7 Mistakes to avoid, when interviewing freshers

It’s that time of the year. We have started going to university campuses, looking for bright, young, “smart” people to join us in our growth story. I have been meeting candidates from campuses (such as NSIT, PEC Chandigarh, etc.) over the past couple of weeks. More sessions are lined up in the coming weeks.

As I interacted with a bunch of these smart millennials, a few thoughts came to my mind. Clearly, times have changed A LOT. Aspirations have evolved; there is a sense of entitlement in the air; we hirers are desperate for talent; the kids (if I might dare to call them that) are spoilt for choices.

In this scenario, how do you maintain your calm and balance? How do you ensure you still sieve through the host of resumes and personas, and make sure you pick the appropriate people? Here are some tips and tricks:

1. Do not assume they are interested – Just because someone is sitting in front of you in an interview doesn’t necessarily mean she is truly interested in the job. At least two people asked to be “opted out of the process” half-way through the discussions. Some of these folks come just to explore…see how things go, get a flavor of an interview process; sometimes there are more genuine reasons – as in, they may just get to know more about the organization or the business and decide that they’re interested. Whatever may the reason be, it is important for you to gently probe the interest level of the person.

2. They can do without more stress – For god’s sake, they are just kids. Many of them going through an interview for the first time in their life. They may say the world is at their beck and call…but many of them still have butterflies in the stomach when actually meeting an interviewer. One of them responded to my simple “How are you doing” with a candid “a bit nervous”. Try and make the initiation a bit simple and warm; I usually start my conversation about their family, hometown, what they feel about their city, etc. Once they feel slightly settled in, then I ask the real interview questions.

3. Avoid the ones “with an attitude” – Some of these millennials carry the sense of entitlement a bit too far. I recollect meeting a candidate with an air of “I am god’s gift to mankind”. Unfortunately, the person was actually brilliant; hence there was some level of debate with the other people who had interviewed him. Eventually, we decided that bringing someone on-board with that kind of an attitude would just prove a big problem for the entire organization. Better to play safe. Sorry, my friend – we weren’t necessarily looking for god’s gifts. We like the “salt of the earth” better.

4. Don’t lower the bar (for any reason) – In the thick and thin of hiring process, we often get into questions around “can we train and groom this person, even if he isn’t a perfect hire now?”. In general, hiring managers do succumb to this pressure; it becomes all the more acute when you meet a fresher oozing with energy, positive attitude…evoking a sense of “oh my god, that’s the perfect soul I would love to get in my team, and train him”. Don’t!!! It’s easy to be tempted. But do not make the mistake of hiring someone purely for the sake of soft skills or attitude or something else you liked. Do have minimal benchmarks on the “hard” skills as well.

5. Same questions as last year? Are you crazy? – In general, students get to know from their alumni about what kind of interviews are conducted by different companies in campuses. In the digital era, the promulgation of this information is absolutely crazy. Check out Glassdoor, for instance. If you do end up asking similar questions, be sure to probe deeper to get a sense of “is this person thinking, or is she rattling what her seniors told her to rattle off”. Better option, of course, is to be prepared with a fresh set of queries to analyze the same skill-set.

6. If you’re not sure whether the person makes the cut, he probably doesn’t – It is not uncommon for hiring managers to have doubts on candidates. There are always people who seem to be “borderline” cases…we are note, but perhaps we can train this person; he/she demonstrates some of the traits we are looking for, etc. Typically, such people are made to go through multiple rounds of interviews…so that a more rounded view can be formed. In some cases, a much stronger view of the person emerges, and it surely warrants a “yes” decision. However, if even multiple rounds give a hazy picture, you are better off by not hiring that candidate. The problems of onboarding a potentially weak hire far outweigh the potential loss of a good candidate – especially at the junior / campus-hire level.

7. Clothes maketh the man…well not anymore – This was particularly difficult for me to accept, given my age. I was positively shocked to see people waking into interviews with uncombed hair, unshaven look, crumbled cloths, and no ties. Gosh, one person was even wearing a torn shirt. I had to take a conscious effort to ignore these traits (anomalies, in my age); because, unfortunately, 90% of them were in that state. I don’t know if photos of Google and Facebook offices have spoiled the tastes, or it is again “the sense of entitlement” ….but clothes, looks, and even basic personal hygiene doesn’t seem to be high on the cards for people. We need to learn to ignore some of these things.

Hiring is fun. Hiring freshers, all the more so. I always feel excited to see the energy and passion that is palpable in these bright young minds. As in any other facets of business, it just needs some level of preparation (and a gentle “evolution” of approaches).

Enjoy your next recruitment drive. Do share your own views on the subject.