Are You Interviewing the Candidate or Just Checking Their Pulse?

The interviewer with a candidate at the Starbucks in Hong Kong Central seemed nice, bright and engaging.shutterstock_117963070

She was, unfortunately, conducting a train wreck of an interview in front of me; when she asked early on, “You’re not a micromanager, are you?” I thought she was a goner.

When the candidate smiled, said “Of course not” and she smiled back, I knew she was dead on arrival,

She had just confirmed that the candidate had a pulse and an IQ (e.g.Read the rest

Hiring Season: Can I Be Asked If I’m a Gamer?

Yes. No. Maybe?

You can tell when the economy’s improved because there’s an uptick of interviews. More experienced managers revisit what they’ve done before that’s worked well when hiring and novice supervisors surface this season’s new crop of oddball, silly questions.

“Can I be asked if I’m a gamer?” will likely be one of the tamer examples.

Candidates invariably want to know what can be asked.… Read the rest

[New Rules] The Interview: People Aren’t That Curious

 

“What do I say?” he asked. Do I tell people that I found it impossible to work with her because she swoops in, swoops out, and leaves a trail of poop behind? “I mean.” he added, “she didn’t get the nickname ‘The Seagull” because she had webbed feet.”

It’s not likely to happen, I assured him. Let the interviewer simply know that there are some parts of her that you’d work with in a second, and there were some parts that you found challenging because you had very different styles.Read the rest

“Making New Friends (The Interview)” – Part 4 of the series “Choose Me, Hire Me!”

Part 4 – Making New Friends

Headlines blare: “Why You Should Hire Me.” While times may be challenged, there is work (and jobs) to be had. I’ve been in the people (and teams) assessment business for over 25 years, both as a coach to managers and teams and as someone directly responsible for hiring thousands of people through roles running large staffing / recruiting operations.Read the rest

“And Don’t Forget to Do Your Homework” – Part 3 of the series “Choose Me Hire!”

 

Headlines blare: “Why You Should Hire Me.” While times may be challenged, there is work (and jobs) to be had. I’ve been in the people (and teams) assessment business for over 25 years , both as a coach to managers and teams and as someone directly responsible for hiring thousands of people through roles running large staffing / recruiting operations.Read the rest