Interview Formats and Processes.

In my opinion the best Interview format / process consist of 2 stages. Ideally with the final being a face to face, however in the current climate and the influx of relocating candidates, how viable is the latter considering the cost, time and effort?? Our advice… be flexible.

As an employer you are probably thinking if this person is joining my team, I need to be 100%, thats understandable, but at what cost? You have spoken with them on the phone, they have passed the tech assessment with flying colors and even progressed to a video call so really what more is needed?

For some companies it is a necessity to have a face to face others more of a nice to have. If you make a candidate fly over for an Interview whether or not you cover the cost rest assure, they will be making the most of that journey and meeting as many potential employers as possible.

Ask yourself is it worth the risk potentially increasing your competition to secure this candidate?

Throughout my career I have worked with both types of clients, one of them was even happy to go to offer following a codeility test. (I highly advised a screening call at least with the candidate just to be on the safe side) however my recommendation depends upon the market climate and that candidates particular situation.

The majority of companies have a fixed process and stick to it. In my experience the majority of companies I have worked with that are inflexible with their process, have missed out on their preferred candidate.

Todays market is candidate driven, with most candidates having at least 2 – 3 opportunities available to them. So why would they work through a drawn out process if similar opportunities present themselves with less hurdles to jump?

What would you do if you were in their shoes, same salary/day rate, same tech?

Unless you are Facebook or Google, on the hunt to secure the best talent in the market you need to be on the ball. Quick turnaround with feedback, for both CV’s and Interviews. Ideally have all key decisions makers on at least one call with the candidate (I appreciate you have more chance of Ned Stark returning from the dead) but it saves times.

• Be Flexible – Accommodate within reason.
• Use available resources to speed up processes (skype/online code tests etc.)
• Quick turnaround (your agencies will work a lot harder for you if you are able to provide   quick feedback.)

Diversity is a topic which has hit many headlines in recent months. Initially when the BBC’s pay structure hit the spotlight, and even more recently with Google. It has highlighted an area which brings grave concern to most people in the 21st Century.

As a father of two daughters, it makes me wonder what does the future hold for them when they get older?

It is safe to say however the tech industry in my experience, is in a different world of its own and recent comments from a former Google employee shocked me.

What we do encounter however through no fault of its own is a male dominated industry, what is great to see is the ever growing number of women moving into the tech industry, not only that but the high demand from companies to source female talent, to help diversify their teams.

When it comes to key decisions, or working in a stressful environment, it is widely known that as the saying goes women are from Venus and men are from Mars. As a man I can safely say in most instances a natural ‘fight or flight’ instinct will prevail. However women deal with certain issues different, they consult and confide in friends and family, gathering different view points and in turn being in a position to make decisions in a calm and collective manner.

It is great to see that women are valued members of todays work force Google’s Chief Executive Sundar Pichai enforced Google’s code of conduct and felt that the comments made by their former employee “violate our code of conduct and cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes”.

In this day and age there is no place for such stereotypes. It is great to see such an advancement in the industry. With groups such as ‘Women who code’ making serious noises, not only that but the growth of influential female CEO’s in place

Since the start of 2017 the fortune 500 list has recorded 32 female CEO’s, albeit this is a low number. These influential women are seated at the helm of a number of multination organisations:

Marissa Mayer – Yahoo

Ginni Rometty – IBM

Meg Whitman – Hewlett Packard Enterprise

I feel we are taking strides in the right direction.

Cathal Meehan

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