Google Fu (For Interviews)

As I consciously evaluate what a programmer does on a daily basis, Google Fu is a very important one.  Google Fu is the ability to use Google (or another search engine) to find the answer to a question.

There is an inevitable time when you experience an issue or need to find out how to do something.  Google to the rescue!

How can you find programmers who can find the answers to these questions?  I think Google Fu testing is one area of interview questions that isn’t being addressed.  My experience with programmers unable to properly Google things is that they take a very long time to figure out an issue.  This time could be greatly reduced by knowing how to use a search engine well.

During an interview, I plan to give the interviewee a programming problem that is written out and with some error output.  After letting them read it over, I will give them a computer and Internet connection.  I will ask them to find the solution to the problem using Google (or other search engine).

I think Google Fu is a fundamental skill for programmers.  It has the quality of being used very often.  Given this, you will not have to study Google Fu before an interview.