I was browsing in my local bookstore on the weekend when I came upon a small book titled Toughest Interview Questions. Always interested in this subject I quickly leafed through it and put it in the pile of books to buy.
This morning, as I started to read it more carefully, I noticed that while the book lists a variety of interview questions along with the attributes they probe, it also counsels candidates on how best to answer them. Perplexed after reading several of these answers, I looked again at the cover of the book only to realize that the full title of the book is actually 101 Great Answers to… The Toughest Interview Questions. Irked at my stupidity, I returned to the endless tripe being served to the unsuspecting candidates.
Each chapter includes a ‘Tips’ section in which the author offers general advice to candidates on dealing with the questions posed ion various subjects. It recommends that candidates, relax, smile, be honest, humble, balanced, positive and on and on all of which would be harmless were it not for the book's core advice on how to lie, spin, hide and deceive your way through every question. For example, the author counsels candidates to ‘Shape your answers based on the position you are interviewing for’. Thus, if someone asks you about your preferences in working alone or with other people, you should simply tailor the answer to the job. If you are interviewing for a job that will have you solitary for periods of time, “you won’t want to admit that you thrive on your relationships with co-workers and can’t imagine working without a lot of interaction”. Also, if asked questions that tap into self-awareness, strengths, weaknesses and the like, the advice is to duck and weave. For example, “if asked to comment on areas of development, my strategy was always to cite a particular skill or qualification that I obviously lack but one that wasn’t remotely needed in the job I was interviewing for”.
Why is interviewing candidates difficult? It is difficult because countless books and self-titled gurus counsel candidates that ‘it is a jungle out there’ (this is the actual title of chapter 2) where winning is about getting a leg up on the competition and winning the job. Don’t worry about whether you are well-suited to ‘the job’ or the company for that matter, or whether you will enjoy it or, heaven forbid, thrive in it. Just stay one step ahead of the interviewers, anticipate their questions, know what they want to hear and give them what they want. End of book, end of story. Oh by the way, once you win ‘the job’, the books on ‘101 things to do when you hate or fail in your job’ are in the next aisle.
Robert Hebert, PhD is Managing Partner of Toronto-based executive search firm StoneWood Group (www.stonewoodgroup.com). He can be reached @ rhebert@stonewoodgroup.com or at 416.365.9494x777
Tales from a Headhunter Deep in the Bush
One Reason Interviewing Candidates is So Difficult
July 13, 2010
I was browsing in my local bookstore on the weekend when I came upon a small book titled ‘Toughest Interview Questions'. Always interested in this subject I quickly leafed through it and put it in the pile to buy.
Strategies for those wanting to make a career or sector change
June 23, 2010
Many transitional executives contemplate career changes. It may be a career auto or general manufacturing sector executive questioning its future, or a large-company type who covets the chance to work in a smaller organization. Often, it is simply individuals longing to shed unfulfilling careers for exotic destinations as yet unknown.
Executives in Transition- Why a rifle beats a shotgun in nabbing that perfect job
June 21, 2010
As a headhunter I am an obligatory stop on the networking circuit of many executive job seekers. I hold the promise of a barometer on the employment market, contacts, ideas, and even suitable ongoing searches. I am always happy to participate in courtesy interviews as I neither envy the job seekers' circumstances nor take lightly their courage in reaching out to me.
The Perils of the Successful Matchmaker
June 14, 2010
What is a successful matchmaker?
Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Patti Stanger who runs The Millionaire's Club, a Los Angeles-based "elite" matchmaking service and reality television program.
Interviewing: The Quest for Patterns and Themes
May 14, 2010
Last week, two seemingly unrelated articles caught my attention. The first was a magazine obituary on C.K. Prahalad, the management thinker best known for his work on core competencies. The article spoke extensively of his ‘big ideas' and noted his habit of traveling the world "prying useful information out of everyone he met…always looking for connections and patterns, hoping to predict change".
Checkers vs. Chess: Why Candidates Play The Wrong Interview Game…and Pay the Price !
May 4, 2010
I often join my clients when they conduct candidate interviews. I moderate, participate, listen and learn. They are fascinating glimpses into how candidates and companies alike play the complex game of talent acquisition.
The superhero hiring game and why everyone loses
April 5, 2010
When it comes to recruiting leaders, companies continue to search for those Steve Jobs-like characters that can single-handedly turn around a company's fortunes, blaze paths of innovation and market their wares like no other before them.
Why candidates should expand and prep their references
February 3, 2010
As headhunters scramble to match candidates with their shapeshifting clients, process and painstaking due diligence rule the day. To some candidates such rigor may feel intrusive or simply unnecessary. It shouldn't. In fact, rigor should be embraced and used to all candidates advantage. Consider the use of references as an illustration.
The Unwanted CEO Job …and the one individual who thought otherwise
January 8, 2010
Several recent articles have lauded the success of Ottawa-based Bridgewater Systems. With skyrocketing revenues, a growing market, and money in the bank, the firm's prospects have never been better and the street appears to love the story. It was a much more difficult story to sell in 2003, with one notable exception.
Hiring Executive Talent: The Sheepish Canadian Startup
December 26, 2009
Much is written about the state of the Canadian tech startup sector and why it lags the US, Israel and other countries in producing a richer community of world-class companies.
While I am not qualified to comment on many of the contributing factors I am witness to how Canadian startups hire and lever talent at key points in their growth. I would argue that for many of these firms the bar excellence is set so cautiously low that to expect anything but mediocrity is laughable. Let me provide a recent example.
One Reason Interviewing Candidates is So Difficult
July 13, 2010