How I plan to solve hiring in tech

Let's be real, no one likes the hiring process in tech. Neither you the developer who has to memorize all the algorithms again and cram tens or hundreds of Leetcode questions, nor the interviewer who has to ask the same questions over and over to different candidates and wonders how much work they could've gotten done if they hadn't spent all this time interviewing.

The interviewers don't hate you though, they're not putting you through this torture because they like it. They've been in your shoes, they know the process sucks. They're a victim of the system just like you. Companies want the best possible candidates in the shortest possible time and this is what the hiring process has always been, so that's what the interviewers follow.

Madison Kanna

@madisonkanna

Its absolutely wild that being good at interviewing for the developer job and being good at the actual job are two completely separate skills.

17:47 PM - 10 May 2021

Actually test them for the job

I don't think this process gives the best possible candidates, or even in the shortest possible time. If you want the best possible candidate for the job then test them for skills they'll actually be using on the job. For example, if it's a backend developer you want, test them on their knowledge in backend, chances are you'll find a much better backend developer and the candidates will respect you for the process.

Don't waste their time

People have things to do. Most people aren't sitting around all day preparing for your interview or solving the 100th take-home problem they've been given this month. One take-home problem solved in an interview should be applicable to another interview. This saves everybody a lot of time and you can skip to the explanation part of the problem.

FlatTsunSociety

@reaper20736

Get a call asking to attend an interview. Immediately worried, the call was surprisingly short. Email company to confirm I have an interview. Automatic response says they'll reply in 48 hrs, 100hrs pass no reply. Show up, no one knows about the interview.
Why do people do this?

02:00 AM - 08 Jun 2021

Don't ghost them (seriously!)

Look, I get it. It sucks to give people bad news, especially when there's lots of candidates applying for a single job. It's time consuming and soul crushing, but it needs to be done. As a candidate it's way worse to be left waiting for a reply not knowing what happened than getting a rejection in a fairly quick amount of time.

Thorne Melcher

@existentialenso

Im really crumpling from the stress from this job search. Tech interview cycles are long and intense.

I have so little time to find a job before things get bad and feel so off my game from how anxious I am about not knowing when my next paycheck will be.

00:36 AM - 13 Feb 2020

Reduce the stress

Candidates are under a lot of stress when leading up to an interview and that can negatively impact how they perform in the interview. Unless the job you're interviewing for has people dealing with extreme stress on a daily basis, it is better to try and reduce the candidates' stress. Give them choices, make them comfortable and in the end you might just have a lot of options to choose from at the end :)

Lets put it in practice!

These are some of the fundamentals that I think could really help improve hiring in tech.

If you've ever interviewed candidates for a job I would love to know what problems you face while hiring and what steps you've taken to help ease them.

Tell me the problems you've faced as a candidate and we can all come together to solve them.