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 difference between someone who’s genuinely passionate about technology and cyber security, and the next candidate in the waiting room. And I've certainly heard some interesting responses. 

 

I remember one candidate who built an authentication system around RADIUS. They also segmented their WiFi network and bandwidth-throttled certain housemates whose streaming habits were… let’s just say, “non-essential.” Their need for reasonable Internet speeds drove these projects, and along the way, they explored new technologies in a fun, practical way.

Others have described malware investigation labs, or virtualised environments where new projects can be quickly tried out - and just as quickly “pivoted” to something new when things took an unexpected turn. It’s all part of the fun.

That’s all for this cup of coffee. Next time, we’ll talk about building your own lab - and then dive into what you can actually do with it.