3 Communication Errors Tech Interviewers Should Avoid

After reading a recent article about communication errors that a candidate makes in a technical interview, I was inspired to write an article about communication errors that an interviewer makes during the interview! Here are 3 things to keep in mind for any tech interviewer.

1. The candidate is not communicating.

The interview candidate is asked a question and they give a very short answer and do not expand on it to go into any detail.

I am not sure this is entirely true. Sometimes interviewers look at how precise and to the point your answer is. For example the question "Have you worked with C++?". The best and most efficient possible answer is "Yes" or "No". Anything else will become a rant.

If the question is an open-ended question, make sure you phrase it as such. "Talk to me about your experiences with C++", etc. If you asked the former question and the candidate goes on to talk about their skills with C++, then the candidate has already answered the question but now is going on a rant that is not needed and is a waste of time.

Ask good questions, and you will get good answers.

2. The candidate is unprepared.

The interview candidate did not research about the company, their competitors, and the industry.

I have worked at tech jobs without really knowing in great detail about the firm and industry. What I think should be more important is how well does the candidate fit this position. Not how much research the candidate was able to do about our organization. You are getting way ahead of yourself if you expect that. This custom will hopefully become obsolete in the future.

3. The candidate failed to close the interview.

At the end of the interview, when the candidate is asked if they have any questions or if they have anything else to say, the candidate says "No".

This is just redundant. How much would I like to join the company, etc, etc? To say that if you end an interview with a scripted line or two that ANYONE can use will increase your chances of getting an offer tells me that this line or two is redundant and not needed. This is pointless. Have an interview that is to the point and only consists of what is required to know about the candidate. To have the candidate say that and think they are now a better candidate, I think says a lot about the interviewer.