sketerpot comments on Statistical Prediction Rules Out-Perform Expert Human Judgments - Less Wrong

68 Post author: lukeprog 18 January 2011 03:19AM

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Comment author: Desrtopa 18 January 2011 05:26:54PM 5 points [-]

I have heard of one job interview that I felt constituted a useful tool that could not effectively be replaced by resume examination and statistical analysis. A friend of mine got a job working for a company that provides mathematical modeling services for other companies, and his "interview" was a several hour test to create a number of mathematical models, and then explaining to the examiner in layman's terms how and why the models worked.

Most job interviews are really not a demonstration of job skills and aptitude, and it's possible to simply bullshit your way through them. On the other hand, if you have a simple and direct way to test the competence of your applicants, then by all means use it.

Comment author: datadataeverywhere 19 January 2011 01:54:20AM 7 points [-]

I'm most familiar with interviews for programming jobs, where an interview that doesn't ask the candidate to demonstrate job-specific skills, knowledge and aptitude is nearly worthless. These jobs are also startlingly prone to resume distortion that can make vastly different candidates look similar, especially recent graduates.

Asking for coding samples and calling previous employers, especially if coupled with a request for code solving a new (requested) problem, could potentially replace interviews. However, judging the quality of code still requires a person, so that doesn't seem to really change things to me.

Comment author: sketerpot 19 January 2011 10:34:33PM 1 point [-]

That's what I think of, too, when I hear the phrase "job interview". Is this not typical outside fields like programming?

Comment author: retiredurologist 19 January 2011 11:17:14PM 8 points [-]

I can confirm that such a "job interview" is not common in medicine. The potential employer generally relies on the credentialing process of the medical establishment. Most physicians, upon completing their training, pass a test demonstrating their ability to regurgitate the teachers' passwords, and are recommended to the appropriate certification board as "qualified" by their program director; to do otherwise would reflect badly on the program. Also, program directors are loath to remove a resident/fellow during advanced training because some warm body must show up to do the work, or the professor himself/herself might have to fill in. It is difficult to find replacements for upper level residents; the only common reason such would be available is dismissal/transfer from another program. Consequently, the USA turns out physicians of widely varied skill levels, even though their credentials are similar. In surgical specialities, it is not unusual for a particularly bright individual with all the passwords but very poor technical skills to become a surgical professor.

Comment author: Desrtopa 19 January 2011 11:22:15PM 2 points [-]

My mother has told me an anecdote about a family friend who was a surgeon who had a former student call him while conducting an operation because he couldn't remember what to do.

Comment author: wedrifid 19 January 2011 11:55:53PM 28 points [-]

My mother has told me an anecdote about a family friend who was a surgeon who had a former student call him while conducting an operation because he couldn't remember what to do.

The (rumored) student has my respect. I would expect most surgeons to have too much of an ego to admit to that doubt rather than stumble ahead full of hubris. It would be comforting to know that your surgeon acted as if (as opposed to merely believing that) he cared more about the patient than the immediate perception of status loss. (I wouldn't care whether that just meant his thought out anticipation of future status loss for a failed operation overrode his immediate social instincts.)