Re: [CODE4LIB] Job Interview : A Libcoder's Helpful Advices
Asking questions is an essential part of the interview. You are interviewing them as well as them you. But, never ask questions that can be easily answered by browsing their website or common reference works. That just makes you look either lazy or not interested enough to take a few minutes to investigate the situation. This seems silly to say, but it does happen. Sincerely, David Bigwood dbigw...@hou.usra.edu Lunar and Planetary Institute @LPI_Library -Original Message- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of scott bacon Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2014 6:13 PM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Job Interview : A Libcoder's Helpful Advices I would like to echo Jimmy and Laura about the importance of asking questions to your potential employer. You should be interviewing them as they interview you. We've all been at the point where we're terrified to ask a question that will take us out of the running for a position; it's a vulnerable place to be. But not asking pointed questions may turn up red flags too, making it look like you either don't know any better or don't have enough initiative to ask for what you need to be successful. A lot of the angst I've seen in workplace situations revolves around socio-political situations. So some of the questions I might ask a potential employer: - What is the relationship between the library and the administration at this institution? Does the administration recognize the importance of the library? - Are there any projects you have wanted to complete that have failed due to external forces? Please explain... - What is your relationship to the president/provost/dean, and how does it help/hinder your everyday work? They'll appreciate your initiative -- be bold!
Re: [CODE4LIB] Job Interview : A Libcoder's Helpful Advices
On Mon, May 12, 2014 at 7:29 AM, Bigwood, David dbigw...@hou.usra.eduwrote: Asking questions is an essential part of the interview. You are interviewing them as well as them you. But, never ask questions that can be easily answered by browsing their website or common reference works. It blows my mind how many people don't do their homework. You need to give your potential employer real thought. Don't just spend 45 minutes browsing the website. Think about what they've done and are hoping to do -- same goes for people you'd be working with. Hiring someone is the most important/expensive thing that organizations do. It's very possible that the place that hires you will invest more than $1 million in you. You have a lot of skin in the game too -- your choice of job determines where you are and what you do most of your waking hours for a long time. You owe them and yourself much more than a few stock questions that anyone could come up with. Good questions show what about them interests you and they help everyone understand each other better. An interview is a conversation where both sides need to engage. Questions asked either by the interviewer or the interviewee just for the sake of asking something are boring and won't help you or your potential employer. kyle
Re: [CODE4LIB] Job Interview : A Libcoder's Helpful Advices
On Mon, May 12, 2014 at 10:07 AM, Kyle Banerjee kyle.baner...@gmail.comwrote: Hiring someone is the most important/expensive thing that organizations do. I couldn't agree more[1]. And that's why I advocate that organizations hire based on personality traits, not experience. I realize that justifications must be given in terms of the candidate's qualifications vis. a vis. the position description, but if you aren't paying attention to personality traits then you are missing the boat. Roy [1] http://roytennant.com/column/?fetch=data/101.xml
Re: [CODE4LIB] Job Interview : A Libcoder's Helpful Advices
While I really do agree - you can train skills, but you can't train personality (well, unless you're a parent, but that's another story), I also think on both sides of the table, we need to be aware that there will always be a bias. If we let personability—some indefinable, prerational intuition, magnified by the Fundamental Attribution Error—bias the hiring process today, then all we will have done is replace the old-boy network, where you hired your nephew, with the new-boy network, where you hire whoever impressed you most when you shook his hand. Social progress, unless we’re careful, can merely be the means by which we replace the obviously arbitrary with the not so obviously arbitrary. http://gladwell.com/the-new-boy-network/ (I read this as some small consolation for all the interviews that I've been on for jobs that I was turned down for.) (PS despite the use of the word boy I don't necessarily think Gladwell's referring to a GENDER bias... or is he?) Christina Salazar christina.sala...@csuci.edu Systems Librarian California State University Channel Islands From: Code for Libraries [CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] on behalf of Roy Tennant [roytenn...@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, May 12, 2014 10:26 AM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Job Interview : A Libcoder's Helpful Advices On Mon, May 12, 2014 at 10:07 AM, Kyle Banerjee kyle.baner...@gmail.comwrote: Hiring someone is the most important/expensive thing that organizations do. I couldn't agree more[1]. And that's why I advocate that organizations hire based on personality traits, not experience. I realize that justifications must be given in terms of the candidate's qualifications vis. a vis. the position description, but if you aren't paying attention to personality traits then you are missing the boat. Roy [1] http://roytennant.com/column/?fetch=data/101.xml
