In the past several weeks, I have been, and still is, screening applicants for our team expansion. It has been fun and learning experiences going through different conversations. These also reminded me of other interview conversations from years ago.
While I screen for IT positions, I am interested in knowing the work attitude of the candidate more than their technical skills. I hope these will give tips to those who are hunting jobs.
Source
Read on and tell me what you think... 😊
"How are you?"
"I'm good."
"How was your travel time for coming to here?"
"It was fine."
No, it is not fine when you are late for 12 minutes. That is actually my subtle way of asking why you are late. Please be more sensitive next time.
"Give me an instance when your manager called your attention because of something you did wrong."
"I can't think of any."
That's a very convenient answer. There has not been a perfect employee in history, though.
"Our HR noted here on your resume that one of your previous employments was terminated. Why was that?"
"Because of alleged security violation."
"Alleged? So the case was not proven and you didn't commit the allegation?"
"I did it, ma'am, but I didn't know that the tailgater will go inside the production floor."
I wish you just kept quiet.
"It is stated here on your resume that you had ITIL training. What is ITIL to you?"
"Information Technology Infrastructure Library."
Please do not lecture me with acronym. I asked what is ITIL to you, not the meaning of the acronym. And if it helps for you to know, I have my ITIL certification.
"Why do you want to resign from your current employment?"
"Because the company has no process and they have a lot of issues."
Not really. It is you who can not adapt. When you look for another job, sell yourself and do not speak ill of others.
"Why do you want to join our company?"
"For higher salary."
I, and every employer, know that everyone is after the money. The least you can do is not to be too blunt about it. I wish you can present value that you can bring aside from just focusing on what you will get from the company.
"What do you know about our company?"
"There is very limited info on Jobstreet."
We have a full blown corporate website that is running on the internet. If you did not do your research then I'd rather hear it than you blaming a job portal.
"If we hire you, where do you go from here? What's your career plan?"
"To climb the corporate ladder."
"Which part of the ladder?"
"Any higher position than my current role."
Oh boy, you don't have a career plan. There is no such thing as "any" position here or anywhere.
"Why are you applying for this position?"
"Because it is the same with what I'm doing so I already know how to do it."
"Why are you looking for another job?"
"To try something different."
Darn. I wish I can rewind your answers.
And for the best part...
Our HR approached me and asked if I still want to interview a candidate who is late. I looked at my calendar to see the schedule; an hour and 15 minutes late for the only interview schedule that morning.
"What's her reason?" She may have met an accident along the way then I can be very considerate.
"She forgot to set her alarm."
And she had the guts to still show up and give that reason? Honesty is not the best policy after all.
"Tell her to go back to bed!" At pass ten in the morning.
Source
Now let's go to the flip side of the ten with seven and learn from those who nailed it!
"What's your ideal boss?"
"I prefer a leader than a boss."
Darn. I was not expecting that!
"What is customer service to you as an IT support engineer?"
"Battle of patience."
Yes, we need that!
"If you are supporting a customer on the call and your manager tells you to drop everything to do as he says, what will you do with the customer?"
"I will tell my manager that I will get to his requirement as soon as I am done with the customer because I am in the middle of a call."
Right, managers also need reminders from time to time that they need to be rational.
"What will you bring to us if we hire you?"
"My commitment to high quality IT service."
I'll count on that!
"What makes you stay in a company?"
"The people."
"What about the people?"
"Collaborative and easy to work with. Inspiring leaders."
Fair enough.
"Let us assume I am a customer who calls for a problem about network printer because I can not print. How will you walk me through troubleshooting?"
"Click the Search button beside the Start button, type Printer. The result will show "Printers and Scanners" under System Settings. Click on that and..."
Okay now. I admire your keenness to small details. Customers, especially non-IT folks, will love that.
"If you receive an issue that you do not know how to handle because you haven't encountered it before, what will you do?"
"Ask Google."
Of course, there is Google! We need people with initiative and self-reliance.
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I have been in IT - AI for over 30 years and have been on both sides of the interview many times.
My key is simple and is based on: 知己知彼 百戰百勝
Meaning: know yourself and know the other ("opponent"), you'll win ever battle - source:
The military strategies of 《孙子兵法》
The Art of War（English edition）【孙子兵法（英文版）】 Kindle Edition
Years ago, I was taught the two-minute speech to sell yourself and I have rarely interviewed anyone who has any idea about that.
The two-minute speech is to show and sell yourself, the first part of the strategy - 知己知彼
But, I always cut them the slack and just give them the opportunity to fill in the spots:
Why two minutes❓
That's for another time.
Yeah, those conversations I had actually made me wonder if I have been that bad during those times when I was on the other side of the interview and did not make it to the job offer. Maybe even worse than those I interviewed.
That Art of War sounds interesting but...
Maybe I'll look somewhere else later.
I heard about the 2-minute speech and referred to as elevator speech but I never had mine. I once had the exercise in a workshop and I felt it being too scripted thus fake. Anyway, I guess it works for many. It is still a skill that I am learning to make that speech.
yes, it is.
We all should have one for each of our endeavors because in preparing one, it forces you to focus and not ramble in its delivery.
It will if you have not done the soul searching - it should not be canned and will not be if you have done the work. And, besides - it must be updated as you grow.
Once you have mastered the technique - it can be applied to any project or proposal.
I have other interviewing tips that I have learned.
Yes, I guess I haven't really focused enough about that elevator speech. And for some reasons, I have a lot of excuses for that. 😃
Maybe you also want to write about your tips...
It's not about the speech; it's the process that is much more valuable and widely applicable to all your projects!
