Companies are doing job interviews all wrong

[Jason Harvestdancer]

My first job out of grad school, I ended up being a backup interviewer. It took me a time or two of doing this to realize that if I was interviewing someone, they had no chance, the bosses simply were in a hurry to get down to the bar. Damn, that sucked big time.

I tend to ask general questions about what the needs are for the position, and I try to get them to comfortably talk about themselves, what they know, and what they like to do.

I always suspected that some interviews were just for show.

I recently ended 6 months of unemployment, fortunately with a job instead of dropping off the back end of the unemployment statistics. I didn't get many interviews, but some of the ones I had, as well as some of the jobs I submitted for but didn't get an interview for, it seemed that they were listing that job for reasons other than trying to find applicants for the job.

Towards the end, I noticed a trend. It seemed many jobs also included a questionnaire section asking if you fit into special disadvantaged categories, such as receiving public benefits or having been unemployed for a certain period of time. I don't know if that was to discriminate against the long term unemployed, or if that was to receive some sort of tax benefit for hiring in that category. I suspect the latter, my paranoia suspects the former. I also suspected they were gaming the system, by reviewing but not selecting so that they can get a benefit from reviewing the candidates.

What worked for me, ironically, is something that isn't supposed to work - I pointed out the desperation of my position. I interviewed on a Wednesday, and told the boss that my current plans were to pick up the U-Haul the following Monday and leave the state on Tuesday. I said I will check my email along the way, and if I'm hired I can turn around and come back, but otherwise I'm selling my house and moving in with family on the opposite coast. By the end of the interview he told me to cancel the U-Haul.