13 years ago today I started my first job in IT. This was tremendously exciting as it had taken years for me to enter this field, despite my wanting and planning for this career since childhood. I figured I’d interview to be accepted as a student in their bootcamp and work towards having the company find a job placement for me. Then I’d finally be able to work as a programmer.
My interview did not go as planned… in a good way. It started off as expected with my being asked a series of logic and programming questions, all of which I could answer. I then walked my interviewer through a sample of my code. All good so far.
Next, I was called into a room with the man who would ultimately become my boss. He said that since I had a degree in Computer Science and a masters in Education, would I consider joining the team as a Java trainer instead of a bootcamp student? Whilst I remembered everything I had been taught at university, despite it being over 10 years prior, I did not feel confident enough to teach, and I flatly told him so, three times!!! I literally said “I don’t know Java” three times throughout our conversation. This wasn’t quite true, I did know Java, but my knowledge was now foundational, as the programming world had moved on in the last 10 years and I was falling further and further behind. My interviewer seemed unperturbed and assured me I’d be able to learn on the job.
He then asked me if I’d be okay to use the existing training materials because he cannot have each trainer using different materials. There needs to be consistency amongst all their training centers. To which I answered “absolutely not”. I said if he hires me for my expertise as a teacher, then I am the boss of the four walls of my classroom and I will do whatever I feel necessary to ensure that every single one of my students understand every single concept in my lessons. I told him, if I need to modify the training materials to ensure learning has happened, that is what I’ll do.
So in this interview, I told my interviewer (3 times) that I don’t know the material and blatantly told him that I won’t use their training materials if I don’t want to. Well, he turned around and offered me the job as a Java trainer. He saw in me more than I saw in myself. He saw my potential and gave me the chance to realize it for myself. He gave me my career and for that, I am so incredibly grateful to him. He literally changed my life.
He was a kind, fair and insightful boss who somehow knew that I’d be a great fit for the company. How did he come to this conclusion, in one interview? Well for one, he didn’t ask me to traverse a binary tree or explain a particular sorting algorithm or describe a certain design pattern. He didn’t ask me what the difference is between == and === in JavaScript, or what the first line of a Java constructor must be. He didn’t ask me anything that I would have aced 10 years prior, but might be rusty on now. Instead we sat and talked. We talked like two adults on an even playing field, each trying to determine if the position was a good fit. We talked honestly and openly.
If more tech interviews were like this, I believe we’d have a more varied and diverse workforce. I think it would help us to hire people from a broader set of backgrounds, which in turn would benefit the company’s bottom line.
Software Engineering interviews currently look more like a reenactment of The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in which participants are asked a series of mental arithmetic question in front of an interview panel, who do not provide any feedback or encouragement. The industry’s current interview practice serves to ensure that we hire people who can successfully answer certain types of questions under stressful circumstances. Should we not be focusing our interviews on other factors, such as can the candidate teach themselves, are they motivated, do they keep up with the technology trends, will they fit in with the team, do they place adequate emphasis on testing and writing clean code?
I’d like to see tech interviews evolve. They should be exploring if a potential candidate has enough of the real skills needed to do the job, regardless of where their qualifications come from. I really couldn’t care less if my team mates graduated from Harvard or a local bootcamp, so long as they write good, clean code.
It’s been a hard year for tech workers, with many, many layoffs. Reading through Reddit on any given day, lays bare the dejection and hopelessness that many tech workers feel, having to go through the arduous job search and interview process. So I’ll close this trip down memory lane by asking that moving forward, when we interview people, be friendly. Remove as much stress as you can from the situation so that the candidate’s true colors can shine through. Give feedback, so that even if the candidate isn’t a good fit for the role, they come out of the interview with actionable feedback. But most of all, be kind.