*Puts on my waders and enters the fray* On August 26, 2019 at 3:10 PM, Todd Millecam ([email protected]) wrote:
What skills/attributes are you looking for in an entry-level hire? <snip> As a technical recruiter; I look for a “high ceiling” combined with passion and curiosity. The questions I ask candidates involve a very simple rubric: 1 tell me what you’ve been doing and what you want to do next with your career? 2 tell me about a project you’ve worked on that you’re very proud of. It can also be something you failed in but learned a lot. (I ask a lot of questions about said project. Technologies used, how they approached problem they didn’t know the answer to, etc. I also look to sense if they are, indeed, proud of said project... ) 2a tell me about something that you wish you knew when you started the project. (This is to gauge learnings) 2a/alternate if you could go back and do this project again, what would you do differently, knowing what you know now. 3 what would the perfect next job look like for you? —- These questions are specifically designed to draw a trajectory from what they have been doing to what they WANT to be doing now. If that line seems to map into the job I’m hiring for, then they are a “go for launch”. I also query about what kinds of tech they have experience with, in what environments, and if they are LEARNING anything along the way. When they get stuck, how do they solve problems. (I look for them to admit asking for help or getting help online at least) I have probably conducted 10,000+ technical interviews. This formula has served me well in getting the basic screenings out of the way, which are often boiled down to simply: A) can you do the job and B) would you do the job? A third might be C) can the team work with you without throwing their computers/your computer/you out the window? For an entry level applicant, I have found that DESIRE and APTITUDE are more important than skill or know-how. This means capability not current capacity. If the candidate seems smart, has accomplished smart things, and displays a genuine thrill at the beauty of code actually compiling for the first time or being able to scale out a web service, etc, then you may have a winner. The main “skill” someone can display in an interview as a “junior” applicant is genuine curiosity and the thrill of opportunity. Best of luck. Todd, if I can help your colleague, please let me know. They can message me direct. [image: ] /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
