My recruitment experience [1]: Interview vs Test

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• ◇ You can observe
• ◇ Adaptable
• ◇ Manufacturing pressure
• ◇ Save the interviewer's time
• ◇ Test hands-on capabilities
• ◇ Stage 1-pure Test
• ◇ Stage 1-interview-based (occasional Written Examination)
• ◇ Stage 1-hands-on practice
• ◇ Summary

Till now, many software companies are hiringProgramEmployees only engage in interviews, rather than a written test. In fact, both the interview and the written examination are important. The two have their own advantages and disadvantages and cannot be replaced by each other. Below I will give a general summary of the advantages and disadvantages of both the interview and the written examination.

★Advantages of the interview (disadvantages of the test)

The interview has the following obvious advantages:

◇ You can observe

The so-called observation means that the interviewer can gain a better understanding of the candidate by observing the conversation, expression, and demeanor of the candidate. Experienced interviewers can have a general understanding of each other's personality, mentality, self-confidence, and other information in a few words. (The post after this series will introduce this technique in detail)

◇ Adaptable

Experienced interviewers will respond to questions at random and dynamically adjust the next question to be asked based on the applicant's answers. In this way, the interview efficiency will be much higher. Moreover, because the problem is dynamic and there is no fixed routine, it is difficult for candidates to cheat.

◇ Manufacturing pressure

You can also conduct interviews and create stress to test the applicant's acceptance of stress. Sometimes, I will ask one or two colleagues to interview a candidate-first, to create a certain pressure on the number of people. Then, during the conversation, some people sang red faces and some others sang black faces. In this way, we can see the ability to withstand pressure.

★Advantages of the test (disadvantages of the interview)

After talking about the advantages of the interview, let's compare the written examination.

◇ Save the interviewer's time

There is a significant difference between a written examination and an interview, that is, there is no need to communicate separately. Therefore, the written examination can save a lot of time and energy for recruiters.
If the job you are recruiting is delicious, several candidates may come at once. If every interview is conducted separately, you will be too busy. The written examination does not require one-on-one interviews, but can be conducted at the same time, which is superior to the interview in terms of "concurrency.

◇ Test hands-on capabilities

During interviews, programmers often talk about it. These people talk about a certain technical field. At first glance, it seems very cool X. But if you give him/her a specific question and ask him/her to write a program, the guys who don't have the real skills will reveal it.
For example, for some computer science graduates, if they ask him/her for Bubble sorting or binary search, they can all say one, two, three. However, if you want to write a specific program (whether it's paper or pen or computer), many people will take a break.

★How to combine the test and interview?

Since both the interview and the written examination are indispensable, how should they work together? My practice is divided into the following stages (the interview of the personnel department is usually put at the end, this article does not mention ).

◇ Stage 1-pure Test

If all the people who come to the company to apply for a one-to-one interview, the interviewer will be exhausted. Therefore, the first round of examination should be used to filter out 80% of candidates (remember 《Ubiquitous Principle). In order to achieve this goal, the pen exam must be very exquisite. "Good pen questions"To distinguish people with different abilities from obvious regions. In addition, good pen questions can also prevent candidates from cheating.
Some students must ask: How is it a "good pen test? In fact 《Recruitment misunderstandingI have mentioned a little about it (see "focusing only on dead issues, not live issues "). This seriesSubsequent postsTo analyze this topic in more detail.

◇ Stage 1-interview-based (occasional Written Examination)

For those who pass the written examination, 2nd rounds of interviews will be arranged.
Here, it is necessary to explain. The so-called interview is not just a matter of mouth, but occasionally it is necessary to start. For example, when talking about the Design Pattern During the interview, the applicant claims to be familiar with the XX pattern, then he will hand over the back of his resume, let the other party draw a class chart in XX mode above (in combination with specific use cases ).
In addition, what technical questions should be asked during the interview, just like the written questions. Ask"Good question". The truth has been said before.

◇ Stage 1-hands-on practice

Not everyone needs to proceed to Stage 1. Generally, if I want to recruit a high-cost developer who successfully passes the first two levels, I will schedule a 3rd-stage "machine trial ".
Compared with the pen and paper writing program, the actual practice on the computer will be more authentic and show the strength of a person. I will write a separate post to introduce the precautions for practical use on the machine. I guess some people will question the necessity of "hands-on practice" and I will answer it in that post.

◇ Summary

In general, the later stages, the higher the time cost (for recruiters. Therefore, the recruitment of Middle and Low-end talents focuses on the previous rounds (test and interview); the recruitment of middle and high-end talents focuses on the next few rounds (interview and practice ).

★End

I don't like writing a post too long (I'm tired and everyone is tired of reading it), so I will say so much today.Next postAbout the importance of non-technical factors in the recruitment process.