I'd certainly agree that, in many cases, 2 hours is enough to ascertain the presence or absence of communication skills and interpersonal interoperability/evidence of the ability to play nice with others (although I've certainly seen individuals slip through the cracks regarding the 2nd characteristic, interviewing extremely well and then showing up to work with a dramatically different and less cooperative personality).
However, I'd say that it's important to distinguish between various types of technical interviews. Two or even three straight days of straightforward technical questions will not necessarily provide insight into a candidate's ability to learn or apply factual information in an unfamiliar context. I agree that a mere willingness to learn or apply oneself cannot overcome a dearth of experience for many roles performed by members of the professional IT community, so it IS important to accurately assess someone's current working skill set. However, I'd have to conclude that for many positions of interest to people seeking CCIE numbers, some level of abstraction and ability to cope with the unknown are highly desirable characteristics. All too often, the "OSI layer" and "show command syntax" questions fail to capture someone's potential to keep pace with the evolution of corporate technology. I suppose my concern is that just as certain interviewing techniques/styles can rule out promising candidates because they are too abstract, focused technical interviews that are too simplistic can obscure important differences in capability between sets of candidates. As usual, the appropriate answer probably lies somewhere in between. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Phil Barker" To: Sent: Friday, April 05, 2002 10:54 AM Subject: Re: RE: My interview story [7:40553] > Yeah, > I4m on your side John. I applied for a permy > position with a big insurance comp when times where a > bit lean. I finally got an interview reply six weeks > later calling me for an interview. It turned out being > a two day interview, which I immediately knew was not > for me. If people want to hire my skillset they read > my CV call me in and try and beat me down technically. > That being done, can I get on with people etc can > surely be spotted inside 2 hours, unless they are > plain stupid. > > Phil. > --- John Neiberger wrote: > That > may be true, but it just sounds like something > > straight > > off the pages of Dilbert. :-) > > > > I know personally I wouldn't respond to such an > > interview > > well. If someone wants to test my creativity and > > troubleshooting, then they should mock up a lab and > > throw it at > > me. Perhaps that's because I'm not used to the idea > > of being > > psychologically tested during an interview. > > > > What's next, ink blot tests? Values clarification > > drills? > > Written personality tests? I can see it now: > > "We're sorry, > > you're an INTJ but we really want an ESTJ for this > > position." > > > > Okay, I've got to stop answering email this early. > > :-) > > > > John > > > > > > > > ---- On Fri, 5 Apr 2002, Jay Dunn ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > > wrote: > > > > > This test may sound stupid, but based on Mark's > > description > > I'd say they > > > were attempting to assess creativity and > > troubleshooting > > skills. > > > Sometimes pure technical skills aren't enough. > > Thinking "outside the > > > box" is a big part of what an employer is looking > > for. I'd > > say a company > > > as big as SNS has plenty of experience in hiring > > and knows > > what they're > > > doing in making this part of the interview. > > > > > > Jay Dunn > > > IPI*GrammTech, Ltd. > > > www.ipi-gt.com > > > Nunquam Facilis Est > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On > > Behalf Of > > > John Neiberger > > > Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2002 8:39 PM > > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > Subject: Re: My interview story [7:40553] > > > > > > Why would you want to work for a place with such > > stupid > > > interviews in the first place? If they select > > their > > employees > > > based on how they play "Stranded in the Desert" or > > whatever > > the > > > heck that was, then it's probably best you don't > > work there. > > > I'm sure the management there is awful. > > > > > > Stuff like that is a sure sign their managers have > > too much > > > time on their hands, and there's almost nothing > > worse than a > > > clueless manager with too much time. > > > > > > Someone needs to send those managers a Dilbert > > calendar! > > > > > > I'm sorry to hear it didn't go well, but you > > should forget > > > about them and move on to a better company. > > > > > > John > > > > > > > > > > > > ---- On Thu, 4 Apr 2002, Mark Zhang > > ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > > > wrote: > > > > > > > hi,everybody,I have a interview appointment at > > 9:00 AM. > > > > The position is Network Engineer in > > SNS(schlumberger > > network > > > solutions > > > > sector).But I falled,at least i think so. > > > > At first,every candidater have a chance to > > intraduce > > oneself > > > for 1 > > > > minute in > > > > English.Then every 5 person get a group to play > > a game > > named > > > Desert > > > > Survive.Game as this:Just image you and some > > people lose in > > a > > > deep > > > > desert by > > > > an airplane problem,so plz list the most > > important thing to > > > the lest > > > > from 15 > > > > tools you could use,first time by your own > > choose,the > > second > > > by your > > > > group. > > > > Maybe I do not show good in the > > self-introduce,then I paly > > > the game,I > > > > choose > > > > more close to the expert answer the my group,but > > the > > > schlumberger do not > > > > think I as the right person they are looking > > for. > > > > what a pity!I experienced in Motorola and a > > network > > > company,have design > > > > a > > > > large scare voip network include about 40 > > nods,familiar > > with > > > Cisco,But > > > > why?Just because a lose in the game? > > > > > > > > B.RMark Zhang > > > > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > > > > Do You Yahoo!? > > > > Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Everything you'll ever need on one web page > from News and Sport to Email and Music Charts > http://uk.my.yahoo.com Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=40618&t=40553 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
