8 common myths about job interviews
I’ve been working in Human Resources for more than 15 years. Many of those years have been dedicated to recruitment and finding the best candidates for the organizations I worked for. I interviewed 5’000 people from all over the world and actively contributed in hiring more than 800 of them.
More recently, I designed and facilitated workshops for Masters’ and MBA students, helping them mastering job interviews.
Today I would like to share with you what I believe are the most common myths about job interviews based on my experience, the feedback I got from candidates, clients I’ve been working with and my peers working in recruitment.
1 - Trained recruiters have no biases
The other day I listened to this Insightful and thought-provoking podcast from Adam Grant on how to improve job interviews for "interviewers to make better hiring decisions and give candidates a better chance to showcase their strengths." At some point in the conversation, he and Lauren Rivera, Sociologist at Kellog School of Management, talk about biases and confirm the fact that we all have biases…and of course not only during interviews. But interviews are a perfect recipee to bring unconscious biases to the surface. And yes, even for the most trained, qualified and talented recruiters. Below are a few examples highlighted in the podcast, I must warn you that some of them are quite depressing but all true and backed up with datas:
“Interviewers make up their minds about who they are going to hire…within the first 90 seconds. If you think of what happens during the first 90 seconds of an interview - physical attractiveness, eye-contact, voice, gender, race,… - it is insane because of so little measurement of someone's skills or even their ability to relate to people”;
“Allison and Mathew get 50% more call backs that Lakisha and Jamal in the US even if their Resume is identical”;
“Candidates with foreign accent are less likely to get called back, even if they say the exact same words”;
“If you are a bold white man, you’re seen as having more leadership potential”. 😲
Now, there are certain practices to reduce those biases (see picture below) such as the standardization of your interview questions, diverse interview panels, create an ideal candidate profile, educate yourself and others involved in hiring, etc.
More and more organizations are conscious of this challenge and are taking appropriate actions. As a candidate, being attentive to those practices might give a good idea of how the company is taking this problem seriously or not. This can influence to your decision to join the company or not.
Source: CareerPlug (Desiree Echevarria)
2 - “I need to be a perfect fit for the role”
Let me cut this short, if you match 100% the requirements highlighted in the job description you applied for, you are over-qualified and you might get bored pretty quickly. It is only my opinion of course and you might sometimes be rejected from processes because you don’t perfectly match all the requirements.
But if you think about it, you might want room to learn new skills when you start a new role. There must be something more than just discovering a new work environment, new colleagues and a new culture. And a lot of organizations believe the same thing. They do want to feel confident about your ability to match their criterias, sure. But they also want you to have a learning curve when you join. Always balance how much you can bring versus how much you can learn when you apply and interview for a role.
3 - The more confident I show up, the more likely I am to get the job
“When you meet somebody for the first time, you’re not meeting them. You’re meeting their representative”
This quote is often true. We sometimes just want to make a good impression and forget about the rest. We forget to ask questions, we forget to listen what the other person has to say, we forget to be true to ourselves and what really matters for us. Therefore, choose to express and not only impress. Your ability to convey with confidence the value you will bring to the role without over-selling yourself can win over the hiring manager.
4 - Shooting too many questions at the hiring manager may make me look over-smart
As a recruiter, I always attached a lot of value and credit to candidates asking “good” questions (maybe an uncouscious bias of mine 😊). Whether I was alone with the candidate or together with the hiring manager or in a panel with 3 or 4 other colleagues. What do I mean by “good” question? Questions you prepared in advance in order to gain insights on the culture, the team and who does what, the expectations for this role, the challenges, the objectives, etc. The questions you ask to follow-up on what has been said during the interview because you’ve been actively listening and you want to build on something specific and create a connection with your audience.
And overall as a recruiter or hiring manager, you do want to feel that the person is engaged, curious and even slightly critical to ensure there is a clear reflexion before eventually moving to the next round or accepting an offer at the end of the process.
5 - Authenticity = no preparation needed
“I think I will just go there, do my best and see what happens”. Big mistake…
Interview preparation helps you building your self-confidence and give you the opportunity to craft the message you want to convey and to own your narrative. To be authentic.
Do your research, identify your skills and values, build your stories and rehearse are some examples of how you can best prepare I detailed in those 2 previous articles I wrote about job interviews. And use AI every step of the way! CV writing, compare your CV vs job description, Job Description vs type of questions you will get, Interview preparation with chat GPT and crafting relevant prompts such as:
"I’m interviewing for [job title] at [Company]. Generate a set of common interview questions tailored to it"
"Image yourself as the interviewer and conduct a mock interview for the [Job Title] position, ask me a series of questions, and provide feedback on all of my responses."
“What are some common interview questions a hiring manager could ask at a company that [explain what the company is/does]?”
“How do I best answer [common interview question] if I’m interviewing for a role as [job title] at [company/type of company]?”
Use AI as your personal job search assistant, not as someone doing all the job for you. I also wrote a previous article about useful AI tool in the job search.
6 - A recruitment process is 100% fair
This one is probably not so much of a myth ;-). First of all, the uncouscious biases brought earlier imediately destroy this myth.
In addition to that, every organization has from time to time a certain degree of flexibility for exceptions and therefore good excuses not to follow the rules. Then, there is the question of timing when you apply. Sometimes, without you knowing it, the decision has already been made even if the application window is still open. Finally, in addition to competing with external candidates, you will also face internal ones which add an extra level of complexity, not to mention unfairness (in some cases only).
7 - The recruiter will always be prepared
I only speak for myself of course. I did my best to be prepared for all interviews I did (reading the CV, preparing my questions, etc) but some days, I was overwhelmed with too many things to do, too many interviews and meetings planned and sometimes it was just a question of not being 100% motivated or engaged, I was just having a tough at the office and therefore not prepared.
From the candidate’s perspective, this doesn’t change much, so give it your all and make the most of the opportunity.
8 - Tough questions = smart environment
“If you were a tree, which one would you be and why ?”
“How many pair of shoes can fit in this room ?”
“Michelle’s mom has four children. The first child is named April, the second is named May and the third is named June. What is the name of her fourth child ?”
Those are weird questions, almost never related to the type of job you will apply for. But still used in interview processes…or similar ones. They are called Brain teaser questions. You may argue that some of them may be relevant to test analytical or creative thinking. Maybe, but there is no connection with a specific position and research shows that asking those type of questions don’t improve the quality of the hiring process, but quite the opposite.
I would be tempted to say that sometimes weird questions equal weird environment. And without necesarly talking about weird questions, I am a firm believer that the toughest questions are very often the simplest ones. When someone ask a never-ending question or a very complex question, it is usually a sign of not being prepared or wanting to outsmart the candidate. Thefore, not necesarily positive signals sent to the candidate.
By the way, the answer to the third question is… Michelle. 😉
Note: In case you are looking for a dedicated coach to assist you in navigating the often intense and lengthy job search and interview processess, feel free to contact me or book your free chemistry call.
