A Possibly Perfect Interview Question
Jurgen has The Perfect Job Interview Question. It’s
When reviewing somebody else’s code, what is it that you usually find most disturbing?
This is a good question. If someone doesn’t review code, you’ll hear that. Jurgen goes on to discuss the syntax answers vs. the design/architecture answers.
He has a point. I would add some more questions, such as:
- When was the last time you reviewed someone else’s code? I want to know how recent this experience is
- When have you been prohibited from reviewing code? … What were the circumstances?
- When did you fight to review code?
- Have you ever reviewed unit tests and code? (a closed question to understand the context) What did you do? (a behavior-description question to understand what actions the candidate took or didn’t)
There may be even more questions to learn more about how a candidate is accustomed to working, and how well that experience might fit for you.
I don’t think this is the one and only perfect interview question, even for developers. But it’s a good start.
3 comments April 25th, 2008