Finding your next team member

As a developer who has conducted numerous technical interviews for various software companies, I have witnessed firsthand the consequences of not conducting interviews with proper preparation. It is a painful experience to later find the candidates you hired are ill-suited for the role and the organisation. The repercussions of such hasty decisions can be detrimental, leading to increased turnover, decreased team productivity, and missed opportunities for growth. However, I have come to realise the importance of adequate preparation for conducting interviews, which can significantly mitigate these pain points and yield more successful outcomes.

Outlining key qualities expected from the role

The initial phase of interview preparation involves creating a comprehensive list of the qualities required for the role. These qualities can be derived from various sources, including the current pain points experienced by the team and lessons learned from past hiring mistakes. For instance, reflecting on a situation where an engineer in your team exhibited a tendency to give up easily and constantly relied on others for solutions can prompt you to explicitly identify traits like resilience and problem-solving independence.

By clearly outlining these qualities from the outset and evaluating candidates against them, the hiring process gains objectivity and facilitates informed decisions. Moreover, this practice yields valuable insights for post-hire training and development initiatives, ensuring candidates receive targeted support in areas that align with identified traits.

As an example, here are some key qualities that can be expected from an engineer:

  • Technical Proficiency: Strong foundational knowledge in programming languages, algorithms, data structures, and software development principles.
  • Problem-Solving Skills: Ability to analyze and solve complex problems, employing logical and systematic approaches.
  • Learning Aptitude: Willingness to continuously learn and adapt to new technologies, frameworks, and development methodologies.
  • Team Collaboration: Capability to effectively work in a team, communicate ideas, and collaborate with colleagues to achieve shared goals.
  • Attention to Detail: Attentiveness to writing clean and well-documented code, ensuring quality and minimising errors.
  • Time Management: Effective organization and prioritization skills to meet project deadlines and deliver tasks efficiently.
  • Communication Skills: Ability to articulate ideas and communicate effectively with team members, stakeholders, and clients.
  • Debugging and Troubleshooting: Skill in identifying and resolving software bugs and issues, utilising debugging tools and techniques.
  • Strong Work Ethic: Displaying dedication, professionalism, and a strong commitment to delivering high-quality work.

Unveiling qualities through subtle evaluation

A strong start is indeed crucial, but to ensure a successful outcome, our attention must now shift towards formulating questions and scenarios that effectively reveal the presence or absence of the qualities listed above. The most effective questions often possess a subtlety and appear unrelated to the specific quality being evaluated, yet they serve as a platform for candidates to demonstrate their abilities. By crafting such questions and scenarios, we create an environment that allows candidates to showcase their skills and traits in an organic and meaningful manner, leading to a more comprehensive assessment.

Here are some examples of questions that can be used to evaluate the key qualities expected from the junior software engineer:

  • Problem-Solving Skills:
    • Give the candidate a relatively large problem and observe how the candidate breaks down the problem into smaller, manageable tasks? Observe if the candidate doesn't give up easily while solving problems.
  • Learning Aptitude:
    • Ask the candidate how they keep themselves updated with the latest advancements in software development? Ask her views about the latest industry trends and about tools and technologies the candidate has learned outside work.
  • Team Collaboration:
    • Find out if the candidate has experience with organising events.
    • Pose situational or hypothetical questions that require teamwork and collaboration to solve. Observe how the candidate approaches these scenarios. Do they immediately consider involving others, seek diverse perspectives, or demonstrate a willingness to delegate and share responsibilities?
  • Attention to Detail:
    • Pay close attention to the questions posed by the candidate during the interview. Observe whether the candidate demonstrates a meticulous and comprehensive analysis of the problem at hand.
  • Time Management:
    • Pose questions or hypothetical scenarios that require candidates to prioritise tasks or make decisions with limited time. Evaluate whether they can identify critical elements, focus on high-priority tasks, and make efficient use of their time to achieve desired outcomes
    • Ask the candidate to share about any technique or tool she uses to effectively manage her time and stay organised?
  • Communication Skills:
    • Observe the candidate's ability to communicate effectively and provide concise, relevant and to the point answers to interview questions.
  • Debugging and Troubleshooting:
    • Provide the candidate with a technical problem that involves the user encountering challenges, and ask them to identify potential factors that could cause the solution to fail. Observe whether the candidate can effectively compile a comprehensive list of reasons that might lead to the breakdown of the solution.
  • Strong Work Ethic:
    • Ask questions that explore what motivates the candidate at their work? Observe the candidate's level of enthusiasm and passion for the role and the organisation. Are they genuinely interested and engaged during the interview? Passionate candidates tend to be more committed to their work and are likely to contribute positively to the organization.
    • Inquire about the candidate's long-term career goals and aspirations. Candidates with a clear vision and alignment between their goals and the position they are applying for are more likely to exhibit commitment to their work.

Objective scoring for fair evaluation

Implementing a scoring mechanism to objectively track candidates based on each evaluation criterion aids in standardizing the evaluation process across multiple interview panels. Furthermore, it facilitates a comparative assessment of different candidates, enabling easier evaluation of their performance in relation to one another.

Effectively facilitating the interview

After compiling the scoring criteria, evaluation questions and relevant scoring mechanism, you are adequately prepared for the interview process. Nevertheless, it is crucial to acknowledge the dynamic nature of human conversations, which may deviate from the intended path. As the interviewer, it becomes your responsibility to assume control and redirect the discussion when it strays off course. This proactive approach offers the candidate clarity on any misalignment and allows them to make necessary adjustments. Ultimately, a well-executed interview should foster a productive and engaging dialogue, with the primary objective of assessing the candidate's suitability for the role.

Finally, it is crucial to remember that in your search for the next team member, the decisions you make will significantly impact your work life in the days to come, both in positive and negative ways.