4 Must Ask Tech Interview Questions
Congratulations! You’ve decided to expand your team.
This means you are zoning in on your genius by getting all those distractions off your plate. How do you figure out if someone else has what it takes to be your next perfect technical team member?
You’re probably wondering:
How do I hire for a position I don’t actually know how to do?
How can I interview someone when I don’t even know what to ask… because I’ve never done what I need them to do?
Instead of thinking about the technical details of what your new team member will be doing, try this: focus on how they think.
Let’s talk about my 4 favorite questions to ask during your initial interview. These are especially helpful when you’re interviewing a freelancer or someone who will be fulfilling a technical role for you on your team.
4 Thought-Provoking Questions for Your Next Tech Interview
Interview Question #1: “Walk Me Through Your Process…”
Whether you need a website built or someone to do a video shoot for you, ask them to walk you through the process they will follow to do this. Listen to how they describe their method.
Is it vague?
Do they talk in general terms that leave out a lot of the actual process?
Or, are they detailing each step of their process in an organized, step-by-step fashion?
You’re going to learn a lot here. A solid, step-by-step answer will tell you that this is someone who is knowledgeable and organized. A vague answer is often an indication that this is someone who will “wing it”.
Interview Question #2: “Tell Me About Your Most Recent Projects…”
This is a great interview question to determine what types of projects this person has experience with and if they are familiar with your niche. Make sure you keep the question open-ended.
Listen to their response and notice:
- Did they lead the project from start to finish?
- Were they a part of a team?
- Did they tell you about a project that’s similar to the one you need support with?
- Did they speak about the end results they generated or just the work? (This is an important thing to notice. You want someone that is focused on results not just getting the work done.)
Not only does this question highlight your candidate’s previous experience, it also lets you assess their communication skills.
Interview Question #3: “Tell Me About Your Favorite Client…”
Get ready because this question may prompt a bit of awkward silence.
That’s okay. Be okay with a moment of awkward silence. This question is one that most candidates aren’t sure how to answer.
But, that’s why it’s my favorite question to ask.
The reason this one is challenging is because the candidate will try to think of the answer you want to hear. And since you’re just meeting, it’s hard to know what that might be.
So, focus on the descriptive words used to explain the client’s working style and qualities. Does it sound like they are describing your work approach? If it sounds like the opposite of how you approach business, this is a red flag that you two may not be the best match.
To get a good baseline, you could always flip it around and ask about their least favorite client. Why was the client relationship challenging? Is there anything in your candidate’s response that could be a flag around working together effectively?
Interview Question #4: “How Will You Measure Success?”
This is a powerful interview question because it’s going to tell you a lot about how this person thinks. You are looking to see how they connect what they do to results they can deliver for your business.
You want someone who thinks about business impact in everything they do. For example, if someone is designing a webpage for you, they should be able to tell you how they will measure the conversion of leads into clients for you.
Summary
The secret to interviewing for the perfect technical team member: focus on their thought process.
A great follow up to your initial interview is to assign a small interview project. You can offer to compensate for the project. You will quickly see how this person approaches the project. You will also see if they deliver on time and if they meet your expectations.
Before your next interview, craft your questions in advance. You will be ready to pay full attention to their thinking and communication style.
If you have some great interview questions, add them in the comments section. We could all benefit from an inventory of great interview questions.