The Recruiting Animal

How To Be Liked

Source: Think Simple Now by Tina Su

You are more likely to be hired if the interviewer likes you.
And you can make yourself likeable.

1. Tina claims that people like you when you mimic their posture and facial expressions.

Comment: They like it more when you adjust to their style of talking. (But how can you carry on an intelligent conversation when you are busy trying to copy someone else's behaviour?)

2. Tina says: People are impressed when you remember their names.

3. They like you when you when you give them a chance to talk

Comment: They also like you when you have something interesting to say.

4. They like you when you pretend you are interested in what they have to say.

5. Tina says: tell yourself that you would like your desire to get to know a particular person manifest itself in some way. You don't have to specify exactly how it will make itself visible. But like a "tell" in a game of cards, other people will pick up your subtle signals.

6. Offer help first and give more than you take.

Comment: Offer help when people need it. The routine offers of help from business people whom you barely know are transparently insincere.

7. Smile

8. Be authentic

Comment: Feel free to be lively but you can't tell everybody everything -- if only because they don't want to hear it. This is certainly true in an interview. You have to sell what they want to buy and that doesn't mean let it all hang out.

Behavioural Interviewing

Israel has the best airport security in the world. Its approach was developed after an attack by three Japanese students in 1972. They arrived at the Lod Airport on Air France from Paris. Dressed in business suits, they carried musical instrument cases with semi-automatic machine guns inside of them. They killed 26 people and wounded 80.

In 2001, before shoe-bomber Richard Reid tried to blow up a passenger plane over the Atlantic, he was sent to Israel by Al Qaeda to test its security. His answers to the screener's questions before his return flight got him tagged as suspicious. He was searched and an armed, plain-clothes air marshal was assigned to the seat next to him.

People complain that the screening questions are intrusive but they work in a situation where something has to work.

Every passenger going through Ben-Gurion Airport undergoes questioning. Screeners ask a multitude of questions fitted to each individual. The questions allow screeners to assess behaviour patterns. The screeners learn exactly what to look for and how to rate a passenger as a possible threat. The more suspicious a passenger, the more intensively screened that person will be
- Fifth Estate, CBC

Hat Tip, The Contentious Centrist

Johanna Rothman on Interviewing

Johanna Rothman of Hiring Technical People was interviewed about interviewing techies. (Download it here). Here are some Highlights.

No flaky questions. "If you had three wishes what would they be?".

No whacky games. One interviewer had candidates engage in scavenger hunts around the office looking for paper clips and pens.

No Microsoft-style puzzles. They mean nothing in relation to the job and don't predict on-the-job behaviour.

Go for the jugular. Identify the things that would knock the candidate out of the running. Ask those questions first. (These are the key requirements of the job).

No Hypothetical Questions. "How would you do x?"

The Candidate talks, you listen. Interviewer talks 20% of the time.

If you ask a Closed Question like "What is the last technical book you read?", follow with an Open Ended Question like "Why did you choose that book?".

Techie Interviews should focus on questions about past behaviour and auditions which allow you to see the candidate in action.

Sample Questions:
What was challenging to you on your most recent project?
What were you happiest with in your career?
What's the most important lesson you learned on your last project?

How to outwit candidates who come with prefabricated answers? Ask a lot of Past Behavioural Questions about a number of their past jobs. No one comes with that many prepared answers.

Use the answer to one question as a jumping off point for a number of other questions.

Question: What was the most challenging thing you did on that project?
Answer: I learned about xyz.
Follow Up: Tell me how you learned about it.

You can't trust a non-technical interviewer. You have to be a technical specialist to ask in-depth questions. Hiring Managers should do their own 20-30 minute phone screen interviews to decide if the person is worth bringing in.

The Hard Life of an Interviewer

Here's what happens when you invite people who don't like to talk.

There is an interesting story behind these two guests. The guy was a member of a cultish group called The Lyman Family in Boston. He had an affair with his co-star during the movie and took her back to the group. She didn't like it and left.

A few years later, he and two other members robbed a bank for political reasons. They were caught and he died in prison lifting weights. The girl, Daria Halprin is now a dancing instructor.

How To Interview

Brazen Careerist gives interview advice:
1. Get the interviewee talking by asking about things she's already thought through.
2. Once the tongue is loose, ask about things she hasn't thought about or figured out

This makes sense. Things get interesting when you go beyond the commonplace but many people are unable to articulate even the commonplace well. They go into a job interview without having thought through their daily job functions for themselves. That means a lot of silence and looking at the ceiling while they do their homework there and then. And that’s not interesting at all

Dreaming in Technicolor

When Obama was spending time, at the beginning of the campaign, discussing policy, he was euthanizing his campaign. There is no policy wonking when he is speaking to the tens of thousands in rallies that make lesser candidates green the envy. -- Charles Adler, National Post

The moral of this story: dreams inspire, technical discussions don't. Recruiters are often advised to sell the sizzle when they present a job to a potential candidate. But, in fact, what are their dreams made of but opportunties to use their technical expertise.

Animal Show NOON EST

Guest: Lee Salz of Salesdodo.com
Topic: How to target and screen sales reps
Call to talk: 646-652-2754
Listen only: Hit Click to Listen button once show begins

Seth Critiques Hiring Process

The standard hiring process favours a good self-marketer over someone who can do the job. Why else would a clever cover-letter be so important?

We favour candidates who:
- make good presentations
- network well with strangers
- create documents without typos and
- can think on their feet in an interview

But are those the people we really want?

Source. Also, Colin and Marty don't know squat about cover letters.

Animal Show Noon EST

Wed Jan 23, 2008

Guest: Mark Newman, Hirevue.com
Topic: Video Interviews
Call to Talk: 646-652-2754
To Listen Only: click on Listen after the show begins
Animal Show Info: http://recruitingshow.com
Animal Show Archive: recruiting animal show.com

What Does Smart Mean?

Smart does not mean “knows the answer to trivia questions.” - Joel Spolsky

Trivia are facts of little importance. You can look them up on the net. Software companies want to hire people with aptitude not a particular skill set. A skill set will be technologically obsolete in a couple of years, so it’s better to hire people that are going to be able to learn any new technology

via Alex Balashov