Why Do We Struggle to Hire the Right Person? Let's Discuss Interview Challenges

Dear all,

There are certain things that puzzled me and made me wonder why we struggle in hiring the so-called right person!!

Candidates who perform well in interviews are often not up to par once on the job. Individuals who genuinely desire the job and are eager to pursue a career sometimes struggle to secure suitable employment. On the other hand, those who seek to show off and squander the company's financial resources seem to land the best positions. It's disheartening to see individuals with exceptional talent being overlooked for jobs simply because of their limited communication skills. I have heard some candidates express confusion over not being selected despite feeling they performed well, and vice versa.

Please share your thoughts on these observations, and let us know what aspects of candidate interviews you find challenging.

Regards,
Arsha

Hi Arsha,

I completely agree with your comments. I have come across such situations where, despite having talent and skills, few individuals end up in jobs that do not match their skills, and the salary does not align as well.

From my experience, I can point out flaws in both the recruitment techniques and the candidates themselves. Recruiters often rely on standard textbook questions, which candidates have prepared for, leading to them securing the job offer. However, once on the job, it becomes evident that the candidate is a misfit and lacks practical or real-time knowledge.

In such scenarios, neither the HR nor the candidate demonstrates enough creativity to navigate the situations. Both parties rely on the same conventional sources such as books, the internet, or knowledge passed down from seniors.

Regards,
HR Aspirant

Hello Arsha:

There are certain things that puzzled me and even wonder why? Why? In hiring the so-called right person!!

I'll do my best to answer your questions.

1. Candidates performing well in interviews are not even up to the mark while in the job!

They are bad hires but not bad people.

2. People who really want the job and are eager to pursue a career don't get the right job!

Very few employers know how to determine which job is the right job for eager applicants.

3. People who want to show off and simply want to waste the financial resources of the company get the best job!

Assertiveness is rewarded perhaps?

4. People with less communication skills often get the left-out job despite being really talented.

Dr. Neal Thornberry of Babson College makes the case that:
- The most talkative competent employee gets the first promotion into management.
- The second most talkative competent employee gets the next promotion into management.
- The third most talkative competent employee makes the best manager.
This tells me that two-thirds of managers may be less than successful managers.

5. I have heard some saying, I did well, but I am not sure why they haven't selected me! Vice versa is also true.

Applicants need not be told why they were not selected.

This reminds me of the recent hiring we had of a software test engineer who showed full conviction and confidence while joining but turned out to be a fraud. I should say he was good technically but worse ethically. He stopped coming to the office after a week and very sternly said he wouldn't be coming when HR called up (he didn't even bother to inform us). The access keys and confidentiality agreement papers are still with him, and to our utter disappointment, the residential address he gave doesn't exist! We are shocked.

We do not prefer to retain the original documents or sign any bond as we trust our work culture and the quality of work that we do. This aspect fascinates the employees and is the strength of the company. However, such incidents do influence the hiring and firing process of the company. For instance, we have blacklisted the college he belongs to and would be extra cautious when similar questions that he asked are raised by any aspiring candidate. We wish to expose his identity on the portal or to the group.

I added this topic to the discussion because I believe the experiences that management accumulates over time shape the hiring and firing policies.

- Chandra, PM

Hi Arsha,

I have tried to put my views on the questions... hope they answer your queries.

1- Candidates performing well in interviews are not even up to the mark while on the job! Many a time we get carried away by the 'Halo Effect' while interviewing candidates. If a person seems confident, carries himself well, and most importantly speaks fluently and in style, we automatically conclude he is a good candidate. A lot of people use their personalities to their advantage at times to distract the interviewer from probing into difficult professional questions, thereby resulting in a case of a bad hire!

2- People who really want the job and are eager to pursue a career don't get the right job. Well, "Wanting a Job" and having the right aptitude and attitude to execute a job are two different things. A person may want a job, but he may not have the right mix of qualities that are desired, hence he may not be successful in getting one. Also, in the competitive industries today, there are many more forces in play apart from just competent deserving individuals looking for the right job, e.g., candidates REFERRED by influential people.

3- People who want to show off and simply want to waste the financial resources of the company get the best job. Well, these are the guys who are the movers and shakers of the industry, who know the games of the industry and are the eventual survivors. They get paid for being sharp, diplomatic, and being the face of the organization. They have mastered the political moves and know what they are doing.

4- People with less communication skills often get the left-out job despite being really talented. Effective communication skills (Verbal/Written) are essential skills required for most jobs today. Simply put, if a sales guy cannot communicate well, he does not add value to his job. Also, if you cannot communicate your ideas, plans, etc., effectively, your creativity and skills will never be known. In short, again your so-called "Talent" will never be used!

5- I have heard some saying, "I did well, but I am not sure why they haven't selected me!" Vice-Versa is also true. Give the benefit to the examiner/interviewer; he knows what he is looking for. They have selected the best candidate for their requirement.

Regards, Preeti

Candidates performing well in interviews are not even up to the mark while on the job! The interviewer didn't do his job properly or was badly advised as to what was needed.

People who really want the job and are eager to pursue a career don't get the right job! They are often not the best people for the company to hire.

People who want to show off and simply want to waste the financial resources of the company get the best job! The company gets what it deserves! Again, blame the interviewer.

People with less communication skill often get the left-out job despite being really talented. Communication is a key skill. If they haven't got it, they need to learn it.

I have heard some saying, "I did well, but am not sure why they haven't selected me!" Vice versa is also true. How do they know they did well?

Hi Arsha,

I completely agree with Bod Gately and Preeti.

