Okay, that’s it. I hate interviews. I know everyone hates interviews because they make them nervous, whatever. I hate them for a much better reason. I hate them because they are useless. In the same way that resume screening software is really, at it’s core, useless, so interviewing is useless. They may as well sit you in front of a computer and ask it to interview you for all the good interviews actually do.

From the Beginning

Sometimes I ask myself what a marketing person would say if they were asked to design the “ideal interview”. Seriously. Sit and ask yourself the standard marketing boffin questions: What are we trying to accomplish, who is our target audience, and how can we best capture them?

What are interviews trying to accomplish? They are trying to find the best person both for the job, and for the company. Too many people forget the second part, that often finding the right person for the company can be more important than for the job. Some companies are getting short sighted and hiring purely for the job, and are paying the consequences, however most still realise that someone who will be with the company for several years is far more valuable than someone who just “does the job”.

So, what do today’s interviews accomplish?

So, what do today’s interviews accomplish? From silly questions like “how many pennies would it take to fill this room” and “sell me this pen” to full personality evaluations, today’s interviews are designed to weed out those who don’t fit a “job profile”. While most companies don’t have an actual Job Profile (not the capitals); most will have a very specific mental image of what they want.

The problem with a Profile is that it asks the wrong question. It asks “does this person fit the Profile” not “will this person help the company, will this person be with the company long term and will this person be a true asset to us”. The difference may be small in some circumstances (janitorial duties?); however in others (mid-management for instance) it can define the very future of a company.

Wouldn’t it be far better if sometime in the future intervies actually served the company, instead of the interview system?

Imagine If…

The biggest reason I hate interviews is that, again, they aren’t geared to finding the best person for the job. They don’t really assess my true strengths, how I can help a company or if I’m a good fit. After all, if a company really wanted to know that, why not simply ask.

Imagine an interview where the company gives you tools to learn about them, and asks you to do a 15-minute presentation on yourself. Sell yourself to them. Some of your strengths, weaknesses, things you’ve overcome, what you’re passionate about, etc. Some of this would come out in a normal interview (not all, obviously); but it would often come out as the “interview system” wants it to and not as would best benefit you or the company.

After all, a time where the company tells you what they want, asks if and how you fit, and then takes time with some office staff to see if you fit would be far more valuable than today’s system of doing things.

Finding the Perfect Candidate

Any time a system hides something, it truly doesn’t give the best the opportunity to shine.

As I mentioned earlier, if a marketing person really took a look at the interviewing process, I imagine it would be rather laughable. From beginning to end, the process of finding the best candidate is counter-intuitive and counter-productive.

There is a very fine line between doing things according to “the system” and really giving candidates a chance to shine. That line is basically “are we hiding anything”. Any time a system hides something, it truly doesn’t give the best the opportunity to shine.

I was in the army for nearly a year when I was younger. The whole point of boot camp, as with the interviewing process, was to “weed out the weak”. I was one of 10 training to be radio operators. As part of that training, we were weeded out if we weren’t able to run 20 miles carrying 40 pounds on our backs. In fact most of the weeding out had nothing to do with our future careers and more to do with someone’s idea of what a “basic army man” needed to be.

Is the current interview and recruitment process serving the interests of companies? Ask your HR department how confident they are in the last hire they made.

The interview process is frighteningly similar. Instead of finding the best Lead Developer, Business Development Manager, Senior Designer, Network Architect, etc, it is geared towards finding the best “team player” (someone who won’t stand out); most “loyal” (someone who won’t complain) and most “likely to succeed” (makes others feel good about themselves).

While these soft skills are useful, they really are, they aren’t part of the core of the job that is being interviewed for.

Just like in the army where carrying 40 pounds for 20 miles is valuable as it could be required and is a good basic skill to have, too often we weed out the wrong people for the wrong reasons, which is nearly as tragic as weeding out the right people for the wrong reasons.

Is the current interview and recruitment process serving the interests of companies? Ask your HR department how confident they are in the last hire they made.