Getting to Know Candidates: The interview flipped upside down.

During interviews it is common for a candidate to have between 3 and 6 one hour interviews. Often the purpose of each session is to determine if that person is right for "the position" or has the "right technical background" for the group. At some organizations the interviews are scripted or outlined to ensure each area is covered. In practice these efforts are short sighted. Consider another objective and method.

If instead of thinking of the interview process as trying to access the correct "binary result", hire or no hire. I propose the interview is an opportunity to get to "know who the candidate is professionally." What kind of jobs can they handle? Where are their passions? Where do they excel? And where do they falter? Rather than asking "Does this candidate fit in the role or group?" instead ask "What kinds of roles and groups would this candidate fit into?" I will explain further.

At times a candidate "bombs" an interview which means he has shown that he is not a good fit for the position availible. Now, significant expense has already been invested in scheduling time, preparation, etc. If we fail to figure out where the candidate might be useful, the effort has been a complete loss. The further interviewing time is either canceled or fails to gather any more data at all.

Getting to know the candidate means instead of "beating a dead horse," we use our intellect and agility to shift the interview to locate the areas the candidate shines. This will require a willingness to explore a bit. The end result is that you will be able to make valuable recommendations that the candidate might fit another role, or group, or company, or that he might consider brushing up on certain technologies or concepts.

Another benefit is that the candidate leaves the interview feeling like he had a positive experience. It is important that candidates feel known during the interview. in The Three Signs of a Miserable Job author Patrick Lencioni says that anonymity is a major factor in people being dissatisfied with their jobs. This feeling of anonymity can start right in the interview if the interviewer does not ask about the things the candidate feels is most important about their experiences and abilities.

Certainly in the tech industry, companies can become so focused on hiring someone who might be able to do ColdFusion, or MegaSort, or whatever, that they fail to realize that even though the candidate did that once in a role, it is not where they are focusing and not where they intend to focus. I have turned down offers before at companies that were interviews were completely focused on the companies needs and did not appear interested in my needs or interests.

So my advice to interviewers is get to know your candidates. My advice to interviewees, is if your interviewers are not interested in finding out who you are and who your are trying to become, move on. Great employees are in demand and it is a job hunters market. Find a place to work that is focused on people more than technology and more interested in who you are than what cog you can be in their machine.