In the past couple of weeks, I’ve had two job interviews, one faux-electronic
and one with an actual hiring manager. I wrote
about the “video interview” a few days ago.
And, BTW, since writing, another objection to this format has
arisen in my mind: while it’s true that given every candidate the exact same
questions to answer, within the exact same parameters (time to prepare
response, time limit for response, number of retries allowed) does give the
appearance of an egalitarian approach. But it doesn’t eliminate any inherent
bias on the recruiter’s part. Appearance, ethnicity, speech patterns—any number
of things can spark a negative—even if unconscious—reaction in the viewer of
the video, and your chances go straight to the bin. They haven’t solved any
problems of diversity by this approach.
Well, nevermind. It’s Gratitude Monday and I’m not focusing on how
pissed off this ploy makes me. I’m grateful that when I prepped for both these
interviews, I had friends (who started out as colleagues) I could call on for expertise
and encouragement. (The real-human interview was for a marketing job, and I
needed some guidance on the vocabulary. Turns out I’d done much of what’s
required; I just hadn’t known the official terms for it.)
In both cases, I went into the interview feeling much more
confident. In the case of the video interview—meh, it turned out to be only
about a 3 on a scale of 1-10 of ghastliness. But my friend’s guidance
alleviated a considerable amount of my anxiety and made it easier for me to
just crack on with it. In the case of the 60-minute call with the VP of
Marketing, I spoke with assuredness and ease, which doesn’t happen all that
often, because of getting a crash course from another marketing VP.
So—here’s to friends who come through in the clinch. I hope I’m
that kind of friend, too.
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