Member-only story
The Software World
7 Reasons Why I Disclose the Answer During a Software Tech Interview
An interview is not an examination, but a mutual interaction
Recently I conducted an Android interview and asked the candidate if we can inject an argument parameter through its Activity constructor. The candidate answered “yes.” Knowing that was the wrong answer, I could’ve moved in, but instead, I tried to give some hints. I proposed the interviewee check the AndroidManifest.xml. However, the interviewee still got it wrong.
Now, I could’ve decided to move on to the next topic or disclosed the answer to the interviewee.
In normal cases, I guess most interviewers might just decide to move on, as disclosing the answer is not part of the expected interview process.
However, I feel obligated to disclose the answer, given the interviewee is ignorant of it. I feel if I just move on, I am doing the interviewee a disservice.
Below are the reasons.
1. It’s Not an Examination, but an Interaction
A lot of time, we relate interviews with examinations. The interviewer is the examiner while the interviewee is the candidate. The question is given in a specific…
