A job interview for The Ultralight...

[Zoe Girl]

Good luck, put aside the decisions and do yourbest

[Ultralight]

I am really banking on my straight, white, male privilege to help me out on this!

[ApatheticNoMore]

I would take white privilege helping me out, I need it desperately, so anything, anything ... but I'm not really sure it exists. But really hire me because I'm cute and have a nice smile at this point (my smile is nice!), I don't care why, just give me a chance. I can prove myself when I get the job. I guess at best privilege is a lack of things being even harder ... every day is still climbing a mountain but at least it's not Everest.

[Zoe Girl]

You know I try my best to use my privilege to be an awesome boss who looks beyond what people have on their resume to what all they bring. So it means that some people may not have the education or have had the opportunity for that, but I can still hire them and support their growth. I admit I have been fortunate so I want to use it well, like my family has tried to for years.

[LDAHL]

I’m not in the fulfillment business. I’m in the accounting business. If I’m hiring people for any other reason than that they’re the most qualified we can afford, I’m cheating my employer.

[ApatheticNoMore]

but we have to pretend we are in the fulfillment business, that we work for fulfillment and not money, every interview has to be that. Most qualified by some definition of qualified but it's really mostly about personality, anyone who gets an interview is usually qualified. I've been on the other side of this and gave my input but seen people hired based on who would be fun to eat lunch with.

[JaneV2.0]

I agree with ANM that most people are hired because their chemistry is right or for some other factor than for competency. Unless you're hiring a scientist with granular bona fides, most candidates for any given job will have similar qualifications. So then you go to the lunch buddy criterion--or in the case of one of my jobs--the "no kids at home" criterion.

[SteveinMN]

If I’m hiring people for any other reason than that they’re the most qualified we can afford, I’m cheating my employer.

Maybe accounting draws a different crowd of participants, but I worked with plenty (plenty) of IT folks who were flippin' brilliant at what they did behind a keyboard or CAD/CAM station but who had the social skills of celery. Sometimes they even were promoted into management despite these obvious shortcomings.

Give me a decently-qualified person who can get along with others and I'll run with 'em all day long.

[jp1]

Personally I'd be in favor of figuring out a way to mimic the symphony orchestra audition process. The people auditioning are behind a screen so that the selection committee has no idea of anything about the person other than how well they play. The people auditioning even take off their shoes so that it's not apparent from footstep sounds whether the person is a man or woman.

[catherine]

but we have to pretend we are in the fulfillment business, that we work for fulfillment and not money, every interview has to be that. Most qualified by some definition of qualified but it's really mostly about personality, anyone who gets an interview is usually qualified. I've been on the other side of this and gave my input but seen people hired based on who would be fun to eat lunch with.

I just came back from a business dinner where my client (woman probably mid-late 40s) talked about how hiring is "slim pickings" because candidates just want to know what the job responsibilities are--what they are expected to do. They show no interest in her business, or even much interest in hard work. She eliminates out of hand the employees who seem to have no interest in how they can fill the company's needs and are more interested in whether or not the job will suit THEM.

It helps to have a personality that you gel with, but I never thought about lunch when I hired people. Although I do recall hiring a socially-awkward woman whom I interviewed over lunch, and she was so nervous she dropped her lunch in her lap. I felt bad, but I hired her. Never ate with her again.