The recruitment process is a mirror to the organization

Have you ever been in the middle of the interview process and then found yourself to be forgotten? No contact from the company, no feedback, just silence? Red flag! Trust me, the company is either slow on decisions, overworked, think too highly of themselves or they do not have internal agreement nor communication on how their process should take place. Not a place to be part of.

After the first round of interviews with the recruiter, you get sent immediately into (technical) assignment round after which you are taken into assignment review without having any interviews with the team lead or team members? Red flag! Prioritizing skills over personal attributes most likely means they are in high-volume hiring. High volume hiring does not have to mean that they can't keep the personalization and human-first interaction. If they have chosen to de-prioritize on team fit and do not offer you space to collect important information for yourself in the early part of the process for you to make an educated decision about their suitability for you, then why do you think they will later during your employment care about your wellbeing and wishes?

Have you ever found yourself in several interview rounds where you keep on getting asked the exact same questions by different people? Red flag! This should tell you that there is no internal agreement or communication taking place between stakeholders on how the process is supposed to take place.

Have you felt that the interviewing process seems never to end? Round 4 turns into round 5. Round 5 turns into 6. Round 6 turns into 7 and 8 and 9. Red flag! Yes, quality is important. Having standards for new-joiners is a great thing for a company to value. Is a lengthy hoop-jumping the way to achieve it? What does it say about the company not finding any better solution than several month-long processes as a way to make a good choice picking the right candidate? Does not sound too research or an accuracy-based hiring process (read about data-based designed hiring process).

My philosophy for going into job interviews

Understandably on the interviews, you want to put your best foot forward - both in representing your experience and value you can offer, plus sharing your aspirations that are aligned with the role and company. It is easy to find yourself providing information to the potential employer and overlook what is actually important for you.

Before going into any application process or job interview, I outline for myself what are my non-negotiables' and nice-to-haves.

My usual non-negotiables

✨ Culture of caring to do better (to be better for the team; for the users; designing the experience).

✨ People have space to use their voice and freedom to create.

✨ Conscious effort on ensuring leadership quality.

✨ A healthy attitude regarding balanced work experience where people have room to grow as professionals yet have provided time for their thriving personal lives.

4 aspects to ask about

Team

Who you surround yourself with will determine how you will evolve. Having around you a smart, self-evaluating, and cooperating team is a pillar to what you can achieve in that environment. I could not see myself being successful in working with close-minded people or not having space to contribute to change, therefore I usually ask about:

• How does the team make decisions? Who is the main decider? What metrics are used?

• What’s the most useful feedback you have had from your manager?

• How would you measure and describe the degree of trust in this organization (between leadership and the rest of the employees) compared to other places you have worked? Please explain your answer.

Leadership

Your direct leader will make or break your experience. They will either be your glass ceiling or they will be the ones boosting your growth and setting you up for success. The best leaders have a clear understanding of their own role in the organization and can articulate what is the value they bring to the organization and for their team.

• What has been the toughest feedback you have received?

• Roughly how much time do you spend in meetings each day? How much with people inside the team and how much with other key people/departments?

• Can you share an example of how in the past 9 months you have supported any of your team members' professional growth?

• Where and/or from whom does the leadership team receive coaching and mentorship to help to improve their performance?

Culture

Culture is not a set of beliefs, but a set of actions. It is not what is in your heart, what you declare at an all-hands meeting. In a company context, it comes down to little things from how you treat each other to how you treat your customers to micro-decisions. Culture is about the behavior that is allowed and taking place in the work environment. Value is what you believe, what you aspire to. Virtue is what you do.

• Who are the people who are successful in this organization? How do you understand if a person is not successful in your company?

• What does “diversity” mean here?

• Who owns ensuring the company lives up to it its values and culture?

• How much transparency is there around decisions made at the exec level? How do you communicate those decisions?

Business

Wonderful team, inspiring leadership, and aligned culture sounds amazing but is not a long-term solution without a well-led business. When members of the organization can talk about more than their team's mission, it shows that business is understandable to individuals and it is communicated on how everyone contributes to the overall business goals.

• What are the biggest challenges to getting new customers on board?

• Of your competitors, which one do you think is the highest risk to your business? Why?

• What do you measure/track the most as a company and how is that shared with the organization?

Leaving aside questions, the upgraded way to go about making sure the opportunity is right for you, is to go in with a pre-prepared overview of in what environment you thrive. From your previous experience, you surely have enough examples to make conclusions. Experiences about what leadership style lifts you or which one you struggle with. Are you the person to bring ideas and set goals, or you are more effective in delivering results? Does having a dependency on your team support your results or slow you down? Present those that are the most important factors for you. If you sense yourself doubting any aspect of that, ask to get clarity.

For additional resources, I recommend checking out Maria Campbell's post and First Round Review's 40 question examples.