One of the weirdest experiences of my life was interviewing at Little Caesars during my freshman year of college. I just needed a minimum wage job so I could make some spending money, and I saw the “Now Hiring” sign on the street. I went in to ask about the position they were filling, and the shift manager basically hired me on the spot without knowing anything about me. I went into the back, and he directed me toward a computer screen that would ask some screening questions. Somehow, I failed the screening. He was shocked and said he’d never seen that before but was sure I was a great fit. He still hadn’t seen my resume. This experience left a bad taste in my mouth, but why?
Firstly, the recruiting method was an issue. They did some things right; for example, they were filling an unskilled labor position and advertised using a billboard. Signage and billboards are effective ways to recruit a pool of unskilled workers instead of using social media and job boards. However, Little Caesars failed to know and communicate the organization’s recruiting value proposition; I did not know what my duties would be, what the job environment was like, or what compensation to expect. Little Caesars also failed to present a recruiter who was warm, personable, and knowledgeable about the organization. Instead, he was creepy and uninformed.
Secondly, the selection process was muddled. First of all, there was not an interview. Instead, the manager made assumptions about my character based on my appearance- maybe that classifies as an unstructured interview? I was presented with a Situation Judgement test, which I previously referred to as a screening test. I failed it. The shift manager ignored my results and still offered me the job.
How could Little Caesars improve the effectiveness of their hiring process? For starters, they could pool applicant resumes and select the ones that stand out to come in for interviews. They could ask each interviewee an identical set of standardized, scored questions when conducting interviews. This would eliminate the shift manager’s pattern of making snap judgments about applicants. Finally, managers should trust the viability of the Situation Judgment test.
I did not accept this job because the interview process was extremely uncomfortable, but if it had been more structured, it might have been a good fit.
Knight, R. (2019, August 16). 7 practical ways to reduce bias in your hiring process. SHRM. Retrieved May 5, 2023, from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/7-practical-ways-to-reduce-bias-in-your-hiring-process.aspx
