In the realm of software development, finding the right hire can be as critical as choosing the right technology stack. In our latest Secrets and Stories episode, we dive into a fascinating discussion with Bob Ippolito, a seasoned developer who shares a pragmatic approach to interviewing. Instead of focusing on artificial contraptions like whiteboard tests, Bob emphasizes solving real problems — the same kind your team grapples with every day. This method might sound obvious, but in an age where elaborate coding puzzles are often the gatekeepers, his view is vital and refreshingly grounded.
Hiring isn't just about filtering out unqualified candidates. It's about finding someone who can thrive in your specific environment. Bob proposes a concept that seems simple but offers deep insight. By creating an interview that closely mirrors the actual work, you ensure that candidates aren't just signaling their general coding ability but demonstrating how they'd fit into your workflow. This is an insight that resonates well beyond the tech industry. Imagine if we applied this approach in every field — aligning interviews with the work itself, rather than abstract problem-solving exercises.
Moreover, Bob touches on the significance of interaction during these interviews. You learn not just the candidate's technical prowess, but how they function within a team. Do they ask smart questions? Are they too stubborn to seek help when stuck? These are crucial behaviors that don't manifest in a typical interview setting. Observing how someone handles the nuances of a real-world task gives you valuable data points that are often missed. Bob’s ideas might make you rethink your interviewing processes across the board.
For those seeking to evolve their hiring practices, Bob's thoughts offer a compelling case for change. This conversation on enki.com is not just about filling a position; it's about redefining how we evaluate potential. Joining us in peeling back the layers of effective interviewing could be a catalyst for hiring success. So tune in and see how this new approach might apply to your own team. After all, the right approach to hiring is not a one-size-fits-all, and Bob's insights might spark just the right amount of curiosity and change.
Nemanja Stojanovic: Do you think, AI aside, if you were, you know, today interviewing and it doesn't have to be, you know, taking into account AI and everything else, it's just generally, if you were interviewing, you know, let's say junior developer and what, what would you, You know, how would you, what would you look for and how would they sort of be set up to to kind of perform?
Bob Ippolito: What I've always liked to do for interviewing developers at any level is to provide them a problem to solve using, like, kind of normal tools. And I try and make sure that those problems are relevant to what we're actually doing. In the business. It definitely takes time, like your time to come up with good interview questions, but it certainly saves you a lot of time and headache later on, because you know that this person is able to solve and understand problems that look very much like your day to day at work, right? Whereas if you're doing something based on hacker rank or, or a whiteboard problem.
You're testing a skill that, may not be correlated with what you're doing at work. So being able to come up with a sort of self contained sandboxed environment where this developer can work on something that's very similar To a work problem, whether you give them the scaffolding and they're filling in kind of the blanks or whether you give them something that's utterly broken and they have to debug it and fix it.
Um, and ideally, you're able to do this. Live with them. You create problems that don't take them a whole weekend to solve something that they can work on during the interview for that half hour, hour, however long it is. And you can be there with them and also provide that, that kind of mentor support, right? They can ask you questions because if they were at work, they'd be able to ask somebody questions. And you, you also see how they work. Are they so stubborn that they won't ask any questions and just sit there and be stuck? Like that's probably not somebody that you want to hire.
Right. So if you can just kind of simulate the work environment as much as possible, I think that's the best way to interview."
