In my opinion, the interview process is a mutual interview: they have to like me as much as I like them. The interview process therefore has a great influence on my like or dislike of a company or position. This past weekend, I had three different on campus interviews, all of which I had a range of excitement about. Surprisingly, my likes and dislikes changed over the course of the weekend, as my perception of companies, thanks to the representatives, changed dramatically.
The reps from the position I was most excited about ended up being ill-prepared for the interview, and I took notice. They were unsure of which position I was applying for, did not have copies of my resume (luckily, I always bring a few), and didn’t have business cards so I could follow up with them. Although I was initially excited about the interview, I wanted to know that the company was interested in me, too. Walking out of the interview, I felt a severe disconnect from the company I had researched, and the people I had met.
In all of the interviews I have been to, I focus on whether or not I could see myself as a co-worker of the person who’s interviewing me. Do they have something to teach me? Is the company culture one where people would be willing to help me? Is this person someone I could get a long with?
I suppose this relates back to one of the topics of discussion in my Organizational Behavior class. Many companies want diversity in their workforce, but they also want a cohesive company image and culture. How can these contradictory attributes happen? I’m honestly not sure. I just know that as a future employee of a company, I want to fit IN with the company culture and feel INCLUDED in something bigger than myself. Does this include being part of something diverse? Hopefully. But there has to be some attributes, namely professionalism, friendliness and willingness to learn as part of this bigger picture.
Finding a job seems similar to finding the perfect college to go to. Although being accepted is half the battle, making sure that the company will stimulate you intellectually and has a company culture you can identify with is just as important!