Interview Questions

This is something I have wanted to write about for ages. However what could be a better time than this when I attended one interview just yesterday faced this issue. I am not a professional writer therefore this is my attempt of trying to put my views across to even a small number of people who have gone through this as well. We have so many logs, posts and documents on questions asked in an interview and how we all prepare for it. Some have jitters; some may be confident however interview is such an event where we all get nervous at one point or another.

What I want to raise here is not the questions that you can expect to be asked, or how you should prepare, or what you should learn about the organization but rather I want to ask those interviewers on the questions that you ask the candidates. Yes, like everyone I prepared for the interview, I learnt about the organization, everything that I could get my hands on. Now when I am sitting in front of the panel, the question that dazzled me was how the panel expected me to know the every detail of their rule book. Luckily I had read enough and was able explain in my words but what I mean is, yes you know the organization, you learn their vision, their strategies but to know every detail in the book where you feel like it’s not an interview but instead an oral test. Is that even an interview? Haven't we already done enough tests in school that now the companies are expecting you to feel like students again?

I have taken various interviews myself and I always tried to get to know the candidates a little better, made them comfortable enough and had conversations with them, it wasn't one way road. therefore I would like to ask the interviewers, senior managers, hr managers if we are really stuck in a decade where interviews are tests or have we come to understand that interviews are actually a way of getting to know a candidate, see their passion, judge their attitude, measure their aptitude and then decide if the candidate is actually suitable for a job. Questions should be designed to find such in any candidate and not test how much a candidate knows or remembers about you organization rules, your organization mission, vision etc. Every person does background search on their organization they are going for an interview but the bottom line is: Interview should not be treated as an exam, it’s more of a getting to know a candidate session.

I would love to hear your views, please do let me know what you think.