Interviewing for Artifacts

A broken pot tells an archaeologist a story. It illuminates the civilization that once was and now has only its remnants to speak for it.

Interviewing IT candidates serves a similar purpose. In an interview we are looking for artifacts of experience. We ask about one keyword after another. We ask about one Code Pattern and then another. How the candidate responds is important. Zero level experience candidates tend to deflect and divert. They will mention Google. They will talk about how they are a great learner. Their expression of enthusiasm will grow ever higher.

After just a little bit of non response joined with expression of enthusiasm from a candidate it is interesting to see the spilt response from a panel interview. The panel was a mixture of technical and business types. The more business oriented the more positive the response, the more technical the individual, the more negative the evaluation.

Business types value that enthusiasm, and for their problems Google always seems to have the answer.

Technical types know that lacking the basics skills in the language is bad news. Only after one has the basic language skills down, does the formation of Code Patterns or Coding Idioms take shape.