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Interviewing Experienced IT People?
thricenightly writes "After more than 20 years in IT I've learned that the most valuable people in a team are frequently the old timers. Young pups straight out of college might (think they) know all the latest buzzwords and techniques, but in the real world, where getting working products delivered on time and on budget is of paramount importance, people who have been doing the job for a decade or two tend to be the people I'd rather be working alongside. I've recently been elevated to a position where I get to interview and choose those who get hired in my department. Although I'm very much focused on choosing the right person for the role regardless of age, experience or whatever, it's probably fair to say the more mature applicants will get a more sympathetic hearing from me than they might from most other interviewers for IT roles. The question is, what do I ask older applicants to get them to demonstrate the value of their experience? My current gambit is something like 'IT is seen as a young man's game. My next applicant after you is 23 years old. What do you know that he doesn't?' This gets responses ranging from the vague to the truly enlightened. All next week I'm interviewing for a number of senior software designer and developer roles. What should I be asking of the more experienced applicants, and what responses should I be looking out for?"
Definitely an interesting question.
Most senior (read: geezer) geeks I know have firmly held opinions on ... just about everything. In most cases these opinions are the distillation of decades of experience. This doesn't mean that they are (necessarily) stuck in a rut, but it does mean they are unlikely to be swayed by the language/methodology du jour.
So one thing I would want to know is can they work in the specific environment you have in place (or planned). I've got 35 years and N^2 languages behind me, but you say 'Java' and I say 'Life is too short'.
Another valuable trait in a senior member is the ability to pass on their experience to other members of the team. This can be as a role model, as a mentor, or even as someone who gives periodic instructional seminars. A way to keep balance might be to have some of the younger members give talks on things that are more cutting edge and that the seniors might enjoy learning. For example, I've been using RCS/CVS/SVN since God was a young child, but I had someone half my age sit me down and give me a real tour of Mercurial (hg) and it blew me away.
I'll be interested in hearing what you come up.
Here's a question you can ask every applicant. There is no right answer, but it would be interesting and telling to see what they do with it.
Organize these IT concepts by priority:
Uptime
Backup
Customer Service
Security
Documentation
User Experience
Fault Tolerance
Best Practices
Add/subtract terms as you see fit. You get the idea.
As a 45 year old IT person and one time manager, I would ask older IT folks about current technology that you use or plan on using. I'd also find out how current are they on the IT market in general. And I would try to figure out if the person I am talking to is willing and able to integrate with my IT department.
I don't want to generalize much, but there is a tendency for older IT folks to fall behind, often far behind, the tech curve. You know, as we get older, we have other priorities which is OK, but you want that experience they have, but you also want someone who can take your company forward. But older IT folks are also very capable to get upto speed on newer tech often quite quickly.
I wouldn't assume, either, that the young'uns are going to know the latest tech either or even be exposed to it. I do think it would be a mistake to think you could take an older IT person and put them into a mentorship role and have that work out.
I have about 7 years full time experience under my belt not counting college or any small jobs through high school. I have a lot to learn and seek out people to learn it from. I have met truly ignorant individuals, age has no preference here. Wisdom comes with the right kind of experience. I have learned more this last year bouncing around different jobs than I did at the job I sat at the previous 5 years.
So yes, ask the question, and make sure you get an answer from the younger and older individuals, you will find that a couple of your kids with 10 years of experience will far outshine the older guys with 25 years doing a repetitive job. Same for a 5 year vs a 10 year.
Wisdom is what I look for, not knowledge.
CS: It is all sink or swim...oh and did I mention there are sharks in that water?
I'd rather have a pragmatist than an idealist any day.
I also don't want to hear never-ending whining from an open source evangelical. If I ask your opinion, and you say Microsoft sucks, that's fine. I asked. But after that, if Microsoft is part of the job, I want to know I don't have to listen to you bitch about it.
In fact, you might describe the environments/toolsets and ask the candidates how they feel about them.
My next applicant after you is 23 years old. What do you know that he doesn't?
I know what "Failure" means. Another thing I know that the 23 year old has no concept of is, "What takes to have a medium to complex project completed."
If you want to get information on how your older geeks think, just ask them, "Of what project you've worked on are you most proud - and why?"
If their eyes light up and you get enthusiastic responses then you know they do this job for the love of the project - the thrill of the chase... And that means they'll be an enthusiastic and contributing member to your team. If you get dull responses then they are in it for the money - or are burned out and might not be the asset you want..
