I frequently listen to junior people in my office gather requirements from clients about jobs they are going to fill.
Sometimes they take the job description orally; sometimes, they receive an email that outlines what the firm is looking for.
Too often, they make a mistake.
They forget to ask you what the interview process will be like.
I don’t mean the names of the people who will be doing the interviewing and I certainly don’t mean the specific questions either (Although if you want to tell me the questions, I won’t stop you).
I am referring to what the people who will be involved with the assessment process be looking for when they evaluate someone.
Now before you say, “They are looking for someone who is qualified to perform the tasks associated with the job,” and before I say, “Bull,” let me give you some examples.
A not-for-profit that wants to know if the people they interview for finance or tech jobs “have a heart.”
The manager at a consulting firm who arrives as the last person to interview senior technologists and asks them to define terms in their resume.
The firm that rejects a temp for an assignment because the job applicant who met someone for five minutes could not remember the person’s name that was said one to them and referred to them as “The Benefits Lady.”
Do you think these scenarios allow someone to be evaluated for their qualifications? I don’t.
So when you speak with a third party recruiter and provide them with a job description, PLEASE provide them with a description of the interview process will be like and what each will assess for, not so I can prepare the job applicant. I want to know this so I can do my job more effectively and qualify the people I refer to you better.
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