If you’re interviewing with me and you’re reading this, congratulations. You’ve already earned yourself a brownie point.
What I look for when I hire in IT is someone with an innate curiosity and the ability to consume knowledge at a different level than most people. IT professionals are responsible for an environment that gets more complex every single day. The tools keep evolving. We have to keep evolving. Your ability to research a problem and figure it out is probably the most important skill you can have.
What you know today is almost irrelevant to me. What you’re able to know by tomorrow is what I’m looking for.
If you’ve researched me, found this blog, and you’re reading this post. I’m going to give you all the answers to the test. You’re not cheating. My interview questions are about method, not knowledge.
One of my favorite interview questions, and all of my peers are always surprised by this one,I’ll ask the candidate: how many phone numbers are in the United States?
The look on their face when the IT guy asks how many phone numbers are in the United States is honestly priceless. I’m a little embarrassed to admit I enjoy that moment, but here’s the point. This is the kind of question we get asked almost daily in IT. How do you [insert thing you don’t understand here]? And your job is to figure it out.
It’s not about having the right answer. It’s about having a methodology to GET the right answer. The right answer isn’t to google it. The right answer is to understand what to google.
And if you’re one of the people reading this who went and googled “how many phone numbers are in the United States” before your interview with me, and you come in and give me the number, know this: I don’t know how many phone numbers there are in the United States either.
Just like in grade school when your teacher said you have to show your work so she knows you understand the problem. You have to tell me how you got the answer. Not give me the answer.
And if you’ve got that one ready to go, don’t worry. I’ve got a couple more.
Until next time.