New Interviewing Technique

I just read a group discussion on LinkedIn about a new hiring technique.  The woman who started the conversation said that she no longer asks for resumes; instead she has applicants send her answers to these three questions:

·        Tell me everything you know about my company

·        Why you are applying for this job?

·        What makes you a great employee?

If she likes the answers she will call them for a telephone interview and then, if she really likes them, she will invite them in for a panel interview.  Talk about pressure.

As an applicant you must do your research on the company and the position. You need to be prepared with specific examples of your accomplishments and skill set. That’ a given.  If you don’t, well, it’s your loss and hopefully you’ll be better prepared next time.  An organization is looking to weed many candidates to get to the very best match. That said, it’s almost as if some companies are taking a “better than thou” approach to hiring these days by coming up with all sorts of new hiring and rather odd hiring techniques.  I’m not talking so much about the example I read this morning although that technique is teetering on the edge of unnecessary torture. I’m talking about the wacky questions that appear to have no relation to the open position. Questions like:

·        How many planes are currently flying over Kansas? (Question asked at Best Buy)

·        How many cows are there in Canada? (Question ask at Google)

·        A penguin walks through that door right there wearing a sombrero.  What does he say and why is he here? (Question asked at Clark Construction Group)

·        Can you say Peter Piper picked a pickled pepper and sell us a washing machine at the same time? (Question asked at MasterCard)

·        What do you think of garden gnomes? (Question asked at Trader Joes)

If any of these question deal with the open position or the company then OK but as a business owner, I would want to ask questions relating to the applicant’s skills set.  I’d want to see if there is a match and from my interviewing questioning get an idea of the applicant’s communication and interpersonal skills.

Sometimes I think that companies are playing games and with the unemployment numbers high (I’m talking about the real numbers); these new interviewing techniques are unwarranted. What do you think? Have you come across this in your interviewing?