Interviewing
Some of the below points are presented from an interviewers perspective, some from an interviewee's perspective, however I think all are relevant for both sides of the equation.
- For video calls, let the interviewee know I'll be taking notes, so if I'm not looking at the camera that's why. Nothing throws off an interviewee like feeling that their interviewer is disinterested, so it's good to preempt this.
- Interviews should be a two-way street:
If they allow you plenty of time to converse with your interviewers throughout the process, great. If they tack on a cursory “any questions for us?” while wrapping up, they don’t think it matters what you think of them. Pull the ripcord. 1
- When hiring for a manager role:
If you're a manager being interviewed by a group that doesn't include your direct reports, that's a red light. i would seriously consider opting out. 2
If they don't interview you, ask to interview them. I've been at enough companies now to know that some of them use this as a tactic... "If they don't ask to meet their direct reports, then don't hire them". 3
- Use the STAR method for answering interview questions.
- Answer questions in sections of Situation / Task / Actions / Results
Interview questions
General
- Talk about a difficult challenge you've faced in your work.
- What professional achievement are you most proud of? 4
- How do you define success in your role? 5
SRE / DevOps
- Talk about an incident you were involved with. How did you approach it?
- When faced with a significant incident, how do you decide what to do and how to prioritize? How do you help out your team members? 5
- Which metrics are most important to you in your role, and which are least important? Why is that? 5
- What is your experience with automation in your previous roles? Where has it benefited most? 5