{"id":999881279,"date":"2012-01-26T22:45:00","date_gmt":"2012-01-26T22:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dice.npgdev.com\/?p=570503215"},"modified":"2012-01-26T22:45:00","modified_gmt":"2012-01-26T22:45:00","slug":"rock-your-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dice.npgdev.com\/hiring\/recruitment\/rock-your-interview","title":{"rendered":"Nine Ways to Rock Your Next Tech Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

The competition for IT talent gets tougher every day, so hiring managers have to be in top form to land the best candidates. Walking into an interview unprepared, late, or unsure what position you\u2019re hiring for will drive qualified candidates into the arms of your competitors. These nine tips for tech interview preparation will have you rocking your next recruiting effort:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Find brain teasers, puzzles<\/a> or programming<\/a> exercises that will give you an objective measure of your candidates\u2019 programming ability. \u201cThat can be a black and white way to evaluate candidates,\u201d says Adriana Ganos, senior technology consultant with Waltham, Ma.-based, recruiters Winter, Wyman.<\/li>\n
  2. Align the job description with the real job, so there\u2019s no disconnect between the job template and what the hiring manager needs someone to do, says Matthew Ripaldi, senior vice president at Modis, a Jacksonville, Fl., IT staffing service.<\/li>\n
  3. Decide what you must have and what you can live without. Given the shortage of IT talent in today\u2019s market, you have to be open-minded to fill vacancies. Focus on the core of the position and set aside skills you\u2019d like to get, but can live without. Then, list the top three criteria the candidate should posses.<\/li>\n
  4. Know what makes your company a good place to work. Top candidates have multiple opportunities, so infuse into your interview questions with information highlighting your organization\u2019s technology, culture and projects: We take off at <\/em>noon<\/em> on Fridays during the summer so our company softball team can practice, how\u2019s your batting average?<\/em><\/li>\n
  5. Know why this position is a great job for this candidate. \u201cThis is such a developer\u2019s market that you can\u2019t have the first interaction be about vetting,\u201d Ganos says. \u201cYou have be prepared to talk about the opportunity and what differentiates it from other opportunities in the marketplace. We were the Beta site for product X last year, have you ever been through a similar project?<\/em><\/li>\n
  6. Prepare an ice-breaker comment that shows you\u2019ve done your homework on this candidate: I loved the blog you wrote about…You\u2019re a <\/em>University<\/em> of <\/em>Indiana<\/em> grad, did you see the Hoosiers game last weekend?<\/em><\/em><\/li>\n
  7. Clear enough time in your calendar so you start interviews promptly, and you have enough time to thoroughly vet your candidates. \u201cWhen a candidate has prepared and they walk into an interview where the hiring manager is late, behind and unprepared, or worse yet, they\u2019re not really sure what position the candidate is being interviewed for, that\u2019s a big turnoff for the candidate,\u201d Ripaldi says.<\/li>\n
  8. Make a list of the drawbacks inherent in the position. Every candidate is going to have a concern or two and maybe even a worry big enough to prevent them from accepting the position. Anticipate those issues and be ready to overcome the objections. Get the hesitations and concerns out on the table to talk about by asking: Is there anything about this role that you\u2019re nervous about?<\/em><\/li>\n
  9. Have your answers ready for the closing questions candidates are sure to ask like: When are you looking to make a decision?<\/em> Because if you follow these tips, the candidate is surely going to want to work for you.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The competition for IT talent gets tougher every day, so hiring managers have to be in top form to land the best candidates. Walking into an interview unprepared, late, or unsure what position you\u2019re hiring for will drive qualified candidates into the arms of your competitors. These nine tips for tech interview preparation will have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":570503215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2155],"class_list":["post-999881279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hiring-candidates"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNine Ways to Rock Your Next Tech Interview - Dice Hiring<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The competition for IT talent gets tougher every day, so hiring managers have to be in top form to land the best candidates. 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