The Joys of Job Interviews

#careeradvice #interview

This week we have been discussing our hiring process at work, and it got me thinking a lot about the interviews I have had and conducted over the years and what that says about the company.

For many the interview is the first impression a candidate is going to have a company. It makes me wonder then, why companies insist on making the process as long and gruelling as possible.

Over the years the interviews I have had generally consisted of a combination of the following:

Telephone interview with recruiter/HR
Timed technical test (e.g. LeetCode/HackerRank)
Technical telephone interview with engineers
Technical project
Code review assessment
Live in-person coding
Whiteboard exercise
Psychometric tests
Presentation
Group Presentation

For some particularly prestigious jobs they can include all of the above!

I am now at the stage of my career where a long interview process is a definite red flag and will stop me from applying to a company. At the end of the day, if a candidate has had a long career with multiple jobs spanning a decade or more, chances are they are at least half decent.

Obviously, with junior candidates you might want to be a bit more rigorous in the interview process but at that level, it is more important that they have a willingness to learn, and no test is going to tell you that.

I find that if the interview process has been enjoyable, and I have left happier than when I went in then there is a good chance I will enjoy working for that company as well. It is often the people that you work with (or work for) that can make or break your experience at a company. Even a particularly dull job can be enjoyable with the right people around you.

If I look back at the companies I have enjoyed working at the most the interview consisted of a short technical test/exercise followed by a lengthy chat with either a senior engineer or the CTO. I wasn't grilled too much over my experience instead it was more about my enthusiasm about technology and my willingness to learn new skills.

A lot of these interview exercises are questionable and don't mimic the reality of the job. There are a couple I particularly dislike:

Timed technical test - For jobs with a high number of applicants I can understand the need to automatically filter out those that can't even code Fizz Buzz. Beyond that though these tests are unrealistic.
Live in-person coding - If my job consists of me coding while a manager is looking over my shoulder all the time then it is going to be a hard pass. Even as a staff engineer, I Google how to do a lot of things, including things I should know off by heart. Having someone watch what I am doing just makes me nervous and causes me to make mistakes I wouldn't normally make.

I think the perfect balance consists of a short telephone interview to see if they are right for the role, a small technical project, and an in person interview with an engineer with a code review exercise.

This is the interview process I try and follow when I hire candidates as well making sure that the interview process is as enjoyable as possible. If the candidate is a nervous wreck then it can be difficult to gauge what it would be like to work with them and whether they have the skills required for the role.

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