Interviewing Tips for Hiring Managers

Beware of speakerphones. Try to use a conference service if you can, so that all participants are on their own handset. If you must use speakerphones, try to keep the number of interviewers down to three total. The problem is that most speakerphones are half-duplex, meaning that they can only process sound in one direction at a time. This will result in constant cuts and interruptions, since humans are naturally conversational and will generally make noises while the other talks; either a sound of assent, or a chuckle will cut off the candidates’ answer midstream. Given that today most people seem to have only cell-phones and not landlines, and many top professionals are accented individuals, it is crucial that all considerations are taken into account to give the clearest communication possible.

Try to have some idea of the technical issues you want to cover. Keep in mind that you are interviewing for a specific activity that needs to be accomplished. If the position is very involved in customer facing issues or even internally to a team with tricky personalities, communication and personality are key. If the position requires hands-on activities that have specific technical parameters, interview on those skills.

Email a coding sample request for them to complete before the interview.

It is always good to have questions prepared to specifically to look for thinking skills. However, you will get the best results by telling the person ahead of time that “there's no right or wrong answer here – I just want to get an idea of your reasoning and creative problem solving skills.”

Wolverine offers customized testing with many different partners. We can arrange a customized online test, where you pick the questions, or an hour long, indepth technical interview with an expert credentialed in a particular skill-set. We are your clearinghouse for IT staffing needs, whatever form they might take.