Why Interviews are unfair and what to do about it.
The way that the majority of companies interview is unfair to both the candidates and themselves.
As disheartening as that is, I am just stating the basic facts.
My job is twofold.
Firstly I help candidates best prepare for interviews because even the most qualified people in their fields can struggle with interviews.
The second part of my job is to present qualified candidates to my clients and I encourage them to look at the entire skillset as oppose to what they only see on a resume.
Hopefully I can help both sides with this piece.
There can be many variables as to why they are unfair but these are the most critical reasons.
1.Most companies do not have consistent questioning for each candidate.
Hiring managers will often conduct free flowing discussions that they usually lead to disarm candidates.
This approach is effective for determining fit and not allowing a candidate to deliver programed answers but it can backfire as well.
If a hiring manager doesn’t continue to circle back to the necessary discussion points, the interview can drastically lose its effectiveness and accuracy.
Often a hiring manager will assume that they covered enough material based on the amount of time that they spent with the candidate.
My suggestions to the client would be to prepare for the meeting with a quick executive summary (1 page)of what needs to be covered and then marshal your time accordingly to cover these items.
You will find that you will surprise yourself more often than not by assuming someone has certain experience when in actual fact they don’t.
I am continually surprised at how many hiring managers are “too busy” to prepare for an interview.
Hiring someone is the same as a company making a purchase.
You would do your due diligence on a potential supplier’s product before investing company resources so do the same for a new employee.
My suggestions to the candidate.
Keep your wits about you when this occurs and don’t let your guard down.
Make sure you are not speaking too much.
Be courteous and smile and keep your answers concise.
Force them to get back to the subjects at hand and continually look for non-obvious Segway’s to speak about items that you wish to communicate.
2.Often questions are not weighted or prioritized but ranked only by the number of answers that were deemed correct.
This can occur when the hiring manager has not prioritized them or if there is a disconnect between the hiring manager and the Human Resources department.
My suggestions to the client.
Do not divide the questions like some companies do by having the hiring managers asking the direct experience related questions while Human Resources asks the behavioral, ethical and leadership questions.
The questions need to be formulated beforehand in unison or the weighting will be incorrect.
Human Resources often ranks potential ahead of defined specific skillets so the right candidate can often be overlooked because they did not deliver enough of the desired answers.
My suggestions to the candidate.
There is very little that can be done in this case other than preparing for the interview in the best possible way.
That involves reviewing the job description and being prepared to speak specifically to your experience regarding any item listed.
Try to engage with the hiring manager while being concise and try to anticipate behavioral questions that could be asked given your knowledge on the role and the company.
3.Non job related factors like body language, accent, height and dress can be an influencing factors for many.
My suggestions to the client.
Do not place such a high weight on what has worked for the company in the past.
A company’s employees would much rather work with someone who excels at their role and who brings something new to the table for the company rather than someone who is more likely to fit in on the company’s Thursday night break out night.
Many small and high growth companies in a variety of industries have already realized this and focus on obtaining employees with different skill set.
High achieving employees inspire and improve the work of their colleagues.
Corporate fit is not as imperative as it is sometimes perceived.
My suggestions to the candidate.
Be yourself.
If you are well prepared and well-presented that is all that is expected.
If fit is the issue (and you will likely never know if it is), it is not the company for you anyway.
It would be unlikely that you could reach your full potential there anyhow.
My personal observation is that many of these fit conscious companies are the ones that are experiencing the least amount of growth.
4. Managers are often short sighted and will fill for short term needs first.
This has been a major issue for the last few years.
Even at strategic levels companies have been feeling more comfortable going with someone with industry experience rather than someone who can bring a fresh approach to the business.
My suggestions to the client.
Human Resources must take charge in this situation as usually in this case the manager will try to obtain final say and they usually want to make their own lives easier rather than what is best for the company.
With increased personal workloads because companies have shrunk, this can be a tough battle for H/R but it is in the best interest of the company.
It is more important to get an employee who can bring value as oppose to hiring a regurgitated industry person who will likely bring only a known commodity.
My suggestions to the candidate.
Over prepare for a meeting and anticipate what will likely be obstacles in terms of lack of specific experience during the interview.
Someone who is well prepared, seems to understand the business of the potential employer and someone who can clearly define what specific values that they bring and how they would specifically use those skills is considered a good interviewer.
Sometimes candidate are worried about saying the wrong thing during an interview and will hold back, this approach will not work if you already lack specific experience that the hiring manager is requesting.
Farewell,
Mike