Who is stopping you from getting the DevOps/SRE offer? Perspective from the hiring manager interview

Mamun Rashid

19 Jan 202304:41

Summary

TLDRThe speaker shares insights on the hiring process for DevOps and SRE roles, emphasizing the key stages where candidates may face challenges. They explain that while recruiters and hiring managers play an important role, the most significant hurdle often comes during technical interviews with senior engineers. These engineers, who seek highly skilled candidates to minimize training efforts, ask tough technical questions related to system design, coding (e.g., Terraform, Jenkins, Ansible), and cloud infrastructure. Preparing thoroughly for these technical interviews is crucial to advancing and securing a job offer.

Takeaways

👨‍💼 The speaker has over five years of experience as an operations/SRE manager, with a successful track record of retaining employees.
📊 During their management tenure, they have interviewed around 20 people and personally been interviewed for DevOps and SRE roles multiple times over the last 7-8 years.
🔍 Recruiters are incentivized to push candidates through to the hiring manager, so candidates are rarely denied at the recruiter stage.
📉 Once a candidate reaches the hiring manager, there's about a 50-60% chance of moving to the next stage, as hiring managers are often eager to fill open positions.
🧠 Hiring managers may ask a mix of technical and non-technical questions, but the toughest hurdle is the technical interview with senior engineers.
🛠️ Senior engineers prioritize hiring candidates who are technically strong and require minimal training, so they are the most likely to prevent candidates from receiving an offer.
💻 Candidates should focus on preparing for technical interviews, which may involve topics such as coding in Terraform, system design, Ansible, Jenkins, CI/CD pipelines, or cloud services like AWS or GCP.
🤖 The senior engineer interview often includes scenario-based questions that are relevant to the company’s current challenges.
⚠️ Candidates should not overly stress about the recruiter or hiring manager; the key challenge is the technical interview with senior engineers.
👍 The speaker emphasizes the importance of preparing thoroughly for the technical interview, as it is the main barrier to receiving an offer.

Q & A

What is the speaker's experience in DevOps and SRE roles?
-The speaker has over five years of experience as an operations/SRE manager, managing around 27-28 people during that time, and only losing one person to attrition.
How many people has the speaker interviewed for DevOps or SRE positions?
-The speaker has interviewed around 20 people for DevOps or SRE roles.
What role do recruiters play in the interview process according to the speaker?
-Recruiters, whether internal or external, aim to move candidates forward in the process because they are incentivized by getting candidates through to the hiring manager.
What is the significance of making it to the hiring manager stage?
-Making it to the hiring manager stage means that the candidate has a 50-60% chance of moving forward, as hiring managers are often eager to fill positions that have been approved after a delay.
Why is the technical interview with senior engineers crucial in this process?
-The technical interview with senior engineers is crucial because they have a vested interest in hiring someone who already has the skills, as they want to minimize the time spent on training and knowledge transfer.
What types of technical questions can candidates expect during the interview with senior engineers?
-Candidates can expect coding interviews on tools like Terraform, system design interviews, or a combination of questions about tools such as Ansible, Jenkins, CI/CD pipelines, cloud platforms like AWS or GCP, and company-specific scenarios.
Who is most likely responsible for stopping candidates from getting an offer?
-The senior engineers conducting the technical interview are most likely responsible for stopping candidates from getting an offer if they do not perform well.
What should candidates focus on when preparing for an interview for a DevOps/SRE position?
-Candidates should focus on preparing for the technical interview with senior engineers, as this is the most critical part of the process and the biggest hurdle in securing an offer.
Does the speaker suggest that candidates should worry about the recruiter or hiring manager interviews?
-No, the speaker suggests that candidates should not stress too much about the recruiter or hiring manager interviews. The technical interview with senior engineers is where the real challenge lies.
What is the speaker’s main message in this video?
-The main message is that candidates should focus their preparation on the technical interview with senior engineers, as this is the stage that most often determines whether they receive an offer.

Outlines

00:00

🎤 Introduction and Personal Experience in DevOps/SRE

The speaker introduces themselves, sharing their background in DevOps and SRE. They have over five years of experience as an operations/SRE manager, managing around 27-28 people with only one person leaving during that time. They have also interviewed many candidates and been through multiple interviews for DevOps and SRE roles over the past seven to eight years. This introduction establishes their credibility and sets the stage for discussing the interview process.

🤔 Understanding the Interview Process: From Recruiter to Hiring Manager

The speaker explains the typical interview process for a DevOps/SRE role. After a recruiter forwards a resume to the hiring manager, the candidate's chances of advancing are around 50-60% if their qualifications align with the role. Recruiters are incentivized to push candidates forward, so rejection usually doesn't happen at this stage unless the candidate's resume is a poor fit. The speaker emphasizes that hiring managers are often eager to fill the role since it may have taken time to get approval.

🧠 The Importance of Technical Interviews with Senior Engineers

The speaker highlights the significance of the technical interview with senior engineers. While the initial interview with the hiring manager may include some non-technical questions, the real challenge comes in the technical interview. Senior engineers are highly motivated to hire competent candidates who require minimal training and can quickly integrate into the team. They ask tough, detailed technical questions, and their judgment often determines whether the candidate moves forward or is rejected.

