What’s in Your Home Lab, and Why I Ask That in Job Interviews
Anyone who’s had the immense pleasure of sitting across the table from me in a technical job interview knows I like to ask candidates about their home lab. The question usually gets anything from a proud grin to a look of pure shock. I don’t ask because I expect colleagues to spend their evenings “working” in a lab at home. I ask because I want to see what sparks their curiosity - the passion that drives them. And yes, I’ve hired people who’ve said, “Actually, I don’t have a home lab,” because they’ve gone on to share other qualities that matter just as much. A software developer might point me to their GitLab repository or the open-source projects they’ve contributed to. Thinking about this recently over another coffee, I came across a ZDNet article that explains why home labs are worth considering . The author compares a home lab to an artist’s portfolio - a place to showcase skill, knowledge, and the ability to keep up with trends. That portfolio-like quality can be the differ...