This is a post that
should be read by everyone at every level of business from junior to very
senior executive.
People go on interviews fro all kinds of reasons. I posted that there is no such thing as an informational or networking interview; people who understand that are way ahead of the game.
Let’s start out by saying that when hiring, companies often hire a person who is very different than what their job specs called for and what they had initially conceived of. Companies often refine their specs as they interview, which is perfectly acceptable. It is for that reason that I am writing this post. Of course the obvious reason for interviewing is to get a job. But it goes way beyond that.
The purpose of interviewing, simply put, is for the company and the
candidate to gather information about each other. The more information you
get, the better informed the decision you can make.
First interviews,
generally conducted by human resources professionals, are for the purpose of
determining cultural fit (personality and interests) and to make sure that the candidates they see have the skill levels that the job calls for. When a candidate does not get passed on to the hiring manager or next
level, it is generally because of a lack of fit or missing skills. (Rarely does HR rule someone out unless there
is a valid reason.) In this first
interview, candidates should be able to find out a little about the job at
hand. But the real information will develop
at the next level of interviews, usually with the hiring manager. That is
why I am always surprised when candidates see HR and announce to me that they
are not interested, even if they are being passed on. It is the wrong time to drop out.
Even after the second
interview, if there is interest on the company’s part, candidates should pursue
the job and meet successively higher levels of management. If there are unresolved job issues, those
questions may be addressed by more senior people.
Of course the purpose of
interviewing is to get a job, but the
objective of interviewing is to meet the most senior person you can meet.
The most senior people
have the ability to address issues and even change the job to fit a job
applicant’s needs if they like the candidate enough. I recently published a
post talking about the fact that résumés only tell part of the story. I received a comment in which the person said
that the senior person saw in him other attributes which were not evident
initially and he was hired, probably for jobs he did not apply for. That is reason enough to meet a senior
person.
All business is filled
with people who were initially hired for jobs or responsibilities that they did
not interview for. But this
can only happen when the process continues to a logical conclusion with the most senior manager.
Besides, the senior
person can influence subsequent hires and may even have friends in other
companies to send you to if you are actively looking for a job.
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