Re: Technical Interview

In a message dated 10/16/98 11:32:20 AM Central Daylight Time,
v2cib216@us.ibm.com writes:

<< Hey there everyone,
  I have to conduct a technical interview on a potential employee for the
 consulting company that I work for.  The technical strengths of this person
are
 RPG and SQL/400 .  I would love to hear from the group on what kind of
 questions you would ask and the answer that you would expect.  This is the
 first time I have ever had to do this sort of thing so your help would be
 greatly appreciated.
  The canidate has a years experience and a masters in computer
 programming so the questions should be pretty advanced.
 
 --
 Stephen Johnson >>


Stephen - I would suggest the following:

AS/400 Technical:
* name the possible file types and describe their differences
* what are the different types of data areas and how are they utilized by RPG?
* how does one WRITE and READ in a single RPG statement?  explain why this
would be useful and how this works.
* what are the different ways to release record locks? how does one check for
a record lock?
* name the different types of arrays and how they are loaded
* explain the approaches to creating structured programs in RPG (whatever
version)
* what are subfiles?  how are subfiles accessed?  
* describe programming actions that could be taken to prevent single jobs from
"hogging" CPU time.
* what are the quickest ways to duplicate files?
* if you had a large report, and wanted to print only a portion of the report,
say a few pages, how could this be done?
* what commands are used for selective record copying between files?
* if an interactive program goes into a continuous loop, what actions would
you take to pinpoint the problem?
* name and define methods used to maintain file access paths.
* pick several code segments and ask them to describe/define/explain.
(These are general AS/400 methodology questions, get as specific as you like.
This is not meant to be inclusive. It WAS meant to force answers about problem
solving for common occurrences found in an IS shop!)

Personal:
* describe your hobbies and what you like to do in your free time (Is this
person gonna bring "baggage" to work?)
* where do you expect to be in 2/5/10 yrs? (is my investment in hiring gonna
pay off in the long term?)
* name your strengths and weaknesses (is this person honest?  how much can I
respect the info they give me in the future?)
* why do you want to work for my company? (has this candidate done any
research at all?)
* describe your working "philosophy".  (is this person gonna fit into my team
structure?)
* why are you considering a move from your current employer? (what is your
motivation?)
* how much money do you need to come to work for us?  what title do you expect
to have? (is this person gonna blow my budget?  will there be dissention in
the ranks?  do they fit the corporate culture of my company? does this person
have realistic expectations?)

Points to look for:
* does this candidate know how to qualify their answers?
* does this candidate know how to answer with clarity and focus?
* does this candidate know how to put thier answers into a meaningful context?
* does this candidate know how to specify past experience with accuracy and
low B.S. factor?
* does this candidate project a respectful image? have attentive body
language?
* does this candidate know how to NOT interrupt and listen well?
* does this candidate know how to answer questions fully to your satisfaction?
* does this candidate know how to speak intelligently?  ie, understand common
trade lingo, jargon, and terms?
* does this candidate know how to answer confidently without faltering or
stumbling?
* was this candidate polite to everyone they met at my location (ask the
receptionist!)?
* was this candidate punctual?

Suggestions:
* lay these questions out on paper, with room to take notes.  Tell the
candidate that you will be taking extensive notes during the interview and
that there will be times when you will be writing instead of looking at them.
Then do so.
*  allow the candidate some leeway during the interview to ask plenty of
questions (NOT a statement like "Any questions?" at the end of the
interview!).  After all, the person asking the questions controls the
interview, and allowing the CANDIATE to do this will give you a good idea of
areas they wish to steer clear of, and additionally what is on their mind.

Stephen - let me know if I can help any further with interviewing methodology.

Dave Brown
Search Professionals, Inc.
888-917-1112
haveajob@aol.com

PS - by the way, some of these questions were contributed by members of the
midrange-l list in times past.  DB



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