{"id":29463,"date":"2009-09-03T09:36:21","date_gmt":"2009-09-03T08:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.corporate-eye.com\/blog\/?p=29463"},"modified":"2009-09-03T09:36:21","modified_gmt":"2009-09-03T08:36:21","slug":"whats-up-with-those-interviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.corporate-eye.com\/main\/whats-up-with-those-interviews\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s Up with Those Interviews?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"lipstick-qm-3\"<\/a><\/div>\n

A friend of mine, who recently became one of many professionals let go by a very large, very bankrupt company, has been telling me about her experiences as a job seeker.\u00a0 On the up side, she’s been getting interviews.\u00a0 On the down side . . . each one seems to be more unfortunate than the last.<\/p>\n

In one case, the interviewer was the COO, and reportedly so puffed up with his own accomplishments that my friend felt like an audience rather than a candidate.\u00a0 At the other end of the spectrum was the second event in a planned series of seven <\/em>rounds!\u00a0 Candidates are expected to meet with three different HR representatives, “the team,” and two managers, after which whoever is still sane and<\/em> still wants the job will be grilled by the Big Kahuna.<\/p>\n

In Lap Two of this marathon, my friend coped with an hour of detailed questions that began almost before she could sit down and never departed from the formulaic: “Please describe a situation in which you ________” [two minutes]. \u00a0“Please give an example of your experience with _________” [two minutes] . . . . “Thank you, goodbye.”<\/p>\n

In both these cases, she left hoping she wouldn’t be called back.\u00a0 But of course–since she really wants to find a job–it’s sort of a double-bind situation.\u00a0 If an hour or two spent with representatives of a company are like torture, do you really want<\/em> to become an employee?\u00a0 Yet, like just about everyone who finds themselves wandering around the interview funhouse, my friend feels a sense of failure when an interview doesn’t go well.<\/p>\n

From the seeker side, the solution\/challenge is to see oneself, rather than the company, as the “shopper.”\u00a0 And that thought should spark some interest on the company side.\u00a0 In a recent column<\/a> for ere.net, consultant Stephen Balzac makes a convincing case that (my paraphrase) companies who think they can take advantage of high unemployment by being rude to job applicants may be in for an unpleasant surprise when times turn around and the best hires have gone elsewhere.\u00a0 Along the way, Balzac cites examples that might cheer up my friend–such as the interviewer who spent an entire meeting reading email, and when the candidate tried to get his\/her attention, responded shortly: “We multi-task here.”<\/p>\n

I think we can all agree that comment indicates a misunderstanding of what “multi-task” actually means.\u00a0 But in terms of the message this behavior delivers to job-seekers, you can take your choice:<\/p>\n