Month: November 2024

Compensation can be a huge driving factor in the way one may act or approach a certain situation. In my case, I was recently offered a full-time position at a company I have been interning with the past couple years as I will be graduating from OSU after this year and I feel that I definitely acted in a certain set of behaviors as I was motivated by the potential compensation I would be receiving. As well as I would most likely be giving this company multiple years of life and wanted to make sure I felt like I was making the right choice if I accepted. During the interview process I was much more thorough in asking questions about financial details than I have been in the past when interviewing for internships as I was now focused not only on the experience I would be getting from the job but making a livable wage. I wouldn’t say I felt more comfortable asking questions that would usually make me feel uneasy but I understood that it was important to do so and it showed I cared about the compensation package I would be receiving. Ultimately, I accepted the offer for a lot more reasons other than compensation but I feel that I certainly acted in a different way due to it.

Trainings for anything be it school, work, or a hobby can be very hit or miss depending on how they are ran. For me an effective training usually involves hands-on examples so I can visually see how something is done. I don’t usually work the best without an example first. So a training that I have had that I found very beneficial was my drivers ed class I took when I was 16. They were very thorough and took it slow both in the classroom and when we would go out and drive. I think the hands-on examples and group setting really cultivated a good learning environment and it made it so something that could potentially be dangerous like driving ended up not being scary and I felt confident in my skills. On the flip side a training I’ve had that wasn’t that effective are my monthly work trainings that are sent online and basically are comprised of a couple short videos followed by a quiz. There is nothing hands-on or that really makes you care about the topic and you can finish them in about 5 minutes without even really learning anything. I think this is not an effective way to hold trainings as it doesn’t really stick with someone and makes them feel more like a chore than something useful. It also takes the human aspect out of training which can help someone learn even more. Overall, they don’t feel that helpful and seems to be more of a checklist sort of deal where the company does it just to be able to say they do monthly trainings.

For my implicit attitude test I chose to take one on Race (White – Black), as I felt this would be the most interesting and thought provoking test to see the results of potential implicit bias as I am caucasian. The test results were pretty interesting as I find myself to be very progressive so seeing that I ended up being faster at sorting African Americans with “Bad” than I was at sorting European Americans with “Bad” surprised me and honestly didn’t make me feel that great. I suppose this is why they are called implicit biases, as I don’t feel that these would affect me in the case that I was overseeing a selection process. However, I wonder if these could subconsciously impact my decision making without me being really aware of it. In this scenario, I suppose I definitely can see how implicit bias could impact the reliability or validity of a selection process. One idea to counteract this would be to have a diverse panel of various employees from the recruiting company hosting the selection process so it helps to improve the fairness and makes it so one persons bias doesn’t decide if someone isn’t hired. Another thought would be to incorporate blind reviews or evaluations of potential candidates so it makes it more based on their merit and experience and doesn’t introduce opportunity for biases based on demographics. Overall, just understanding implicit biases do exist and being aware of them is the first step in starting to counteract them. If we just push them off to the side then we are doing a disservice and not working to make it more fair for everyone in the work force and in society as a whole.

Interviews are key in finding new talent for companies and they act as a two-way street in the sense that both the interviewer and the candidate have ways they can make the interview effective or ineffective for themself.

In my experience effective interviews for employers typically stem from them being straightforward and honest about what they are looking for, the requirements of the job, etc. As this weeds out applicants and doesn’t waste time for either party, this gets into selection utility and making it worth it for the candidate to actually apply at the company.

Whereas ineffective interviews for employers in my experience make candidates jump through hoops like holding multi-round interviews and just stringing them along without clear results or outcome. I also think interviewers that don’t provide clear information on the job or what it entails can make it ineffective or ultimately lead to quick turnover.

Overall, I’d just advise employers to be honest which can be hard in a business setting and then just have a structured set of questions that give them a clear idea of the candidates knowledge, capabilities, and even lets their personality shine through too.