Month: April 2022

[OPTIONAL PRE-STORY]

I was hired into my current position in July of 2021. First, I completed a standard application, cover letter, and resume. There were no personality tests or writing prompts (thank goodness). Then about a month after submitting my application I was invited via email to answer some virtual questions via an online platform. These were more structured behavioral interview questions ie: tell me about a time you experienced BLANK and how did you handle it. Luckily by now I was quite versed in Zoom and this wasn’t a difficult task. What was difficult was lack of any interaction or feedback. You are alone simply answering questions. Following this I had no idea about the hiring timeline, candidate pool size, and had lots of questions regarding the position and company. About a month goes by and I get a phone call from an HR member inviting me to a Zoom panel interview. I was shocked because an entire month had gone by and I had heard nothing from them. While on the phone with the HR team member, I asked her to please send me a copy of the position description again as it had been quite some time since my original application. She sent me a simple email with time and Zoom link and the attached PD, that was all. Upon my arrival to the Zoom interview, there sat a full window of 11 interviewers on the panel. They opened up with, “We have 10 questions to get through and only 30 minutes for this interview, we have another one scheduled right after this so we have to get going.” If that doesn’t make you stressed I don’t know what will! To make matters worse, they proceeded to let all of the panelists introduce themselves, many of which being very long winded and cutting into our 30 minute time limit. The questions were very structured behavioral and situational scenarios. I answered them to the best of my ability, to look back at a screen of blank faces. We managed to get through all of the questions, but I was only left with about two minutes to ask my questions. Of course, I wanted to know the hiring timeline, what a typical day looked like in that role, and other logistical items. They provided vague answers that left me more confused than before. This interview style continued two additional times with new interview panelists. Finally in my last interview they provided me with a test scenario and federal regulations that I had to read and review to provide what I would do in the position. This exercise was a very practical way for me to see if this role was something I truly would enjoy and for them to evaluate my ability. Only issue being, they sent me pages of documents only 15 minutes before the interview in which I had to have my response crafted and ready. 

[PROMPT ANSWER]

Looking back now, and with what we have learned about recruitment and interview strategies, I have some suggestions for my employer. 

First, be clear and transparent about the hiring timeline from the beginning. Many ads on Indeed and other hiring sites will include phrases like, “looking to fill position by X date.” The interview process is already stressful enough on candidates and having a timeline can help them to know what to expect and when. 

Second, limit large panels. Having more than five new people to focus on and engage with during an interview is almost impossible. 

Third, allow enough time for the interviewer to answer the questions thoughtfully and don’t book your next interview too close. At the end of my second interview I was full of questions but due to too many questions and too little time, they weren’t answered. Also, hearing about the next interview being directly after mine was disheartening. 

Fourth, avoid the overuse of generic structured interview questions. As the lectures mentioned, these types of questions are a good way to gauge one candidate to another and to learn about how they have/or will respond to a situation but also don’t tell you much about the individual. As the Google article states, when looking for new hires they should be looking for people who possess leadership, humility, collaboration, adaptability, and love to learn and re-learn. As someone who has conducted many interviews, I find it hard to see these types of qualities by using the more structured behavioral and situational questions. I think a blend of some structured questions and time to be more unstructured allows you to learn about who that individual is. 

My last suggestion, if you are going to use a testing method, allow enough time. I was rushed to read pages and pages of federal regulations and a test prompt. This was a very realistic test of the current position but the timeline wasn’t. If they had sent me the prompt the evening before I could have produced a more thoughtful answer that would have reflected truer to me. In previous positions I have had to produce an article in response to a prompt right on the spot. While it may have been an indicator of how I produce under pressure, I normally spend a lot of time reviewing my work and making edits. The work I produced within a tight timeframe does not truly reflect the type of work I produce on a day to day basis and thus doesn’t show the interviewer a good representation of me.  

In a previous position, when I was hired it was a team of eight. Slowly people began leaving for one reason or another, and their job duties began dispersing to the rest of us. Then as my skills grew, I started getting additional projects that were previously not in my assigned role. Before I knew it, we were down to a team of three and I was doing everything. At this point I did ask for my position description and compensation to be reviewed because I had absorbed five people’s jobs. Long story short, HR for this employer did not see the additional roles as being outside my job scope and the phrase And other duties as assigned covered any basis for the extra projects that had come my way. 

After reading about the importance of building a clearly defined job description and reviewing it at least annually, I realize I could have saved myself so much hassle. A well defined job description helps an employee to know what is expected of them and what they are responsible for. As these new projects came my way, if I had an awareness of my job description, I could have prompted my supervisor that maybe it was out of my job duties. Additionally, reviewing a job description regularly can help point out any changes that need to be made whether it be with the position or within the company. Maybe we need to hire additional help for XYZ, or maybe this person should be considered for a new position since their skills have outgrown this job description. Job descriptions are valuable for workers to refer back to and have a better understanding of what their role within the company is.  

As we read in Buckingham, M. & Coffman, C. 2016. First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently, there is a strong link between employee productivity, business profitability, and employee satisfaction. To review this further, this week I looked at the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work for in 2020 to see what their employees were saying. When selecting my companies I tried to find something from various sectors: REI (retail), Box, Inc (technology), and The Cheesecake Factory (restaurant industry). Below are each company’s word cluster diagrams highlighting what employees think makes their workplace great. Between the three some common words included people, team, community/family, support, care, inclusivity, and culture. 

REI

Box, Inc

The Cheesecake Factory 

Each of these three companies has at least 90% of staff agree with the following statement, “When you join the company, you are made to feel welcome.” Evidence-based management techniques used by Google and many other organizations, use employee-driven feedback to help guide leadership styles. These word cluster diagrams are very telling of what employees perceive as important for their workplace. Workplace culture has become a very important part of business and has a strong impact on employee retention, productivity, and growth. Breitfelder, M. D., & Dowling, D. W. (2008). Why Did We Ever Go Into HR?, highlights two Harvard MBA graduates and their perception as to what HR is and how it brings value to an organization. HR’s role in a business starts in the hiring process and follows all the way through the end of their time with the company. Like with our current business school studies, HR helps to bridge gaps between management and employees to help build a supportive and enriching workplace environment. Lastly, as highlighted in the Buckingham & Coffman article, manager’s have the most direct impact on employees. HR helps to choose who they hire as managers, what types of training they receive, and also who goes into their teams by using evidence-based information. All of this helps contribute to a productive, profitable, and sustainable workplace. 

Currently, I strive to be a manager who is willing to jump in and help at any point. I feel very strongly that I should never ask someone to do something that I wouldn’t do myself. Following some of the guidance mentioned in just this first week’s materials, using open-communication and feedback like Google, finding things to celebrate and make people feel unique, important, and useful like Lankford-Sysco, and build a culture that is supportive for employee growth. These are some of the tools I strive to use in being a manager.