Interview Advice From a Non-HR Person

I am not an HR professional, nor do I aspire to be.
I am however, someone who has worked in a variety of companies in different roles for over 20 years as both a manager and non-manager. I’ve had the opportunity to interview dozens of potential employees and have been interviewed myself at least a dozen times. Like most people in the workforce that long, I’ve had some pretty awesome experiences as well as some that were less than stellar.
It’s well known that interviewing is often one-sided. Unless you are already a superstar with a visible track record of success or you are interviewing for an executive level role, most job seekers interview at the behest of the company they are seeking employment from. You follow their process and timeline, no exceptions. After all, it’s the employer who is taking a risk in hiring you, paying you lots of money and counting on you to help them drive the organization forward.
Having said that, interviewees often find themselves in situations where they have little time to truly understand who make up the people of the organization and how the organization values and manages employees on a day to day basis. There can be a rush of interviews and lots excitement about working for “Company X” who say their values align with yours. During this process, you’re susceptible to getting dreamy eyed in front of all of the free food and cool hipster parties you will get to attend if they hire you.
By doing so you forget that you are also part of the equation- if a company shows interest in hiring you, why are you not asking the same tough minded questions of the company which they are asking you? Not doing so can come back to biting not only you, but the employer as well.
What should you look for before beginning the interview process?
First, understand the interview process for what it is, which is basically an imperfect science. There is no theory to prove out the single best way for employee and employer to find the perfect match, 100% of the time.
Second, take more control of the interview process, at least as much as you can.
This is doesn’t mean lay out a bunch of rules before you have a single phone interview, but you should ask the HR person up front to explain the interview process in detail and the expectations that come with it. If you are comfortable with it as is, great. If not, inquiry away.
Maybe it’s important for you to know how the team you may be working with interacts with other cross-functional teams. Ask to interview employees from those teams up and make sure it happens if you get that far. If you get a sense that the HR person is dismissing your questions or says they don’t allow candidates to dictate who they interview with, perhaps you should not interview at all.
Ask Human Resources about themselves
Ask the HR person how long they have worked there and how they like it. HR is supposed to be the face of the company for prospective employees. If you don’t get a good sense from them about their experiences there, that should be a red flag.
HR’s priority is the administration of the hiring process itself, not to make sure you, the prospective employee are getting what you need. This has changed somewhat with the emergence of sites like GlassDoor who provide reviews of companies from past and current employees. HR will often tout good reviews on GlassDoor if they have them, which is fine, but this shouldn’t preclude you from asking HR about their own experiences.
If a company is interested in you enough to bring you in for a day of interviews and you end up receiving an offer, take a step back and ask yourself the following questions:
Do I know what I can expect in the first six months of working at [Company X]?
Do I know what I can expect from my new manager on a day to day basis?
Do I have a good feel for how the organization values its employees and specifically how my direct management values its employees?
Do I know who my new manager’s manager is, what the relationship is like between them and what they value first and foremost as an executive (assuming they are one)?
Do I understand the role enough such that it’s clear what my priorities are on day one?
Do I feel confident that this company will allow me to grow my career in a positive fashion?
Asking these types of questions forces you to slow down and be truthful with yourself about the role and the company. It can cost a company up to 150% of an employee’s salary for a mid-level employee to leave, according to TLNT (other studies cite both lower and higher numbers).
What is the cost to the employee if it doesn’t work out?
Aside from possible financial repercussions if you get fired or leave without finding another job, it may cost new opportunities elsewhere if they view you as a risk for long term employment if you left your previous job within a year of starting.
The bottom line is this: It’s a waste of both your time and the company’s time if you take a job you are not suited for or is not what you expected. As a prospective employee, it’s your responsibility to make sure you are a fit and will be happy, not the company’s. They are not you and do not know you as well as you do.
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