𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔? 𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅 𝐀𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐍 #𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖?
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝/𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡, 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫 ?
During the past few months I was privileged to coach/mentor sourcers/recruiters who were in the process of looking for a new job due to Covid layoffs.
One recurring frustration is that the interviewers positioned at the front - were not interested in what the #jobseeker brought to the table, rather asked black and white, mostly closed questions.
In order to be able to get through that interview and on to a hiring process, they racked their brains on how to answer those "confined and limited" questions so they make it through the sorting and filtering and remain on the level of where their greatness can be "contained"...
Someone else confided in me that the interviewer, in this case a CEO of a recruitment agency, no more no less, "made them feel like they are nothing" on a remote phone interview. #unacceptable.
THAT HURTS MY SOUL.
Anyone meeting a potential candidate for the first time should feel like it is a privilege to get to know them and treat them with RESPECT.
Anyone working in this position, should get the proper training. Companies saving on that are only damaging to their bottom line with hiring mistakes as well as wrecking people's souls and self confidence in times where people are more fragile as it is.
I want to tell them "This company is just not for you. If this is all they can master as a first interview, then I promise you this is lack of care is present on all levels within the company. Just move on."
But I know how financially stressed they are to get a job and quickly, even at the cost of hiding their greatness and true colors.
Tech interviewing solutions are out there trying to solve exactly that. But this post, unlike most of what I write about is not about tech... It's about where you need to stay human.
Companies should have THEIR BEST PEOPLE interview candidates. People with life and job experience who should look for greatness rather than mere information. People who foster Inclusion and not exclusion. People who are wired on how to EMPOWER even if there isn't a fit.
When I had to fire people in my past, they left the company feeling whole and ready for their next challenge. NEVER BREAK THEIR SPIRIT.
It's ok if a company uses technology like chatbots to sort and filter candidates. However, even that can be done with the appropriate empathic disclaimers, bearing in mind what it feels like to be on the other side of the questionnaire.
If you are a job seeker and you have been through this, don't shut up about it. This only perpetuates this conduct and that person will hurt more people. PLEASE take the time to share your experience with the person who interviewed you or escalate to a manager or a CEO or higher than that (board member, for example). Don't be afraid. Act not from a broken spirit rather from an empowered one, striving to end ignorance where there should be professionalism and empathy.
I've also heard that some recruiters / interviewers don't like it when the potential candidate has many questions to ask. IT'S YOUR PREROGATIVE TO ASK AS MANY QUESTIONS AS YOU WANT. If they don't like it? It's not the place for you.
Please please break from your inherent mind shackles thinking you should fear recruiters and interviewers. Some are amazing and some are not. SHOW YOUR TRUE COLORS. There is nothing more satisfying than finding a job while feeling respected and appreciated for who you really are and what you can bring to the table. Good luck with your search!