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Should I ask applicants about what scifi books they've read? (self.asklemmy)

submitted 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) by shortrounddev to c/asklemmy

77 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm a software engineer who sometimes interviews other software engineers. I'm not given a script to go off of, I get to ask them whatever I want. Usually we just talk about technology and coding from a high level. I'm not a big fan of whiteboard tests.

I've noticed, however, that a lot of people applying to software engineering jobs feel very alien to me. I started coding when I was 12 and spent most of my teenage years on technology forums. A lot of people applying to these positions are very much ladder-climbing type people who got into the career for the money. Working with these people is an absolute drag.

We also interview for "culture fit". I would like to add in a single question to my interviews to assess that: what is your favorite science fiction book. You don't even have to have read it recently, you just have to have read one and formed an opinion on it. My thoughts

Pros:

Weeds out a lot of people since half of Americans don't read books at all.
Theoretically filters out people who love this kind of tech subculture from people who are just in it for the money

Cons:

It's unfair to people who enjoy fantasy novels, or any other form of fiction
Being motivated by money probably shouldn't be a disqualifying factor (I certainly wouldn't do this job for free), I'm just tired of working with yuppies and lashing out at poor unsuspecting Jr Devs

I'm half-hearted on this. I see why it could be considered unfair but I'm really tired of the kinds of people I work with.

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[–] RBWells 3 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (1 children)

These are two separate questions. Is the person into sci fi and is the person an asshole because they think people in lower ranked positions are inferior as people.

If you asked me my favorite sci fi and I said it was the Black Science comics, or Atomic Robo, is that a yes or a no? And how does it tell you whether I'm an asshole to people in junior positions? I work with a set of diverse people who are all pretty cool but I don't think that most of them are, well, "like me" in a standard cultural sense. In fact I know they aren't.

I had a boss who would interview people with relevant questions but most of what he was looking for was people who were not afraid of him, lol. He was a very intense person and you had to be able to push back if you thought he was wrong.

I think if you made it funny it might be ok, it is a question that would put me, personally, at ease, but how are these yuppies sneaking through your screening at all? It's not evident in the interview?

[–] shortrounddev 1 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

If you asked me my favorite sci fi and I said it was the Black Science comics, or Atomic Robo, is that a yes or a no?

It's a yes, I'm not particular about the format/medium. Same with my other interview questions, the answers don't matter so much as the fact that you CAN answer the question

how are these yuppies sneaking through your screening at all? It’s not evident in the interview?

It's not exactly a criteria for the interview. Plus I'm not the only one interviewing. yuppies attract yuppies

[–] RBWells 4 points 20 hours ago

I think it's an ok question, just tell them there's no wrong answer. Sometimes people say "culture fit" as some kind of code for discrimination, but I don't think that taste in music or books is a protected category, lol. I am just not sure it's going to work to do what you want. Some of the guys are work who come ooh and ah over my geeky cube decor are nice and some are assholes, there doesn't seem to be a correlation and some of my favorite people at work are so different from me if spun on that axis, like they drink wine and go see romantic comedy or football games, or reality TV (blech) but are so great to work with.

It is absolutely ok to try to build a good team that can work together. That makes a better working environment for sure. I hope you can influence the selection process, you do sound like a good boss.