Lessons Learned From The Other Side, Part II
A few observations from the interviews I recently helped conduct for a technical position.
Overall, this was a pretty good crew we brought in, but each of them could’ve done things a little better. We selected 3 to bring back for second interviews, but one of them, our top candidate informed us that she’s already accepted another position. So that means we’ll only be doing two second round interviews, and one of them will be selected for the position.
Here’s some observations from the first round.
The manager I was working with stated beforehand that since he had to wear a shirt and tie for the interviews, there better be no one that was dressed casually. This position is a professional one, after all.
The first candidate came in wearing a faded polo shirt and jeans, with a somewhat ragged nylon jacket which he never removed. He also smelled very strongly of cigarette smoke. His interview went ok, but his appearance and smell sort of turned us off. If he couldn’t take the trouble to make himself presentable for the interview, what would be like to work with on a daily basis?
The second interview was dressed fine. However, when asked about some of her background, she proceeded to bash several of her previous employers. Not cool.
Our third interview was with an impeccably dressed gentleman who was very charming. Our fears were that he was too overqualified for the position and would quickly be unsatisfied in the position, which is clearly labeled an entry level job. His resume clearly stated that he was seeking a position as a Sr Network Administrator. We still wanted to see if he would be able to accept doing the entry level work, and could see that he was clearly looking at it as a jumping off point, just a temporary stop on the way to bigger and better things. The problem is, there really wasn’t room for that type of growth.
I also had a bit of concern with how he answered some of our questions. He clearly had prepared well for the interview, and knew all the tips and tricks that a site like this, and many books will help you to use during an interview. The problem I had was that it was terribly transparent. His responses were canned, unnatural. He played “by the book” without letting us see more of who he really was. He also showed signs that he could be a bit overbearing, and if that is in the interview process, again, what would be be like in the office.
Our fourth interview started off a little slow, but grew on us as time went on. He didn’t really slip up at all, and is one of our second interview candidates.
The Fifth interview was a favorite coming in based on his resume and the quick phone conversation. He was nervous once he arrived, and had a distracting nervous laugh with many of his answers. Skill and personality wise, he seems a good fit. Our biggest concern is the distance he lives from the site. He’s getting a second interview as well.
The final interview was our best. She was terrific from start to finish and really impressed us with her skills, background and poise. We came away feeling she was the favorite. When contacted about a second interview however, she disappointed us by informing us that she had taken another job.
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