Re: [CODE4LIB] Job Interview : A Libcoder's Helpful Advices
Thanks Christina, The bias you're talking about is a major hazard in tech jobs, where there are too often broad, unexamined prejudices about what kinds of people are technically skilled. There's plenty of writing out there about the problems with hiring for personality or culture fit. I recommend this blog post by Shanley Kane: https://medium.com/about-work/e8ab06c3b75f#0ebf At the very least, if you're going to hire for personality traits, you need to do some very serious thinking about whether and why you think those traits will actually make the person more effective at their job. Do the reasons amount to prejudice? Are they exploitative in some other way? - Tom On Mon, May 12, 2014 at 11:04 AM, Salazar, Christina christina.sala...@csuci.edu wrote: While I really do agree - you can train skills, but you can't train personality (well, unless you're a parent, but that's another story), I also think on both sides of the table, we need to be aware that there will always be a bias. If we let personability—some indefinable, prerational intuition, magnified by the Fundamental Attribution Error—bias the hiring process today, then all we will have done is replace the old-boy network, where you hired your nephew, with the new-boy network, where you hire whoever impressed you most when you shook his hand. Social progress, unless we’re careful, can merely be the means by which we replace the obviously arbitrary with the not so obviously arbitrary. http://gladwell.com/the-new-boy-network/ (I read this as some small consolation for all the interviews that I've been on for jobs that I was turned down for.) (PS despite the use of the word boy I don't necessarily think Gladwell's referring to a GENDER bias... or is he?) Christina Salazar christina.sala...@csuci.edu Systems Librarian California State University Channel Islands From: Code for Libraries [CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] on behalf of Roy Tennant [roytenn...@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, May 12, 2014 10:26 AM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Job Interview : A Libcoder's Helpful Advices On Mon, May 12, 2014 at 10:07 AM, Kyle Banerjee kyle.baner...@gmail.com wrote: Hiring someone is the most important/expensive thing that organizations do. I couldn't agree more[1]. And that's why I advocate that organizations hire based on personality traits, not experience. I realize that justifications must be given in terms of the candidate's qualifications vis. a vis. the position description, but if you aren't paying attention to personality traits then you are missing the boat. Roy [1] http://roytennant.com/column/?fetch=data/101.xml
Re: [CODE4LIB] Job Interview : A Libcoder's Helpful Advices
On Mon, May 12, 2014 at 11:32 AM, Tom Johnson johnson.tom+code4...@gmail.com wrote: At the very least, if you're going to hire for personality traits, you need to do some very serious thinking about whether and why you think those traits will actually make the person more effective at their job. Do the reasons amount to prejudice? Are they exploitative in some other way? This is what it boils down to. These traits can be slippery at times, but they are still essential. A person is much more than a set of skills, how long they've warmed their chair, and whatever they can tick off on their resume. Whatever you do, you have to engage well with the rest of the team and help bring out best in others. You need to identify and be working on problems before anyone knows they exist. No amount of knowledge can make up for a bad attitude and lack of motivation. This works both ways. What makes a job great or lousy is rarely what people ask about. You can have a great title, great pay, good budget, etc, but that does you little good if you have to work in a dysfunctional atmosphere. One of the questions I always ask is If I'm hired, what will I really wish I asked a year from now? You want to know about turf and trust issues, screwball personnel situations, and a host of other things that make or break an environment. There absolutely is such thing as fit and I've been told before that I wasn't a fit. That's not fun if you don't have a job already (which was the case for me at the time). But the institution that did this was absolutely right. None of us fit everywhere, so when the fit is bad, you're way better off going someplace where you have a better chance of succeeding. kyle
Re: [CODE4LIB] Job Interview : A Libcoder's Helpful Advices
