By Jason Richmond, CEO and Chief Culture Officer at Ideal Outcomes, Inc.
If you’ve ever had a bad experience seeking a new job, take a moment to think about the people who were forced into participating in one of the most outrageous interviews I’ve ever heard about.
In a group setting for a minimum wage university job, everyone was asked to crawl around on their hands and knees and “moo like a cow.” It went on for three or four minutes and one participant—although annoyed—felt there was peer pressure to do it. The interviewer claimed they were trying to assess if the candidates were “fun,” but one person suspected “someone just had a bit of a power trip.”
Could this be the worst job interview of all time? Reading about this appalling incident got me thinking about the importance of the interview process, the way I conduct myself and the questions I ask, and what I recommend to my clients so it’s a win-win undertaking.
It’s vital to get it right.
A PriceWaterhouseCoopers survey found that 49% of job seekers working in in-demand fields like technology say they’ve turned down an offer because of a bad experience during the hiring process. A Greenhouse survey revealed 45% rejected a position when they felt the company culture had been misrepresented. And a Careerarc survey found that 72% who had a negative experience told others about it either online or in person.
Here are some pointers to bear in point so you don’t get a damaging reputation in your industry.
It’s a Two-Way Street
Make sure the candidate has the opportunity to interview you while you’re interviewing them. Give them time to ask probing questions—if your company is not a good fit for them it’s not going to benefit either one of you. Hiring them could be a costly mistake. Questions you should include in every interview: What interests you about our company and our industry? How do you see yourself contributing? What questions do you have about your role and the company?
Be Transparent
Don’t oversell the company. Be authentic and honest about the business’s prospects and their prospects for growth. Paint a picture of reality. 72% told PWC they need to understand the work culture before accepting a job. And Donald Knight, chief people officer at Greenhouse, put it this way, “If you’re claiming to be something you’re not, you’re catfishing prospective employees, and people will find out.”
Look Beyond the Resume
To be honest, I don’t really care what’s on a resume. That only tells me so much about someone’s experience and accomplishments. I don’t want them to regurgitate what’s on their resume during the interview. Instead, I want to walk out with a good idea of who that person is from attitude and cultural standpoints.
Don’t Discriminate
A large majority of candidates—92%—believe a healthy, diverse, and inclusive company is integral, yet alarmingly almost one-third have encountered illegal discriminatory questions in a job interview, according to the Greenhouse research. For instance, hiring platform Applied says that nearly one in five women have been asked whether they have children or plan to have children.
Different Folks
Don’t look for individuals who are carbon copies of you. Find people who complement your skill set, who will also tell you when they disagree with you. As Mark Cuban has said, “I think one of the biggest problems an entrepreneur or CEO can make is they hire people who are like them. You don’t need to hire people like you. You’ve got you.”
Ask Situational Questions
Knowing how a potential employee deals with tough challenges is important, so I ask these kinds of questions: Can you describe a problem you faced at work and how you handled it? How do you prioritize your tasks when you have multiple deadlines to meet? Can you give me an example of a time when you had to learn a new skill quickly? Questions like these tease out the real world experience of a candidate.
Up Your Hiring Game
The absurdity of candidates being reduced to performing like animals in a bid to evaluate their “fun” side starkly highlights the balance that must be struck between innovative assessment methods and ethical standards. Such incidents serve as a stark reminder of the importance of upholding dignity in recruitment, underscoring the impact that interview experiences have on a company’s reputation and the well-being of potential employees. It is essential for hiring practices to identify talent effectively, while also cultivating a respectful and inclusive atmosphere that reflects the values of our companies.