I've got interviews again this week, and as I've been prepping for them, I've focused on the fact that what I care about most in this hire (and almost any other) is the individual's ability to problem solve effectively, or , in other words, 'critical thinking ability'.

The reason I'm thinking about this skill so much, rather than the technical skills is largely because the person I'm needing to replace started with no tech experience, and has over ~5 years worked her way from an administrative assistant role to a web development role. Degree in the humanities, no certs, but very smart and can work through anything (given time and google).

Of course that's not an oddity-the best people in tech (and any field, really) have that logical ability and a drive to learn. In contrasting with some other employees though, who yes, are good, and do their jobs, and want to learn, some individuals seem to have a very hard time thinking logically about things.

It seems that the 'standard' way to measure this skill is to give an applicant a bunch of tests, or ask them a bunch of silly questions. Personally, I don't like that approach, but I'm wondering what the alternatives are. I guess I've always sort of guessed at someones ability based on our interview, and I've gotten some right, some less so. So, how do you measure critical thinking during an interview?

Separately, have any of you found a method or resource that works for teaching critical thinking? I've been working with a few employees on this, primarily by asking them questions when they come to me for guidance, and it's definitely helped, but not to the level I'd like to see yet. I'd love to hear what you do with your teams.