When I interview candidates and get to the technical part, I usually start by discussing technologies and present a problem the team is currently working on and ask for a broad overview of how they would go about solving it.
I start by asking them to talk me through their solution. This is where I filter out most candidates, because I know that if their problem solving skills aren't up to par I can't expect them to write any psuedo code to back up their problem solving skills.
I generally give them another chance by offering a couple of hints, and if this doesn't work out I generally end it. If I like them, I ask them to talk to me about a challenging problem they have recently encountered and the solution to said problem. If I am pleased I ask them a few more questions and keep them in rotation.
After this I ask for some simple psuedo code to back up the solution and that's about it. I am not big on asking any academic questions for the technical interview unless I know that the interviewee is a recent graduate and even then I don't weigh them that much.
To finish off the interview I usually do some basic pair programming, just to see how the person does in a somewhat pressured situation. I find all of this to be pretty effective for the technical interview.
Besides the technical side I strongly believe that a passionate person, that would make a good cultural fit is tremendously important. In my situation, I don't want someone who is smart but can't relate to the rest of the team.
I start by asking them to talk me through their solution. This is where I filter out most candidates, because I know that if their problem solving skills aren't up to par I can't expect them to write any psuedo code to back up their problem solving skills.
I generally give them another chance by offering a couple of hints, and if this doesn't work out I generally end it. If I like them, I ask them to talk to me about a challenging problem they have recently encountered and the solution to said problem. If I am pleased I ask them a few more questions and keep them in rotation.
After this I ask for some simple psuedo code to back up the solution and that's about it. I am not big on asking any academic questions for the technical interview unless I know that the interviewee is a recent graduate and even then I don't weigh them that much.
To finish off the interview I usually do some basic pair programming, just to see how the person does in a somewhat pressured situation. I find all of this to be pretty effective for the technical interview.
Besides the technical side I strongly believe that a passionate person, that would make a good cultural fit is tremendously important. In my situation, I don't want someone who is smart but can't relate to the rest of the team.