Here I refer and give my thoughts on interviews, of the Job Kind. Media interviews, vox pop etc are fish of another kettle. Most people will have experience of the job interview, it’s often the final hoop to jump thru before they take you on, or give you a trial period.
I feel myself to be well qualified to opine on this topic having filled the roles of both interviewer and interviewee many times in my working life, especially since much of it has been spent as a contractor in the IT industry, where jobs are short, or long, and unpredictable. One can be taken on for a quick job for a week or so, and having finished it in a day or two, then extended to do another little task until three years later there you are still on a week’s notice either way, during which time you have been called on to interview other people to build up your little empire. Then it’s time to move on.
I’m sure many an MSc thesis has been “earned” on the efficacy of interviewing in employee selection in all industries, and I seem to remember it comes out as no better than picking a name from a hat, but also many a PhD founded on improving the hit rate.( I’m suddenly reminded of that scene from “The Office” where David Brent throws half the C.V’s in the bin because he “doesn’t want to work with unlucky people”).
So here’s my take on sitting both sides of the desk.
I was lucky enough to get taken on for the first job interview that I had. Not counting Saturday jobs etc. I had written to the firm as it was in my chosen field ( IT ) and it was just a block or so from where I lived. The joy of walking to work. As often happens tho they were to move office soon after I joined. I have always enjoyed the predictability and unpredictability of working with computers ( programming ), and a software house was a great place to start.
I found that my training period consisted of “listen to Tony” ( my project leader ), and “read that manual”.
This was an excellent first lesson, and it served me well then, and many times after. Anyway, back to the subject.
Interviews come in great variety from soft chats, where you know you got the job, to real grillings, to just going thru the motions cos they got somebody better suited. I have on quite a few occasions gotten a callback after a week, from the job agent saying “oh X has let them down, he didn’t really have the experience… can you come in tomorrow?”. Sometimes you know that the interview is going nowhere, so it’s best to tell the other person that and not waste time. I remember one in Nottingham I think, where I told the interviewer that the agent had misunderstood the requirement and that I couldn’t or didn’t want to do the job. He seemed relieved and said “sorry you had to come all this way”, “no problem”, I said, “chance to do some christmas shopping before the shops close”. ” Yeah”, he said, “I think I can get off early now and do some myself”.
I have to say a few words about the dreaded psychological test ordered up by the human resources of companies big enough to have them. I seems obvious what the questions are meant to be about. The old chestnut of three drawings. One in a disco, one at a dinner party and one in lonely attic reading book by candlelight. Your tendency to extrovert, or introvert. Others equally asinine. I recall one such test where afterward they scored it on the spot and the interviewer said, “you seem to be an introvert, but don’t worry. I’m pretty introverted myself, but I’m able to flex”. This was in pre “rise of the nerds” days. Such tests are simple to game, and I would have thought “no mates” goes with the job ( in IT ), but I could go on, and I won’t.
Often I would get a logic “gotcha” type of question asked of me. In pre social media days there just a few going around. Doing that thing with three piles of hoops ( “Tower of Hanoi” ) , one with shunting trains round a track, and one with two sticks and a bit of string. The thing to do was to rub one’s chin and pretend it was new to you, then fiddle about a bit, then “solve” it.
I will also present another technique I would adopt. If I was asked about my expertise in general I would say I had a good idea of this or that, ( which I did ), but that “coms” was not my strong suit. I would then be asked a few questions on “coms”, which at the time I had just been on an excellent training course and understood very well. Just saying, I’m sure I didn’t invent that technique.
Finally I want to relate the best interview I ever had.
I arrived, the manager met me, shook the hand, and said something like “do you know about XYZ and all that bullshit? Yes I’m sure you do. Now, this is your desk, you sit here, we’ll pay what you asked for, can you come in tomorrow and start?”
Short and sweet.
And “yes” I did.