"Straddling the sword of technology..."
True story (but from the world of finance) - my great uncle, back in the 80s, went for lunch with his broker in the city (London) - he noticed all these young people flapping about, making deals, making money. He didn't like what he saw one bit so he decided to move all his money out of the stock market that day. This was some time in August/September 1987. He's dead now, but I still believe he's grinning. Any how - this true story really highlights the difference between age, people who have seen it all before, and youthful exuberance.
Older workers might be more experienced, but also have more time to develop bad habits. Instead of asking questions like the one you listed, think up a few scenarios and ask them what they would do in the situation.
I don't think this is stressed enough. Age/experience has a very goldilocks approach in IT. It can be too hot and too cold. You can get the old dogs stuck in their tricks that want to port your entire system over to what they've been doing, or you'll get the ones that are so jaded in the civil war against management and marketing that they are nothing but a poison thorn in your IT department. You can also get masters of their craft that are seeking new ways to expand themselves, but may get bored with the tasks you have for them and leave just as quickly as they came. You'll probably get something inbetween.
These are all different cogs for different machines. Maybe you just need a human appliance in your IT department that you can rely on like a laborador to get his job done. Maybe you need someone who's unafraid to stick up for the IT in front of marketing/management (because lack of competent project managers?). Maybe you need a magnanimous whirlwind to roll through your department and get the engines greased and running on the right track within a short amount of time.
For your money, unless they're pursuing IT as a post-retirement hobby, the older ones will typically cost you more for their output compared to the younger ones, but they'll typically be more reliable as well -- as an imprecise generalization.
I am the richest astronaut ever to win the superbowl.
A skydiver would know. Ever panic and make a mistake? Skydivers don't do that often. Those who do are often not around to tell you what happened or went wrong. Staying calm under pressure is a skill, not just an attitude. Taking risks is a good thing in moderation. Repeatedly taking the same risk creates skills. Crossing the street is a skill you learned long ago, but it takes practice and always involves risk. Risk taking has many forms. It's more of a strength than weakness.
Translated: Yeah, ok, I don't know language xyz or have not used ABC IDE, but lets go for it if that is the management decision. A skydiver (as an example) will also know that if you are asking for something that will probably cause an accident, the time to speak is before getting on the plane, not as you jump out of the doorway. There are other things I could relate to skydiving... or other hobbies. The point is that personal activities tell you more than many certification papers will if you understand what you are looking at.
Certs are like the Md after someone's name.
Q: Know what they call a doctor that graduated 800th out of 800 in their class?
A: Doctor.
Do you care where your doctor graduated in their class if they have performed dozens of operations just like you're about to undergo with 100% success rate? A walking breathing skydiver that jumps twice a month is like that.
Character is worth a lot. You can glean what a person's character is like from a lot of things. These were just examples. Some might not want a risk taker on their team.
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There are many young people who are experienced and have a can-do attitude, while there are older workers who feel they are too good for their job.
I'm 46 and recently got recruited from a mechanical engineering position (~25 years in the business) to a more of an IT support-type role.
As the least experienced team member (but most experienced, engineering-wise) I was given what I perceived to be a busywork task, i.e., I "felt I was too good for the job" which was essentially data entry. After a bit of poking around on the internet and phone calls to contacts I was able to automate the process and document it, reducing manual input hours for future projects.
If I hadn't said to myself, "Myself, doing this repetitive work in this age is silly and beneath me, so I'm going to find a better solution" I'd be entering that data still.
In a more general IT sense, you're not too far off the mark.
The question isn't meant to test the technical ability of a candidate - though is certainly can be used that way. It is more effective as a method by which the interviewer forces the interviewee to display critical thinking skills. Even if the interviewee answers incorrectly, the interviewer will likely have some insight in to their thought process - an important factor when evaluating specific experience.
At a previous employer I worked for, the team prepared a list of 10 very difficult technical questions (both related to the position and not) just for this purpose. One of the goals was to get the interviewee to say, "I don't know." Bonus 'points' were given if they added, "...but I'd like to know." The point of getting the candidate to say that was to see if they're smart enough to admit their lack of knowledge/experience and seek assistance when they really don't know the answer to a problem.
My sources are unreliable, but their information is fascinating. -- Ashleigh Brilliant