Interviewing Dilemma: Is Being Straightforward a Mistake or a Must? Seeking Your Thoughts

Is it wrong to be straightforward in an interview? (Assume that I am an interviewer.) If so, on what grounds?

The Importance of Being People-Friendly in Interviews

Also, is it necessary to be more people-friendly when you are conducting an interview?

I would request our fellow members to give their valuable inputs. If I am wrong, I am ready to accept my fault and change myself accordingly. Please educate.

Regards,

Have a great day. You have not clearly mentioned your problem. Coming to your point, some people will be straightforward and they will not give any preferences to anyone, and there will be a right choice. But in some cases, the people who are straightforward will always expect the opponent, which means the candidate, to be on the same wavelength and attitude. If it matches, only then will they consider that candidate. Of course, attitude is an essential criterion for an employee, but we have to check their ability and efficiency. That can be checked when you are slightly friendly with them. If you are a little friendly, talent acquisition will be an easy job, and you can identify the right person for the right job.

Regards,
Gayathry.D
CEO - Laurel Consultants
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Thank you for your inputs. Assume that management asked for views on the HR interview process from employees, in which they received a response: "If I was interviewed by him/her, then I wouldn't be in this job." My question is, how can they judge him/her based on limited responses? Also, if a candidate is potentially good enough, why would they need to fear? I was sitting on the panel and observed how he/she interviewed the candidate. From an HR perspective, I don't find any faults in it. This is the situation; kindly review this and respond back.

Steering the Interview to Success

To score well in an interview, a candidate should intelligently answer each question in such a manner that the next question is of his or her own choice. Be straightforward (or truthful) in your replies, but leave a small gap in your answer that steers the mind of the interviewer to ask the next question pertaining to the gap deliberately left by you. Your confidence increases as the interview proceeds, and this technique of steering the interview in the direction you want often leads to success.

Dear Neeraj, thank you so much for your interest. Let me give the exact details. The company's management asked for views on the HR interview process from employees, to which they received a response: "If I (employee) was interviewed by her, then I would not be in a position to answer the questions that were asked of me." My question is, how could they judge her based on limited responses? Also, if a candidate is potentially good enough, why would the candidate have a phobia about her? I was sitting on the panel and observed how she interviewed the candidate. From an HR perspective, I don't find any faults in it. This is the situation; kindly review this and respond back.

Please confirm if I am clear right now. If you are clear, I request you to post your opinion on the same.

Dear Neeraj, thank you so much for your interest. Let me give the exact detail. The company's management asked for views on the HR interview process from employees, for which they received a response: "If I (employee) was interviewed by her, then I would not be in a position to answer the questions that were asked of me." My question is how they could judge her based on limited responses. Also, if a candidate is potentially good, why would they have a fear of her? I was present on the panel and observed how she interviewed the candidate. From an HR perspective, I don't find any faults in it. This is the situation; kindly review this and respond back. Please confirm if I am clear right now. If you understand, kindly provide your opinion on the matter.

Dear M'Sundaram, pardon me if I didn't fully understand your query; however, I'll attempt to respond.

Let me address this:

1. Your management requested responses from candidates who participated in one of your interviews regarding the HR interview process.

2. One of the responses received was: "If I (employee) was interviewed by her, then I would not be in a position to answer the questions asked of me."

3. You were also present on the panel observing her questions (referring to your female colleague who also questioned the candidates).

4. Presumably, the candidates found her questions extremely challenging to answer and felt that without her, they would have secured the job easily.

5. You believe that her interview questions were appropriate, with no faults.

6. How could the candidate(s) judge her solely based on one interview encounter?

7. How could her performance be evaluated based on only a few responses received?

Am I understanding your query correctly? I hope I have grasped the essence of it.

It's common for panelists to ask diverse questions. It's unfair to judge a panelist solely on candidate responses. She was selected for the panel based on her suitability. Candidates may struggle even with simple questions, while finding seemingly unrelated questions easy to answer. The candidate in question may have been intimidated by her unexpected questions and may not have been adequately prepared. Judging her based on such responses is not advisable.

Therefore, I caution against prematurely concluding that she is excessively tough or unfit for the panel. Did any candidate she interviewed get selected, or did they all fail to meet the criteria?

Regards.

Great, Mr. Kumar. Thank you so much for your valuable inputs. You exactly portrayed what I meant to say. Thanks much for your understanding and reply. I haven't judged based on the response I get. Also, I never used to ask about the interviewer to candidates, which is highly unethical. Management asked for opinions from all those who got selected. I posted this because I just wanted to know if it is right to check if an interviewer is right at the time of the interview.

Thanks once again.

Dear Citizen 1502,

A lot has already been discussed among the learned experts. However, your query here seems to be seeking support for your point of view as you had selected the lady on your panel. Some employees gave feedback later that the lady is a hard nut to crack or something like this. This feedback seems to be coming from somewhere else, not your interview threads. It might be related to her behavior with fellow colleagues, some instances of misunderstanding, or a face-off, etc. People do complain when they see an opportunity and avenue where their target is weak.

I find no reason for you to be worried. In case the feedback of the employees is accepted (if at all) by the management, don't include her again in any interview panel just to avoid differences later on. It may not be a reflection of your competence or hers. This could rather be termed as circumstantial redundancy, which keeps happening now and then in almost all organizations where people work.

Hope this helps...

Kind regards,
Regards