Ask HN: Market for training developers to interview better?
Over the past year I've been doing a lot of hiring for my current employer. Not being satisfied with how we've brought people on in the pass I spent some time researching better ways to interview and we now follow a system similar to Amazon with two phone interviews, a lot of free hand coding, formal rating sheets, white board work, team and individual interviews, etc.
Two things I've learned: A. Many really good candidate will excel at this interview approach. They have fun showing off their skills for us to see and are unfazed by the work, detailed questions, or any other pressure that we try to apply to them.. B. Most developers I talk to are horrible at this type of interview, have no idea what the interviewer might be looking for, and cannot sell themselves, their ideas, or their skills. I've talked to people who have 8 years or relevant experience and a strong CS education but when asked a simple coding question they freeze like a deer in headlights. Like most folks, I can't waste company time on people who probably can do the job but can't pass some basic challenges.
Long story short, I'm wondering about putting together a class to train developers in how to interview/market themselves to employers. This would include class work, white boarding practice, coding practice, mock phone interviews, group discussion, etc. My thought is that for developers often trying to make 6 figure salaries that this should be worth something to them ($500, $1000?). Additionally it also functions as a way for me to pass on extremely good candidates to recruiters, etc.
My questions: - Already being done? - Not done, but still a crazy idea? - How would one get started? - Would tech people (shy, nervous, self doubting souls that they are) be willing to submit to a day or two of training? - Would people pay me for it (assuming of course that I'd be any good at it)?