the candidate could manage to navigate through it and 
> improve it, I would be impressed.

While that is indeed a good exercise it may backfire and make your 
development team look chaotic and disorganized. It may also give the 
impression as if it is OK to create ugly code. You or someone on your 
team apparently did. I would get some doubts if your place is really the 
best address to apply my skills. As a candidate I'd also be confused as 
to what the purpose of this exercise is. Do you expect me to go through 
thousands of lines later and clean up the mess that others left behind? 
Do these developers consider themselves to be "too good" to do work like 
that? And does this test tell you anything about how the candidate 
writes and formats code?
At least don't tell the candidates that this code was considered a 
"product". You need to sell yourself to applicants in the same way as 
they sell themslves to you. And for anyone who is serious about their 
work things like coding standards, work ethic, and such matter as much 
as money.



> /Also check with HR to find out what you are *not* allowed to ask, 
> anything that could be construed to be a basis for discrimination like age.
> /
> We don't have HR, but I will keep it pretty technical and not 
> personal...besides asking what
> their personal interests are.

I wouldn't ask anything personal other than education and previous 
employment. It is none of your business if the candidate likes watching 
SpongeBob. This isn't Germany where it is common to ask this, and the 
occupation of your parents, and to which elementary school you went to.


> /If you like somebody and think they will work out, ask them to come 
> back and invite in 2 or 3 of their potential coworkers and have a short 
> brainstorming session on a problem you have at the moment.  See what 
> they contribute./
>  
> That's a great idea. The position is for a coder, but I let candidates 
> know in my post and on the phone
> that there would be times when they might deal with customers, work an 
> account, provide insight
> to larger projects, be writing CL scripts, etc. It's a many hats 
> position, because we are a small company
> and have lots to get done. I know that this may not work, so based on 
> their performance, I can
> place more of their time onto things they a) enjoy doing b) do well 
> (which probably are related).

In that case you may also consider someone who does PHP development as a 
hobby (like me), but has many other skills such as software QA and 
support experience (like me)....uh, did I just apply for the job? ;)
You can always teach them about objects and classes later if they got 
the basics down such as loops, conditions, and such.


> /As for questions, its good to have a formal test you ask them to take, 
> but interviewing is an art you can only get good at with practice./
> // 
> This will be the first time the tables are turned. I've never conducted 
> an interview before.
>  

I was asked once to take a test during an interview. As soon as the HR 
person asked me to do that I no longer wanted that job. Hire me because 
I work well and not because I test well. Knowing a lot doesn't 
necessarily mean that one can do a lot. There is a fine line between 
knowledge and skill and you really want to go for skill more than 
knowledge. I'm not saying that knowing a lot is bad, but I met people 
with tons of technical degress that were challanged by wiring up a 
simple phone.


Now, the questions that I tend to ask are:
What is the ratio between developers and QA staff? (Should be somewhat 
towards 1:1) Ratio between staff and management? (the lower the better)

Do you like working here? (You better shout out a convincing "Yes" 
immediately and tell me why your company/organization is the best to 
work for in the entire universe)

What is the turnover rate? (If your staff is dropping like the flies you 
really have a problem, not only in regards to answering this question)

Do I have access to all resources and persons on the team and in 
management? (I don't want to schedule an appointment with my supervisor 
for an urgent issue and I don't like not being allowed to go straight to 
other developers to address an issue. This is supposed a team, not a 
jail or the military)

Am I allowed to choose the tools that I consider are the best to do the 
job? (Saying yes may mean that someone buys anything that Programmer's 
Paradise has in stock. If it is about buying the favorite PHP IDE for 
50$ I'd expect that to be a non-issue as long as it makes me (means the 
candidate/employee) be more productive / feel more comfortable. After 
all, you hire someone because they have skills that you currently do not 
have available at all or in the needed amount in your team. You are 
looking for a subject matter expert and not a whipping boy.)

Now the questions that I was asked and that I think are pretty useless:
Where do you want to be in five years? (on my private beach with a huge 
house and tons of cash....no, I don't answer that, I say I want to 
broaden my knowledge and become a subject matter expert in the field I 
am working in. Honestly, first tell me that you will pay me for five 
years and then we can talk where I want to be.)

Why did you apply for this position? (Guess why? I need a job and you 
are hiring, that's why. You apparently think that I am qualified 
otherwise you wouldn't have invited me for an interview.)

How do you organize your workplace? (Who cares if it looks like a bomb 
dropped. There are no customers in my cube and in the end the quality of 
the result counts. A way more interesting question would be how the 
candidate treats other's workspaces and common areas, like the lunch 
room or bathroom - but you are not allowed to ask that.)

What do you expect to get paid? (A million bucks, please....the 
candidate will let you know when you make an offer. If you really like 
one person and they turn you down, you can make a better offer. Use 
salary.com to find out what the going rate is in the area and be sure 
that the applicant did the same. Money is important, but really 
something to talk about at the very very end of the process.)



Good luck finding the right person.

David