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Testing Potential Candidates

  • November 21, 2015 at 8:25 am

    #322424

    I wanted to reach out to the community on this topic because it's been some time since I've hired anyone.

    What are your common practices when vetting new candidates for a database or data professional position for something junior to even mid-level, but not senior level?

    For example, do you typically bombard a potential new candidate with easy and difficult technical questions on SQL Server over the phone before inviting the candidate onsite to meet the team? If so, why and what was the result in doing so with candidates you done so in the past?

    I ask because I'm a bit torn between hammering someone with a bunch of technical questions than just gauging if they are able to be trained. I've been through many interviews where the first contact is normally HR and the second contact is some technical lead just reading technical questions off a sheet of paper. Depending on how I answer them, greatly depends on the next steps.

    Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

  • November 21, 2015 at 9:37 am

    #1841517

    I think HR being the first interview is simply to get the housekeeping questions out of the way. These are things like determining if the person is employable, if they're capable of having a conversation and if they meet the employment requirements of the company.

    The next interview should be something technical. I find that you don't have to pepper the candidate with a zillion questions, trick questions unanswerable questions, etc. I find that just a few key questions reveal a lot about how the candidate approaches problem solving. Yes, it's about the answer, but it's also about how they approach the problem and why they answer the way they do. If they can't explain why the gave the answer they gave, then you have to ask if they understand the topic or if they've memorized the standard answer from a web page somewhere. This will also give you a feel for their style of communication and you'll have an idea if they'll fit into your environment. Don't underestimate personality and how they'll fit in.

    If you do an interview over the phone, remember that a lot of laptops have very quiet keyboards, so you might not be able to tell if they're searching for the answers as you ask the questions. I know, this is sad, but it's also true.

    I hope this helps.

    Tally Tables - Performance Personified
    String Splitting with True Performance
    Best practices on how to ask questions

  • November 21, 2015 at 4:36 pm

    #1841536

    Ed Wagner (11/21/2015)

    I think HR being the first interview is simply to get the housekeeping questions out of the way. These are things like determining if the person is employable, if they're capable of having a conversation and if they meet the employment requirements of the company.

    The next interview should be something technical. I find that you don't have to pepper the candidate with a zillion questions, trick questions unanswerable questions, etc. I find that just a few key questions reveal a lot about how the candidate approaches problem solving. Yes, it's about the answer, but it's also about how they approach the problem and why they answer the way they do. If they can't explain why the gave the answer they gave, then you have to ask if they understand the topic or if they've memorized the standard answer from a web page somewhere. This will also give you a feel for their style of communication and you'll have an idea if they'll fit into your environment. Don't underestimate personality and how they'll fit in.

    If you do an interview over the phone, remember that a lot of laptops have very quiet keyboards, so you might not be able to tell if they're searching for the answers as you ask the questions. I know, this is sad, but it's also true.

    I hope this helps.

    Ugh! I've been through this before. The problem is that HR sometimes doesn't know their limits and turns away a good candidate for the wrong reason.

    --Jeff Moden

    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • August 4, 2016 at 7:15 am

    #1893764

    I know this topic is a bit old, but I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a particular testing platform or particular website that does SQL testing, whose results have been sufficiently verified as reasonably accurate and useful? Also, how have test takers perceived such tests and test companies? Any/all feedback appreciated...

    Steve (aka sgmunson) 🙂 🙂 🙂
    Rent Servers for Income (picks and shovels strategy)

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