It's not that only people who want to show off get jobs. But the thing is, you hear only stories about so-called "talented people" not getting jobs because those are the ones who complain out loud. They don't try hard enough and call the ones who did as show-offs or undeserving.

When a candidate gives an interview, he/she is aware of only his/her performance in the interview. But an interviewer is also aware of many others' performance who attended the interview. And he/she will choose the candidate who has given the best performance.

The interviewer does not select a candidate who is 'really in need of a job' (that would be a real flaw in the recruitment). He/she selects the one whom the job really needs.

And these so-called 'show-offs' are mostly the people with high levels of enthusiasm and the right attitude. Hence, they get the jobs.

Attitude is more important than aptitude, any day. And good communication skills are unarguably one of the most important necessities for faster career growth.

Thanks a lot for all of your responses. :-P

There are definitely some flaws in recruitment as stated by HR Aspirant.

I do agree with what Bob Gately has stated mostly, but don't you agree that it would be a good practice at the end of their rejection stage to tell the candidates where they lack in their skills so they can improve themselves, if you consider it to be assertive (win-win situation). :(

As Chandra has stated his incident, it's sad to see candidates with good aptitude have no good attitude. Lack in Ethical behavior you say, but how do you validate those types of candidates while interviewing when the candidate is smart enough to cover it up!!

Thanks, Sparky for your swift reply..and do you mean to say that candidates who really seem to be confident about answering all questions in an interview actually didn't do well..?? (Last Question :-P )

Preeti (thanks for replying), Deepti (thanks for replying), and Bob, are you meaning to say regarding the question that I meant for "show-offs" as Smart workers? Mmh...does that mean smart workers have more edge over hard workers....!!

So there is a possible acceptance that candidates/employees needn't be hardworking because sometimes hardworking employees wouldn't be able to deliver due to other constraints! :icon10:

Regards,
Arsha :-D

Certainly! Here is the corrected version of the user's input with proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, and paragraph formatting:

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Definitely, Arsha. Gone are the days of slogging at the office for hours together, working on holidays and week-offs, overtime, etc. Now is the age of 'Smart Working'. More work in less time and with less effort. Organizations have slowly started moving from career-thirsty employees to perfectly work-life balanced employees. Most of the organizations do not recognize hard workers as much as they recognize smart workers.

My organization, for one, does not give any extra points for working after office hours. In fact, too many 'late sittings' are reflected as 'Bad Planning' in the annual appraisals. All our employees leave exactly at the closing hours of the office, and we haven't missed a single deadline ever. (By the way, as a rule, we also do not disturb (on phone/mail) anyone who is on leave, on holidays, and weekly-offs. 😛) So, it's not Hard Working anymore. It's Smart Working.

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I have corrected the spelling, grammar, punctuation errors and ensured proper paragraph formatting. Let me know if you need any further assistance.

Hello Arsha:

I do agree with what Bob Gately has stated mostly. Great minds... would be a good practice to tell the candidates where they lack in their skills so they can improve themselves, if you consider it to be assertive (win-win situation).

No, the employer is not responsible for improving an applicant's interview skills.

If managers hired for talent, they would not feel bad about not hiring 80% of the job finalists. It's sad to see candidates with good aptitude have no good attitude. If we hire for talent, we will hire some very good employees who were perceived to have a poor attitude. Lack in Ethical behavior you say, but yes, how do you validate those types of candidates while interviewing when the candidate is smart enough to cover it up! Some employers use an honesty test.

Thanks again to Deepti and Bob.

Could we have any instances or situations where smart work has an edge over hard work? Any real-time experiences?

Regards,
Arsha :)

Hi Arsha,

I have tried my best to present my views on the subject:

1- Candidates performing well in interviews are not even up to the mark while in the job! Interview basically tests the communication skill, presentation ability, to a certain extent body language, and intellectual ability of the person. It is not possible to gauge the person's total personality unless you subject him to some other tests like i) Job Test ii) Inter-personal behavior related tests iii) Johari window tests iv) Stress tests v) Appointment on a Trial basis after which you can take a decision whether to hire him or not. It is like marriage - you think it is love at first sight but you may have to put up with it throughout your life!

2- People who really want the job and are eager to pursue a career don't get the right job! India is not suffering from unemployment. It is suffering from underemployment! Overqualified people doing underskilled jobs. If people keep on waiting for the job of their choice, they might remain unemployed throughout their life with the exception of a selected few. Therefore, you find BE, MSc graduates working in banks as clerks. Liking is one thing and getting is another thing. All are not lucky. Either you have to get what you like or like what you get.

3- People who want to show off and simply want to waste the financial resources of the company get the best job! Some people are good at showing off at the right time, and more often than not, they get the credit for others' achievements, projecting them as their own. But it is a bitter fact of life. But their true colors will be revealed one day or the other as they will have to manage on their own at some point in time. They cannot be donkeys in the garb of a tiger forever!

4- People with less communication skills often get the left-out job despite being really talented.

We are in an information world. Communication is the key to move up the ladder. Both verbal, written, presentation-oriented skills are very much in demand. Those who master this will stand a better chance of projecting themselves better than the others who may be intellectually on a higher platform.

5- I have heard some saying, "I did well, but I am not sure why they haven't selected me!" Vice-Versa is also True.

The interviewer selects the best among the best and leaves the rest. Not selecting you when you have done your best may mean the following: i) Interviewer found a better person than you ii) Your best was not enough and there was some lacunae in it iii) The interviewer had already someone in mind and the entire process was just an eyewash. Don't get disheartened. The fox which said the grapes were sour may have got the grapes and said it to be sweet only if it had tried some more.

All the best.

Regards, Premson