Every organization is an IT organization these days. Professionals with IT skills are needed everywhere. But as an HR expert, you probably don’t have a technical background or a clear understanding of what an IT job entails. Still, you can steer a conversation in the right direction without experience in programming, updating, patching, orchestrating, or implementing. 

With the right mindset, you get the most out of every interview with an IT professional. The following six tips will help you get started. 

1. Know what (or who) you are looking for 

A “programmer”, an “IT specialist” … these are vague terms. Just like with job postings for other roles, it’s best to start at the beginning. What problem do you want to solve? Do you need to design a new website, or maintain existing projects? Are you looking for someone to manage your company’s day-to-day IT operations, or do you want to strengthen your IT team with a security specialist? 

Sometimes, a project requires multiple profiles for a short period – such as building a website. But once the project is completed, that person may no longer have a full-time role. Other tasks may require ongoing attention, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to hire an IT professional. Perhaps the solution you’re looking for already exists as a user-friendly cloud-based subscription service. 

Try to define the problem you want to solve, assess whether it’s essential to solve it with in-house talent, and determine what the ideal solution should look like. 

2. Translate the job posting into skills you understand 

Does it leave you completely puzzled when someone mentions “Rust”? And do you think of dockworkers when you hear the word “containers”? No worries – translate the job vacancy into goals you do understand. 

Are you looking for someone who can work independently and take initiative? Or someone who can seamlessly integrate into an existing team? Do you need a creative thinker who stays up to date with the latest solutions, or is experience more important? These considerations apply to IT as well. So don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know – focus on the familiar recruitment criteria you do understand. 

3. Don’t give away too much in your questions 

As part of your interview preparation, you’ll likely do some research on the technical responsibilities of your future colleague. This makes it tempting to start with questions like: How strong is your Java knowledge? Have you worked with Kubernetes in the past? Are you familiar with OpenShift? But if your own technical knowledge is limited, a candidate can easily use these questions to steer the conversation in their favor. After all, you’re immediately revealing what you’re looking for. 

Instead, opt for open questions. Use the insights from step one: describe general scenarios related to the problems you want to solve and ask the candidate how they would approach the challenge. If necessary, follow up with questions about tools and software – without naming them yourself. 

4. Be transparent about your own knowledge 

Feel free to acknowledge that your IT knowledge is limited and ask the candidate to keep that in mind during the conversation. As mentioned earlier, present problems and ask them to explain their solutions in a clear and understandable way. The ability to translate complexity into simplicity demonstrates a strong grasp of the subject matter. In this way, your lack of deep technical knowledge becomes an interesting and relevant test for the candidate. 

Moreover, IT professionals usually work in service of the business. Bridging that gap isn’t always easy. If you hire someone who can explain their expertise in plain language, you’ll reduce the risk of misunderstandings between business and IT. 

5. Prepare your questions 

More than in other recruitment interviews, it’s useful to prepare your questions in advance. You already know that candidates’ answers won’t always be easy to follow. That’s why it helps to structure the interview with a set of standard questions. While there is room for improvisation, having a clear structure gives you a solid framework to guide the conversation. Additionally, using a consistent set of questions makes it easier to compare candidates objectively. 

6. Ask for help when possible 

Your expertise is in HR. If you’re looking for a new front-end developer, be sure to ask the head of the department what they consider important. You can request a list of essential applications or technologies, but as mentioned earlier, avoid incorporating them too directly into your questions. 

If there’s no relevant expertise within your company, perhaps a friend or former colleague can offer some tips. You could also seek external expertise by consulting a specialized recruitment agency. After all, you’re looking for someone to strengthen your team – the more confident you are about an IT candidate’s skills and talents during the hiring process, the better it will be for everyone. 

Technical knowledge is certainly helpful for IT recruitment, but you can get quite far without it. The key is to prepare well and focus on challenges, problems, and solutions rather than specific technologies or software. 

Would you like some help? The CHRLY recruiters are here for you. Learn more about how we can support your search for IT talent.