When I was interviewing for my first job out of college, I always thought that we pretty much looked, acted and were the same.
We all sat in the same common area, studied the same way, and even dressed for the interviews the same way (some of us borrowed full suits from each other, not having had money to pay for one for ourselves.. *cough*myself*cough*..)
Even our answers were the same.
Biggest flaw? I’m too focused and passionate.
Biggest attribute? I always want to get the job done and am tenacious.
What I really want to say? .. Well, let’s not repeat it here, but I want to tell them I think it’s a load of hogwash and a waste of time. Thank goodness I don’t have to do those interviews any more.
For companies, the only difference among us were our marks, but as you all know, I don’t put much weight into marks as being the only indicator of intelligence.
All it says is that you worked hard and maybe spent a lot more time than someone else in trying to get the solution right, but if you were given the same amount of time, would you have done an equal or better job than someone else? Who knows.
This is why when I found the video The Candidate (obviously a brilliant marketing ploy by the company, let’s not get it twisted) by Heineken, I knew I had to share it with you.
Enjoy.
Final Observations:
- Common sense and rationality fails many people when faced with an emergency
- When put into uncomfortable situations, your human instinct and reaction is revealing
- The willingness to step in and do the job, matters in any situation
- What these people did in these interviews, were not learned in the hallways of a classroom
- What determined who got the job wasn’t down to marks, “intelligence” or anything else, it was what couldn’t be taught – compassion, quick thinking, sympathy, and being open to everything
