In a world where there are so many variables that go into a good job interview, it is important to understand what matters when it comes to hiring.
What I Looked For
During my time in my field, I have both been someone who interviews for jobs and is the interviewer for a job. Of course, as an interviewee, what the hiring manager wants can be completely different from what I think is right. As an interviewee, I always made sure that I seemed engaged with the job. Showing genuine interest in the company’s work is always a great way to start the process as it presented me as a prospect who knows what the company was aiming for.
When I was in charge of hiring people, the same principles held true. However, the people that I chose for the jobs were also those who seemed like they could grow from the position. I wasn’t exactly looking for people who could match the job description perfectly. I wanted individuals who could fit the job requirements, but showed room for growth within the organization.
Although people can perfectly match what we want on paper, if during an interview they seem like they know everything or that they will just go through the motions, then they are less likely to want to learn. As stated in the New York Times article, some times expertise is the least important attribute for when hiring (Friedman, 2014). People can come up with similar answers if looking at the same problem because some time it really just is the obvious answer.
Refernces:
Friedman, Thomas L., 2014. How to Get a Job at Google. New York Times.https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html
