Are You Intimidated Yet?
At some point in the past, I've brought up my reputation at work as an intimidating interviewer. I'm too lazy to find the link, but it was the same post where I mentioned how V made someone call his mom.
Well, today I was interviewing an intern candidate from a nearby college. As we were walking to a nearby conference room where we were going to talk, the candidate mentioned in passing that he was warned by another actuary at the company at dinner last night that I was going to grill him and be very tough. I was taken aback just a little from that statement.
As we started talking, it was clear that the candidate was incredibly nervous. We were just talking about his background and how he was spending his break from school. His voice was breaking. This continued to a lesser extent throughout the interview. He was scared of me entirely because of what another company employee said about me at dinner last night.
I asked another person on his interview schedule if he seemed nervous during an earlier interview in the day and it turns out that I was not the only one who shared that opinion, but it sounds like he was much worse during our discussion.
The sad thing is, I liked that guy. He had most of the skills we are looking for in a summer intern. I recommended to our program director that we give him an internship offer, though I was very much on the fence because of how uncomfortable he seemed during our discussion.
I don't mind the reputation as a tough interviewer. I don't apologize for challenging the candidates we bring in and making them think out of the box a little bit or expand on examples when they try to give me generic fluff or avoid the question. Book smarts do not always transfer into work smarts, so I challenge these people a little. However, I AM NOT INTIMIDATING. I may be serious, but I never try to make the candidate feel scared, stupid, or inferior. I see no benefit in doing that to a candidate since it leaves a bad taste in their mouth about the people at my company and could efforts to recruit the best candidates. I always back off on the tough questions if the candidate is struggling.
Furthermore, I am really upset that other actuaries at the company would make such a warning to the candidate the night before the interview. It's horribly unprofessional. Back in the day when I used to take interview candidates out to dinner the night before their interviews, I would briefly walk them through their schedule. I would say something brief about each candidate to let them know about a common interest or background (i.e., interviewer X is from Michigan or interviewer Y plays the trumpet), but I would never tell the candidate what to expect in an interview with a company actuary.
I also dislike it when someone warns a candidate that one of their interviewers is "really high up". That makes the candidate think that some interviews are more important than others. An interview with me should no more or less important than an interview senior actuary or a less experienced actuary. I don't appreciate any "poisoning" of my name before I ever meet the candidate.
I just needed to vent about this. I tried to talk to the "culprit" this afternoon, but I didn't get a chance before he left. He's a good guy, so I assume he meant well and was just doing what everyone else does at the pre-interview dinner, but I want to talk to him briefly in the morning.
Well, today I was interviewing an intern candidate from a nearby college. As we were walking to a nearby conference room where we were going to talk, the candidate mentioned in passing that he was warned by another actuary at the company at dinner last night that I was going to grill him and be very tough. I was taken aback just a little from that statement.
As we started talking, it was clear that the candidate was incredibly nervous. We were just talking about his background and how he was spending his break from school. His voice was breaking. This continued to a lesser extent throughout the interview. He was scared of me entirely because of what another company employee said about me at dinner last night.
I asked another person on his interview schedule if he seemed nervous during an earlier interview in the day and it turns out that I was not the only one who shared that opinion, but it sounds like he was much worse during our discussion.
The sad thing is, I liked that guy. He had most of the skills we are looking for in a summer intern. I recommended to our program director that we give him an internship offer, though I was very much on the fence because of how uncomfortable he seemed during our discussion.
I don't mind the reputation as a tough interviewer. I don't apologize for challenging the candidates we bring in and making them think out of the box a little bit or expand on examples when they try to give me generic fluff or avoid the question. Book smarts do not always transfer into work smarts, so I challenge these people a little. However, I AM NOT INTIMIDATING. I may be serious, but I never try to make the candidate feel scared, stupid, or inferior. I see no benefit in doing that to a candidate since it leaves a bad taste in their mouth about the people at my company and could efforts to recruit the best candidates. I always back off on the tough questions if the candidate is struggling.
Furthermore, I am really upset that other actuaries at the company would make such a warning to the candidate the night before the interview. It's horribly unprofessional. Back in the day when I used to take interview candidates out to dinner the night before their interviews, I would briefly walk them through their schedule. I would say something brief about each candidate to let them know about a common interest or background (i.e., interviewer X is from Michigan or interviewer Y plays the trumpet), but I would never tell the candidate what to expect in an interview with a company actuary.
I also dislike it when someone warns a candidate that one of their interviewers is "really high up". That makes the candidate think that some interviews are more important than others. An interview with me should no more or less important than an interview senior actuary or a less experienced actuary. I don't appreciate any "poisoning" of my name before I ever meet the candidate.
I just needed to vent about this. I tried to talk to the "culprit" this afternoon, but I didn't get a chance before he left. He's a good guy, so I assume he meant well and was just doing what everyone else does at the pre-interview dinner, but I want to talk to him briefly in the morning.
posted by GaryGinew at 9:47 PM
1 Comments:
It's very mature of you to talk to the person who made the comment (rather than fire back with rumors of your own about him).
On the one hand, I think it's funny that people are intimidated of you. I mean, come on, it's Gary. But on the other hand, these kids are several years younger at this point, worried about making a good impression on The Man (you) so they can get a job/internship. Especially if you're coming off as really smart and no-nonsense, I can see how it may come off as a little intimidating.
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