Category: Recruiter’s Lens

An interview with odd questions, how real are they? Do they have some sort of secret revelations?

Well, as far as my experience goes, the Interview process in itself was very professional and organized, which impressed me very much. I appreciate the organization for offering me an opportunity to witness the procedure myself. It also gave me an intro into how Technology can be closely embedded into the hiring process and ease the life of a recruiter, provided the Organization is willing to invest and introduce new strategies into the system.

I was welcomed into a conference room with a token number and based on the token, IPads and Laptops we were handed over to us. Much to my surprise the 1^st round was the Aptitude test (yes, you heard me right!) that too a digital one filled with multiple choice questions to test Visual, Verbal and Logical reasoning abilities.

After a nerve whacking round of Aptitude test I was invited to move onto the next level. Honestly, I am not against Aptitude tests as it acts as an eye opener for me to introspect myself and as long as the purpose behind its design is fulfilled, I have no objection. However, it could be customized in respect to the position rather than a generalized version as if one –size- fits- all scenario.

If I were to respond to a survey of my interview experience, I would definitely give it a good rating.

After the first few traditional interview questions, I was taken off-guard with this weird one, particularly when applying for a senior post.

“On a Scale of 1 to 10, how weird are you?”

Then came the next one, “On scale of 1 to 10, how lucky are you?”

Many at times, these odd questions do take us aback, but believe me, they are not to be taken personally though. They are standard questions designed by Artificial Intelligence customized based on the mission, vision and the values of the organization. Some companies value creativity and innovation and thus would like to bring in a bit of fun and a little weirdness as against the age-old and more clichéd interview questions like; “What are your strengths and weakness” , “where do you see yourself in five years’ time?”, ”What do you know about the company” and the like.

Odd questions can catch you completely off-guard and whilst you have no way to predict them, there are ways to deal with the situation and the answer should not be the end of the interview process. It can be a test of your creative thinking, analytical or problem-solving skills. It can also be a question phrased in an unusual way. 

Definitely, the interviewer knows you are prepared and scripted to some extent for the interview. An odd question is intended to rattle you and assess your adaptability to pressure and unfamiliar situations. The key thread lies in how to manage yourself rather than the particular answer. Being open minded as opposed to becoming defensive and humor will definitely help you break the ice.

If you’ve no idea what to say to a surprising question, silence is the last resort. But beware not to mute yourself as the communication must go on; you can elaborate on your viewpoint or opinion on the subject. It may not be a perfect answer, an Out of box question definitely needs an out of box answer! Plus, it will get you moving on with the meeting and even earn a point or two for honesty and composure.

However, I scaled myself somewhere at the mid-point not to be too straight and offend the value system and not too high as to project myself as a psycho!

Further, to the second question, I had no particular answer in mind. As I don’t believe in luck very much, I just stated my opinion that there is no shortcut to success and hard work pays off in the end. So definitely I’m very lucky or rather fortunate enough to be here to attend an interview in itself from amidst a chunk of applications!

Would you try any of these or other unusual yet surprisingly insightful questions to your potential candidates? Let me know in the comments below.

Well, this was the first question posed to me by most of my interviewers. Expectant of the most obvious question, my modest reply was formulated beforehand.

“Yes, I deeply value my engineering background which infused in me the ability to reason, to think beyond facts and gave me a bend towards technology. However, I felt there is a need to understand how businesses operates in itself, the workflows and the processes involved before the final product is launched into the market. In short to view the bigger picture, a B–school education is a definite requirement and thus ventured into the field of Management Education”. Convincing enough, I thought to myself.

However, the next comment left me speechless. “I have received many applications with the same background, any specific reason for the similar pattern?” Hysterically, I brushed aside the question, even though it’s very common these days.

In my opinion, career growth prospects are higher for management grads as it gets difficult for growth beyond a point based on merit alone. Leadership positions require more than domain knowledge and technical expertise, they require people skills to manage their team, decision making abilities, capability to strategize etc. The management ecosystem lures you into planning, risk taking and presenting innovative ideas to a wider audience, thereby transforming you into a charismatic leader.

In pursuit to the above query, I perceive that a quick consultation with my fellow management professionals will definitely help. Share your thoughts on “why you pursued management studies after an engineering program?”

Much appreciated!

 

Many times that was the question posed to me by my Manager while discussing my feedback over a candidate.

Feedbacks were followed by usually three kind of responses; a bold “YES!” , a “NO!” which meant its a “recipe for disaster” and the doubtful conclusions were tagged as “Maybe” or “Hold for future”!

These feedbacks are generated in the first 3 minutes of the interview and doesn’t take long before these first impressions form the final feedback.

As a recruiter, many times I had to justify my Yes with bold convictions. There were candidates whom I met with no qualification or experience that match the criteria, in other words, Under-qualified, but their passion and interests strongly compliment the job role they would take up. I would recommend hiring them for their attitude and passion and the skills that are required can always be trained. And true to my judgment, they were hired and have proved themselves successfully growing with the company for a long term. 

On a different note, this judgment can be applied only to those roles wherein the qualification is not a mandate as required for licensing or other legal formalities. Otherwise you might just end up devoting your time in fixing up the hassle!!

Sometimes there were opposite situations as well. An obvious Yes!!!  Well experienced and qualified but their personality would overshadow their job role. These candidates would have settled in for whatever passed by their way and grabbed the opportunity. They have great potential within themselves; their personality in itself may make them a misfit for the role. For their own good I would have to pass them by and later get back when something suitable arises.

Well, there are “Maybe” or “Hold for Future” cases, mainly due to their over-qualifications or over-expectations which would cause them to be sidelined at the moment and later be considered for more appropriate openings.

Recruiters are always faced with such tough decisions which bring both joy and pain. How have you dealt with these decision making situations? What were the rules of the thumb that you followed? Leave your comments below.

Thanks.