I would like to echo Jimmy and Laura about the importance of asking questions to your potential employer. You should be interviewing them as they interview you. We've all been at the point where we're terrified to ask a question that will take us out of the running for a position; it's a vulnerable place to be. But not asking pointed questions may turn up red flags too, making it look like you either don't know any better or don't have enough initiative to ask for what you need to be successful. A lot of the angst I've seen in workplace situations revolves around socio-political situations. So some of the questions I might ask a potential employer: - What is the relationship between the library and the administration at this institution? Does the administration recognize the importance of the library? - Are there any projects you have wanted to complete that have failed due to external forces? Please explain... - What is your relationship to the president/provost/dean, and how does it help/hinder your everyday work? They'll appreciate your initiative -- be bold! On Thu, May 8, 2014 at 5:40 PM, Laura Krier laura.kr...@gmail.com wrote: One of the pieces of advice I give to job seekers is to keep in mind that the interview is a two-way thing. It's not so much that you need to go in and prove that you deserve to work there, but that you should also be thinking about whether you WANT to work there. They have to win you over, too. I think reframing the situation mentally can be very helpful for job seekers because it puts you in a position where you are more confident, and on an equal footing. If you've been asked in for an interview, they've already determined that you're qualified. Now they want to find out if it'll be a good fit. And you want to know that, too! It's frustrating to get a new job and then realize that you don't actually want to work there or feel happy there. So in terms of thinking about questions for them, think about what you need to know to determine if you'll be happy working somewhere, if the culture is one you can thrive in. Just my 2 cents. Laura On Thu, May 8, 2014 at 2:32 PM, Jimmy Ghaphery jghap...@vcu.edu wrote: In responding I'm not raining on the idea of wiki, etc... My perspective is from that of a hiring manager for technical positions. Some of my current favorite soft questions: 1. What was the last program you wrote and what did it do? 2. What was the last thing you learned about programming? 3. Tell us about a programming mistake you made, and how you corrected it. 4. Have you ever worked on another person's code that you thought was any good? In general what I try to look for is not any specific right answer, but an adventurous and open attitude embedded in answers: Do they have some reason/calling for working in the education sector, some enthusiasm to providing information access? Will they be able to learn next year's challenge? How will they work with both technical and non-technical people? Can they listen? Do they have enough ego to be disruptive and move us forward? Can they keep their ego in check to avoid disruption? I also love hearing and thinking about candidates' questions. Are they reeling off boilerplate stuff or is there some research behind them? Does the question arise out of any of the conversation we've already had about the position (demonstrated listening)? So for me...while there is certainly a technical proficiency that needs to be there depending on the position, potential for growth and people skills are often distinguishing characteristics. All the best and good luck with the interview, Jimmy On Thu, May 8, 2014 at 3:42 PM, Samantha Winn samantharw...@gmail.com wrote: Although it is not specific to code-oriented positions, the Hiring Librarians blog maintains a very extensive spreadsheet of interview questions. You can access the spreadsheet on the Hiring Librarians homepagehttp://hiringlibrarians.com/or at the link below. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuYsyqpmSJUHdFJOS0toVC1tTmNwTXVBM0xMdW5UR3c#gid=0 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuYsyqpmSJUHdFJOS0toVC1tTmNwTXVBM0xMdW5UR3c#gid=0 -- Jimmy Ghaphery Head, Digital Technologies VCU Libraries 804-827-3551 -- Laura Krier laurapants.com http://laurapants.com/?utm_source=email_sigutm_medium=emailutm_campaign=email
Re: [CODE4LIB] Job Interview : A Libcoder's Helpful Advices
I'm not really answering the questions at this time, but it occurred to me that this might be a good thing to start a page on the wiki for (or, even better, incorporate it into jobs.code4lib.org in some way?) I imagine it's of general interest to job hunting folks and giving people a place to add to it after interviews (while it's still fresh on their minds) might be useful/interesting. Fwiw, Kevin On Thu, May 8, 2014 at 2:05 PM, P.G. booksbyp...@gmail.com wrote: - What interview questions were you asked? - What were your answers? - What are the best questions to ask employer during interviews? - Other helpful advices? Thank you. Peter G. -- There are two kinds of people in this world: those who believe there are two kinds of people in this world and those who know better.
Re: [CODE4LIB] Job Interview : A Libcoder's Helpful Advices
Yeah, making a page for this would be great! Even just a wiki page, to start. -- Coral Sheldon-Hess http://sheldon-hess.org/coral @web_kunoichi On Thu, May 8, 2014 at 10:43 AM, Kevin S. Clarke kscla...@gmail.com wrote: I'm not really answering the questions at this time, but it occurred to me that this might be a good thing to start a page on the wiki for (or, even better, incorporate it into jobs.code4lib.org in some way?) I imagine it's of general interest to job hunting folks and giving people a place to add to it after interviews (while it's still fresh on their minds) might be useful/interesting. Fwiw, Kevin On Thu, May 8, 2014 at 2:05 PM, P.G. booksbyp...@gmail.com wrote: - What interview questions were you asked? - What were your answers? - What are the best questions to ask employer during interviews? - Other helpful advices? Thank you. Peter G. -- There are two kinds of people in this world: those who believe there are two kinds of people in this world and those who know better.
