“Thank You,” and “I’m Curious”

Two phrases that could save you during a rough interview.

As an interviewer, you want to use your one hour with a candidate to collect as much data as possible. You want to help the candidate feel comfortable so they feel well equipped to showcase their skills — not just in your session, but in future sessions.

But how do you help the candidate feel comfortable when it’s obvious that the interview is not going well?

Say “thank you,” and “I’m curious.”

“Thank You”

You’re interviewing a candidate and they haven’t made progress on your question. You’ve given them several hints and they’ve nodded in acceptance. You wait for them to redirect their solution based on your guidance, but they don’t. They are utterly stuck.

You need to switch gears and are in need of a transition that won’t leave them dejected. “Thank you,” can be that transition.

Even though they weren’t able to produce a directionally correct answer, they tried. You’re thanking them for taking the time and trying their best.

Examples:

“Thank you for walking me through that.”

“Thank you for answering my questions.”

“Thank you. Let’s move to a different question.”

“I’m Curious”

You’re interviewing a candidate and they’re making logical leaps that you can’t follow or that you disagree with. You’re fairly certain that they’re off-track, but don’t want to bluntly tell them, “that’s wrong,” especially since you’re unsure.

Start with “I’m curious.” It allows you to guide the candidate towards detangling their own flows and correcting their own missteps. It also encourages you to remain open-minded in case their reasoning is valid.

Examples:

“I’m curious, why did you create a separate ID table?”

“I’m curious, how would that solve the race condition?”

“I’m curious, why did you choose that technology?”

Conclusion

Do you have any other interview tips that could be useful in helping a candidate present their best work? Please share them in the comments!

Thanks to Dan Hunt and Stew Fortier and Compound Writing for reviewing!

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