I’ve conducted several hundred interviews, and I no longer invite argument in them. The stress, knowing they are being judged, the stakes involved with a large paycheck on the line is just not a good environment to antagonize someone in. I’m not going to put my interviewers in that situation, or myself.
And if the value is correcting misunderstandings, I don’t see it. The very fact that the communication failed and there was a misunderstanding is a huge no hire red flag. Communicating clearly matters as much as doing the job
> And if the value is correcting misunderstandings, I don’t see it. The very fact that the communication failed and there was a misunderstanding is a huge no hire red flag. Communicating clearly matters as much as doing the job
What if the miscommunication is 50:50, rather than just the candidate’s fault?
Working in an international organisation I became aware that people from Europe vs. the US speak a different corporate language. At its most extreme, smart experienced colleagues from the US would say things and I literally wouldn’t understand their meaning.
However, colleagues better versed in that particular corporate dialect would absolutely understand their meaning, and might think what they were saying had great value.
And the flipside is that I must assume that at times, my (clear direct, I think) European communication could also be misunderstood.
Which is to say: a miscommunication in an interview might be as much your fault as theirs; and you may reject excellent candidates based on this.
pkteison · · focus · HN ↗
And if the value is correcting misunderstandings, I don’t see it. The very fact that the communication failed and there was a misunderstanding is a huge no hire red flag. Communicating clearly matters as much as doing the job
mft_ · · focus · HN ↗
What if the miscommunication is 50:50, rather than just the candidate’s fault?
Working in an international organisation I became aware that people from Europe vs. the US speak a different corporate language. At its most extreme, smart experienced colleagues from the US would say things and I literally wouldn’t understand their meaning.
However, colleagues better versed in that particular corporate dialect would absolutely understand their meaning, and might think what they were saying had great value.
And the flipside is that I must assume that at times, my (clear direct, I think) European communication could also be misunderstood.
Which is to say: a miscommunication in an interview might be as much your fault as theirs; and you may reject excellent candidates based on this.