Nano Tips - Interviewing (Part 2)

See Part 1 of the tips, but let's continue on to examine just how to make sure that the interviewing is a good experience for the interviewees as well.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but the most important thing is to always treat others as how you would want to be treated during the interview.

Study the resume

You can find out a lot about the candidates by studying the resume.  It will tell you what they are passionate about, what areas they are strong in, where they have been spending their time.  By studying the resume, you can tailor your questions accordingly.  With some exceptions, but most of the jobs have a wide range of attributes and technical acumens that the company is looking for.  What you are looking for are people who are really expert in the areas that they claim they have expertise in, instead of nitpicking areas where they clearly have not much experiences.  Most of people's abilities are picked up from their previous jobs, experiences, and background, and when they can get really deep into a topic they are very passionate about, they are more at ease to share with you what they know.  Conversely, if they can truly go deep on a few topics and you see they are enthusiastic about those topics, you have some good indications that they have both the passion and ability to pick up similar skills even if they don't have them right now.

Choose questions that are progressive, not binary

When choosing questions, unless the roles require some absolute knowledge, do not choose binary questions that they either know it or not.  Binary questions typically lead to textbook answers and are not very useful in finding out someone's ability.  Progressive questions can be applied in both technical and non-technical questions.  Progressive questions are fairly easy for anyone who knows the topic to answer initially, but progressively get harder to probe deeper on the depth of understanding of the candidates.  This gives the candidates a chance to warm up, and the questions continue to progress in complexity to see how deep the candidates can explore and see how the candidates handle difficult challenges.  Some common follow up questions in a progressive type of questions are:  how do you make this better?  why is this the right approach?

Every little details matter

From the first moment you walk into the room, every little details matter to ensure candidates have a great experience.  Smile, shake hands, introduce yourself, ask if they need anything, give them a chance to ask questions, thank them for being here, and if you need to take notes, let them know what you are doing so they know you are not just checking e-mails or responding to chats.  We all know how important it is to work with the right people, so invest the time wisely and engage yourself during the interview.  Even when the interview is over, little details do not end there.  If your company has a review committee, make sure you take the time to type up your feedback.  Be comprehensive about the interview itself, not just about your feeling or interpretations.  Since what you capture is the only indicators the review committee have, what you write can make or break someone's career.  Also, before you submit, re-read the complete package to make sure you are not unconsciously biasing your decision based on the person's background, academics, resume, etc.  Make sure what you have captured objectively represent candidates' capability and potential.

Whew!  You have made it this far.  Yes, this seems like a lot to do, but it is very costly for a company to hire the wrong candidate as well as miss out on a quality candidate.  So your investment is definitely worth it for the future growth of your company.

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I decided to start publishing nano tips so others can learn and encourage each other as an experiment.  These are personal observations and lessons learnt.  If this seems interesting to you, leave a feedback so I know whether or not to continue.