Gigonomics: Screen Gems

This was a big hectic week with a full slate of interviews. After weeks of resume launching, the tide turned and I was on the hot seat for hours of questions by company executives who seemed more intent on finding ways to disqualify me than reasons to bring me on board. I chalk that up to the fact that the job market is thick with fish, and any cast of the net is going to bring in some big ones, so hiring managers are especially choosy these days. Perhaps even a bit smug.

I don’t blame them in the least. When I was a corporate gatekeeper, I knew as a hiring manager that I must take advantage of the present available talent glut and work hard to winnow the field to the precious few who 1) exceeded the job requirements and 2) were grateful enough so that they would work beyond all human capacity, gain measurable efficiencies for the company, and justify the hiring manager’s decision. This makes the interview game precarious and nerve-wracking, as hiring managers now have a plethora of candidates and one wrong move, one fumbled name pronunciation or ill-timed attempt at humor on the part of the interviewee (now me) may be grounds for swift disqualification.

Fortunately, the recession does seem to offer a slight advantage for interviewees. That’s because the nature of interviewing itself is affected. With limited HR budgets, hiring firms may be reluctant to fly in candidates for face-to-face interviews, opting instead for a series of intensive phone conversations. The same is likely true for local candidates when HR offices, overwhelmed by well-qualified applicants, use initial phone screenings to narrow the prospects. [More]

--Posted by John Riha, RecessionWire.com

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