What do recruiters look for during an interview? I have written several posts about recruitment and specifically interview-types. But what do they mean now with “whole person interviews”?
More and more companies are realising how important is to align personal candidate´s values with corporate ones. When something goes wrong it is often about character and not competence. So organisations are aware that the person is as important as having the right technical skills.
The aim of this new type of interview is to measure emotional intelligence and moral behaviour of the candidate by probing ethics and personal background. John Lewis and the NSH use these techniques. However, recruiters are concerned that some firms are beginning to cross a line, requesting personal information that leaves them open to be accused of bias.
S. Hallam- Michael Page- says “Some candidates say they felt intrusive-asking if they are in a relationship, for example”. In the UK jobseekers are protected by the Equalities Act and if a candidate felt they missed out on a role because of their personal circumstances, they could bring a tribunal claim. Questions that are related to ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation are also unwise to ask. Hallam advises that not you need to ask for information that puts you in a difficult situation”. Paula Barret of Eversheds “You have to be careful not to ask questions which seem reasonable, social and human questions to ask but do have inherent some form of discrimination”
Do you think you can be yourself at work? Can you behave the same way? Certainly many people will tell you that they are different and that is ok, as you are performing a role for the company-they would say. But how about being yourself at work? Some people will tell you that they can be themselves and that makes them happier.
On the whole, the article reflects that there is a need of employers of valuing the person not just the technical knowledge, but also to be aware about the limits when they recruit. After investing time in this matter, employees will be more aligned with corporate values, which in some sense means employees can be themselves, rather than feeling miles away of “how they do things around here”
Article partly extracted from “Surveillance how much is too much” People Management Magazine August 2014 http://www.cipd.co.uk/pm/
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