Hiring: Not Your Typical Interview
You need to tell any woman who you interview like me the following: This is not going to be like any interview you have ever gone to. We are not a large corporation … we are two guys running a small company and we really do care about your dreams and what you want out of your life.-J
We are not running a reality show. This is our life, and for all of you who understand how emotional and difficult interviewing can be, it should be private. That why I let this article sit in the fringe for a month before posting it.
I had no intention whatsoever of blogging about the interviews themselves. Until tonight. J asked me to tell the next people we interview the quote above. I asked her if I could write it on our site and she agreed.
The last two days have been amazing. My heads is still spinning. This whole process is completely new to us. I love the comments on our resume posts ( Looking for an Office Manager to Grow Old With & Get your Resume Noticed By Us ), though they push us and make me work. The interviews have been incredible. I can’t believe that one Craig’s list post would bring so many talented and cool people. We’ve probably made every interviewing no-no in the book, got kindly corrected, and are getting better.
I didn’t get the job did I?
Our last interview tonight was somewhat of a disaster and it really was our fault. I have to say Peter & I feel pretty bad about it. Walking out to the parking lot afterwards, I heard a window roll down and a tiny voice ask, “I didn’t get the job, did I?” We were stuck standing there like deer in the headlight of guilt. What do you do?
So, we began to try to explain that we just didn’t see how we could help her achieve what she wanted. And if we couldn’t see that, then she was not a good fit. We are so blessed that she took the risk afterwards in the parking lot to talk about it and opened her heart to us.
You see, she has a strong background in corporate America. Truly impressive. She was sharp, professional, organized, and had the demeanor and polish that clearly took her to where she was today. What we didn’t communicate up front was that we care more about heart, than we do presentation.
You get so concerned in an interview thinking about “what should I be saying”, “what do they want to hear”, “What can’t I say”? It’s just a tough one all around.
So in the parking lot afterwards, she explained to us. In corporate America, when you interview, you can’t always tell people about your personal dreams. You can’t tell the office manager you interview with that all you really want is their job. You can’t tell the CEO you are about to support that your dream is really to start a beauty salon.
We care about your dreams
So what’s our deal? Basically, Peter & I are pretty darn serious about our dreams. In our business plan is our core life philosophy: that a great life is having success in 5 areas -family, finance, faith, friends and fitness. We chase our dreams with zest and our business is a vehicle that takes us there. We know the dreams of each person on our team and we all honestly believe that by working together we can all get there. That’s why we are so passionate and so tight.
When we interview, I want to know your dream for one simple reason. If we sit down together, talk about the future and conclude that by working as a team you can get closer to what you want from life, then you will bring a level of enthusiasm and passion to the endeavor that matches ours. And it will be a great journey. And if we cannot help you get there, then you should find someone who can.
That is a great working philosophy, and I hope you guys are truly making that happen for yourselves and those you employ. Sounds like your studio is a really cool place…
But I definitely understand J. The corporate life is not pretty…it’s putty. And the primary concern is playing by this set of rules that strip you of any personal identity other than that of Good Little Worker. So when you interview for jobs, that’s the face you must paint on yourself…
There was a time when I enjoyed the informal and nurturing environment offered by a decidedly ‘non-corporate’ employer. For eight years, I worked at a midsize publishing company–made no money, but happy as a clam!
J makes a very good point! Past experience has taught us that bringing your personal life into the work place is frowned upon by the majority of businesses. In fact, that is the “norm”. In just about every book written about interviews it states not to get “too comfortable” or “too open - personally” with your interviewer. Discussing your personal life during an interview is often considered a “red flag” of sorts to the Interviewer.
That being said, it would be safe to assume that a lot of the questions you asked that were personal in nature were answered “by the book”. If there were any strong “maybes” that you previously interviewed but then discarded due to what you wrote above, you may want to clarify your intent and speak with he/she again.
With my background experience as a HR Consultant I can honestly state that interviewing with the two of you was not “typical” by any means. Those that only have past experience on the one side may not have been able to realize this until afterward. You may have missed a diamond in the rough.
It’d be nice if more jobs were like that. Most of the time its just that they need someone to fill their opening and you need a job. Its so depressing. I want to have a dream. I want to make a difference and be passionate about what I do.
Your interviewee was so right, and it’s one of the reasons I left corporate America. Totally impersonal, they want to stick you in a slot and have you stamp out that job day after day. I wasn’t cut out for it. I did for many years with great results, but hated it. I’m good at a LOT of different things, and I like to work with real people, not robots. An interview like that would be a dream come true, but I can totally understand what kind of a curveball it would be for someone that only knows the corporate world.
I spent 14 years at a fortune 500 company and it truly was impersonal. Don’t get me wrong, I worked with some awesome people that I truly cared about but the whole company value system was wacked.
For the past 8 years, I’ve been at a small family owned company and have never been happier. As with your article, they really do care about you as a person.
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