Will Let You Know

After months of waiting for an interview call, my laid off friend finally landed up for one, with a reputed IT Services company in India - for a position and job profile that seemed to be an exact match for his credentials.

Post an hours discussion with the interviewer which apparently went extremely well they duo also talked about the compensation and the new job profile. The session concluded with the interviewer assuring him that he would receive a final call within the next two days.

Promptly my friendly mailed a Thank You letter within hours of the interview. After waiting for the 2 longest days of his life, he had not heard from the company yet. Worried over the sudden silence, he posted another e mailer to the HR early next day - only get a one line response

"Will let you know"

While one can argue that this might just be a one off response from an insensitive HR guy or more seriously a reflection of the attitude that certain HR folks carry against those laid off . Whatever the case, it is indeed a sad state of affairs considering the great bloodshed that's taking place in the job market today.

It might be apt for HR folks fortunate to be on duty to observe that research studies ( by DDI ) have clearly shown that candidates who have had a bad ( or cold) interview experience could easily put off other potentials and impact your company image as a preferred employer. Its a typical case when the interviewer fails the interview!

Read the DDI report here on " Are You Failing the Interview?"

Would be great to know readers experience as well!

Effective Interviewing - A Guide for Recruiters

Of late I attended a few interviews for positions in some reputed Indian companies. The anticipation was indeed very high on my side since I believed that I was fortunate enough to be called for an interview amidst this global economic crisis.

But after the interview, I was more dismayed and disoriented by the whole process; with the Interviewer shooting questions that seemed to have little relevance to my profile! As the interview progressed I became aware that the interviewer had not done her homework of going through the Resume' in advance.

At the end of the interview I was disappointed on not being given an opportunity to discuss more on my qualities and fitment for the position!!!

Overall It seemed that the interviewer was content with completing a formality than to really assess the candidates' skills, ability and attitude. I believe that the interviewer was neither adequately trained on interviewing skills nor was she prepared in any way to manage the process.

Since then, I had been searching for some relevant material which would help interviewers conduct more fruitful interviews for both the interviewer and the interviewee.

Check out this Document by the American Management Association which talks about the THREE ESSENTIAL STEPS to be undertaken by the INTERVIEWER before the Interview. Besides it also discusses about the other Fundamental aspects of HRM such as Recruitment and On boarding Programs.

Download Here!

Also Check out the Basic Interviewing Tips from the Employee Perspective