Evolution of My Perspective on Hiring Interviews
Abraham Lincoln once said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I’ll spend the first four sharpening the axe.” This quote resonates with me now. It’s better to invest more time finding and vetting the right candidate than rushing the process. Although time-consuming and sometimes exhausting, a thorough interview process can prove invaluable as a company grows.
Evolution of My Perspective on Hiring Interviews
For the longest time, I had no solid opinion on this subject. After all, my personal experience was limited to two interviews, both as the candidate vying for the job.
The first was when I was 18 and seeking my first job. I responded to an advertisement for a cashier position at a supermarket. The process was straightforward: a few questions to gauge my suitability followed by a trial period, which involved scanning barcodes and entering product details into a database. I didn’t even complete the first batch of products before I realized this wasn’t the job for me. Thankfully, that experience steered me toward a position with an Internet Service Provider, which ultimately led to my starting a web design firm.
The second interview came a few years later, after I quit design school. A friend informed me of an opening at a large company that needed someone to manage all web-related tasks, despite the job title being ‘web developer.’ The interview was with two high-level executives. I wasn’t aware of their identities or what the interview entailed, so I walked into their fancy office dressed casually. It was a brief and informal interview, which landed me a trial period. I ended up working there for several years.
Growing Pains and the Need for Change
As my team expanded, I realized that gauging a candidate’s suitability during a trial period was costly, for a few reasons.
- It’s expensive. Paying someone for 2–3 months only to discover they’re not the right fit does take a toll on the budget. Add the cost of finding candidates, interviewing them, onboarding and many other things and you’ll end up with a lump sum that goes out of the window.
- It hurts morale, on both sides. Bidding farewell to people was the toughest part of my role as a founder. Dismissing someone can be an emotionally taxing process that affects both the person being let go and those remaining on the team. The act raises questions among the team, potentially damaging morale.
- It’s a waste of time. The hiring and onboarding processes are time-consuming for me, the team, and the new hire. If a new hire doesn’t work out, we have to start from scratch, wasting the time and effort initially invested.
Thorough Interview Process is Important
Having had such straightforward interview experiences, I found it hard to relate to tales of endless interview rounds involving HR, technical teams, and executives. Why bother with such an extensive process when a trial period would reveal all?
This issue wasn’t significant in the early stages, but as we grew closer to a team of 40, the impact became more profound. With nearly a dozen open positions, we’re now looking for a competent HR professional to help us set up a robust hiring process, something I had initially been skeptical about.
