Interview First Impressions

August 22nd, 2007 • Related • Filed Under

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kid-n-computer.jpg

My first interview as a programmer was a telephone interview. Here is a short
transcript as I remember it (it was 17 years ago so it may not be accurate, as in storing PI in 3 bits accurate.)

(pleasantries have passed… and now I want to know what this job involves)
Me: So what kind of responsibilities will I have?
Company: Most of your time will be spent helping changing the reels on the
mainframes. (yes, reel to reel!)
Me: So how much programming will I be doing?
Company: None, as a junior you will be supporting the other programmers
by changing reels.
Me: Why would I want to do that?
Company: You will gain experience in a business environment and given
time you will be given opportunities to prove yourself.
Me: I have been programming for 8 years I am probably more
experienced than most of your programmers. (Can you tell how arrogant I was back then?)
Company: I am afraid that does not count for us, you will have to work your way up the ladder like everyone else (the guy is sounding quite annoyed at this point)
Me: Sorry I have no interest in carrying around reels for other programmers. - (I hang up).

So I probably did not make a great impression on that company and I quickly realized you cannot always be that blunt/truthful/stupid/arrogant if you actually want to get a job.

As a programmer you are not just trying to get across how fantastically clever a coder you are, most managers (especially pointy haired non-programmer managers) look for such things as.

  1. Looking Smart
  2. Firm Handshake (Why? I have never understood this)
  3. Keep good eye contact (Is interviewing some form of staring contest)
  4. Not bad mouthing previous employers (I do it so why cant anyone else?)
  5. Showing that you have researched the company (why is memorizing facts important?)

The fact is I really don’t care about a lot of the above, I want you to be brighter than the sun and if that means you have some very strange habits and or personality defects as long as it does not affect overall code output then its good with me. It is a strange twist of fate that the better the code the higher the probability that you are most likely going to be on the odd side.

So the next time you come for an interview with me, remember one thing, be very very smart, thats all.

There Are 3 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by Steve Goodman on 22 August 2007:

    I think the reason that managers look for the traits you mentioned is because software is ultimately a people business (unless you’re writing controller code for manufacturing robots or something). Not only does most software get used by people, but the requirements for ALL software is created by people.

    The people who are creating those requirements want to know that the programmer(s) implementing the software are going to respect consensus design decisions, are going to be able to interact with other people on the team in a respectful way and generally be an ok person to be around. Dressing well, having a firm, confident handshake and being polite in an interview are signs that a person understands the subtleties of working in a social environment.

    Are these the most important things for creating fantastic software? Of course not. But they are important when you have to spend 40+ hours a week around a given person. Every company has a different corporate culture, so the traits listed above aren’t going to apply for every interview. But even in the most hardcore programming environment, you’re going to have to fit in with everyone else at some level or another, so there’s always going to be criteria aside from programming genius that sway the hiring decision.

    In Nick’s case, it seems to be the steadfast refusal of a candidate to care about anything but programming chops :)

  2. Comment by Jrf on 23 August 2007:

    Can’t help but grin about the phrasing of the last line “be very very smart” when you’ve just denounced the ‘other’ meaning of that same phrase as in bullet 1…

  3. Comment by Nick Halstead on 23 August 2007:

    Steve, I agree with some of your points, and as usual I was being very general in my viewpoint, but yes people have to work together, but I have specialised in the past in dealing with groups of highly talented individuals all who have to be dealt with differently, (the games industry is a breeding ground for strange + talented people.)

    But things like the handshake are complete tosh, one of the very best programmers I ever recruited had a limp handshake, wouldnt look me in the eye, and would probably have prefered to have hidden under the table than be interviewed, but after me taking him on he grew in confidence and now he runs his own technology business doing extremely well.

    The moral of the story, spotting talent is king.

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