Job interviews: a war of lies or a chance to have a good time?
“The interview was excellent. I went beyond the superficial and felt comfortable showing what i´m good at ” said no one ever.
Have you ever walked out of an interview convinced that the interviewer truly discovered what you are passionate about? Convinced that the interviewer could learn something from you? Have you ever been asked about something you love deeply and asked to teach a class on it?
The bureaucracy of the first interview
I recently read a tweet that in less than 140 characters puts those two options in the game: the opportunity to have fun and honest conversation or confuse with verbiage.
There are few opportunities to be a teacher. To show a truly honest clarity. When they ask about something that you are passionate about, it is easier to be yourself. It will also be easier to notice and show someone’s lucidity and enthusiasm.
Beyond getting the job or not, something comes out of all the interviews. Among other things to detect the know-how of the labor recruitment system. Between interviews, you learn to be more astute in detecting the chain of lies (your own and company´s).
They say, which is likely, that as humans we are imperfect. Well, it seems that much more in those tense minutes. Would there be an approach to perfection in -knowing a person- when turning on the personal radio? At the moment of letting it go, show yourself (and why not), in a job interview? At the moment of truly owning the show and having the opportunity for a pleasant conversation?
Everyone has that passion. It can be a book. A sport. The history of populism, or the aerodynamics of airplanes. Whatever is, everybody has something. Staring hard at a person would achieve a monotonous, rehearsed response. A classic ¨my strength is knowing how to solve problems and work as a team¨ As if everything were resolved the same. But when the topic is mastered, it can make the talk fun. You see a person who cares about something. The applicant’s curiosity is felt to know about a subject more than anyone else (in his mind). And is in how you communicate it, your ability to get the job. Or is it that an ordinary college candidate can’t teach an interviewer about nuclear reactors?
Productivity vs depth
Let´s suppose an interview lasts twenty-five minutes. Well, they seem to be enough to, with a series of questions, determine how her oratory is developing, and lightly discover the profile of the interviewee. But can you discover in those tense twenty-five minutes his potential to fulfill the business? No. Nor can the candidate’s mastery of a subject in which he is not an expert be evaluated. It’s just a representation of enthusiasm. As irrelevant as it may be. It’s not about how related your passion is for the position. It’s about how it is expressed.
Are they being productive with the interview? Are they in high demand for applicants and do the interview to step out of way? Are the candidates numbers or humans? Have they found ways to go beyond superficial questions? Do you feel the interviewee is comfortable? Did i really show what i was good at? This are questions asked by a few civilians who want to find a life for themselves and who surely have a lot of potentials.
Perhaps if the company synthesizes the information and connects it with the goals, it can conclude how the applicant would apply that specific skill that she manifested in the goals of the company. A more diverse, happy, and engaged potential workforce could be found. Regardless of whether he came from an Ivy League, or from YMU, or from UCA, or from UMBA (invented university acronym)
I don’t know what companies want to get to with the common questions. But the ordinary and bureaucratic interview tends to to nerves and deception. It tends to the monotonous script of the previous rehearsal. It’s full of pressure. It tends to the script, as we said, of common answers. Passion on the other hand is very difficult to fake. Have they hired (or not) the indicated candidate?
PD: We will report in a short time when not precisely humans will hire humans