The book is not available?
This is an ancient book and even the translated books are very old or ancient!
So, look in libraries or resale places for really cheap or just ask around - someone might have one from a long time ago in the garage or attic.
There are book stores here that sell hand-me-down items but you just have to dig through the piles when looking for something. Maybe I'll give it a try sometime and cross my fingers to find that art of war.
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Nice tips for the interview. Usually people focus more on asking technical questions rather looking for candidate's attitude. I personally think that though technical knowledge is important but attitude also matters because without of working and problem handling attitude knowledge is not much useful. nice Post and I thoroughly enjoyed.
Technical skills can be taught, attitude can not be. I have proven this so many times that work relationship will not prosper if one has attitude problem. So I'd rather go for the right attitude and train them for technical skills. 😊
They say skills can be taught and learned. But attitude is what really defines an individual. No matter how good one is with the job, an employee with the better attitude will most likely be preferred by employees and co-workers.
Have fun interviewing. Wish you the best of luck. :)
Skills can be inteed taught but attitude can not be. I have seen a case when the hiring manager bits the bullet and still hire someone we felt has attitude problem. In the end, we had to deal with his arrogance and stubbornness. Sad...
Thanks for dropping by! 😊
Cool... nice tips @macoolette 😉 I thought that when someone need an IT person, they will just ask about the technical skill... remind me to myself when I interviewed a person to be my IT assistant on a project in the past. All I ask only... "can you work when I sleep ?" 😂😂😂 I mean can he does all his jobbwhen none use the computer and the internet😆
I think I hired a batman at that time 😆😅.
Believe it or not, I have more behavioral and logical questions than technical ones. That is because I have seen many cases of hiring through the basis of technical skills and we, other employees, have to deal with the person's attitude. The sad part is, we can not dispose stubborn employees as easy as we want to be. We have to go through a lot of admin process to avoid legal issues about illegal dismissal. That is why I do my best to be very conscious about hiring for attitude first before skills.
Batman? Well, at least you got the right person who will not sleep when all others are. 😃
Medyo naloka ako nang very light sa answers nung unang interviewee. Pero big no-no talaga yung bad mouthing your previous employer. And no no no din yung reason for applying is higher pay. Haha. Hindi niya nabenta ang sarili niya.
Pero winner yung answer na "I prefer a leader than a boss."
Fun din ang experience ng interviewing. You get to know people more. Some really do put theur best foot forward. But some simply have no idea how to woo a potential employer.
Yap, medyo nakakaloka minsan ang mga sagot nila. Pero tama ka rin, learning and fun yong experience. Yong "I prefer a leader..." hindi ko talaga ini-expect yong sagot. Winner nga! Sa dami ng na-interview ko ago nitong candidate, siya lang may mindset na ganun. Kahit ako, wala sa honagap ko yon eh. Now, I have the idea hehehe...
Nakakalungkot isipin minsan yong mga candidates masyadong focus sa kung anong makukuha nilang benefits sa company at hindi yong kung anong meron silang maipagmamalaki. Tingin ko isa yon sa mga kailangang matutunan ng aplikante.
Yong sinasabi nilang wala daw opportunity dito sa atin kaya ang dami ng unemployed at under-employed, ayokong maniwala. Malamang nga totoong kulang yong ratio ng aplikante versus job openings, pero hangga't may mga naka-paskil na job posts kahit saan, ibig sabihin may opportunity pa rin. Yong competence lang ng aplikante ang kulang. Parang sa amin, ang daming aplikante hindi naman pumapasa. Pano na? 😃
Ayan, napahaba ang paliwanag ko... 😃
Very cool article, @macoolette! Some of the first answers almost look like anecdotes. The nerve of those people is incredible.
Hi @trincowski! How are you? Yap, most of those conversations were cool. Sometimes I can't help smiling when I remember them.
Anecdotes... yeah, we can call it that way. Or, epic fail. 😃
You are quite feisty 😜. We recently hired a fellow Deskside Technician. One of the main determining factors from my side was attitude and our feel of whether his personality would be a good fit with our team and if we could work together.
Hahaha... I'm feisty, yeah? I wanted to make sure I got it right so I looked it up from dictionary.com app...
Then I thought, yeah, I can be those definitions! 😂
You did the right thing in screening for your technician. Attitude will always be my first consideration when screening for applicants because what is the point of very good technical skills when we don't want to talk to each other because of attitude problem? 😊
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Howdy macoolette! Great post and great interview tips. Are these actual answers that you get and have you made recommendations to hire anyone yet?
Yes, those were actual answers that I got from interviews I conducted. Which made me wonder, was I ever been that lousy in answering questions when I was on the other side of the interview? Maybe worse...
Yap, we hired a few already. We need more...
How are things over there? I hope you're having a great weekend! 😊
Howdy again macoolette! I really doubt if you were ever that bad with answers and certainly not worse! lol.
Is it the weekend? I haven't noticed, everyday is the same here! lol. Yes things are going very well thank you!
Yap, it's weekend. That is why I got time to comment and reply ti my pending items on Steemit. 😃
Howdy tonight macoolette! So that means you are either working on your job duties or working on Steemit. When do you just relax and have fun or have a social life?
Good question. I missed wandering about. I am actually trying to pull people to join me travel but everyone seems to be busy. If that is of any consolation, it tells me that I am not the only one. 😊
But I'll get back to my wandering sole soon... 😊
Howdy today macoolette! Well if everyone you know is very busy then that means things are going well and everyone has a job I reckon. What does it mean to get back to your wandering soul soon? Does that mean to travel more?