# how can I judge a job applicant's internet skills? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 11, 2004, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164 "2004-11-11T06:00:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/21 "2004-11-11T21:59:44Z")
Moved to IMHO. - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/22 "2004-11-11T22:50:30Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > \ > These questions are really techie for a job that isn’t technical. I had to really think about some of them! I would ask the applicant if they had written any webpages themselves. It doesn’t require any really technical knowledge, but does indicate a better than basic understanding of how the web works. Some of those questions _are_ best left to the techies, but any Web user should at least know about file extensions (even though Bill doesn’t want you to) and ISPs. Cookies and ISPs are pretty basic too. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/23 "2004-11-11T23:17:20Z")
If you’re looking to test technical expertise, you can only do that in the interview if you yourself have the expertise to know if the answers are right or wrong. Even if you have a prepared list of answers to your questions, but you don’t understand them, the person could be giving correct answers but you just don’t know it. **Dumb example:** your test questions include, “True or false, the sun always rises in the east.” Subject says, “Well, if you’re standing on the north pole, that wouldn’t be true.” You look at your answer sheet that says, “True” and you think the guy is wrong. One obvious alternative would be testing the person – giving them a computer with internet connection and asking them to perform a series of tasks that simulate what might be required in the job. Another alternative would be to find a person who IS an expert in what you need done, and hire them for the hour to do an interview with the candidate. This is commonly done in other areas – executive hirings frequently visit a psychologist or psychiatrist or somesuch for psychological testing. No reason you couldn’t find a computer expert and hire his/her time to interview a candidate for you and test their skills. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/24 "2004-11-12T00:42:46Z")
> [@abby](#): > > Hi > > I am recruiting for an office administrator for our company, and the person needs to have extensive internet knowledge to do a good job in our company. Of course we say that in the ad, and everyone say they know how to use the internet anyway (“oh yeah, I have a hotmail address…”). We have been burnt many times before on this and similar issues, so I am especially wary this time. > > They don’t need to have a highly (or even moderately) technical knowledge (say, the difference between SMTP and POP), but they should appreciate the difference between google and yahoo, for example. They should know that “web browser” != IE, and that MSN or AOL isn’t the internet - that sorta stuff. > > So I guess what I am after is a series of questions I can ask them in a non-harassing way, that will get them to talk about the interent, so I can get a feel for how much they know. > > Help? > [@](#): > > Q: Does embedded Javascript execute on the client-side or server-side? > Q: What Microsoft software system is similar to Sun’s J2EE? > Q: What does an ISP do? > Q. What is FTP used for? > Q. How do radio buttons differ from checkboxes on a website? > Q: What does PGP mean? > Q: What is a cookie? > Q: What can you say about a file that has the extension JPG, BMP or GIF? > Q: What can you say about a file that has the extension MPG or AVI? > Q: Does PHP run on the client-side or server-side? > Q: Who is Tim Berners-Lee? Hm, gove the person access to a computer and ask them to answer the questions? that would demonstrate they know how to go online and manoeuvre around=) Offhand I know answers to 6 of the questions, but given access to the internet and 5 minutes I could have the rest. Hm, where is your company? Want a fellow SDMB person? I am desperate for work=( and I am computer literate … =) ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/25 "2004-11-12T02:21:22Z")
> [@](#): > > They don’t need to have a highly (or even moderately) technical knowledge (say, the difference between SMTP and POP), but they should appreciate the difference between google and yahoo, for example. They should know that “web browser” != IE, and that MSN or AOL isn’t the internet - that sorta stuff. > > So I guess what I am after is a series of questions I can ask them in a non-harassing way, that will get them to talk about the interent, so I can get a feel for how much they know. Having had many a hairpulling session with people who cannot and will not attempt to grasp the difference between POP and SMTP, I’d have to say that knowledge of the difference is a huge huge huge plus. We had an ISP that wouldn’t allow an email program to send via the SMTP server unless the POP server identified for the user was the POP server of the ISP. But our business emails did not include SMTP capability, so we had to use the ISP’s SMTP server. Which meant that we needed to receive email through one personality, and send through another. It was stupid, but not that complicated. Unless, of course, you asked my coworkers. I would start by asking about personal use: **How often do you connect to the internet?** \*\*What is your ISP at home? \*\* If they can’t answer this, you do not want them. Trust me. **What is your email address? Do you get a lot of spam? What do you do about it?** Then some program questions: **What’s your favorite browser? Why? Is there anything you wish your browser could do that it doesn’t do already?** **What’s your favorite email program? Is there anything you wish your email program could do that it doesn’t do already?** **At home, you go to a website and it says you need a plugin. What do you do?** **At home, you go to a website and it says you don’t have the latest browser. What do you do?** Then some specific questions about generally having a clue: **You get an email that says “undeliverable mail” from a mailer-daemon. What does that mean?** **You get an email returned to you as “undeliverable,” but you didn’t send the email to the address it claims you sent it to. What does that mean?** **You get an email from someone telling you to click to open a .scr file. What does that mean?