Job Interviews

I hate job interviews.

I was working summers in Alaska in the tourism industry.  When winter came, I worked when I could, made crafts and stayed out of the bitter cold.  One year, my older sister told me that it was time to grow up and get a real job and I thought about that and decided she may have a good point.  About the end of Sept, I got serious about the job hunt, signed up at the unemployment office and made regular trips down town to look over the job board.  I read the paper faithfully and scanned the classifieds looking for a job I thought I was qualified to do.  I went out to do a few interviews, then I went home to do the wage math. I could keep my 'playing' summer job or take a full time 365 day a year solid job along with a 15 to 20 thousand dollar a year wage drop.  It didn't take me long to figure out that regular steady employment didn't offer me any stability, economic assurance or incentive to change over.

After a month of this I discovered something else.  I hated interviews.  And now that I knew that, I wanted to understand what I hated about them. I continued to go to interviews, now having fun analyzing them.  I listened to the questions and watched the interviewer's body language.  

Interview questions are pretty standard.  Time and again I heard the same questions over and over and over.  I began to play with the answers, watching the interviewers reaction to each. I could soon tell when the person had made their decision about whether the interview was over or when they had concluded that I was not their new hire. Now it was entertaining and I often left smiling wishing I could write a book about my experiences.

There came a day on one of my part time winter jobs when I was told that one of my responsibilities was interviewing and hiring new employees.  I sat down and put together some questions that I felt were pertinent to the job.  But there was a lot I didn't know about interviews.  What did all those endless stupid questions I'd been asked in the past mean?  What was I really looking for?

At the time, I was dating a fellow who worked in the oil industry and he was a manager, so I asked him what he looked for, what questions he asked.  I was surprised to learn that his company had sent him to an interview class, so he dug out some of his notes and loaned them to me.  Then I went to my summer boss and asked him.  He was uninclined to be of assistance - as if giving me any help were akin to handing out national secrets.  So I schmoosed him - I told him I wasn't looking for his questions, I'd been to enough interviews I pretty much knew them by heart.  What I wanted was what he looked for in a good candidate and that loosed his tongue only slightly.

I went home and made notes from that boss, then took all my notes and went over them.  I decided what I was looking for in an employee, what things were important and specific to the job, and to the working relationship between the person, other employees and myself and then I put together my own set of interview questions.  When I was finished, I set up my first interview.  I was, as I expected, a bit uncomfortable to be sitting on the other side of the table. The first thing I became aware of, was the discomfort of the prospective employee.  My first job, then, was to get that person comfortable enough to talk easily with me.

After all this time, I still don't know the rationale behind the standard questions - which by the way haven't changed in twenty years.  And in all honesty, I don't believe that most interviewers know.  They just ask the time honored, age old questions.  I find it truely humorous to be interviewed for a position where the interviewer is from the human resource department and tells me they know nothing about the job they are trying to fill. That tells me that the interview has nothing to do with my knowledge and qualifications, it has to do more with what kind of person I am.  If that person can find one thing that doesn't blend well with their own personality, it is all over before it even begins.  What kind of person one is cannot be determined in a short, uncomfortable interrogation about likes and dislikes, weaknesses and strengths, relationship with fellow employees and past bosses. Specifically when the reviewer is not relaxed and friendly and the questions are fired staccato as if I am on trial before the prosecuting attorney.  Body language tells me when they have decided I am not a good fit and inside I smile knowing that when I leave, I don't have to stew about whether I got the job or not.

Unemployed for the past few months, I am back on the interview circuit. Last week I went to yet another in an endless round of interogations of my character.  When the interview was over, I called the lady who had set it up.

"I know this is an odd call."  I said.  "But whether I get the job or not, I have to tell you that I was super impressed with the interview.  If I were going to rate it, it would be the best I have ever been to in my life.  The two gentlemen who conducted it were phenomenal.  It was the most relaxed and relevant interview I have ever been involved in."

This company made every other one I had been to look like kindergartners masquarading as college seniors.  There was immediately a sense of open honesty.  Both were relaxed and friendly.  The lead manager looked over at me.  "I have your resume here and it speaks for itself.  You are, according to what I saw, very qualified for the job.  What I want to know is what kind of person are you.  I want a sense of who you are."

I did not hear one single moss covered question from the time honored, age old list. I was at ease and relaxed.  I felt like these people were really interested in whether I was worth hiring.  If I were to rate this interview on a scale of one to ten - it would rate an easy twenty.  Oh, if only they would teach interview classes to the rest of the business world!!