Most Tech Interviews Suck – The Only 4 Questions That Matter

Question #1 is sorta ok if you're hiring a "full stack developer". And yes, everyone should have a basic understanding of how the internet works. But many modern frameworks/libraries take care of a lot of those details for you. If something breaks, you should be able to dive in and figure it out. But is it really important if you realize that your HTTP request is likely version 1.1 and not 1.0? Do you know how TCP works byte by byte?

Question #2 basically assumes you're a web developer (or desktop app developer). Lots of jobs do not involve writing webpages or desktop apps. Yes, even jobs that help create a "product". And an hour to turn json into a halfway decent webpage basically means you need a frontend specialist, and I'd guess even one of those would struggle to get it half done in an hour, especially if they're then adding tests and stuff.

#3 - Why do I want to work at your company? I can tell you, it's probably NOT for your product. It probably is for the processes, the team, the culture. Don't forget, the interview is a time for the candidate to figure out if the company is a right fit for her, too. If you only hire people passionate about your product for its own sake, you're probably never get past hiring a cofounder.

But just because I don't think your product is the best thing since sliced bread, doesn't mean I can't think critically about the product space and do my best to think about how to make the product better. But don't expect everyone to know everything about your product space before joining your team. There are infinite product spaces out there... hopefully you have some sort of onboarding process to help get new hires up to speed on your own product space.

#4 - Want to grab dinner with the team? Nope, sorry. Gotta get home to my family. Lunch? Sure. But even then, honestly, enjoying spending time with the person outside of the office should not be a prerequisite for hiring them. You're hiring them to work during office hours, to get along with other employees in the office. There's been a lot articles that explain why worrying about "culture fit" contributes to having companies of all young white American males. There should be process fit - having similar goals and methods for quality and productivity. And of course, they shouldn't be an outright jerk. Whether or not you'd want to have a beer with them is beside the point. You're hiring a developer, not a wingman.

I don't think these are awful questions, per se, but I also think that they could do with a lot of tweaking.

I wish I would have used a version of this with my hires. At least something like problem 1 and 2.