Interviewing Experienced IT People? 835
thricenightly writes "After more than 20 years in IT I've learned that the most valuable people in a team are frequently the old timers. Young pups straight out of college might (think they) know all the latest buzzwords and techniques, but in the real world, where getting working products delivered on time and on budget is of paramount importance, people who have been doing the job for a decade or two tend to be the people I'd rather be working alongside. I've recently been elevated to a position where I get to interview and choose those who get hired in my department. Although I'm very much focused on choosing the right person for the role regardless of age, experience or whatever, it's probably fair to say the more mature applicants will get a more sympathetic hearing from me than they might from most other interviewers for IT roles. The question is, what do I ask older applicants to get them to demonstrate the value of their experience? My current gambit is something like 'IT is seen as a young man's game. My next applicant after you is 23 years old. What do you know that he doesn't?' This gets responses ranging from the vague to the truly enlightened. All next week I'm interviewing for a number of senior software designer and developer roles. What should I be asking of the more experienced applicants, and what responses should I be looking out for?"
Get the popcorn out...! (Score:2, Funny)
The show's just beginning; the lights they are a dimmin'
I love this thread so much!
Slashdot ID (Score:5, Funny)
I recently took a job at a web hosting company. During my interview with the senior admin, my 5-digit slashdot ID gained me major bonus points... especially since I'm only 24 years old.
What they bring (Score:5, Funny)
I think you'd find they have a keener understanding of how to bring a civil suit for age discrimination.
Wrong idea! (Score:4, Funny)
Questions about Experience (Score:5, Funny)
"You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike...what do you do?"
I'd follow it up with a more direct problem solving question:
"I need to get all the primes less than 1000, and all I have are these punch-cards...go."
Re:What mistakes have you made? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Slashdot ID (Score:1, Funny)
A few questions... (Score:3, Funny)
What is your quest?
What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
Re:What mistakes have you made? (Score:4, Funny)
In other words, I've never made a mistake
Experience with disasters (Score:5, Funny)
Mention how your company is committed to Total Quality Management and ISO 9000 processes. If the guy doesn't start running for the exits, he's not learned anything from his experiences. Try and have someone track him down and explain that you were just testing before he makes it to his car, or you'll never see him again.
Re:Interesting question ... (Score:1, Funny)
A way to keep balance might be to have some of the younger members give talks on things that are more cutting edge and that the seniors might enjoy learning.
Like those new Dee Vee Dee things they've been hearing about?
The interviewer's delima (Score:5, Funny)
Sounds like: "I am wanting a senior developer, but he needs to be less that 25 years old". Do you work for HR by any chance? You will probably want some who has 20 years of Java development next!? ;)
Re:Wrong idea! (Score:5, Funny)
Dear Slashdot,
I have a set of pre-interview biases. How can I frame my interviews to support those biases?
Re:Slashdot ID (Score:5, Funny)
What do I get for a low 3 digit one? :P
Know? (Score:5, Funny)
The proper response from this geezer would be, "I know that I can and will crush him under my boot heel, and then then you if you dare ask that question again."
Re:Slashdot ID (Score:5, Funny)
The last word, usually.
Re:What mistakes have you made? (Score:5, Funny)
I'm a fresh graduate with...no work experience.
In other words, I've never made a mistake ;)
Oh, you've made one mistake all right.
...salary? (Score:2, Funny)
"Why are you willing to work for the same salary I'm going to pay the 23 year old?"
Re:Ask about priorities (Score:1, Funny)
High to Low:
Customer Service
User Experience
Security
Best Practices
Backup
Fault Tolerance
Uptime
Documentation
Re:Questions about Experience (Score:5, Funny)
"You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike...what do you do?"
Get ate by the Grue.
Re:I don't get it (Score:1, Funny)
NAh, thats just Apple.
Re:I don't get it (Score:3, Funny)
"This person is lucky."
Unless you're interviewing a zombie...
Re:Ask him if he can get you a woman (Score:5, Funny)
Apparently a 236 UID doesn't get you troll resistant armor.
Guess I'll have to re-roll my character.
Re:I don't get it (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Slashdot ID (Score:4, Funny)
If your memory does not match reality, question reality.
I ask "do you love working in IT"? (Score:2, Funny)
Work in IT long enough that you experience your first dressing down (because his favorite screen saver quit working) from an idiotic supervisor whose idea of advanced technology is a toaster. Work in IT long enough to have your non-IT coworkers complain that they see you around all the time when the network is working correctly, and you disappear (into the NOC) when the network goes down. Work in IT long enough to *not* hear praise at how quickly you recovered the entire system after the server crash, but hear instead about how much overtime you burned (40 hours) in two days.
If you say "yes" after all of that, either you're lying or you're so pumped up on Prozac you could giggle your way through Saw IV.
-Joe
Forgotten option... (Score:3, Funny)
You forgot CowboyNeal you insensitive clod.
Re:Oldster (anti-)bias (Score:4, Funny)
I like that last one.
I actually wrote code that was self-modifying, managed to crank a four page pyramid of nested if-then-else blocks of code into one amazing twelve line chunk of code that modified itself at runtime based on the evolution of the data as it was being processed.
When I was young.
And stupid.
Re:Slashdot ID (Score:3, Funny)
The last word, usually.
You must be new here.
Re:Slashdot ID (Score:5, Funny)
Don't forget that coding consists of 80% programming and 80% troubleshooting.
I can see why.
Re:Slashdot ID (Score:3, Funny)
I probably would have been lower but I was lazy about it the day they implemented UIDs.
Just wait until you have to get an IUD to post on slashdot. You'll see a lot of laziness.
Re:Slashdot ID (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Slashdot ID (Score:3, Funny)
Hiring Advice..... (Score:3, Funny)
Do NOT:
1) Hire ANYONE named Simon Travaglia.
2) Hire anyone reccomended by the aforementioned individual.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Age does matter. (Score:2, Funny)
You can never go wrong hiring the hot flirty chick.
Re:Here's your answer.. (Score:5, Funny)
There must be, or why do you see job adverts requiring 4 years experience in something that's only been around for 2?
Re:A few questions... (Score:3, Funny)
You jest but we actually have that in our Python test questions for interviewees.
If someone can't see the funny side of this then we figure that they don't really know Python and probably wouldn't enjoy working with us.
Re:Most important: measure attitude (Score:2, Funny)