Triangulating skill level of prospects can be challenging the further down the Niche Hole you go. At the very edge of the problem space the prospect is going to fall off a cliff; it can't be avoided, there's just too much specialization.
However . .
When prospective associates are responding to these sorts of questions, it's possibly more informative to see how they handle questions that they don't know the answer to.
Native intelligence and initiative outweigh a set quantity of specialized knowledge; far more important to find out how a prospect thinks about the problem and how they respond to these situations under pressure.
Problem here is that the interviewers need to know their stuff, and, regretfully, that's not been the case for virtually any interview board I've assisted. All the participants were far, far too high above the levels where work happened, well into the vertiginous expanse of Aero/Def Management Brain Rot. Best I could do was wave my hands vigorously while silently mouthing the words HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT WHITESPACE MEANS . . to no avail.
Thing is, I know it's not just my industry. It happens in the "normal" world too. Some guy makes a thingy with Framework X, leaves, and then it's practically impossible for management to find another random guy who knows Framework X in just the same way, because damned if management knows what the heck Framework X is.
However . .
When prospective associates are responding to these sorts of questions, it's possibly more informative to see how they handle questions that they don't know the answer to.
Native intelligence and initiative outweigh a set quantity of specialized knowledge; far more important to find out how a prospect thinks about the problem and how they respond to these situations under pressure.
Problem here is that the interviewers need to know their stuff, and, regretfully, that's not been the case for virtually any interview board I've assisted. All the participants were far, far too high above the levels where work happened, well into the vertiginous expanse of Aero/Def Management Brain Rot. Best I could do was wave my hands vigorously while silently mouthing the words HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT WHITESPACE MEANS . . to no avail.
Thing is, I know it's not just my industry. It happens in the "normal" world too. Some guy makes a thingy with Framework X, leaves, and then it's practically impossible for management to find another random guy who knows Framework X in just the same way, because damned if management knows what the heck Framework X is.