Re:How to Interview Engineers
by abraae on Monday June 26, 2017 @08:44PM
(#14641675)
I always use normalization/database design as an interview question. I firmly believe that good questions about database design can really identify the candidate's skills and weaknesses in this area:
- it works well sitting around a whiteboard, which is a nice friendly dynamic that emulates how we really work
- it doesn't require detailed/arcane recollection of specifics, is more conceptual. Who wants to fail someone because they don't remember a parameter or some specific details of how TreeMaps work?
- it can't be faked - no-one can talk their way through a database design discussion unless they really have an aptitude for it
- its interesting. Who doesn't want to spitball around, say, modelling what Uber's database might look like behind the scenes.
I would say there are plenty of decent programmers around who can't (or haven't) done any real database design work, but if its a core skill (SaaS app development) that you really need, then its an easy one to detect at interview.
- it works well sitting around a whiteboard, which is a nice friendly dynamic that emulates how we really work
- it doesn't require detailed/arcane recollection of specifics, is more conceptual. Who wants to fail someone because they don't remember a parameter or some specific details of how TreeMaps work?
- it can't be faked - no-one can talk their way through a database design discussion unless they really have an aptitude for it
- its interesting. Who doesn't want to spitball around, say, modelling what Uber's database might look like behind the scenes.
I would say there are plenty of decent programmers around who can't (or haven't) done any real database design work, but if its a core skill (SaaS app development) that you really need, then its an easy one to detect at interview.