Which tactics do you usually employ to interview and identify great Testers ?

Alignment with Team/Company values ?

Evidence of critical thinking ? 

How did you approach <x…..testing problem> type of questions ?

Examples of application of Tooling knowledge ? 

How much value do they give to sapient skills in Testing ?

Community references ? 

Thought pieces or talks ? 

Track record of mentoring upcoming Testers ?

One technique  that I realized that I have never explicitly used , is peer review of my work during an interview. On the lines of code reviews in Developer interviews

Talking about my approach to choosing a Test technique or a Tool  and asking the candidate to provide feedback on the choice and my approach ?

How about bringing  my Test strategy along and getting them to review it ?  Observing their questioning and critiquing techniques ? How do they provide feedback ?  Observe their system thinking skills ?

How about white boarding my approach to risk assessment and ascertaining the level of Regression Testing required and getting them to review it ? What risks do they see with the approach ? Where could it be made better ? Will they do it differently and if yes,how do they convince me about it ? Can they be candid and respectful at the same time ?

I am hopeful that this exercise will provide me insights into the candidate’s –

• Ability to asking probing questions and work in a Team
• Intellectual humility and respect for a peer’s work ( especially when it might not be upto their personal standard)
• Persuasion skills and ability to influence without authority

Have you tried peer review as an interview tool before ?

How was your experience ?

What was good and not so good about it ?