I love interviewing people and unfortunately have not had the chance to interview a candidate for the last few years. Specifically I like meeting new people and learning about them. Some folks recently asked me about what my interview process is so I dug up my notes and polished them.
In this article I’ll start by discussing how I begin an interview and then the kind of questions I use for specific positions. I’ll also go into detail of why I ask the question and what I’m looking for.
In general I prefer what’s known as “behavioral” interview questions. By asking people about their experiences you get a sense for how they have handled similar issues in the past. It’s harder, but not impossible, to “lie” for behavioral questions.
Keep in mind, interviews are a two way street. You want to show candidates that you are somebody they might want to work with and that there is value in being at your company. While the hiring market has ups-and-downs, you don’t want to leave an interviewee with a bad perception about you or the company even if you don’t think the person should be hired.
Often interviewers are advised to do the entire interview even if they know early on that the candidate isn’t a fit and the interviewer will recommend against hiring. In part, this advice is to prevent a candidate from feeling they are being discriminated against or give a candidate a bad experience that they share on social media. If you are the hiring manager, or somebody that has and will veto their candidacy I think it can be valuable, especially for people new to the job market, to tell them why they aren’t a fit and where instead they should consider interviewing. For example, I’ve had several candidates who interviewed at a startup that clearly would prefer to work in a more established/stable company and I’ve advised them accordingly.
Interview Prep
Take time to pre-read the candidate’s resume. The resume can be a great source of behaviour questions. They should be able to talk in detail about everything on it so you can potentially pick a couple things to ask about that are relevant to the job. You might want to ask the other interviewers what they will be asking to limit overlap.
You should read a candidate’s LinkedIn. You may also want to do an internet search for them and check their GitHub.
Have a document or paper with your questions. I’ve totally blanked on my questions. Write down notes on what they say vs “pass”/ “fail”. Don’t write anything you’d be embarrassed for the candidate to see. The details of the answer can help qualify your rating.
Remember that you are human. If somebody spilled coffee on you and your kid just got an “F” in math don’t take it out on the candidate. Research shows that interviewers who are in bad moods give more negative feedback about candidates. This is why your notes can be critical in helping you compare candidates more objectively.
Sometimes you end up having less time than planned for interviews. Feel empowered to tell a candidate to be more concise. If you are running low on time make sure to get to the highest priority questions and still give them time to ask questions.
Opening
Intros - State pronouns (don’t ask for them), title, when joined, etc.
This may seem obvious, but it’s important to start with introductions. Candidates are nervous and starting with easy conversation will reduce the nervousness. Start by introducing yourself and sharing your pronouns. Do not ask the candidate for their pronouns because they may not feel safe to share, may be in the closet, and may be insulted by the question. Tell them your title at the company and when you joined. Give them an opportunity to introduce themself. If they state their pronouns make sure you write them down.
Anything they need? - Water, bio break, etc.
Make sure they are comfortable. Maybe they just got into the office from an intense weather day. Often interviews are back-to-back and the candidate might need a bio break. Ask them if they need a break, water, or anything else! Do not hold it against them if this reduces your interview time.
Discuss Group and Role
Don’t assume they understand the details of the group or role. Sometimes job postings are very generic. A candidate might be interviewing for several different positions at once and misremember getting the details jumbled. Give them your insider perspective of what the group is, what the culture is, and what they would be expected to do if hired.
For All
Career Goals
This is a critical question, which is why I list if first. As an interviewer, especially a hiring manager, I want to make sure the candidate’s longterm goals can align with the goals of the team and company. If a candidate has the goal to be a phlebotomist and I’m hiring a software engineer they probably won’t be happy if I hire them. I won’t have any assignments that lead them to their phlebotomy dreams.
Interest in Company
This tells you if they’ve done their homework on the company. I don’t consider this a pass/fail, it’s possibly they blanked on the details about the company. This also gives you a chance to clarify what the company does.
Tell me about your Worst Boss. I don’t want to know who they are, but what about them made it difficult for you to work for. It doesn’t have to be a boss, it could be a commander, captain, coach, professor, etc.
This is probably more useful for a hiring manager to ask. The intent here is to hear a story relating to what they disliked with a past manager. If, for example, they disliked being macromanaged and you consider yourself a macromanager maybe this won’t be a good fit. Asking them this also can show you as a leader are open to feedback from employees.