💡 Key Takeaway: Focus on Preparing for the Technical Interview

The main message of the video is clear: candidates should focus their preparation on the technical interview with senior engineers. The speaker explains that this is where most candidates fail to advance. They advise preparing for potential coding tasks (e.g., Terraform, Ansible, Jenkins, or CI/CD pipelines), system design questions, and cloud-related challenges (e.g., AWS, GCP). The speaker reassures candidates not to worry about recruiters or hiring managers, as the senior engineer interview is the primary hurdle.

📢 Conclusion: Final Thoughts and Call to Action

The speaker wraps up the video by reiterating the importance of the technical interview in securing a DevOps/SRE position. They encourage viewers to focus on their technical preparation and thank them for watching. In conclusion, the speaker asks viewers to like and subscribe to their channel, as it helps with YouTube's algorithm, and expresses their hope that the video was helpful.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡DevOps

DevOps is a set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops). Its goal is to shorten the software development lifecycle and provide continuous delivery with high software quality. In the context of the video, the speaker discusses interviewing for DevOps positions, emphasizing the skills required to succeed in this field, such as coding, system design, and cloud computing.

💡SRE (Site Reliability Engineering)

SRE is a discipline that incorporates aspects of software engineering and applies them to infrastructure and operations problems. The goal is to create scalable and reliable software systems. The video mentions the SRE position frequently, highlighting the interview process for such roles and the expectations from candidates during technical assessments.

💡Recruiter

Recruiters are professionals responsible for finding suitable candidates for open positions within a company. In the video, the speaker explains that recruiters act as gatekeepers in the hiring process. Their primary role is to push candidates' resumes to the hiring manager if their profile matches the job requirements, setting up the first level of interviews.

💡Hiring Manager

The hiring manager is the person within the organization who is responsible for making the final decision about hiring a candidate. In the video, the hiring manager conducts the initial interview to assess if the candidate's background fits the role. The speaker mentions that the chances of progressing past this stage are relatively high because hiring managers are often eager to fill open positions.

💡Technical Interview

A technical interview is a type of job interview that focuses on assessing a candidate's technical skills and problem-solving abilities. The video emphasizes that the toughest part of the interview process for DevOps and SRE roles is the technical interview with senior engineers, who evaluate candidates on coding, system design, and scenario-based questions.

💡Panel Interview

A panel interview involves multiple interviewers assessing a candidate simultaneously. The video references this format when discussing the interview process for DevOps and SRE positions. Typically, a panel might include senior engineers who test a candidate's technical abilities and fit for the team.

💡Senior Engineer

A senior engineer is a professional with extensive experience and expertise in a particular technical field. In the video, senior engineers play a crucial role in the interview process, as they are responsible for assessing the candidate’s technical proficiency and determining whether they are a good fit for the team.

💡Coding Interview

A coding interview is a technical interview where candidates are asked to solve programming problems or complete coding tasks. In the context of the video, the speaker mentions that candidates for DevOps or SRE roles may be tested on coding, especially in languages or tools like Terraform or Ansible, to verify their technical competencies.

💡System Design Interview

A system design interview assesses a candidate's ability to design scalable and efficient systems. The speaker notes that for senior DevOps or SRE positions, candidates might encounter system design questions that test their understanding of complex architectures, cloud environments, and scalability concerns.

💡Attrition

Attrition refers to the gradual reduction of workforce due to employees leaving the company voluntarily or through other circumstances. The speaker mentions that in his five years of experience as an SRE manager, only one person has left his team, which indicates a low attrition rate and suggests a positive work environment.

Highlights

The speaker has over five years of experience as a DevOps/SRE manager and has managed around 27-28 people, with only one person leaving the team during this time.

The speaker has conducted interviews for DevOps and SRE positions and has been interviewed several times for similar roles over the past seven to eight years.

The hiring process begins when a recruiter presents the candidate’s resume to the hiring manager, and the recruiter’s goal is to pass as many candidates as possible to the hiring manager.

If a candidate reaches the hiring manager, there's a 50-60% chance they will progress further, as the hiring manager is often eager to fill the position.

The hiring manager interview often consists of both technical and non-technical questions. If successful, the candidate will likely proceed to a panel or serial interview with senior engineers.

Senior engineers are key decision-makers in the hiring process, as they have a vested interest in hiring someone who is already skilled and requires minimal training.

Senior engineers ask tough technical questions and are the ones most likely to stop a candidate from receiving an offer.

Candidates should focus less on impressing the recruiter or hiring manager and more on preparing for the technical interview with senior engineers.

The technical interview may involve questions about coding (e.g., Terraform), system design, or specific tools like Ansible, Jenkins, and CICD pipelines.

Questions may also cover cloud platforms like AWS or GCP, or real-life scenarios the company has faced.

The speaker emphasizes that the senior engineer interview is the most critical part of the hiring process for DevOps and SRE roles.

The speaker advises viewers to concentrate their preparation on technical areas relevant to the senior engineers’ expectations.

The speaker shares insights from personal experience, having seen multiple interviews and hiring decisions over their career.

Understanding the structure and focus of the interview process is essential to succeed, particularly in the technical rounds.

The speaker wraps up by reminding viewers that preparation for senior engineer interviews should be their top priority when aiming for a DevOps/SRE position.