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

submitted 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) by shortrounddev to c/asklemmy

71 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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[–] Benjaben 4 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

I like to ask candidates to tell me about a design pattern, or a framework, or a coding principle that they really appreciate and which changed how they think about or write code. It's an open-ended way to show me they care about the craft.

People who find the field interesting and somewhat fun (AKA not just lucrative) usually have these kinds of preferences or paradigm-shifting moments / learnings. People who can't come up with anything for this question tend to be real junior or just in it for the wrong reasons. Or so I tell myself, anyway.

[–] shortrounddev 2 points 16 hours ago

I think it's better to get an intuitive/human understanding of an applicant rather than making them take an SAT of Javascript questions. Above all, I value flexibility and the ability to learn new things. A lot of the people I don't want to work with kind of just learned react at a bootcamp and that's all they know how to do

[–] Suck_on_my_Presence 5 points 17 hours ago

As others have commented, it could be a discriminatory thing you're stepping yourself into.

For example, what about dyslexics, or those with ADHD who can't focus on books but enjoy coding or other sci fi media?

You do you, ultimately, but using that as a qualifying factor when hiring feels like a slippery slope.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

That question is likely illegal to ask. Only ask questions relevant to your job. Culture fit is will your form a book club together, it is can you work with this person and then go home. If you are regularly doing such social activities with everyone you work with outside of work hours you need to get a life. (it is okay to make friends with people you work with, but that isn't a goal.)

[–] shortrounddev 1 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

I doubt it's explicitly illegal, but who knows what you can be accused of

[–] [email protected] 3 points 15 hours ago

You should generally only ask questions that relate directly to the job. If you start asking unrelated questions then the applicant could feel that you are discriminating against them for some reason. But I get the desire to give someone who is a good fit, but you should find a more subtle way.

I'm in IT and I like to ask applicants if they have any systems at home that they manage. One guy told me how he went on craigslist and purchased an old server to play around with VMware when the company he was with first started looking into it. That impressed me because it's something I'd do. He was a top contender, so I sent him home with some homework: I asked to see an example of some documentation that he's written up. The next day he sent me a detailed diagram and full documentation of his home torrent system, how he has Plex, Sonarr and Radarr setup, and how his drives are laid out. I found a new best friend that day.

[–] KammicRelief 4 points 17 hours ago

I'm often very much in the same boat as you. I'm the one in the team interview who afterwards is like "pleeease let's go with person B, because person A just, y'know, .. bad gut feeling?" And I wish I could ask more personal questions in the interview itself. However, I've been lightly warned (and subsequent web searches confirm this) that it's a legal grey area to ask about personal stuff in interviews. If they bring it up, or maybe you drop an obscure ST:TNG reference and they pick up on it, by all means, they're "one of us" so go for it. But on the flip side, you might hear something that, say if you don't end up hiring them, could be grounds for a discrimination lawsuit.

[–] RBWells 3 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 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 16 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

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[–] NeoNachtwaechter 1 points 16 hours ago

It is not unfair. At least no more than any other questions from the field of science. However, you must be open to responses that are a little offside. For example, an answer about a fantasy book is still so much better than maybe a book about economics, or no book at all.

[–] Nibodhika 1 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

First of all my answer would be that I don't know. If I had to choose one I would probably pick the end of eternity, but mostly because it was an excellent book if you've read the Empire and Foundation books before, so maybe I should pick the Foundation trilogy.... But if you ask me for my favorite sci-fi story I would almost assuredly pick SOMA.

Which takes me to that you should probably ask what's your favorite sci-fi story instead of book. Some people prefer games or movies, and even people like me who enjoy reading might just not have read enough sci-fi to pick a favorite book (I for example have mostly only read Asimov).

[–] shortrounddev 1 points 16 hours ago

I think your answer would be perfect, but it begs the question: should employers try to hire people who read long form text recreationally (i.e: books)? Does it correlate to better written communication skills? I think I owe my ability to communicate asynchronously at work to the years I spent on web forums online

[–] [email protected] 1 points 17 hours ago

I would be kinda excited if I got asked this personaly - and I'm more of a fantasy guy myself, though I love me some scifi sometimes.

Though leading with being so specific might be a bit much maybe ask first about hobbies or what they enjoy in free time in general first, to eatablish if this more specific question even makes sense? Though I do get the logic that if somebody is really into tech they will enjoy scifi

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