Re: [CODE4LIB] Job Interview : A Libcoder's Helpful Advices
Although it is not specific to code-oriented positions, the Hiring Librarians blog maintains a very extensive spreadsheet of interview questions. You can access the spreadsheet on the Hiring Librarians homepagehttp://hiringlibrarians.com/or at the link below. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuYsyqpmSJUHdFJOS0toVC1tTmNwTXVBM0xMdW5UR3c#gid=0 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuYsyqpmSJUHdFJOS0toVC1tTmNwTXVBM0xMdW5UR3c#gid=0
Re: [CODE4LIB] Job Interview : A Libcoder's Helpful Advices
In responding I'm not raining on the idea of wiki, etc... My perspective is from that of a hiring manager for technical positions. Some of my current favorite soft questions: 1. What was the last program you wrote and what did it do? 2. What was the last thing you learned about programming? 3. Tell us about a programming mistake you made, and how you corrected it. 4. Have you ever worked on another person's code that you thought was any good? In general what I try to look for is not any specific right answer, but an adventurous and open attitude embedded in answers: Do they have some reason/calling for working in the education sector, some enthusiasm to providing information access? Will they be able to learn next year's challenge? How will they work with both technical and non-technical people? Can they listen? Do they have enough ego to be disruptive and move us forward? Can they keep their ego in check to avoid disruption? I also love hearing and thinking about candidates' questions. Are they reeling off boilerplate stuff or is there some research behind them? Does the question arise out of any of the conversation we've already had about the position (demonstrated listening)? So for me...while there is certainly a technical proficiency that needs to be there depending on the position, potential for growth and people skills are often distinguishing characteristics. All the best and good luck with the interview, Jimmy On Thu, May 8, 2014 at 3:42 PM, Samantha Winn samantharw...@gmail.comwrote: Although it is not specific to code-oriented positions, the Hiring Librarians blog maintains a very extensive spreadsheet of interview questions. You can access the spreadsheet on the Hiring Librarians homepagehttp://hiringlibrarians.com/or at the link below. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuYsyqpmSJUHdFJOS0toVC1tTmNwTXVBM0xMdW5UR3c#gid=0 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuYsyqpmSJUHdFJOS0toVC1tTmNwTXVBM0xMdW5UR3c#gid=0 -- Jimmy Ghaphery Head, Digital Technologies VCU Libraries 804-827-3551
Re: [CODE4LIB] Job Interview : A Libcoder's Helpful Advices
One of the pieces of advice I give to job seekers is to keep in mind that the interview is a two-way thing. It's not so much that you need to go in and prove that you deserve to work there, but that you should also be thinking about whether you WANT to work there. They have to win you over, too. I think reframing the situation mentally can be very helpful for job seekers because it puts you in a position where you are more confident, and on an equal footing. If you've been asked in for an interview, they've already determined that you're qualified. Now they want to find out if it'll be a good fit. And you want to know that, too! It's frustrating to get a new job and then realize that you don't actually want to work there or feel happy there. So in terms of thinking about questions for them, think about what you need to know to determine if you'll be happy working somewhere, if the culture is one you can thrive in. Just my 2 cents. Laura On Thu, May 8, 2014 at 2:32 PM, Jimmy Ghaphery jghap...@vcu.edu wrote: In responding I'm not raining on the idea of wiki, etc... My perspective is from that of a hiring manager for technical positions. Some of my current favorite soft questions: 1. What was the last program you wrote and what did it do? 2. What was the last thing you learned about programming? 3. Tell us about a programming mistake you made, and how you corrected it. 4. Have you ever worked on another person's code that you thought was any good? In general what I try to look for is not any specific right answer, but an adventurous and open attitude embedded in answers: Do they have some reason/calling for working in the education sector, some enthusiasm to providing information access? Will they be able to learn next year's challenge? How will they work with both technical and non-technical people? Can they listen? Do they have enough ego to be disruptive and move us forward? Can they keep their ego in check to avoid disruption? I also love hearing and thinking about candidates' questions. Are they reeling off boilerplate stuff or is there some research behind them? Does the question arise out of any of the conversation we've already had about the position (demonstrated listening)? So for me...while there is certainly a technical proficiency that needs to be there depending on the position, potential for growth and people skills are often distinguishing characteristics. All the best and good luck with the interview, Jimmy On Thu, May 8, 2014 at 3:42 PM, Samantha Winn samantharw...@gmail.com wrote: Although it is not specific to code-oriented positions, the Hiring Librarians blog maintains a very extensive spreadsheet of interview questions. You can access the spreadsheet on the Hiring Librarians homepagehttp://hiringlibrarians.com/or at the link below. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuYsyqpmSJUHdFJOS0toVC1tTmNwTXVBM0xMdW5UR3c#gid=0 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuYsyqpmSJUHdFJOS0toVC1tTmNwTXVBM0xMdW5UR3c#gid=0 -- Jimmy Ghaphery Head, Digital Technologies VCU Libraries 804-827-3551 -- Laura Krier laurapants.comhttp://laurapants.com/?utm_source=email_sigutm_medium=emailutm_campaign=email
