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by James Robertson.
Original Post: How to interview
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Johanna Rothman has some good thoughts on the hiring process - I'd recommend her blog in general - but this morning's piece on the interview process is thought provoking:
I have a problem with the belief that these questions are useful for determining anything useful about a candidate. Brainteasers discriminate for people who like word problems. Do your technical staff need to be excellent at word problems? Since there's a lot more to work than word problems, my answer is no.
She points to the general problem of interviewers asking questions and expecting the right answer - when a work situation typically has many potential right answers. Heck, I haven't interviewed for a position in years, so there's no telling how I'd fare these days...