I was introduced to the question around 11 years ago by my good friend and colleague Rob Victor while building out the inaugural product & engineering teams at PebblePost.
One afternoon a younger guy showed up at our makeshift Soho office wearing a baja pullover and toting an oversized camping-style backpack.
Turns out he was interviewing for a junior Python dev spot – a hire that would make him employee #5. Rob brought him into a conference room for the interview and just twenty minutes later, a sad looking candidate shuffled out and fled to the elevator.
Jeff Spicoli, movie character and Baja wearer.
Later on Rob and I grabbed a coffee and the first thing out of my mouth was “I gotta ask - was it the baja and backpack?” He replied “No - he did really poorly on my room design question.”
I wanted to learn about the question and what caused the flunking. We sat down and he laid it out for me.
He described an open world style exercise where the candidate's responses can reveal their decision-making process, communication skills, collaboration style, critical thinking skills, and ability to “be right” all at once.
“The Question” is an exercise that’s challenging but still flexible, allowing candidates to perform well in their own unique way.
I was awestruck like Wee Bay.