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In most Information Technology interviews, a technical assessment usually involves answering technical questions presented either verbally, written, or via software. Sometimes multiple methods and multiple times, I’ve heard others say they had numerous technical assessments for the same position.
In my search for other opportunities, I’ve had many technical assessments, which seemed more like a test, though it felt like a game show a few times.
Having taken many vendor exams and created my exams, as the hiring manager responsible for asking technical questions to candidates, I’ve been able to assess, learn from, and critique many technical assessments. Here is a list of observations and suggestions for those tasked with asking questions in an interview.
The Questions
- Learn how to structure a question.
- Sometimes, a question is all over the place, confusing and stressful for the candidate. It wastes time and does not lead the candidate to the intended answer or solution.
- Ask questions that pertain to products or technologies currently in use at your company or those on the candidate’s resume.
- It should not be a wheel of fortune of questions, especially ones that are not relevant.
- Do you need the answer to the questions you ask?
- With an onsite interview, if you sit across from the candidate, then don’t have the answer in front of you, as they may see it. In some cases, I could see the answer in their notes.
- Why do you need the answer in front of you if you’re asking the question? It may not give a good impression when a more technically senior individual is asking the question, and at the same time, the answer is in front of them.
- The candidate’s logic is important.
- With a troubleshooting question, if the candidate does not know the answer or has the correct answer, pay attention to their logic of finding the cause of the problem.
- If the candidate asks logical questions and explains how they are getting to the root of the problem, that can be worth more than the answer itself.
- Complex questions may receive a complex answer or not.
- If you ask a question about a complex command configuration, they may tell you they don’t remember.
- If the candidate says they keep notes in these situations, that may be worth gold. These notes can be referred to by other staff in the future for troubleshooting or turned into a knowledgebase or run book.
- The candidate may have only done it once or twice, but they might remember if it was done daily or weekly. Does anyone remember some of the complex math from high or middle school?
- Do you have a hostile work environment?
- In one phone interview, the manager and multiple team members asked me numerous questions. Most were regarding handling a hostile, challenging, demanding, stressful coworker or work environment. After the fifth question on this subject, I politely asked, “what goes on over there?”.
- This did not give me a good impression of the team and work environment, though I wonder if they compared notes before my interview.
- Now we get technical, but notes and cheat sheets do have their place.
- I remember some of the standard port numbers, like port 25, is SMTP. Don’t expect me to rattle off one after another like a speed round, especially the less common ones.
- In less than thirty seconds, I can open the cheat sheet on my phone, and yes, I keep these things on my phone, allowing me to confirm port numbers and not guess.
- As a hiring manager, knowing someone will refer to documentation instead of guessing is a plus. This is especially if they have this information on their phone or handily available.
- Guessing has no place in most positions, especially network infrastructure.
- If you ask many troubleshooting questions with a common theme, the candidate may begin to wonder what is wrong with your network, team, or processes.
- Your attitude or response is noticeable and can have an impact.
- In one phone interview, I was asked technical questions by the Director to whom I would report. Unfortunately, a few times after I answered, he followed with a snide comment.
- Sometimes, there is more than one solution or answer, so your way is not always the best or only way.
- This should go without saying, but cockiness is not a trait most candidates want to work with, especially if it’s their manager or director.
Conclusion
As candidates, we should be judged by our answers to a question or scenario and by how we present ourselves when the question is asked. For example, the thought process or the steps taken to get to the answer or solution. If we don’t know the answer, BS will not help, so there is nothing wrong with the response “I don’t know” or “I don’t know, but I know how to find out.”
If you’re the Interviewer, don’t turn the technical interview into a game show, and if you do, the candidate may think that is how you manage the network (infrastructure), team, or department.
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