Go Beyond the Technical Interview Acid Test

Most prospective technical hires are looking for a pretty penny in return for their services. So how can you tell who will actually be worth it? The answer is effective interviewing.

When you seek advice on this issue, look for someone who has been there and done it. Someone who has interviewed many people for IT positions and has a proven track record. Jack Molisani, executive director of ProSpring Technical Staffing, fits the profile. He runs a staffing company that finds qualified contract and permanent staff for technology companies. He has interviewed thousands of people in the last several years and knows what to look for.

In IT, he said, it’s not so much about the qualifications and certificates — though those play their part. The most important single skill in interviewing is being able to discern which of the candidates will actually be able to do what you want him or her to do.

Some bright fellows, for example, charm one and all during the hiring process and then can’t deliver the goods in the real world. Others unveil magnificent rosters of their qualifications but can’t turn their theoretical know-how into real work. A few come with unbeatable track records of success but somehow can’t measure up. Molisani gives a good rule of thumb.

“If they can explain their area of specialization to a non-IT person in simple terms, then they understand what they do; if they can’t explain it well, they probably don’t understand it,” said Molisani.

That may sound lightweight, but it is a surprising way to cut to the core of the issue. Is the person lost in a fog of esoteric concepts, or can she lay it out so others can follow what she is doing? Even if she can do her own specific task, if she can’t relay the know-how to others, how will she be able to interact well with fellow IT workers? And, more importantly, how will she be able to tell the boss what she is working on so he gets it?

Once prospective candidates pass that acid test, there are a few others things to look for. Obviously, knowledge of a particular technical domain must be there for the area being hired. Molisani points to people skills as another point to assess in the interview phase. He watches to see if the prospect’s gaze flicks anxiously all over the room, or if the person looks him in the eye?

Another point he stresses is not making the interview itself too stuffy and formal. Molisani wants to find out if the candidate is friendly or not. That means creating an atmosphere where the person has a chance to relax and be himself. Molisani has learned that this helps him to tell the difference between pretended friendliness and being truly personable.

Finally, Molisani encourages interviewers to pay heed to what the person asks about during the interview.

“You can learn more about people from the questions they ask than the answers they give,” he said. “Pay attention to the questions the candidate asks you, as that reveals their investigatory aptitude.”

This article was first published on ServerWatch.com.

RELATED NEWS AND ANALYSIS

• Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Driving Greater Equality

  FEATURE |  By James Maguire,
  December 16, 2020

• AI vs. Machine Learning vs. Deep Learning

  FEATURE |  By Cynthia Harvey,
  December 11, 2020

• Huawei’s AI Update: Things Are Moving Faster Than We Think

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  December 04, 2020

• Keeping Machine Learning Algorithms Honest in the ‘Ethics-First’ Era

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Guest Author,
  November 18, 2020

• Key Trends in Chatbots and RPA

  FEATURE |  By Guest Author,
  November 10, 2020

• Top 10 AIOps Companies

  FEATURE |  By Samuel Greengard,
  November 05, 2020

• What is Text Analysis?

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Guest Author,
  November 02, 2020

• How Intel’s Work With Autonomous Cars Could Redefine General Purpose AI

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
  October 29, 2020

• Dell Technologies World: Weaving Together Human And Machine Interaction For AI And Robotics

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
  October 23, 2020

• The Super Moderator, or How IBM Project Debater Could Save Social Media

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  October 16, 2020

• Top 10 Chatbot Platforms

  FEATURE |  By Cynthia Harvey,
  October 07, 2020

• Finding a Career Path in AI

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Guest Author,
  October 05, 2020

• CIOs Discuss the Promise of AI and Data Science

  FEATURE |  By Guest Author,
  September 25, 2020

• Microsoft Is Building An AI Product That Could Predict The Future

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  September 25, 2020

• Top 10 Machine Learning Companies 2021

  FEATURE |  By Cynthia Harvey,
  September 22, 2020

• NVIDIA and ARM: Massively Changing The AI Landscape

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
  September 18, 2020

• Continuous Intelligence: Expert Discussion [Video and Podcast]

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By James Maguire,
  September 14, 2020

• Artificial Intelligence: Governance and Ethics [Video]

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By James Maguire,
  September 13, 2020

• IBM Watson At The US Open: Showcasing The Power Of A Mature Enterprise-Class AI

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  September 11, 2020

• Artificial Intelligence: Perception vs. Reality

  FEATURE |  By James Maguire,
  September 09, 2020