** **Citibank sends you an email telling you to click on a link and fill out your account information. What does that mean?** **Your email program is giving you errors, saying it cannot connect to a server. What does that mean? What do you do?** **An email suggests that a needy child will receive a nickel for every person you forward the email to. What do you do?** And some specific questions about doing web searches: **You need to find out who said, “Give me liberty or give me death.” What do you do?** **You need to find the telephone number for a bakery in Dallas. It’s on Main Street. What do you do?** **You need to find out what company called and left X telephone number on your voice mail. What do you do?** **You need to know if there have been riots in Palestine over Arafat’s death. How do you find out?** Of course, some of these questions may not be important in your business at all. Just some ideas. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/26 "2004-11-12T02:58:01Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > **Citibank sends you an email telling you to click on a link and fill out your account information. What does that mean?** What does it mean? Why Citibank, specifically? > [@](#): > > **You need to find the telephone number for a bakery in Dallas. It’s on Main Street. What do you do?** Call directory assistance? Who uses the internet for phone numbers? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/27 "2004-11-12T03:05:37Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > What does it mean? Why Citibank, specifically?Call directory assistance? Who uses the internet for phone numbers? Citibank is one of the most often spoofed. I use the internet for phone numbers all the time. It’s free. Directory assistance isn’t. And if you don’t know quite where something is or what it’s called, the internet works much better. And you can do reverse lookups. These are searches I do. Some people would never need them, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/28 "2004-11-12T07:12:33Z")
The answers to all of these questions depend on which Internet you are using. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/29 "2004-11-12T15:07:56Z")
Ask if they know about google operators. Don’t get too enthusiastic about telling who knows the internet from who knows the history of the internet. I may or may not have the internet skills you need- but I’m full of details of history of the internet. I even know about ALOHANET. (I’m taking a web design course right now, and a discussion of the history of the internet was given a couple weeks ago. I think that was my third in eighteen months, maybe fourth.) Ask how you spell “tilda”. (~) You know as in “My website is www dot school dot edu slash tilda (initialsandnumbers)” I gave the URL to my website that way to my mother the other day over the phone and she would have spelled out tilda if I hadn’t clarified that it was the little wiggle up next to the 1. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/30 "2004-11-12T16:29:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Ask how you spell “tilda” Easy. “Tilde” 😉 I’m still puzzled about the email client that doesn’t support SMTP. How would that work? ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/31 "2004-11-12T16:29:56Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > Ask how you spell “tilda”. (~) Tee Eye Ell Dee EEEEEEE. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Llama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@The\_Llama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Llama)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/32 "2004-11-12T19:34:58Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > Who uses the internet for phone numbers? [www.theultimates.com](http://www.theultimates.com) I used it almost every day at work. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/33 "2004-11-13T17:24:09Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > Ask how you spell “tilda”. (~) > > You know as in “My website is www dot school dot edu slash tilda (initialsandnumbers)” > > I gave the URL to my website that way to my mother the other day over the phone and she would have spelled out tilda if I hadn’t clarified that it was the little wiggle up next to the 1. Yeah, that’s why knowing what a “tilde” is, and that it’s spelled with an E, is fairly useless knowledge: applying it has the potential to confuse people further. I just say “squiggly”, because everyone knows where the squiggly key is. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/34 "2004-11-13T18:13:03Z")
There’s only question needed: What’s you SDMB username? ---
**Author:** ![abby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@abby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abby)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/35 "2004-11-15T06:37:53Z")
Thanks guys, lots of great stuff there. Very much appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164/36 "2004-11-15T10:40:51Z")
Ummm… — This matter might be different for various areas, but the page for “The Ultimates” phone directories for instance I would not use, and have never heard of. For finding phone numbers I use smartpages[dot]com, which is also the name of the company that prints the local GOOD phone directory. There’s about six different companies now that abandon printed phone books on my doorstep throughout the year–but the SmartPages book is most-inclusive. The other “yellow pages” phone books seem to be opt-in+fee-based for commercial customers, because when I tried using them I often found that they totally lacked listings for long-established companies–and the SmartPages phone boolk always had all the companies I looked for listed. - Also, for search engines, Google is it. Google is **The One**. It is the _only_ major engine left that actively crawls the web, and the _only_ one that does not put paid listings into its return results. Because of this its results are more accurate than any other, and if you do not find a page listing on Google, it is very unlikely that you will find it on any other search engine–since all other major search engines utilize Google listings, and then “insert” listings for paying customers into their results as they see fit. ~ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-judge-a-job-applicants-internet-skills/274164.md?page=1)