Consumerist: Almost everyone has a horror story about a long, unreasonable, inappropriate, or otherwise terrible job interview process that they’ve been through. The Internet learned this week that applicants for jobs with the not-for-profit Operation Smile go through an all-day marathon of interviews that culminates in planning and cooking a an evening of dinner, drinks, and entertainment for forty people.
6 comments:
While this interview process is unconventional and a bit excessive, I don't think it is ridiculous. The project the applicants are asked to do requires teamwork, budgeting, delegating and a host of other management skills, that if I were hiring a manager, I would want to see in action. Of course, they could have done some thing less self-serving, but that doesn't take away from the knowledge they gain about the applicants through making them do this project.
Well I suppose their interview process is a little unconventional, to say the least. That being said, if it helps them better field top candidates, more power to them. It's not like anybody is coercing the applicants into complying with the interview process. Just like some companies ask unusual interview questions (I.E. how many manhole covers are there in New York), Operation Smile seems to find this unique process effective.
All that being said, I think I would still be pretty stressed out if I were applying and got surprised by this unique challenge.
I understand how this interview process would yield more results when looking for specific traits for a position. At the same time, however, I would hate interviewing for this company. I like to be extremely prepared for an interview. I research what the job duties entail and prepare myself accordingly to put my best foot forward with those details in mind. A certain level of adaptability is most likely expected and definitely a trait that is sought after when looking at an entry level candidate but to spring something this massive on a person with out any prior knowledge seems unfair. Maybe don't tell them exactly what they will be doing but at least give them an idea by saying you will be working in a team and will be utilizing these sets of skills. This interview method does show a lot of merit and i can see how this would give potential employer a much better overview on the candidate just maybe give them a bit more information upfront.
It makes sense to want to see how potential employees respond to a challenge. Something like this, however, does seem a bit like an excuse to treat the senior staff to a free dinner. If the position that these people were applying for had nothing to do with catering, then this evaluation would poorly reflect their ability to be useful on the job. What if they're a terrible cook?
I think that unconventional interview processes tailored to the company are generally a better way to find the right people. For example, I'm reminded of the Lego design interview in which the candidates had to create a new Lego set, something directly related to the job they were competing for. This catering gig, not so much.
Well I suppose that this interview process would really weed out who really wanted the job and who were more casual applicants. But for what the job is and what it pays it seems like this is an necessary number of hoops to jump through. It almost seems like the employer is abusing their power by making the perspective employees go through this 15 hour interview extravaganza.
This seems like a good way to weed out all but the most desperate candidates. I understand that hiring processes take time, but having this be the culmination of a four month process seems excessive, and, as a potential applicant, would leave a bad taste in my mouth. I understand that a coordinator position involves wearing many hats (I, as a student worker have processed payroll and called people on discrepancies with time sheets), but this seems absurd, and would make me question the other tasks my prospective employers would ask me to do. Also, if this is a business affair, I don't see how they can ask people to serve others food without taking a Servsafe or similar course. That seems to open up loads of liability for the sake of uniqueness.
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