I've been involved in recruiting for the testing team lately, so I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on interviewing.
Actually, if you want to find great testers, it’s not enough to just shoot a few technical questions at them, like: “How many testing methods do you know?” or “Are you familiar with tools like Postman and Apidog, and what's the difference between them?” or even, “How do you use Apidog for automated interface testing and organizing test scenarios?” We’ve got to plan and manage the whole interview process carefully, and that takes some specific skills.
For managers, putting together a great team takes a lot of work, and picking the right people is the first step. While getting recommendations from within the organization and promoting existing staff are the best ways to find talent, recruitment is still the main way to go. So, knowing how to spot talented individuals during interviews is a super important skill that every manager needs to nail down.
In my years as a manager, I've interviewed quite a few people. Honestly, interviewing relies quite a bit on luck - it's really difficult to successfully judge whether someone is suitable in just a few dozen minutes, or even just ten-plus minutes. This is especially true for professional technical talent selection, which requires managers themselves to have certain expertise and skills. Even then, there are still elements of "going by feeling" or "trusting your instincts" that involve luck. However, luck has its probabilities, and during interviews, a manager's experience and techniques can greatly improve these probabilities.
Before, I didn't really have a set approach when it came to interviewing, so I often felt a bit lost. But then I came across this technique called the STAR method, and I've found it to be really effective. A lot of folks might be familiar with the STAR method, and some have even dived deep into it. I had heard about it before as well, but I didn't give it much thought or use it the right way.
The STAR method is a key concept in structured interviews, and it stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. The terms are pretty straightforward, but how do we actually put it into practice?
In the later part of my interviews, I like to ask this question: "Can you tell me about the most memorable project or task you worked on at your last job?" It's a pretty common open-ended question—not anything fancy—but that doesn't make it any less useful. In fact, the way people with real experience answer this question can be really different from those who don’t.
Once I ask this question, I pay close attention to how the candidate responds and follow up using the STAR method:
Situation
A memorable project usually has a particular context. If they can clearly explain the background, it shows they were really involved in a genuine project. Some candidates skip the background entirely, so I might ask, “Why was this task important?” If they struggle to lay out the context, it raises doubts about their ability to handle tasks effectively.
Task and Action
This part is about looking into their work methods and how they tackle problems. Tech folks often mention the technologies they used to solve specific issues. They tend to be pretty direct—this sense of achievement often comes from overcoming challenges. So, digging a little deeper can reveal their passion for technology, which is a crucial factor in hiring.
Result
At the end of the day, projects and tasks are about results. What did this memorable task actually achieve? It's important to probe this to see if they can deliver. Sometimes, based on your own experience, you can encourage candidates to think wider by asking things like, “How could this have been improved?” This can help verify their experience and skills even more.
In short, the STAR method is a fantastic way to conduct interviews. By using it, we can really assess candidates' genuine abilities in terms of specific skills and task performance. I truly believe this approach can greatly boost our chances of hiring the right talent!
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