Session M808 - Effective Interviewing
SHARE 71
August 15-19, 1988
Sally Odle is an IBMer who does a LOT of interviewing for new hires. She came
to SHARE to talk about good and bad interviewers, fair and unfair hiring practices,
and some of her own pet peeves.
The first thing she did was hand out a series of questions that the audience
completed. Fair or unfair?
- Is it fair to ask someone if they have small children at home? (No)
- Is it fair to ask someone if s/he is married? (No)
- Is it fair to make someone work on a religious holiday? (Maybe)
Having given us all a chance to complete the test, she gave out answers. I did OK
here. Then we got part two of the test, where I disagreed to some extent.
- True or false:
In a good interview, about half of the time the interviewee talks, and
during the other half, the interviewer does. (She said no, I said yes).
Where we disagreed the most was her emphasis on "getting information and not giving
any"; anytime I've interviewed a prospective employee I've tried to give some detail
about my organization's policies and responsibilities. I figure that the person
being interviewed is interviewing ME to some extent.
She did point out some horrid instances of questions that suggested their own
answers. "Do you consider yourself a hard worker?" "What importance do you place
on getting a job done on time?"
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