fye Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I am surprised at how old school some of the responses are in this thread, especially when it seems some people work for large organisations, I would have thought they would have structure to their recruitment processes, they would get so much more out of their applicants Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted February 9, 2012 Moderators Share Posted February 9, 2012 You sound like you work for HR. What more would you get out of your applicants? Â In my experience the generic bollocks competency questions that you get are rubbish and the structure gets in the way, and is seemingly there just so you cover your arse legally. Â When you're interviewing people you just need to know what you're looking for from them and then think about how you can get them to evidence that by way of the questions you ask. Â And even then, that only covers your basics, and it's a bit of a crap shoot and you won't know if they're any good til they're actually doing the job. So picking someone with a personality that fits the role and the team is massively important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fye Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 You sound like you work for HR. What more would you get out of your applicants? In my experience the generic bollocks competency questions that you get are rubbish and the structure gets in the way, and is seemingly there just so you cover your arse legally.  When you're interviewing people you just need to know what you're looking for from them and then think about how you can get them to evidence that by way of the questions you ask.  And even then, that only covers your basics, and it's a bit of a crap shoot and you won't know if they're any good til they're actually doing the job. So picking someone with a personality that fits the role and the team is massively important.  I find the right competency questions do what I have highlighted above. I find the competency questions are designed to get specific examples and if they dont the applicant doesnt display the skills for the job, I think thats how you get the evidence from them, its definitely not fool proof but I would find a lot more out of them than by asking about biscuits or getting them to sell me a stapler. I cant see how any 45 minute session or however long you get will tell you that much about their personality in any situation.  I am sure, like anything, its all about personal preference but if I were to apply for a company asking me shit like some of the things posted in here I would probably leave the interview of my own accord as it would seem like a pointless exercise and a very old fashioned company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted February 9, 2012 Moderators Share Posted February 9, 2012 Sure.. I see what you're saying. I think my problem comes from too many people not taking the time to think about what they want from their candidates, so they ask these questions without really understanding why they're asking them. Also - there are generally a big bank of these questions, and you have to ask the ones that are appropriate for the role. Â I think you should use a few of them, but if you only stick to them you have absolutely no hope of finding out anything about the person's personality. Â Do you really think you can't find out much about a person's personality by talking to them for 45 minutes?? That's madness. Â The biscuits and the stapler one are rubbish though, I'll agree with you on that. But that said, the stapler one is aimed at a sales job which is something I would never go for, be suitable for, or get - so maybe it does work, huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fye Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 The 45 minutes comment I mean as in a formal setting such as an interview I dont think you can get much out of them other than what they want you to hear which as you said becomes a crap shoot anyway  I agree with what you are saying about the questions, I suppose its a technique only any good if those doing it are using it right. Using stock questions dont do that but tailoring the questions to uncover their competency works well  The stapler one doesnt work for me because sales is about tailoring the benefits to match the customer's needs, trying to sell a random person a random item is pointless and very old school  I am being very boring today, I feel like I am at work and thats my fault for being ultra serious about this, I was just a bit surprised by some of the responses in here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted February 9, 2012 Moderators Share Posted February 9, 2012 The 45 minutes comment I mean as in a formal setting such as an interview I dont think you can get much out of them other than what they want you to hear which as you said becomes a crap shoot anyway  Yeah but I think the general philosophy behind the 'curve ball' approach is to try to catch them off-guard or ask them a question where they don't know what you want to hear, so are forced to answer a bit more honestly, and it also breaks the barriers of the formailty down a bit.  I don't think the one I suggested earlier in the thread isn't particularly absurd, but it does force a bit of lateral thinking because of the first reason - people don't really know what you want them to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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