A True Story of a Newbie Becoming an Interviewer
Translated by GPT
A True Story of a Newbie Becoming an Interviewer.
It’s possible at a startup. I’m the only developer in the company. The company is continuously growing, and it’s only been three months since we transitioned in-house, so there’s no culture or anything yet. It’s undoubtedly a good environment for experimentation, but it’s not a company I would recommend to most people.
I had an interview last Thursday. Out of the blue, the CEO called me and said there was an applicant. I went into the interview room without any information about the applicant, no portfolio, not even knowing the job role. After a few questions and answers, I realized, “Ah, a backend developer.” The stack was Java Spring, bootcamp graduate. They had the typical stack of a backend developer.
The interview was conducted by the CEO, the CTO (database), and me. The CEO mainly introduced the company and assessed cultural fit, while I asked questions inferred from the technical stack and the portfolio I had only heard about. I mainly asked about the challenges faced during the project, understanding of security, and frontend collaboration experience, and I got the answers I wanted.
I tried to provide a good interview experience. In that short time, I mainly looked at their attitude towards technology, capabilities, and problem-solving skills. I asked questions that would help me understand the applicant better and maintained eye contact during the conversation. I realized that the methods for doing well in an interview as an applicant also apply to interviewers. I also tried to deliver questions as naturally as possible. Looking back, I think I handled the situation quite well.
As an interviewer, I had no prior information and couldn’t prepare. On the other hand, the applicant had been consistently writing a blog, attending bootcamp, and participating in school activities. Their fundamentals were particularly strong. In a favorable market situation, our company wouldn’t have even considered their specs.
I reflected on myself. I questioned whether I was as desperate, whether I had put in the effort and preparation like the applicant. I looked at myself, who was cutting out tasks that couldn’t make a business impact quickly, focusing on a few truly important tasks, and leisurely writing during work hours. I reflected on my laziness.
Later, I heard that the applicant went to another company. As a colleague, I wished they had joined us sooner, but personally, I hoped they wouldn’t. I wanted them to join a better company, learn a good culture, and collaborate with outstanding colleagues. The applicant certainly had the capability for that.
In the past three months since joining the company, I’ve experienced several shocking events. Among them, the sudden experience of being an interviewer might remain the most impressive.