Ophir, I greatly agree with your statement regarding the un-usefulness of written technical exams. A recruiter asked me to complete an online one recently, I felt lost and disoriented. Even though that being a developer for almost 3 years using PHP, I have never come ac crossed a problem that I couldn't FINDan answer for. But on this exam, I couldn't answer at least half of the questions.
Chris On 8/2/07, Ophir Prusak <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > As someone who has been on both sides on the fence, a few helpful > comments based on my experience: > (I'm brainstorming here, so this is in no particular order) > > - It's totally acceptable to try to get a better understanding of a > candidates "true" technical capabilities during an interview. Of > course you need to let them know in advance that you'll be asking > technical stuff. > > - A written test is *not* the best way to gauge a person's knowledge. > What works best for me is a conversation between myself and the > candidate. > This is for a couple of reasons - > (1) Many people just aren't good at written tests regardless of their > knowledge (it makes them nervous, etc). > (2) Ultimately, you shouldn't really care about a person's specific > knowledge at a specific point in time (ie the interview) You should > care about their ability to make the right decision at the right time, > and in timely fashion. > For me, this means that if the candidate doesn't know something, they > at least know enough to fully understand the question and it's > implications, and know where to find the correct answer quickly (and > understand the answer as well). > > - I usually ask the candidate to describe a project they were recently > involved with and then interweave my questions into the conversation. > I'll ask why certain decisions were made and what other options they > were considering. > > - It's also very revealing to see what questions the interviewer asks > back. > I'll ask something purposely vague (like "you're told to build a new > web app - what language would u use?") > > Hope that helps. > > Ophir > > > On 7/20/07, CED <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I recently sat down with a candidate for a Software Management/Architect > > position here is what I presented: > > > > Software Architecture > > a.. Name 3 design patterns. > > > > b.. > > c.. > > d.. > > e.. Which of the following general statements about a class are true? > > > > f.. Select Answer: > > > > g.. 1. A class represents a concept in an application domain > > > > h.. 2. A class defines a new data type > > > > i.. 3. A class contains data and operations > > > > j.. 4. All of the above > > > > k.. 5. None of the Above > > > > l.. What is the average anticipated load per processor (2GHz) that a > web > > application server can support? (in concurrency) > > > > m.. Name 3 Scopes. > > > > n.. > > o.. > > p.. > > q.. Name 3 Aggregate SQL functions > > > > r.. > > s.. > > t.. > > u.. Name 3 Network Layer protocols > > > > v.. > > w.. > > x.. > > y.. Name 3 Transport Layer protocols > > > > z.. > > aa.. > > ab.. > > ac.. Language agnostically describe how you would do the following: > > > > ad.. Switch the assignments of variable A and variable B. > > > > ae.. Reverse the string "apple" into "elppa". > > > > af.. > > ag.. Describe to your best ability the following: > > > > ah.. Polymorphism > > > > ai.. Clustering > > > > aj.. Persistence > > > > ak.. > > al.. Using language agnostic regular expressions how would you do the > > following: > > > > am.. Find "apple" in "Christine's Apple pie" > > > > an.. Replace the 2nd "p" with "g" and change "Planned" to "Plotted" in > > "Peter Piper Planned Poorly" > > > > Now I thought that these questions were certainly challenging yet basic > > enough for an expert software architect, however, and much to my > surprise > > the candidate wasn't really even interested in looking at it, in fact he > > refused to answer any of it. Other than being surprised, and needless to > say > > concerned, It made me re-visit our many emails a few weeks ago about > > interviewing... and here was my conclusion: > > > > 1) If you're given an exam, just try your best, but don't refuse, after > all, > > are you or are you not confident in your abilities > > 2) When administering an exam, be sure to have informed the candidate > before > > hand, it gives them the opportunity to prepare > > 3) In the end, trust your gut. We have all been at various places of > talent > > throughout our respective careers, you know when someone isn't > completely > > up-to-speed, and when someone is simply bashful about their skills. > > > > Thoughts? > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > New York PHP Community Talk Mailing List > > http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/talk > > > > NYPHPCon 2006 Presentations Online > > http://www.nyphpcon.com > > > > Show Your Participation in New York PHP > > http://www.nyphp.org/show_participation.php > > > > > -- > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > Ophir Prusak > http://www.prusak.com > _______________________________________________ > New York PHP Community Talk Mailing List > http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/talk > > NYPHPCon 2006 Presentations Online > http://www.nyphpcon.com > > Show Your Participation in New York PHP > http://www.nyphp.org/show_participation.php > -- <------------------------- Sincerely, Christopher M Mancini [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------->
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