Why Job Interviews are Dumb

I recently read a couple articles by Malcolm Gladwell on interviews and the hiring process found here and also here . Gladwell puts into brilliant words, what I was already aware of, that the interview process is mostly voodoo, black magic and a farce. That almost the only thing that you can figure out in an hour long interview is what you figured out in the first thirty seconds and that is: whether you like someone or not. There is an alternative to the ritual interview set of questions to which I give you the expected and acceptable answers: "My biggest weakness really is that I work too hard and I care too much." The old "can you tell me about a strength of yours as weakness that makes you seem both humble and even better for the job?" "yes yes I can" The alternative is a scripted interview with a set of question scenarios that there are not answers to but that any answer reveals something about the applicant. Questions like this:


"But, Menkes said, what if those questions were rephrased so that the answers weren't obvious? For example: "At your weekly team meetings, your boss unexpectedly begins aggressively critiquing your performance on a current project. What do you do?"

I felt a twinge of anxiety. What would I do? I remembered a terrible boss I'd had years ago. "I'd probably be upset," I said. "But I doubt I'd say anything. I'd probably just walk away." Menkes gave no indication whether he was concerned or pleased by that answer. He simply pointed out that another person might well have said something like "I'd go and see my boss later in private, and confront him about why he embarrassed me in front of my team." I was saying that I would probably handle criticism—even inappropriate criticism—from a superior with stoicism; in the second case, the applicant was saying he or she would adopt a more confrontational style. Or, at least, we were telling the interviewer that the workplace demands either stoicism or confrontation—and to Menkes these are revealing and pertinent pieces of information." - Malcolm Gladwell, The New Boy Network 2000

At the end of the day your handshake is probably more important in getting the job than your qualifications because we like to hire people we like, we like to hire our friends. And if we can't for some reason well then the next thing is to hire a new friend. Interviews are supposed to be about the job but they are mostly about personality and first impressions. Thanks Gladwell for making me feel both better and worse about myself at the same time.