The Tech Interview Behind the Scenes: Ross Shehov

The Tech Interview Behind the Scenes is an HRLabs series.
Let’s take a look behind the scenes of the technical interview process from the interviewers' perspective.
Our goal is to provide candidates with valuable tips and recommendations directly from professionals who conduct interviews for various technical roles.

“Communication skills and critical thinking are the most important skills”, shares Ross Shehov, Founder & CEO at NetSpert.

Tell us more about your career path.

My career path started as a VoIP engineer for an independent travel agency while I was pursuing my Bachelor's and Master's degrees. In this role, I gained solid knowledge and skills related to Cisco networking and VoIP solutions. I then held several engineering roles at small service providers in London.

My biggest career development came when I was employed by the Cisco UKI team. The interview process for Cisco took two months. I then spent nearly 12 years working for Cisco, covering all of the top businesses in the world.

Now, I am the founder of a small startup called NetSpert, a professional service provider specialising in networking, cybersecurity, cloud, and data center technologies.

As a candidate, have you had any strange interviews? What about interviews that impressed you?

The strangest interview I had—and did not like—was with Palo Alto Networks. The hiring manager asked a series of misleading technical questions, which I felt was unfair to the candidates, and I told him so. In response, I returned the favour by asking him similarly misleading technical questions, which he could not answer. I then told him that I would never work for him because he was not conducting a fair interview.

The best interview I had was with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The interview process was very robust. I particularly enjoyed the technical role-play with AWS architects, as it represented a real-life technical situation. I loved that because role-playing allows you to demonstrate critical thinking and soft skills.

What skills and qualities do you look for in a candidate? How can a candidate stand out during the interview?

In an ideal candidate, I look for a few key skills that set them apart from others. 

The top skills I seek are:

1. Critical Thinking – Can the candidate solve real-world issues using their knowledge?

2. Soft Skills – Can the candidate be part of a team? Can they communicate and present their knowledge and ideas effectively, adapting to specific situations?

3. Deep technical knowledge

I could name more skills, but these are the top qualities I look for in any candidate. These skills are also valued by many managers and directors I know in the UK IT industry. 

What questions do you typically ask in technical interviews? Do you have specific tasks or problems that you often use to assess candidates?

My technical interviews are slightly different. 

I usually start with basic technical questions that candidates should be able to answer immediately without hesitation. 

Then, I give the candidate 5–10 minutes to solve a technical issue using simulators or other tools. My questions and technical tasks are not overly complex, so a candidate with deep technical knowledge should be able to complete them within 10 minutes.

I also ask candidates to explain a technology of their choice using a whiteboard. The whiteboard is my final tool, as it reveals all the key skills I look for in a candidate.

How important are good communication skills for a candidate? How do they impact the overall interview?

Communication skills and critical thinking are the most important skills. 

If you have deep technical knowledge but are unable to present and communicate it effectively, you won’t be able to contribute to your team. 

In the IT industry, you will always be part of a team, and without strong communication skills, you won’t be able to work effectively within that team.

How important is cultural fit when making a hiring decision? How do you assess whether a candidate will fit well into the team?

Cultural background has minimal impact on my decision when hiring someone. 

I strongly believe that race, culture, and other factors don’t matter much as long as the candidate has the skills I am looking for.

I can quickly determine if a candidate will work well with my team by listening to how they speak and whether they are passionate about technology. 

A candidate’s communication and presentation skills reveal whether they are a team player or not.

What are the most common mistakes candidates make during an interview? What advice would you give candidates on how to prepare for an interview?

The most common mistake I see is candidates presenting or talking about a specific technology without fully understanding it or its underlying concepts.

My recommendation for candidates preparing for an interview is to truly know your subject and be honest when you don’t know something or are unsure. 

Be upfront with the hiring manager, but also ensure you have deep technical knowledge. In IT, details matter.

What advice would you give to candidates who want to improve their technical skills? Are there any resources you would recommend?

If candidates want to improve their technical knowledge, my advice is this: always use trusted resources.

Examples of trusted resources include vendor documentation, IT governing bodies such as IEEE, and industry events like InfoSec UK. It is important to ensure that the resources you use are credible and reliable.

Share more about the best (or worst) interviews you've conducted.

The best interview experience I had was for early-in-career candidates at Cisco. I was part of the technical panel, which consisted of four people. We interviewed 12 candidates and managed to hire only two.

These candidates were confident in their answers, went above and beyond what we asked during the role-play, and demonstrated great critical thinking. They also proposed very innovative solutions.

 

The worst candidate I came across held a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification.

CCIE is the highest certification from Cisco and is highly respected within the industry. I was part of the interview panel, assisting one of my healthcare customers. I gave the CCIE candidate a basic task to solve, but he was unable to complete it, which was concerning for me.

I then voted against him during the candidate selection session. However, the healthcare institution decided to hire him. Six months later, he managed to take down a large part of their network infrastructure, and he was immediately fired.

How do you evaluate a candidate during an interview—based solely on their theoretical knowledge, or is their approach to solving a problem/task more important to you? What other factors do you consider when making a decision?

My decision on whether to hire someone is based on a few key elements: 

• deep technical knowledge,

• the ability to apply that knowledge to solve real challenges, 

• and strong presentation and communication skills.

The most important factor is how the candidate approaches and resolves the challenge. I am particularly interested in their way of thinking. 

While technical knowledge can be learned, critical thinking and problem-solving are natural abilities—but if a candidate has them, they can be trained and refined over time.

What would you like candidates to know about the interview process in your company? What could be helpful for them in their preparation?

The interview process with me at NetSpert is purely focused on critical thinking and the ability to solve real challenges.

If a candidate wants to impress me, the whiteboard is the best tool for doing so.

Share a funny story from your experience as an interviewer :)

The funniest story happened during an interview for a senior network engineer position. 

The candidate was exhausted after completing three rounds of interviews that day.

In the final interview with me, he used a technical abbreviation that didn’t exist. He kept mentioning it for about five minutes before realizing his mistake. He then corrected himself by turning the made-up abbreviation into a joke. 

I really liked that!