Frustrated with Junior Interviewers: How Do You Handle Poor Recruitment Processes?

Interview Experiences and Challenges

I keep exploring new opportunities. Recently, I attended interviews conducted by individuals who were junior to me by 5-6 years. The person representing the organization was weak in communication skills and not technically sound. The interview lasted only 2 minutes, and the gentleman asked me very basic HR questions, which I answered really well.

I have not been able to get feedback even after following up many times. It becomes discouraging to attend these interviews when proper recruitment processes are not followed.

Kindly advise.

Regards,
Amit

Hi Amit, can I ask you a question? Did you happen to provide your salary expectation during that 2-minute interview?

Regards,
Ukmitra

I didn't get what you said, "where a junior by 5-6 years took the interview." Was the person taking your interview a fresher or a person with less experience? How did you come to know that the person was a junior?

"The person representing the Organization was weak in communication skills and not technically sound." If this person is an HR person, then communication should have been good, at least average. A recruiter does not need to be technically sound. I didn't understand what you meant by technically sound. Is it related to technical skills or HR skills?

"The interview lasted for only 2 minutes, and the gentleman asked me very basic HR questions which I answered really well." The first HR round can be for 2 minutes or up to 10 minutes. It depends on how one answers the questions and what type of questions the HR person is asking. You mentioned that you answered the questions really well, but they may not be right as per the company's requirements. Also, you mentioned that you had told him about the expectation and that it was negotiable. How you communicated that does matter.

A normal standard hike for 3-5 years of experience is about 20-30% on your current CTC, again depending on when you got your last salary hike. If you have received a salary hike in the last 3-4 months, then it may not be even this. Now if you have quoted the hike more than this, let's say 50%, then how much will you negotiate?

I have also interviewed many candidates who expect a huge salary and say that it's negotiable a little bit. I ask them why they are asking for such a hike, to which they answer they think they deserve it. Here, the trick is how they answer this question. I try to understand their tone, body language, and some other features to understand the person. Based on my analysis, I may reject the candidate or move them forward to the next round.

There are many companies where they have a fixed salary hike, so that may also be one of the reasons you are not shortlisted.

Regards,
Neeraj

Can you please shed some light on your statement "I keep exploring new opportunities"? The next statement of yours, "The interview lasted for only 2 minutes," is quite interesting. Assuming the interviewer had asked three basic HR questions and according to your statement, you answered them well, then a two-minute interview duration would be impossible unless you answered each question in one sentence.

Since you mentioned that the company lacks a proper recruitment process, it may not be in your best interest to join them. Therefore, you need not be concerned about not receiving any response from this organization.

Regards,
M.V. Kannan

It is good to explore new opportunities, but practically, there are no vacancies in the market from what I have observed. Companies are posting vacancies to indicate that they are seeking new skills and conducting interviews just for the sake of it, without actually finding a suitable candidate that meets their requirements.

Most of the time, these interviews are conducted by subordinates or juniors, as the bosses are not interested in evaluating candidates since they are already aware they will not be selecting anyone. One can often judge the caliber of the interviewer in these situations.

A common dialogue heard is, "We have reviewed your profile, and since we are considering more candidates, we will inform you if you are shortlisted." However, in reality, you will never receive a call.

Thank you.

I do not understand the relevance of the interviewer's age in this posting. The fact that the person who interviewed you was younger than you is irrelevant. What is relevant is that the person was a competent interviewer and followed a sound recruitment and selection process. It would appear that this was not the case in this instance.

No one can interview a person in 2 minutes. I think I would be taking this matter up with the senior management of the company concerned. But, as someone else pointed out, why would you want to work for such a company?

I don't think the interview would last for two minutes; that's impossible. Nowadays, the workload has increased, and the senior executives are not at all interested in wasting their time on this type of thing.

It's better to move forward and look for new opportunities rather than wasting time following up with them. There may be many reasons they are not providing you with the right information, etc.

Thank you.

Oh, dear! An interview lasting only two minutes and no further communication? The writing on the wall is clear. They have already made up their mind either to recruit someone else or cancel that position altogether.

Interview Duration and Outcome

As regards the time of the interview, my dear friend, I was interviewed for a full one hour and 25 minutes, whereas other interviewees were let off in 15-20 minutes at the most. Yet, I was not selected in this CPSU because netas/bureaucrats and their chamchas exerted pressure on the management to get their candidates in! So, best of luck to you for next time.

I saw that you got mixed responses for your post here. Some members are hell-bent on proving that it must be something wrong that you did. Ah! I can really empathize with you as this situation happened to me a few years ago. I went for a presentation screening for empanelment with a training organization. I had two reviewers who were close to 22-23 years of age to evaluate my presentation. Well, I turned around the situation and conducted the session in such a manner that they got a glimpse of my experience and knowledge (and also they became aware of their lack of knowledge... although I didn't disrespect them or anything; just showed them the mirror in a decent manner and gave them feedback).

Yes, I never heard back from that organization! If organizations don't have time to screen a profile properly and competent people to conduct the interview, it is very frustrating for the candidate.

You have understood my situation really well, and what I meant to convey. I may not be perfect in expressing myself through the post, but I have faced such situations many times in my career. Finally, I got my answer.

Thanks once again!!!

Regards,
AB.

Yes, it doesn't sound good that a junior is conducting an interview without having sufficient skills for a senior profile. The interview should ideally be conducted by someone at the same level or higher in the management hierarchy, possessing good communication skills and knowledge.

It happens sometimes, and with me, it happened a lot of times. I gave interviews in many production companies, but everywhere they asked me about payroll. At that time, I did not have much knowledge about it. However, after I took training on payroll, I tried another FMCG company. The interviewer asked me to wait, and I waited for one and a half hours. Eventually, the HR manager came in, amidst his very hectic schedule, and conducted the interview. He bombarded me with questions without giving me enough time to answer. He continuously asked one question after another without pausing for a breath. Finally, he told me that I needed to study more and clear my concepts.

If the interview is in the primary stage, then it should be longer than the given time of 2 minutes.

Regards,
Manas