What question destroys fake seniors in an interview?

Summary

In this video, the speaker discusses the challenges of identifying 'fake senior' developers during interviews. They emphasize that true seniority is not just about coding but also about adaptability, debugging, and understanding complex systems. The speaker shares questions that reveal a candidate's experience level, such as testing strategies and debugging approaches, and stresses the importance of hiring developers with practical, large-scale experience rather than just theoretical knowledge.

Takeaways

• 😌 The speaker discusses the difficulty in defining 'senior' in software development and criticizes some who claim the title without the necessary skills or experience.
• 🔍 The speaker suggests that 'fake seniors' are often indistinguishable from mid-level developers in terms of their capabilities and adaptability.
• 💼 The speaker emphasizes the high cost to companies of employing 'seniors' who lack the breadth of skills expected at their level.
• 🚀 The speaker advocates for the importance of working at a large scale to gain exposure to complex systems and to truly understand what it means to be a senior developer.
• 📈 The speaker argues that the IT industry is evolving, with new titles like 'principal engineer' or 'staff engineer' emerging, potentially redefining what 'senior' means.
• 🤔 The speaker outlines specific questions that can reveal a candidate's true level of experience, such as how they test their code and debug production issues.
• 🛠️ The speaker highlights the importance of having a deep understanding of multiple areas of the development process, which is indicative of a true senior developer.
• 📊 The speaker stresses that real seniors can provide in-depth answers to open-ended questions about development strategies and rationales.
• 💬 The speaker points out that 'fake seniors' often give high-level, vague answers that lack the detail and reasoning of someone with genuine experience.
• 💼 The speaker concludes by advising companies to hire people who can deeply understand and answer these questions to ensure they are getting value for their investment.

Q & A

What is the main issue with defining 'senior' in the context of software development?

The main issue is that seniority is not well-defined, and often those who call themselves seniors do not possess the expected skills or experience. There's a disparity between the cost of hiring a senior developer and their actual contribution, which is not significantly different from a mid-level developer in some cases.

Why is adaptability important for senior developers?

Senior developers should be able to adapt to changes in tooling and work environments, such as devops, which is becoming standard practice. The inability to adapt can indicate a lack of senior-level skills.

What is the significance of the term 'fake senior' used in the script?

A 'fake senior' refers to individuals who claim to be senior developers but do not demonstrate the necessary experience or skills expected of someone at that level.

How does the complexity of systems impact the skills required for developers?

As system complexity increases, developers are expected to know more and adapt to various tools and technologies. This is to ensure efficiency and effective problem-solving without the need to hire additional resources for every new tool or technology.

What is the value of working at a large scale in software development?

Working at a large scale exposes developers to the realities of running complex systems, which is a valuable experience that contributes to their growth and understanding of what it takes to be a true senior developer.

Why are specific, experience-based questions effective in identifying 'fake seniors'?

Experience-based questions reveal a candidate's depth of knowledge and practical experience. 'Fake seniors' often lack the detailed understanding and breadth of experience expected at a senior level, which becomes evident when they are unable to provide in-depth answers.

What is the first question suggested in the script to gauge a developer's experience level?

The first question suggested is 'How do you test your code?' which can reveal a lot about a developer's experience and approach to software development.

How does a real senior developer differ in their approach to testing compared to a less experienced developer?

A real senior developer will have a nuanced understanding of different testing strategies such as unit testing, integration testing, regression testing, BDD, end-to-end testing, etc., and will be able to explain how and why they choose certain strategies based on project needs.

What other questions can be asked to distinguish between a real senior and a 'fake senior'?

Questions about debugging production code, tool selection, setting up CI pipelines, and other development process-related topics can reveal a candidate's practical experience and depth of knowledge.

Why is it important to have knowledgeable people involved in the hiring process for senior developer roles?

Having knowledgeable interviewers ensures that candidates are thoroughly assessed for their claimed seniority level. It helps to avoid hiring 'fake seniors' who may not deliver the expected value.

What is the key takeaway from the script regarding the hiring of senior developers?

The key takeaway is that hiring should focus on experience and the ability to handle complex challenges rather than just technical knowledge, as the latter can be superficially demonstrated.