I interviewed couple of engineers recently for open position in our team. I was called as last minute replacement. There used to be a time when I would wait for an opportunity to interview someone since it kind of pumps up one's ego. (Not that I am totally over that ego-thing)
Anyway, I started contemplating the questions I should ask the candidate. Should I ask basic questions? What will he think about me? Would they think that I am being silly or I underestimate them? Questions kept coming at me. I went into the interview room and it was easier than the preparation I went through in my cube.
I asked what I consider as lollipop question. The candidate gave some random answer. May be he did not understand my question, I told myself. So I downshifted and asked easier question on his turf. Nope. The answers were difficult to obtain. I resigned to the fate and asked him about the project (Have to kill the remaining 20 minutes right?).
The next interview went on in a different angle. The interviewer became the interviewee. The candidate due to his over-confidence thought he can just walk into any role and started asking about my role. Hmm..Now it is time for some introspection??Anyway, he even had the attitude to say my colleague (who interviewed him before me) couldn't answer the questions he asked. *Confused look*
After all the interviewing process, we had a meeting to discuss the candidate. It brought an interesting side of people.
- A lead engineer who is from middle-east, said, I knew he lied in his resume but I couldn't confront him because the candidate look little old, I have to give respect. Note: The same guy fought tooth and nails with me during a technical discussion before.
-Another lead engineer from China, said, the candidate was giving bigger picture so I decided to let him talk about the project instead (sounded familiar?). But she concluded that he wouldn't pick him for the position
-A white American, said, I went through my list of questions and he did not answer 3 out of 5. Definite no! He was not arrogant, just putting his point.
I know I am stereo-typing people a bit here. But I thought it was interesting.
Another general feeling I got was that, People feel bad about rating someone very low.May be they put themselves in the candidate's position!
During the discussion, I was wondering they all would have discussed me like this and somehow decided to hire me 3 years back. I also wondered how flimsy the process is. It could have tipped either way with few bad answers or some minor attitude issue.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Interview Process
Posted by BrainWaves at 2:46 PM
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7 comments:
Very interesting topic... I perfectly agree with u on the fact that "small things" can make/break interview outcomes. Interestingly, I think, in most interviews, there is usually an unanimous opinion, either positive or negative. I wonder if it is also influenced by the first person who talks about the candidate in the post-interview meetings and how influential he is...
I read, what middle-east, china, american guys said. But couldnt find "Indian" answer :-)
sdpal,
The indian put his views in a blog..duh...
Having interviewed quite a few people,"EGO" :-) , yes, small things can screw up but still if 3 out of 5 people feel the candidate is good...it all comes down to the manager. I think its important to create a good impression with the hiring manager.But, as mindframes pointed out, most of the times, the decision is unanimous. There have been times when my manager has given me instructions to just look for technical content and not worry about the attitude at all.. and vice versa. In engineering field, if you are techinically good, you are good to go ...
Yes.....with the interview process, I always think about how much all cards have to align themselves just right, in order to land the job.
While the consensus is being taken, my observation is whether they are good or bad, my comments are moderate. But some others I see either glorify or trample. My view is: 30-45 minutes is never enough time to judge a person and have categorical opinions. You can get a feel of them - true! But, you cannot pronounce judgement - but that seems like an Asian attitude - because we have seen throngs of people, and know everybody has their strenghts regardless of their flaws.
Saumya: I certainly agree with you on the fact that 30-45 minutes is not enough time to judge a person. In fact, I think tests/exams are also flawed, for the same reason (especially when I dont do well..:))... But, one question to be thought about is that, how do you know if a person is fit for a job... I think any selection/rating process when presented with a plethora of options does not have a quantifiable solution. I think it is a tough problem to solve.
Setting the expectation right for Candidate and interviewer's is the first step.
As Shoba pointed out, telling the interviewer to not worry about particular aspect and concentrate on other things. And informing the candidate that they should be prepared to be interviewed on specific skill set. (ex: C programming or anything on your Resume) will help.
There should be a consensus before the interview on what everyone is going to ask to get balanced view both of technical and non-technical aspect of things.
Actually, it is not 45 minutes, it is 45*4 as there are atleast 4 people interviewing a candidate. Brainwaves, you did bring an important point about a consensus before the interview.
It happened to me once. There was a girl who couldn't answer my questions but my colleague was impressed with her as she answered his. Guess what? It so happened that he asked the same questions and I had explained the functioning of that particular circuit minutes before..
I always talk to my manager and comeup with different topics for each interviewer.
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