Interviewing Process
By Richard Williams, 3/20/09
This true story may sound strange to some, expected by others and not even thought about by those not involved with interviewing job applicants, but here it is anyway. This morning very bright and early I was in a suit jacket and pants with tie and collared shirt sitting on the reviewer side of the table for the very first time in my life. It was 7 am and what I was doing there at the high school academy wasn’t going to decide anyone’s long term future but I was there to help conduct mock job interviews with the students. It was a practice for them in interviewing for a job and a real enlightenment for me in what it is like to be on the other side of that table holding a job for that right applicant. These students were pre-advised about the interviewing process that would take place on this day and what they would need to have with them to try to impress the two or three interviewers, which I was one of. These were high school engineering and architectural students that needed this experience to help them with the process that they will soon have to do in real life. The interviewers were not known to the students but from outside of the school realm and community business people or leaders. Since we also give credit for work experience to those that will be part of the internship that is afforded to them during the summer months, they will need this practice of being interviewed very soon. They will have real jobs working in real industries that they are studying for, so this practice session is important to them and their internship jobs. Valuable working experience looks great on a résumé and it can weigh heavily on those doing the interviews.
Not all of them passed this trial opportunity. One or two failed miserably but that will be addressed by their counselors with our written reports. The kinds of things that I would look for that I wrote down on my report paper were the immediate visual appeal as the young person came into our interview room. Some were very noticeably nervous while others were portraying self confidence, poise, neatly dressed with pleasant mannerisms. I’ll explain what I mean here.
Did you ever see youngsters that walked like they were dancing or beep bopping? I’m sure you have but none of them did that here this morning. The way someone carries themselves as they walk into the interviewing room is important when you realize that the person before you might be a representative for your company to others someday. Being meek and mild does not sit well with this interviewer. When a young man comes to me I would expect him to be manly in the way he acts and “carries” himself. I want a firm handshake with a nice introduction of his name loud and clear so there is no asking to repeat it. Not a hand crushing grip but a firm one with a one or two mutual shake does just fine. When competition for a job is tough, this can be something I would look for. As unfortunate as it is to say it here, the weak do not survive this process and do not get hired.
Back in the 1950’s I was taught interview techniques in my business courses. A big surprise to me this morning was that those very same things that our teacher taught us back then are still very important. Furthermore, I was very surprised that I could remember a lot of it. J One for me I guess and my wife is wrong again. Appearance is what sells a person right away as first impressions go and I am not just talking about physical attributes. Curbside appeal is still very much a selling point with houses, as would a clean and sparkling look would be to a car at a dealership. Three young men were not dressed for the roles that they would play in later life and they failed this interview process. It is an important lesson that will be explained to them later on after our reports are studied. If someone put a hard hat on them I might hire them for the roles that they were dressed for. “I didn’t remember” also did not cut it with any of us that were the interviewers today. It is time to grow up. When I was only one year older than these youngsters here today, I was carrying a rifle and had a helmet on my head, rather than the construction hard hat that I got later on in my life to cover my hard head. I must also state here now that no young ladies were taking part in this process today. The numbers of young ladies are very few at this school and the one that was on the schedule today, had a sports playoff game away from the area. So I cannot report on any of our few female applicants and all eight interviewers were saddened by this. But sports are also very important for a future employer to consider and it shows that this candidate is healthy.
Okay, moving on here we now come to the proper responses to questions asked of these young job applicants. Eye contact is as important to me as the correct answer is that I would want to hear. If someone is asked a question that cannot be answered it is better to state it up front that you do not know the answer. A guess is not a reliable answer and a lie is an eliminator for sure. I remember a story long ago about a young college student interviewing for a job and he was not able to give many positive answers to the questions being asked of him. When he was finally asked to state why he thought he would be important to the company he said “I will work and study very hard because someday I will be sitting in your seat running this company.” He was hired immediately. J There is something about a person that is upbeat and positive in his attitude and mission in life. Would you want someone that would only be a drain on the resources of your company? What a foolish question.
The students prepared their résumés and some were very nicely done. Three were exceptional and I would have liked to attach them to this report but that would take an act of Congress and an Amendment change as well. Yet I hope to get their work with the various CAD programs posted on the web site to show you what the young people here and abroad are capable of doing. They need encouragement, inspiration and some mentoring from those of you that are already working in these industries. I hope I will have more to tell you at another time, but if your school district is not taking an active part in getting these young people ready and if your community is not behind them with “summer internship jobs” and or mentoring positions then I offer you the challenge to start it. Community Partnership Programs Unite the Schools with the Businesses they will eventually be working in. After all, why do we bother to train young people if we do not hire them and let them apply what they have learned under our guidance? Bye for now.