avoiding technical interview pitfalls: practical tips from technical interview experts
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Avoiding Technical Interview Pitfalls: Practical Tips from Technical Interview Experts
Tim Sackett (President, HRU Technical Resources) - Tech Interview Common Mistakes
Candidates:
● Not being able to give examples of their skills● Giving broad answers about projects● No specifics about their roles on projects
“This is the time to
get into the weeds,
during the technical
interview, and show
your actual skills.”
Recruiters & Hiring Managers:
● Not understanding the true deliverables of the position and associated career paths.
Kim Benedict (CEO & Co-Founder, TalentMinded Inc.)
Candidates:
● When skills don’t match, candidates should talk about related skills
● If you’re familiar with C, it’s relatively easy to learn C++
“Technical recruiters are
able to see that link, and
may move you forward
based on your previous
experience and ability to
pick up the new
language”
Recruiters & Hiring Managers:
● Not being educated on the field and position they’re hiring for
Steve Levy (Recruiting Inferno Consulting)
Candidates:
● Not being able to communicate what they’ve achieved
● No details about what they’ve worked on (stack, problems, barriers, deliverables, etc.)
● Drawing a picture will show what you can do
“Being able to code is
great but being able
to communicate what
you do to those on
your and other teams
really separates you
from those who can’t”
Recruiters & Hiring Managers:
● Not understanding true deliverables of the position and associated career paths
Ms. Michael M. Moon, PhD (CEO and Principal Analyst, ExcelHRate Research & Advisory Services and Principal Consultant, MMM & Associates)Candidates:
● Unprepared to discuss all the skills and tech listed on resumes
● Don’t take the time to fully understand question being asked and do not carefully read the requirements
● Candidates should review previous technical projects and be prepared to talk about them
“Take your time, ask
for clarification and
don’t ignore
information given”
Recruiters & Hiring Managers:
● Over-valuing current skills and under-valuing future impact and subsequently a candidate’s ability to grow
● Too much emphasis on white-boarding (giving candidates a coding problem)
Sunil Bagai (Founder & CEO, Crowdstaffing and ZenithTalent)
Candidates:
● Thinking they need to memorize tech, tools and
frameworks so they can answer questions about them
● Just come prepared to show how you solve problems
“They need to come
prepared to show how
they help solve critical
problems through
collaboration and a
clear process”
Recruiters & Hiring Managers:
● They focus solely on technical aptitude instead of on the
process used to come up with solutions.
Meghan M. Biro (CEO, TalentCulture)
Candidates:
● They don’t know how to tell their own story, and fast, don’t understand that they will work in teams
● They’re not clear with the specs and requirements of the job itself● They’re not ready to show their skills
“Tech candidates may
not be presenting
themselves in their
best light”
Recruiters & Hiring Managers:
● Letting familiarity with the candidate interfer from hiring manager to dig in ● Not getting a sense of the candidate's’ ability to solve problems and
challenges
Bala Nemani (Founder & CEO, Amzur Technologies, Inc. and eTeki, Inc.)
Candidates:
● Not asking questions about project, role, team, culture, and company
● Helps a great deal to do the research in learning about the company before meeting
“Interviews should be
conversational in
understanding the job
and candidate’s
experience”
Recruiters & Hiring Managers:
● Asking questions from Google Search to qualify a candidate● Not reviewing practical scenarios and how to address them
Amrut Patil (eTeki Technology Advisory Panel – Mobility)
Candidates:
● Not telling the truth about their role in current projects○ Looks very bad when the truth comes out
● Giving a broad overview of current projects instead of giving details
○ They should know where the project fits in the company● Knowing details about their project goes a long way
“They [Candidates]
have to do a good job
at selling themselves
to the interviewers”
Recruiters & Hiring Managers:
● More emphasis on knowing actual code/language rather than on evaluating the person on their logical reasoning and foundation of technical understanding
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