This week, we’ve been interviewing for a fairly senior marketing role on a particular project. With the current economic climate, there’s been no shortage of high-calibre applicants.
It’s not the first time I’ve conducted interviews; but it is the first time I’ve been able to sit back and watch. A colleague of mine was running the interviews and I was the “second opinion”. That gave me the chance to sit back and do what everyone should do more of in business: listening.
For starters, I heartily recommend getting a second person in to help you conduct interviews. In the past, I have always found myself concentrating as much on explaining the role and asking questions as listening properly. This time round, by only having to listen and think, my opinions have been far clearer.
I’m no psychoanalyst, but I think we all betray our strengths and weaknesses pretty easily. I also think that’s rather a good thing. I don’t want to employ the wrong person, not just because that’s bad for my business, but also because it’s bad for the applicant themselves. And there are always times in life when we don’t quite know what we want and apply for just about anything; and it’s actually better to be told by someone else that this isn’t the right job for you.
Having time to listen also means you pick up more of the subtle nuances that lie underneath what is, on the face of it, a straight answer.
One of the candidates, for example, I suddenly realised, was reeling off examples of the companies she had worked for, and why those companies were great. Excellent. Yet, nowhere – not once – did she explain why her contribution to those companies had been great.
We have also had a chap (actually, several examples like this), who clearly had an exceptional grasp of marketing strategy. But I got the feeling he had worked in the past with large marketing teams, and was happier “going by the book” than rolling his sleeves up and getting stuck into the real work required in smaller or startup companies. I still make the coffee now and then (badly, but I do it*), because in anything but the largest companies, everyone should muck in.
Then there was the lady who got the name of the product wrong, even though we’d just done a demo. Maybe that’s “interview nerves”, but I think it’s lack of either interest or focus or discipline or whatever… if you can’t be bothered to soak up a brand name, you probably shouldn’t be in marketing.
Just in case you’re reading this and thinking of applying for a job, here’s what impressed me about the candidates we’re taking forward:
- They were interested in us and our company; and wanted to understand what we do before they told us how wonderful they were.
- They applied their past experience clearly and concisely to our requirements and the issues we faced; rather than treating those experiences as virtues in themselves.
- They were flexible. I don’t demand a bargain on time, money, commitment or anything else. Flexibility of approach is an asset long before it’s applied to any specific line of the employment contract.
- They took time to think before answering. People who are desperate to make a good impression… don’t. People who aren’t afraid to think and examine always come out better.
- They answered the question they were asked. If there’s one thing I notice time and again, it’s the fact that so many interviewees divert their answer to tough questions onto more comfortable ground. It’s a sidestep that I always spot, and always find disappointing.
- They were honest. Nobody is likely to have the perfect blend of skills; and everyone has holes in their knowledge. I have far more respect for someone who says “I’ve never done that” than trying to bluff their way through.
It’s a weird thing, the interview process. I don’t want sympathy, but both sides would do well to remember that the interviewer is as human, fallible and prone to personal prejudices as anyone else. The laws of first impressions mean we make mistakes, we fail to listen or think - and we sometimes allow ourselves to be swayed by jargon-filled CVs or a short skirt (don’t kid yourselves, gents). It’s only by listening that we get past the first impressions, and to the facts which will better influence our gut instinct. Ignore first impressions, and ignore the rulebook too (because there are plenty of way-out candidates who deserve consideration). Then go with the gut feel: the personwho was honest, interested, energised by your company, and confident of making a difference. Deal done.
*Management Genius, No. 94: Always make terrible coffee. Sooner or later, people will stop asking you to make it.
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