What Does The Fake Interview Look Like?
If you ever found yourself in an interview cycle that doesn’t appear genuine or there is a nagging feeling in the back of your mind that “this is all just a complete waste of time†you’re not alone. Sadly like many aspects of modern life the interview process can sometimes be hijacked by those with ulterior motives. Rather than filling an urgent vacancy or taking the right steps to find the ideal candidate to add value to their business, the "hiring manager" will often play games with you.
Early Compliments: During the first conversation you receive great feedback bordering on the over zealous. They “love your cv†but won’t follow up with specific reasons why unless prompted. This early positive feedback is rare when you’ve never spoken before and it’s usually all about them to begin with. A good way to test this is to ask directly “why� The fake hire will lay on yet more compliments designed to make you feel good, pump your ego and put you off guard.
Quick Process: Like all good candidates who qualify the hiring stages and decision making process, once described, everything sounds almost too fast and too good to be true. Remember the old saying - if something sounds too good to be true it probably is! I once heard the process described as a) talk to me b) have a chat with my boss c) come in and see us next Tuesday and from there we can d) act really quickly. Wow it sounds like you could have the job as early as next week!?
Poor References: You are finding it hard to source your own references on the company either through your network or by reading reviews on public sites. Whilst you can see that Glassdoor makes appalling reading you imagine it’s just from disgruntled ex employees anyway or those on the payroll with a grudge. Even though your gut tells you not to you go along with the process. You can see all too easily references to high turnover and can’t find the trusting voice to quash your doubts. You start to question the integrity of the people you are dealing with and therefore their motives.
Odd Questioning: If you go along with the process to the point where you attend the first stage interview some strange things might happen. Firstly you meet not the hiring manager you expected but the second line manager instead. He or she will make you feel Sooooo relaxed that strangely it’s only much later in the day when you stupidly remember what a “buttering up†looks like! The hiring manager, who keeps you waiting for a good while, tries acting a little more macho and then explains: “Don’t worry, nothing will leave this room if we mention anything that relates to our existing mutual clientsâ€!
Little Feedback: The interviewer might stutter or struggle to articulate something relevant to your conversation when asked for direct feedback on you. They’ve taken what they were looking for or decided early on that you are unlikely to cough up too many useful tit-bits to take to their next sales meeting or account planning session. If you spoke to an internal recruiter at the start he or she promised to get back to you immediately after your first stage interviews but they don’t. A few days later you might call them when feeling a little frustrated only to find that they have forgotten your name!
What was your strangest interview like & why?