Talent42 2014 Gayle Laakmann McDowell - Interviewing A- Players (1)

Gayle Laakmann McDowell

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Author Interview Coach Interview Consul:ng

(CS) (MBA)

Gayle Laakmann McDowell 1

What I Coach

Download at: CrackingTheCodingInterview.com


Tradi:onal Dev Ques:ons

Startups “Elite” Other

Behavioral/Experience

Knowledge-‐Based

System Design/Architecture

Algorithms/Problem-‐Solving ✔ ?

✔

? ✔

? ?

Disclaimer: So. Many. Excep.ons.


Generalist vs. Specialist

•  Generalist (algorithms/problem-‐solving): – Reasonable test of intelligence if done well – Less :ed to specific team – BUT necessitates that you will train people

•  Specialists (knowledge & experience): – Tests that someone can “hit the ground running” – BUT is the knowledge actually difficult to acquire?


Algorithm Ques:ons

“Problem-‐Solving Ques:ons”

= Solving a problem you have NOT seen before.


Problem-‐Solving Ques:ons

few false posi:ves (only good people pass)

but…

lots of false nega:ves (many good people fail)


Problem-‐Solving Ques:ons

“Design an algorithm to find the most common element in a list.”

= Solving a problem you have NOT seen before.


Why Problem-‐Solving Ques:ons Work

•  Smart people do good work.

^^ That’s preIy much the gist of it.

So why so many false nega:ves?


Why Smart People Fail

1.  Knowledge gaps 2.  In:mida:on 3.  Arbitrary ques:ons 4.  Not knowing how to be good

These are [par:ally] solvable problems.


Why Help Candidates Be Great?

•  Goal: good employees, not good candidates. •  Do you want to eliminate…

– Everyone who doesn’t know ___? – People who are insecure? – People who are bad at interviewing? – People at random?


1: Knowledge-‐Gaps (Why?)

•  Not knowing fundamental CS knowledge – Especially older people!

•  Obscure CS knowledge being tested – Making ques:ons “hard” via knowledge.


2: In:mida:on (Why?)

•  Candidates misunderstanding goals. •  Interviewers being [uninten:onally] rude. •  Scary ques:ons. •  Insecurity.


3: Arbitrary Ques:ons (Why?)

•  Well-‐known ques:ons. •  Easy ques:ons. •  “A-‐Ha” moments & singular hurdles.


4: Not Knowing How To Be Good

•  Didn’t use an example. •  Tried to rush the process. •  Didn’t walk through problem.


Design Around This

1.  Decide what you value. 2.  Ask the right ques:ons. 3.  Give candidates tools to prepare. 4.  Train your interviewers.


1. Decide What You Value

•  Is problem-‐solving skills a top priority? •  What sorts of specialist skills do you need? •  Are fundamentals of CS sufficient?


2. Ask the Right Ques:ons

•  Right topics: – Avoid scary topics. – Require only basic CS knowledge.

•  Right difficulty: – Medium & hard problems. – Avoid common problems.

•  Logical path with mul:ple insights.


3. Give Candidates Tools to Prepare

•  Tell them: – What to expect. – How they’ll be evaluated. – Struggling is normal.

•  Links to prepara:on resources.


4. Train Your Interviewers

•  How to design good ques:ons. •  Be extra nice to candidates. •  Coach candidates to be great


4b. Coach Candidates To Be Great

•  Encourage the right example. •  Remind them of details. •  Don’t let them dive into code. •  Encourage shining gears. •  POSITIVITY & SENSITIVITY

A good coach can make a HUGE difference!


Need The Right Infrastructure

•  Interview training •  List of good & bad ques:ons -‐-‐ and why •  Standard resource sheets for candidates •  Feedback from candidates •  Assigned roles •  Con:nuous evalua:on & shadowing


It shou

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is…


Talent42 2014 Gayle Laakmann McDowell - Interviewing A- Players (1)

Recruiting & HR

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