Tell me about your Best Boss
Similar to the prior question, this helps tell a hiring manager if they would work well with the candidate. If you can’t hope to be in the same ballpark as what they are looking for in a leader this might not work out.
What have you learned recently?
If you have a job where people have to continually learn you might prefer to hire somebody who has a passion for learning. I think it’s important to be open to the learning they list being unrelated to the work.
What motivates you to come into work every day?
This helps you get a sense for a person’s intrinsic motivation. Can you provide an environment where this person will feel motivated to work?
How do you rely on others to make you better?
I ask this to get a sense of a person’s ability to be a part of a team and to gauge their humility.
Who inspires you and why?
This can be an alternative to the best boss/worst boss. It helps you determine if the candidate can be inspired by the team.
Questions for me?
This is a critical question. Interviews are a give and take. It is frustrating to be a candidate and not be able to ask any questions. These questions also can give you further insight into what the candidate is looking for and if you can provide it. This can also show you they’ve thought about the role. Sometimes the questions will reflect how they’ve been burned at prior companies and if they would similarly be burned at your company. It’s okay if they say they have no questions. They may have already asked all their questions, they may have forgotten their questions, or they may be uncomfortable asking their questions to you specifically (which is okay).
Still Interested?
If in the interview they’ve realized they don’t want the job this will save everybody time to know now. Thank them for whatever response they give you. If they aren’t interested make sure the recruiting team knows directly after you finish meeting with the candidate.
Customer Success Engineer Questions
An example of improving a customer relationship?
An experienced customer success engineer will have worked with MANY unhappy customers. If they are good at their job they should have at least one story of improving a customer’s view of a company.
Experience w/ Command Line
This can give you a sense for how technical they are. This can also give insight if their background is Linux, Mac/Unix, and/or Windows. This is not a pass/fail, just an indicator of how much they might need to learn to get up-to-speed.
Programming Question
Favorite Programming Language? Why? What is it Bad For?
It’s important to have this as a three part question. A candidate might be tempted to list a language your company uses or the job description stated. Every programmer has a favorite language, let them tell you theirs. If they didn’t state why, ask explicitly. This gives you insight into their knowledge of their “alleged” favorite language and their preferences. Finally, ask what the language is bad for. This last question is critical as it gives insight into how flexible an engineer is. If the candidate says Python (for example) is their favorite and it isn’t bad at anything they are clearly wrong. All languages have their trade-offs and weaknesses. A programmer who says their favorite language isn’t bad for anything could be unreceptive to using other languages when needed.
Senior Data Scientist
ML experience?
I have almost no machine learning experience, so it was critical for me to determine what experience candidates had. I also had a data scientist ask more useful ML questions.
Experience managing ML projects (including design)?
This was a critical part of the job role. I asked this to hear their history of leading their own projects.
Programming experience w/ Data Science languages like Python, MATLAB, and R?
These match the languages that were on the job description. This gives a sense for how much they might need to learn for the job.
Database experience?
Does the candidate have experience with the row-based and columnar databases your company uses? Do they have equivalent experience? Do you have time for them to learn your database stack on the job?
Senior Software Engineer
Mentoring experience?
I generally expect senior engineers to spend time mentoring interns and non-senior engineers. Are they comfortable with that kind of work? Do they seem to have enjoyed or loathed it?
Feeling about support work?
Most engineering roles have an amount of support responsibilities that could include being on-call and working directly with customers. Are they open to this kind of work or would they prefer doing greenfield work?
Management
Example of how an employee’s career has evolved?
I want to see that a perspective member of the management team has experience and interest in growing employee careers. This can give you a sense if the candidate is autocratic or a servant leader.
D&I initiatives that have failed and worked?
This will give you a sense for their interest and commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. This might also give you ideas for initiatives to copy or have them implement if they are hired!
Retention Strategy?
This can give you another sense of their leadership style and how they value employees. Do they work to make employees happy? If an employee’s growth is limited in the company are they willing to help them explore outside the company? Have they written LinkedIn recommendations, showing the world how much they value their employees?
What do you enjoy about leadership?
This can give you a sense in what motivates the candidate and again what their leadership style is.