I sit in unknown room. There were two people at front of me. Names were only one thing what I knew about them. There were a third person in the room. He sit on the left hand. I had to turn my head at his side when he spoke. So another two persons were out from my sight at this moment. They asked a lot of questions about my experience, my knowledge. They gave me different tasks that I have to solved without any preparation.
Another words, they estimated me.
I so stressed at this moment. It was my interview at one of my job position. And it lasted about half and hour. Next day I received offer to apply a job.
Two years later I sit at my workplace and read CV. I made preparation to my first interview as reporter. Why I did that? Because I just have got teamlead position at company and I had to hire persons to my team.
I try to remember my feelings about last interview as job seeker every time when I make interview preparation as reporter. Moreover, all interviews in my life as job seeker looks like previous one. I dislike it because all of them put me to stress environment. And every my interview as reporter I try to find balance between duty and desire to make interview process more friendly and enjoyable for candidate and for me. And today I share my exerience about it and why both sides win.
What is the problem?
In general, interview looks like exam at my native country. Reporter ask questions, job seeker answer to it. Usually, roles are changed at the end of interview. And job seeker is allowed to ask question about company, role or project.
Ok, what is the problem? Every side has opportunity to ask questions.
The main difference is reporter ask question related to person, but job seeker ask question related to company, project or role. He rarely ask questions about reporter. And I have never heard that job seeker estimates reporter’s knowledge.
So reporter usually feels more comfortable than job seeker at interview. Moreover, often reporter performs interview with colleagues at company office, whereas job seeker is alone at unknown place. And job seeker have no idea what reporter to plan and what questions he ask for.
And personally I beleave it is normal that person feels yourself uncomfortable at such unfriendly enviroment. When person is frightened or nervious he usually activate natural strategies like attack, defense or run away. In such situations person has no interest to anything rather than to be safety. In such situation, as reporter I have no oppotunity to know him well and tell about job possition, project, team and company. And that is problem.
Words meaning
In fact, word “interview” is rarely used in my native country and another word is used instead of. If I translate it from my native language to english one the closest meaning would be “conversation”.
Let’s have a look at “interview” and “conversation” meaning in dictionary:
Interview
a formal meeting at which a person who is interested in getting a job or other position is asked questions to learn how well the person would be able to do it
and
Conversation
an informal, usually private, talk in which two or more people exchange thoughts, feelings, or ideas, or in which news or information is given or discussed
Paradox
It may be strange but the same process is called by different words at my native country. But nevertheless word is used the process looks like exam. Your skills, experience, knowledge are estimated by reporter.
You are estimated by reporter.
I have extremelly rough conversation at meeting to get a job in my life. Reporter asked question one by one. I tried to answer, but reporter told me that was wrong without any explanation and just asked another question. And did that again and again. And finally I stopped to answer anything and simply repeat “I don’t know” at every question. This meetings lasted about only 20–30 minutes. But I was completely exausted. Destroyed.
I went home after interview and thought: “I am completely useless”, “I have no future”. It was awful feelings.
Interview or conversation?
I think every candidate to job possition makes preparation to interview. And I prepare too as reporter. I could make different preparation to interview time to time, but the goal is always one:
to know person well at short amount of time and make decision whether we can make good working relationship and maganaged together with issues on project.
It is increadable complicated goal that I have to complete. And understanding what person has exerience and technical knowledge is only little part of big picture.
It maybe sounds that asking questions is bad practice. But it is not true. Imagine that someone ask you some technical question at exam. I beleave that the most of people would be worried about his answer. How well my answer was? Will be extra questions? What score I get? I think it is typical questions that we ask themself in such situation. But imagine the same question from your colleague at collaboration session. Are you worried about you score or extra questions at this situation? I think, no.
Another words, person’s reaction on the same action could be differ depends on context.
Switching context
Usually candidate to job possition has attitude that interview like exam. And when meeting has started person expects that reporter is going to ask a lot of questions in order to estimate person’s technical knowledge and skills.
There was interisting case at my interview practice about such attitude. Oneday, candidate to developer possition asked me about my job possition at company. I said that I am teamlead. But person would liked to know my developer level such as middle or senior. When I answered to his question candidate told that he was wonder that I didn’t asked any technical questions about his knowledge and we just discussed how to improve his test project. I asked why was he wondered? And he told because all interviewers from another companies asked a lot of technical questions. And he expected the same behavior at our meeting too.
There is such attitude at IT industry and a lot of people accept it. And this attutude is candidate’s context. Context where any asked questions link to person’s examination. And switching context from examination to collaboration is the first thing that I try to do at meeting. Another words, I try to shift technical interview to technical conversation.
Why I do that?
Because I beleave that person is known better
in collaboration with other people
rather than just asking questions.
Conclusion
You may wonder to view conclusion section just you have read article’s main point. I intentionally do not provide any guides because I try to find out it by myself. Some of them work with one candidates and don’t work with another. But there is one important point that I figure out after switching process from interview to conversation:
Some of candidates said that it was the best interview at their life.
But what about duty?
From my point of view, I built a great team with my teammates. Yes, I made decision to send offer in order to join candidate to my team. But we together created a great team where we supported each other and successfully developed interesting and social important products: emergency call system 112 at Russia and emergency call system 102 at Uzbekistan.
And when I had to leave company I was full of sadness because I am really glad to work with such people together.
Thank you!
