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Better Interview Questions Guide

The document discusses bad interview questions and provides better alternatives. It identifies two kinds of bad questions - prohibited questions that are unlawful or inappropriate, and discouraged questions that test trivia rather than understanding. Prohibited questions include those about age, family status, religion and medical history. Discouraged questions involve testing command line syntax or options. Better questions explore problem solving, technical concepts like file systems, and show how applicants think through issues. The document advocates for questions that reveal understanding over isolated knowledge.

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Anupam Srivastava
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88 views59 pages

Better Interview Questions Guide

The document discusses bad interview questions and provides better alternatives. It identifies two kinds of bad questions - prohibited questions that are unlawful or inappropriate, and discouraged questions that test trivia rather than understanding. Prohibited questions include those about age, family status, religion and medical history. Discouraged questions involve testing command line syntax or options. Better questions explore problem solving, technical concepts like file systems, and show how applicants think through issues. The document advocates for questions that reveal understanding over isolated knowledge.

Uploaded by

Anupam Srivastava
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Bad Interview Questions

Adam Moskowitz [email protected]

(please hire me!)


http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Bad Interview Questions


Examples of bad questions Why theyre bad Better questions to ask instead

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Please think of your favorite interview question

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

But first . . .

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

What about those elections?

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

That was a trick!

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Two Kinds of Bad Questions

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Two Kinds of Bad Questions


Discouraged

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Two Kinds of Bad Questions


Discouraged Prohibited

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Two Kinds of Bad Questions


Discouraged Prohibited
Like asking about politics

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Two Kinds of Bad Questions


Discouraged Prohibited
Like asking about politics Going to do these first

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Prohibited Questions

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Prohibited Questions
Age

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Prohibited Questions
Age Marital status / Kids

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Prohibited Questions
Age Marital status / Kids Religion

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Prohibited Questions
Age Marital status / Kids Religion Political affiliation

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Prohibited Questions
Age Marital status / Kids Religion Political affiliation Medical history
http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Prohibited Questions
Age Marital status / Kids Religion Political affiliation Medical history Personal habits
http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Prohibited Questions
Age Marital status / Kids Religion Political affiliation Medical history Personal habits Other similar things http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Why Cant You Ask These?

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Why Cant You Ask These?


Theyre unlawful

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Why Cant You Ask These?


Theyre unlawful Or they might get you sued

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Why Cant You Ask These?


Theyre unlawful Or they might get you sued Or theyre just plain rude

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

So Dont Ask Them!

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Discouraged Questions

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Discouraged Questions
Lets start with some examples

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

What does tsort do?

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

OK Smarty-Pants . . .
Just what is a topological sort anyway? Well?

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

What does ls -X do?

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

What does ls -X do?


Or is it ls -x?

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

What does ls -X do?


Or is it ls -x? Its both
Depending on which version of Unix

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

What does ls -X do?


Or is it ls -x? Its both
Depending on which version of Unix

But why do you care?

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

What does ls -X do?


Or is it ls -x? Its both
Depending on which version of Unix

But why do you care?


Hint: You dont!

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

What command works only on stdin?

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

What command works only on stdin?


tr But why? And, again, why do you care?

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

What commands do not accept command-line switches?

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

What commands do not accept command-line switches?


Its a long list
Including true and false

And I still dont know why you care!

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

So Why Are These Questions Bad?

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

So Why Are These Questions Bad?


They ask about trivia But you care about knowledge And understanding Not to mention trouble-shooting skills

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

What to Ask Instead

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

What to Ask Instead


What command lists the contents of a directory?
Lots of output options; what are some of them? Can you change the sort order? On which keys?

Which leads to . . .
http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Filesystem Questions
What / how many times are stored about a file?
atime, ctime, mtime

What do they mean? And this leads to . . .

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Inodes
What is an inode? Whats stored in the inode? Is the file name stored in the inode?
If not, where is it stored?

Which brings us to . . .
http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Links
Whats the difference between a hard link and a symbolic link? Can you make a hard link to a directory? Can hard links cross filesystems?
If not, why not?
http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

See the Difference?


Trivia questions test, well, trivia
And dont go anywhere

Good technical questions probe both the depth and breadth of a candidates knowledge and understanding
There are those words again
http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Other Possibilities

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Other Possibilities
Describe a problem

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Other Possibilities
Describe a problem Ask the candidate to talk through the solution

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Why?

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Why?
Shows you how the candidate thinks about problems

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Why?
Shows you how the candidate thinks about problems And how they go about solving them

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Why?
Shows you how the candidate thinks about problems And how they go about solving them
Which gives you some idea of how well they understand the technology

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Why?
Shows you how the candidate thinks about problems And how they go about solving them
Which gives you some idea of how well they understand the technology
Which is different from what trivia they know!

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

So . . .
Is your favorite question good or bad?

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Thats All, Folks!

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

This Has Been a Try to Talk As Fast As Rob Pike Production

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

Mr. Moskowitzs wardrobe by King Kog Creations

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

After Today . . .
If you have more questions:
<[email protected]>

Get these slides:


http://menlo.com/lisa06/htgr/

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

So what does ls -X do anyway?

http://menlo.com./liisa06/htgr/

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