Re:Ask HN: How do you assess teamwork skills during interview?
by w4tson on Sunday February 11, 2018 @02:27AM
(#16351634)
That might be a start. But there’s even more subtle things going on.
What about the person who can resolve conflict. The person who always takes on a task to the bitter end regardless how bad it smells. The person who thinks ahead. The developer who loves process and documentation. The developer who can code you out of a tricky situation. The person who’s always trying new things.
Personally I think it’s a lottery. Like putting together a football team but we don’t even know the positions yet. We just know they can play football
I agree with this.
I think there are ways to notice this during interviews. I'm a fan of a junior engineer interviewing a candidate for a senior position - as a way to see how well they interact. Perhaps the question could be more open ended (e.g. explain x,y,z concepts - maybe oven ones that the interviewer doesn't know but wants to learn). If the junior feels like they had a good interaction, were able to learn, and felt respected through the process, great. If the candidate seemed offended by the lack of experience of the interviewer, then not great.
A highly subjective signal though.