Protean

I know as SQL Server / IT pros we tend to focus our interview efforts on our technical proficiency. Having been on many interview panels, I can say this - by the time you’ve sat through a phone screen, a SQL Server test, and finally you’ve been brought in for interview, we already know that you have the technical skills to do the job and what we’re looking for is the right fit for the team.

I may ask you some harder questions on my chosen subject, I may challenge you about some of the answers you have given for the technical test, I may interrogate you about why you left a perfectly good job. The aim here is not to prove that I’m right and you’re wrong, it’s to see how you handle the situation. Can you argue your case persuasively and confidently, can you think on the spot, how do you react when your views are challenged?

I use the dialog that we have to get some idea of how you might be to work with and what your attitudes are. Exactly what the right attitudes are can be hard to tell, but I can tell you what they aren’t! Here are some of the reason’s why I might have questions about a person’s suitability for my team. What often surprises me is that candidates fail on some of these before they’ve even met me…

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