The Interviews¶
For candidates who pass our pre-interview, the next step is scheduling a full interview round with the team, covering all of our interview topics.
Preparation¶
Our engineering interview covers a lot of ground, and takes a lot of time. Some preparation beforehand will make sure everything runs smoothly.
Identify an “interview coordinator” to own the process. This could be the hiring manager or someone on the team. The coordinator should:
Figure out who’s on the interviewing team: this should include the hiring manager, peers, people who will report to or be led by the candidate, and people from other groups or departments who will work closely with the candidate.
Make sure everyone on the interviewing team is clear on what the position involves and what qualities and skills we’re looking for.
Divide up interview areas discussed earlier in this guide: everyone on the interview team should be assigned particular areas for their sessions. This ensures that every important area is covered by at least one person; it also helps avoid everyone asking the candidate the same questions.
Make the schedule: a typical session will last one hour. Some interviewers may want slightly more or less time, but trying to schedule less than 45 minutes for a session guarantees that either you’ll fall off schedule or you won’t go deep enough to make a decision in your area. Include the follow-up session (described later) in the schedule.
The coordinator should send out a complete interview schedule to everyone who will be interviewing. Include the candidate’s resume and any relevant profile links.
Use a meaningful subject on the email (e.g., “Gerald Fang interview, Tuesday 1:00-5:00 p.m.”, not “FW: Job opening”). Copy reception and HR/recruiting on the schedule.
Reserve a conference room, if necessary. You don’t want to waste your time (or the candidate’s) searching for a private place to talk at the start of your session.
On the day of the interviews, be sure to let reception (or whomever answers the door at your location) know the candidate is coming in and who’s first on our schedule. And double check that interviewer knows they’re up first, too.
Don’t let a candidate be left standing in the lobby (or out on the sidewalk) while we run around trying to figure out who they’re supposed to be meeting—it’s a terrible first impression.
During the Interviews¶
- Try hard to stay on schedule. There may be several interviews and other meetings intricately scheduled within a day, and if you push the schedule late, everything can fall apart.
- Make clean hand-offs between sessions. Let the candidate know whom he or she will be speaking with next and what they do. Make sure the next interviewer is aware that you are finished and they are up.
- Keep the candidate comfortable: Interviews are already stressful, and nobody’s at their best when they’re thirsty or desperately in need of a bathroom break. Offer to let them head for the kitchen/restroom in between interviews, as you head off to find the next interviewer.
- Similarly, if the interview schedule runs the better part of the day, you’ll need to make sure the candidate gets lunch and/or dinner at the appropriate times.
- If the hiring manager is not last on the schedule, he or she should usually return at the very end to check the candidate’s impressions and discuss next steps. Let the candidate know when he or she will hear back from us (and then make sure it happens as promised!).
- Do not let two candidates cross. If you have two people interviewing for the same position on the same day, schedule them to arrive at different times and generally avoid each other. Do not take competing candidates out to lunch together. (A possible exception here is college recruiting, when there are several positions open for the same pool of candidates.)
Cutting It Off Early¶
Extremely rarely, it will become apparent during the interview sessions that a candidate absolutely isn’t going to fit. (Because of our pre-interview screening, we will almost never bring in a candidate who is a total wash-out, but it can occur.)
Only the hiring manager should cut the interview schedule short. If you’ve become certain that the candidate is a complete mismatch, find the hiring manager at the end of the interview (rather than handing off to the next interviewer), and explain the situation.
The hiring manager should talk to the candidate and try to assess why there was such a difference between the pre-interview and the current session. If the interviewee is just having an incredibly off day, the interview should be rescheduled. Or if the candidate misrepresented skills, experience, or interest during the pre-interview, explain the problem and end the session.