In the PART 1 we wrote about the content of the first cold message from headhunter to programmer. We have reviewed things that annoy developers the most and questions that provoke rejection of the contacting person. Also, software developers shared how in their opinion these questions can be reworked the way, that they become icebreakers.
In this part, we are going to share the survey results about interview peculiarities. Then you have the person, who already came to an interview – don’t screw it up! A polite and friendly tone usually makes your interlocutor act the same way.
Stop asking these questions when you headhunt for a programmer!
Unless – your goal is to annoy.
Surprisingly these are the real questions that developers still hear during job interviews from HR people these days.
1. Will you be happy in this position?
Even though this question may sound a bit absurd, apparently some recruiters use it from time to time. The thing is that you can’t measure “happiness level” before you start working just like you can’t see what’s inside a blindly closed metal box without opening it. Sure, it might have a label that says “a cup inside” but we all will imagine it different, right?
2. Why do you want to work here?
Even if you sincerely try to understand what exactly lead the candidate to proceed with the selection process and appeared to be attractive in your company/open position – be creative and find another way to figure it out.
“It really depends on a situation. But if you invited me to the interview and ask this question – it is very weird. I am fine with my job, it’s your job to convince me that I want to work for you.” – says one of the respondents.
3. Asking things, that are already described in CV.
Do not misunderstand – it’s OK to ask to elaborate on certain experiences and skills mentioned in the CV. However, when you ask what 2 last candidate’s workplaces were, it at least shows that you had no time to review the CV and try to catch up “real-time”. Keeping in mind the aforementioned aspect about the attention to personality, you are rapidly losing trust. Such question simply means to that person, that you don’t take him/her seriously and for you it’s just another faceless resource.
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
The ones who have been participating in many interviews know exactly why recruiters are asking this type of question. However, it doesn‘t annoy less. Candidates‘ inner reaction very often is:
„[…] Come on. Be different, please.“
5. Why should we hire you?
It sounds very similar to “Why do you want to work here” but put in a more unpleasant way. Furthermore, it provokes a willingness to protest and turn this question back to an interviewer.
Replace annoying questions with encouraging to open up ones!
An interview is always a two-way road. If you really want to get an honest answer or find out how a candidate can contribute to your company growth, there’s plenty of questions you could use instead of annoying ones.
1. Which part of the development would you enjoy in this project?
As developers suggest themselves, that would be a great substitute to a question “Will you be happy”.
“Ask what parts of the development get me ‘in the zone’. Then as a separate question further down the road, what parts of development feels tedious/drag the mood down”.
This will reveal if/when/how the candidate can feel happy in this position. Extra benefit – you might gain additional information about his/her strengths or find out some “red-flag” zones in advance.
2. People don’t know whether they want to work in your company yet.
Besides, it was you who invited them for an interview, so you need to “sell” the environment where you work as well. Talk more about working in a concrete project/environment and together with the developer figure out what aspects would make him/her feel comfortable or enthusiastic working together.
A nice example from one of the programmers who participated in the survey:
“[…] We have this management structure, which poses this kind of challenges, are you willing to work around it? You have this problem and these tools, how will you fix this problem, or at least how will you approach it?”
3. Ask about candidate’s, as developer’s, interests in the long-term.
In many cases that will be more effective and sincere than asking where someone sees himself/herself in 5 years. One of the respondents elaborates that
“This one I hate with a passion. If I actually told the cold-hearted truth, you wouldn’t be hiring me […]. Ask what areas interest me as a developer, and what I do like to work on.”.
Another software developer suggests a bit different approach:
“In our company, there are couple ways [to grow professionally]. Which role do you prefer: architect, team lead, project manager, product owner (etc.)? Why?”
This way you get down-to-earth answers and also, that’s the first step to think of growth ways.
5. Try to avoid situations where the candidate sees that you clearly expect the specific answer, even though multiple approaches are possible.
These are only a few experiences from such situations:
“You weren’t using REST for IPC? Surely REST is always the way to go” (I’ve had this actually happen).”
“I also hate when they say there are no bad answers, but there are clearly some bad answers.”
Either accept the candidate’s opinion which might be different from yours when several responses fit the question or re-shape it the way that you could test if the developer sees a situation the same way as you do.
6. Narrow down the “Tell me about yourself” question.
Some software developers consider it to be
“One of the most annoying [..], because it’s a very broad question and you have to ask for clarification about what exactly […] the interviewer wants to know – work experience, hobbies, life story?”.
Valuable things that programmers would like to tell, but often no one asks it.
Sometimes candidates share these things during additional questions sessions at the end of the interview if they happen to be talkative people. However, there are some useful questions that you may always include in your interview.
1. What kind of courses or lectures would you like to attend the next year?
That gives the broader understanding of programmers’ interests, professional maturity, and also – useful ideas for courses if you suggest some training budget.
2. Bigger projects that candidates had been involved in or done on their own.
“[…] Even though the question isn’t necessary, in this way it’s easier to prove that you are truly motivated.”
explain software to developers why that is a possibly important question. Also, it helps to get to know the person a bit better.
3. Achievements that candidates are proud of outside their direct work responsibility.
Sometimes people can be truly cornerstones of the whole company!
“Almost nobody asks if I’ve been doing something at work besides my main position. It’s like they need a .NET developer, they see you as a .NET developer and nothing else :)”
4. Learning speed, ownership, persistency, and motivation.
Quite often these things are tightly related. And software developers are truly willing to share with you their story of how they were growing professionally, but major obstacles they met on the way and how they managed to remain persistent in finding a solution, what kept them motivated. By listening to their stories, you as an HR person can think which from these good practices you may suggest to your existing team as well! And that’s a multi-way road (candidate enjoys telling, you get to know the developer better, get extra ideas for things that might work at your team), where at the end everyone is happy!
Conclusion
As it seems, the way to get into the effective communication and achieve the desired results is quite simple. Be concise but technically precise, do your “homework” before contacting a software developer, and lead a conversation in a friendly manner. Once programmers feel that you are actually a good listener and at the same time able to present well-structured information, it’s a great starting point for constructive dialogue. And last, but not least – remember, we all are personalities and no one likes to feel “another meaningless fish in the net”.