{"id":37573,"date":"2013-09-04T14:30:34","date_gmt":"2013-09-04T18:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=37573"},"modified":"2013-09-04T09:46:33","modified_gmt":"2013-09-04T13:46:33","slug":"the-other-side-of-the-desk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=37573","title":{"rendered":"The Other Side of the Desk: From an Interviewer’s Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Sean O\u2019Brien, Head Editor, INALJ Colorado<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Other Side of the Desk: From an Interviewer’s Perspective<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"seanobrien\"<\/a>The fall semester is here, which means I have just finished yet another round of student worker interviews. I\u2019ve been doing this for a little while now, and I\u2019ve interviewed quite a few candidates. Some interviews have gone well, and some have gone less well. However, they have all taught me something about both sides of the process. For this month\u2019s post I thought I would talk a little bit about the things I\u2019ve grown to think about as an interviewer, and explain my reasoning for doing so.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Not What You Say, So Much as How You Say It<\/b><\/p>\n

Most of my questions are open ended. Tell me about this job you had. What did you like about it? What didn\u2019t you like about it? The truth is that I\u2019m not looking for any specific answer. What I\u2019m looking for is whether or not a candidate can think on their feet, especially when they\u2019re a little nervous. Because, you know, I hire for a front desk position, where patrons may be asking questions no one has heard until now. What\u2019s more? They may not be happy about it. I like to know that someone can roll with the punches.<\/p>\n

A Little Politeness Goes a Long Way<\/b><\/p>\n

I understand that interviewing is stressful. Honestly, it is for everyone involved. So please don\u2019t snap at me if I ask a question you don\u2019t like. As the previous paragraph says, I\u2019m just trying to get a feel for your capabilities. If we\u2019re locking horns before you even have the job, it\u2019s hard to not visualizing you being a huge pain to instruct. God forbid I have to correct you at some point.\u00a0 I don\u2019t like having to fire people, so if I can reasonably see that in your future, I\u2019ll save myself the trouble and won\u2019t hire you.<\/p>\n

Be Graceful about Your Exes<\/b><\/p>\n

Ex-bosses, that is. Sometimes you don\u2019t like your boss. Sometimes they\u2019re just a poor fit for supervisor, sometimes you\u2019re not the best employee. Sometimes you\u2019re both in a situation you\u2019re not really happy about. Sometimes your boss is legitimately just completely awful. I\u2019ve been in all of these situations, so I really know what it\u2019s like. But just like on a first date, you don\u2019t rant about your exes. This early in the game, I have no idea knowing who was really at fault. What\u2019s worse is that I\u2019m visualizing again. When you use the phrase \u201cmicromanaging,\u201d I\u2019m thinking about all of the policies and minutia that I have to drill into your head over the next few months.\u00a0 Because that\u2019s my job. We\u2019re all just doing what we have to do, man.<\/p>\n

Punctuality Can Wander in Either Direction<\/b><\/p>\n

Be a little early for the interview, right? Everyone knows that. Five to ten minutes lets me know you\u2019re here and ready to go, and lets both of us start mentally preparing ourselves. Thirty minutes early is a problem. First thing I\u2019m going to do is have you take a seat somewhere else.\u00a0 Not because I\u2019m being rude or punishing you somehow, but because I\u2019ve scheduled out other tasks for that time period. I might even still be interviewing another person. Awkward, right?\u00a0 Plus, for the next thirty minutes I\u2019m going to be quietly worrying about how uncomfortable it is that I\u2019m doing other stuff while you wait in the common area.<\/p>\n

I know that sometimes you get to a place quicker than you mean to. Sometimes the traffic gods open their arms, and it\u2019s green lights all the way. But if you\u2019re super early, you may want to take a few minutes to wander around the facility. Not only will this give you some questions to ask later, but it will make it look like you planned it all out. Plus I won\u2019t be all weird when we finally talk.<\/p>\n

Double Check That Application<\/b><\/p>\n

When you\u2019re finished with your application, read through it a couple of times. Free of spelling and grammatical errors? Check. Remembered to list all of your contact information? Double check. Most importantly, does everything make sense? Does your work history add up? Are there any statements or phrasing that would make you scratch your head if someone else wrote them? Pretend the document was turned into your office, and read it as if you\u2019ve never met the person. If anything strikes you as particularly bizarre, edit or remove it.<\/p>\n

Tell Me a Story<\/b><\/p>\n

It says here on your application that you have great organization and communication skills. Awesome. That\u2019s just what I\u2019m looking for in a candidate. Though, being the savvy and educated professional that I like to pretend that I am, I\u2019m sort of a general skeptic. If I see some radical claim in the news, I like to see the sources. \u201cShow Hulk citation list,\u201d the Credible Hulk would bellow, before nonchalantly wiping a speck of dust from his glasses. So don\u2019t just tell me that you have \u201cexcellent circus skills.\u201d Tell me about the time you taught a bear to ride a unicycle. Show me a scar you got from falling off the tightrope. Come in juggling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Sean O\u2019Brien, Head Editor, INALJ Colorado The Other Side of the Desk: From an Interviewer’s Perspective The fall semester is here, which means I have just finished yet another round of student worker interviews. I\u2019ve been doing this for a little while now, and I\u2019ve interviewed quite a few candidates. Some interviews have gone…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[5096,69,3592,5088,3630,3975,5230,3844],"class_list":["post-37573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-applications","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-hiring","tag-inalj-colorado","tag-interviewing","tag-management","tag-sean-obrien"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-9M1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37573\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}