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Impossible Interviews

James Shaw
Have you ever been faced with an interview question that seemed impossible to answer?


Mine was delivered on the premises of a 'world class' engineering company. "How would you ensure that a project is completed on time?"


My mind raced from the general to the particular - If I knew the answer to that I would be a billionaire! - Strikes, bad weather, supplier failure, poor specifications etc. Probably no words came out as the interviewer started to drop hints, "It begins with a 'P', it ends in 'N', it has four letters." "Plan?" I say. "Exactly!" says he. 'Idiot' thinks I.


In retrospect perhaps it was a test to see if I was suitable to develop for senior management - the 'big picture' people. "We will deliver better value, we will be smarter!" But how? Engineers, small-minded, always bothered about the details!


Needless to say, I didn't get that job. Perhaps just as well.
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    James Shaw:


    Possibly the only virtue of an interview is to determine if the manager and candidate subordinate can work with each other. That can only work if the interview is carried out by the manager; Sometimes the manager just gets employees selected by the HR process.




    100% agree! Judging a candidate's technical abiltiy at interview is really pretty impractical unless they are very bad. My favourite author on recruitment, Max Eggert, put beautifully the three questions you are trying to answer for candidates:


    1. Can this candidate do the job?

    • Will this candidate do the job?

    • Will they fit in?


    Interviews are probably most useful for assessing the last one - although they will give hints as to the first two.


    Of course as a candidate you can find that you get with the menager at interview only to find that by the time you start (or shortly after) the manager moves jobs! All you can hope then is that a company culture that put that manager in place will put a similar manager in as their replacement.


    Cheers,


    Andy
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  • 0

    James Shaw:


    Possibly the only virtue of an interview is to determine if the manager and candidate subordinate can work with each other. That can only work if the interview is carried out by the manager; Sometimes the manager just gets employees selected by the HR process.




    100% agree! Judging a candidate's technical abiltiy at interview is really pretty impractical unless they are very bad. My favourite author on recruitment, Max Eggert, put beautifully the three questions you are trying to answer for candidates:


    1. Can this candidate do the job?

    • Will this candidate do the job?

    • Will they fit in?


    Interviews are probably most useful for assessing the last one - although they will give hints as to the first two.


    Of course as a candidate you can find that you get with the menager at interview only to find that by the time you start (or shortly after) the manager moves jobs! All you can hope then is that a company culture that put that manager in place will put a similar manager in as their replacement.


    Cheers,


    Andy
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