Paul's entry was certainly "interesting", but I disagree with it (and the Joel Spolsky "recent posting" from 3 1/2 years ago that he linked to).
What Paul and Joel are repeating is the standard advice on how to do interviews for Microsoft -- from about ten years ago. But I think by now "you work here therefore you are a genius at all things including evaluating talent" theory has had some serious holes punched in it.
For every person you "hire"d and had a vague feeling they weren't up to snuff and they turned out to be bad (the false positives) there may be a bunch that you had vague negative feelings about who turned out fine, confirming your "hire" vote. But you don't notice those, just like you don't notice all the times you were thinking of someone and they just happened NOT to call you on the phone that very moment.
And of course you are never aware of how many people who would have done a great job were turned down because of one "no hire" (the false negatives).
As to the specific examples Paul gives...there are plenty of people at Microsoft who did just great BECAUSE they were antagonistic to their old management, because they felt they were impeding them from doing great work. And when hiring summer interns, fer crackin' ice, could you lay off being Mr. Stud Interviewer and actually give some poor kid a chance to work there for the summer even if you are not 100% convinced he is as smart as you and/or Bill Gates? Maybe, god forbid, you might discover during the summer that he is actually really good. If not, kick him to the curb and no permanent harm done.
I prescribe to everyone who believes wholeheartedly in this system a forced reading of "How Would You Move Mount Fuji?" Then you will realize how dubious the notion of "trust your instincts" is.
Now, if you read the book you will see the final judgement is that Microsoft's interview methods are probably no worse than anywhere else. But to assume that they are much better than anywhere else is false and engenders an attitude that leads more or less directly to the DOJ lawsuit and the rise of Linux.
- adam
Malcolm Gladwell wrote a great New Yorker article that questions the "gut feeling" aspect of job interviews:
http://www.gladwell.com/2000/
200...a_interview.htm
Yes! If you want my much longer opinion on all this, which refers to Gladwell's article among other things, read my review of "How Would You Move Mount Fuji?"
http://books.slashdot.org/articl...03/04/22/
224224
- adam
In your free time, check the sites dedicated to... Thanks!!!
its great blog!
Commenting by HaloScan
