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How to test a programmer's ability to handle a large code base?
I would like to get advice regarding job interviews for hiring software developers. A couple of years ago, our company hired a software developer. One of the shortlisted candidates was clearly above the others - or at least so we thought. This senior programmer was able to answer impeccably all the technical questions in the two interviews (which included writing short pieces of code on the spot), and his soft skills, too, were excellent (well-mannered, very good at communicating his thoughts, etc.). We hired him. Unfortunately, he wasn't nearly as good as we had thought. He was indeed very good when given narrow, well-focused tasks, but was never able to grasp the bigger picture of our software. After nearly two years in our company, he decided to leave (and joined another company). I wonder if anyone has faced the same problem. Can you detect the weakness of such a candidate? One problem with technical interviews is that they focus on smallish tasks, so you don't get an opportunity to see how a person can cope with a more realistic, bigger code base.
I would like to get advice regarding job interviews for hiring software developers.
A couple of years ago, our company hired a software developer. One of the shortlisted candidates was clearly above the others - or at least so we thought. This senior programmer was able to answer impeccably all the technical questions in the two interviews (which included writing short pieces of code on the spot), and his soft skills, too, were excellent (well-mannered, very good at communicating his thoughts, etc.). We hired him.
Unfortunately, he wasn't nearly as good as we had thought. He was indeed very good when given narrow, well-focused tasks, but was never able to grasp the bigger picture of our software. After nearly two years in our company, he decided to leave (and joined another company).
I wonder if anyone has faced the same problem. Can you detect the weakness of such a candidate? One problem with technical interviews is that they focus on smallish tasks, so you don't get an opportunity to see how a person can cope with a more realistic, bigger code base.
