Interview Interrogations — Surely there’s a better way?
I’ve been thinking lately about how typical interviews are pretty weird when you really think about it. You get taken into a room (virtual or in person), some strangers walk into the room, there’s some pleasant introductions and then an interrogation begins for a non stop hour. Then as a candidate you have to think on the spot and come up with answers that don’t reveal any flaws or you can’t do what it says in the job description. It simply reminds me of the movies where a spy is interrogated to get information out of them. Exhausting, stressful and relentless!
Even with the amount of experience I have, I generally find them stressful and to be honest, frustrating. If you read my blog or know me well, I am a thinker and like time to prepare and bring a thoughtful response. I cannot show off my true ability in this type of “surprise” interrogation style. At least it would be better to see the questions beforehand.
Recently I went through an interview process and it was upmost refreshing. They actively looked into me — my blog, talks, podcast. If you want to really get to know me and what value I can provide — this is certainly one way of doing it. Before the HR cultural interview they asked me “if i need any reasonable adjustments, do not hestitate to contact” — i mean wow, the first time I have experienced this. Inclusive and awesome approach to interviews. I thought “I want to work here!”
Hiring someone in 15 minutes
In the last project I was working on I had to bring in some contractors from one of our testing partners. I had a chat with this professional and within 15 minutes I knew he was the right person for the project. The way he talked about things and his attitude. I basically said you’re hired and it’s not necessary to continue the full 30 minutes. My gut instinct was right — they went on to do a fantastic job! So overall, forget about all the things that ‘you’re meant to do’ — I could have continued for 15 more minutes and filled up the interview slot, but why waste time?
Let’s get away from outdated interview style
Overall what I want to see is a move away from outdated interview styles and bring in people centric approaches. Looking for people’s value add to organizations. I believe lots of organisations are doing this, but would definitely like to see it more wide spread.
