What I learned from interviewing and hiring for quantum jobs

Ari Noori

Oct 4 • ⚛️General discussion

I'm now at the stage where I'm vetting candidates for IBM's Quantum Computing team.

Here's what I've learned from both sides of the interview table (not IBM-specific):

➡️ Your network matters most. Referrals always win.

➡️ Technical skills are critical. You need real hands-on experience.

➡️ Show that you can learn fast. Stories about jumping into new situations and succeeding are highly effective.

➡️ Quantum is a small world. People will look you up and ask around. Don't burn bridges. Everyone knows everyone.

➡️ Communication matters. If you're super awkward or can't communicate well, you won't get hired.

➡️ Job descriptions lie. Ask questions before and during interviews to figure out what they actually need, then sell yourself on that. We recently interviewed someone for "design and simulation" in the job description but really wanted someone who could get hands-on in the lab measuring and debugging stuff.

➡️ You might get rejected for absolutely no reason. HR screens resumes first at big companies, and for technical roles they have no clue what they're looking at. Your resume might get filtered by AI or someone making $2/hour in a 3rd world country before the real hiring manager ever sees it.

➡️ Hiring is annoying. Make it easy for them.

➡️ Control the narrative. Give concise, memorable responses that make it easy to pull out the positives.

⁉️What's been your experience? Have you seen any of these play out in your job search?

Also, what would you add to the list?

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