Re:How to Interview Engineers
by rdtsc on Monday June 26, 2017 @11:14PM
(#14642315)
Used that on college graduates. I was surprised how many couldn't answer or reason through it. Even the ones from top CS schools.
I also realized how different schools emphasized computer architecture differently for CS graduates. I remember having to design a simplified PDP-11 in Computer Architecture. We had to take assembly language and such. But that was one specific college and I shouldn't assume all of them do that.
Eventually I moved away from such questions and took a more collaborative approach such as "let's solve a problem together". So I'd stand beside them at a whiteboard and we think through problems. I think that puts candidates at ease and it reveals more of the skill and personality traits that were relevant for us.
I also realized how different schools emphasized computer architecture differently for CS graduates. I remember having to design a simplified PDP-11 in Computer Architecture. We had to take assembly language and such. But that was one specific college and I shouldn't assume all of them do that.
Eventually I moved away from such questions and took a more collaborative approach such as "let's solve a problem together". So I'd stand beside them at a whiteboard and we think through problems. I think that puts candidates at ease and it reveals more of the skill and personality traits that were relevant for us.