Interviewing Tips, Again

So, related advice I give to both interviewers and interviewees. Interviewers: If you give a candidate a question that has several answers, they might say "well, we can do A, B, or C. Let's try B." At that point, politely stop them and make them pick a different path. If they chose B, it means they probably know B the best of any of the choices; if they can knock A or C out of the park, they would have done at least as well with their own choice. You get much better signal about a candidate when you (gently!) knock them out of their comfort zone. Push candidates away from near-certain success; it's not worth your time or theirs. Interviewees: Some interviewers will intentionally knock you out of your comfort zone, and since their are a lot of folks with asbergers in technology, even if they think they're being nice... sometimes, they really aren't. Roll with it; every good interview is going to push you out of your comfort zone, and you're not always supposed to succeed at everything they ask. (It's nice if you do, but honestly, almost never, ever required to get the job.) Be aware that interviewers may nudge you on the hard path, and don't give up until you get a call telling you to do so a few weeks later.

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