INTERVIEWING ENGINEERS FOR DIAGNOSTIC SKILLS

Summary from the TLDR Web Dev newsletter

SREs and backend engineers need strong troubleshooting skills, but these are rarely assessed during traditional interviews. To effectively test for these skills, create an interactive role-playing exercise where candidates work through a complex bug. This approach focuses on evaluating the candidate's diagnostic process rather than simply finding a solution. It tests key skills like their ability to differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information, the specificity of their questions, how they handle dead-ends, and their overall problem-solving strategy.