Hiring Interview Due Feb. 4th

Hiring Interview

Person Interviewed: Jared Madsen

Place of Business: Adobe and former employee at Rain (while at Rain he did initial interviews during the hiring process)

What is one of the biggest deterrents you see in interviewers? What would be an automatic NO, even if the person is qualified?

For an automatic "no" it has to be something pretty egregious. It is pretty rare to see an automatic "no". In fact, after several hundred interviews, none are coming to mind just yet.

Do you see a lot of communication skills lacking in the younger generation of interviewers? Do you think social media impairs their social/communication skills?

It has been a few years since I have interviewed, but surprisingly most people had a pretty good handle on at least the basics.  

What question do you feel tells you the most about a person’s ability to do the job?

Having the candidate walk through a complex job related problem verbally is a good indication of experience, ability and more.

What traits do you see that are annoying but overall you can overlook when it comes to hiring?

Fidgeting, (hair twirling, bouncing leg, etc.)

What are questions you like to be asked from the person being interviewed at the end?

Many employers don't realize this, but it is flattering when a candidate asks questions that show genuine interest in the company - something like, "I saw the story in the news recently about how your company does 'abc' and I really love the way you guys approach 'def' - can you tell me more about how that came to be?" Showing understanding of a potential employer's business scores major points.

What kind of body language is a deterrent in an interview?

Hand wringing, lack of eye contact, overly shy.

When it comes to appearance, what is a deterrent during an interview?

Basic hygiene comes to mind.  

How do you personally prepare when you have to conduct an interview?

Review the candidate's resume, some of their projects or past work that interest me, make sure I have all the questions I would like to find out.  

If there are 2-3 people you have narrowed the position down to, how do you come to a decision?

A candidate's confidence level can go a long way with interviewers subconsciously. More overtly, proven experience and a real passion for the job are a big plus.  

How many people do you have sit in on the interviews with you? Do you have an HR person there for legal reasons?

We never really included HR. We just made sure we understood the legal issues before allowing anybody to conduct interviews.  

Do you ask every interviewee the same questions?

Mostly. Sometimes due to time constraints a candidate may not be asked all questions. For example, if they continue to provide such long-winded responses that time runs short, they may miss opportunities to better position themselves with more questions.

Do you ask those you interview to take a few minutes to teach you about a topic of their interest (can be non-work related)? And do you find this helpful in getting to know them better?

Sort of. On some short responses, yes. Usually longer timed responses were reserved for more difficult problems. A candidate who can thoroughly explain and teach a topic will be ahead of the game.

Do you use culturally fit interview questions to determine if the individual will fit in and thrive in your work environment? Such examples would be: “Do you prefer working alone or as part of a team and why?”; “What would you say or do to motivate your team during a challenging project?”; or “Describe the type of work environment in which you are most productive?”

Oh yes. Although these usually weighed slightly less heavy in terms of ranking a candidate when compared with the more technical skills, they are important nonetheless. It can also help expose any super strange behaviors in a candidate that you may have not seen coming otherwise.

Do you offer multiple forms of interviews, such as telephone, face-to-face, panel, group, or sequential interviews? And which forms do you find most helpful?

Yes. Telephone for short screenings, face to face (1 on 1) for a first interview, and then panel group for a final round interview. This way only the best candidates get to expend the valuable time of the most highly skilled employees in a "final" round interview of sorts.  

Summary

It's been helpful to interview Jared, and especially in his field of work as my husband is looking for employment in that field. My husband's concern was that HR gets in the way of the hiring process. His belief was that HR receives the resumes first and weeds them out. My husband's worry was if there wasn't a specific degree listed on the resume, it gets tossed aside. My husband is a 3D technical artist. He said showing that you can do the job is what matters and even if you have a portfolio, it's not often looked at by HR and the resume gets tossed aside. According to Jared, that's not the case at Rain. They look for degrees, however, they also look at portfolios and weigh both. If the individual can show they can do the work without a direct degree and show confidence, they're a good candidate. Interviewing and interviewer has given me some good insight and tips for both preparing to be interviewed and also to interview for hiring.