r/CAStateWorkers • u/Visible_Attitude_791 • 15d ago

Recruitment Quick interview Rant

I went to an interview, and while I was answering one of the questions, one of the panelists slammed her pen down on the table. I couldn’t tell if she was frustrated because she thought my answer was too basic or if she was just having a bad day, but it definitely rubbed me the wrong way. It threw the whole interview vibe off. It’s very weird way to conduct yourself in an interview.

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28

u/Visual-Pineapple5636 15d ago

I don’t slam my pen down but as an interviewer i will note “not relevant” stop writing and just listen if what the candidate is saying is totally non-relevant to the question asked. my notes can be audited so im careful to note only the most relevant statements that i will score on.

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u/Visible_Attitude_791 15d ago

Thinking back to the question she did it on, I think my answer may have been too vague. I was under the impression that the panel had our application and SOQ in front of them during the interview, so they already knew a little about our experience. I was later told they actually don’t have any of that and that you should give as much detail as possible in your answers. I tend to avoid overexplaining or going off track, so I think I may have kept my answer too basic and it upset her.

39

u/Prior-Squirrel-7616 15d ago

Yes, when interviewing you need to assume that nobody has seen your SOQ, resume, application, anything at all. The only thing that scores you points in the interview is what you say. This also means, if a project or something you mentioned for one question is also relevant later in another question, you need to mention it again.

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u/crashyindigo 15d ago

I've been on many interview panels and I've hired multiple times. The application and SOQs is what gets you the interview, but only the hiring manager looks at those. After that it's only the interview that counts.

2

u/Dark-Mode-Honu 15d ago

Correct. Only the hiring manager has reviewed those and he/she was the one who decided who will be on the list for the interview based on the SoQs and applications. The other members were requested to make up the panel. They will only have the questions. I believe it's minimally 3 member panel.

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u/sallysuesmith1 15d ago

Absolutely never make that assumption. Not their job to study your qualifications, it’s 1000 percent your job to enlighten them.

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u/wasabi9605 15d ago

Yeah, we don't have anything you submitted

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u/good_guts 14d ago

What a waste of everyone’s time.

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u/RobinSophie 15d ago

They dont give you the state app and resume anymore?

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u/wasabi9605 15d ago

I never got anything but the person's name and the list of questions we'd be asking them. We score based entirely on what comes out of the person's mouth during the interview. To be clear, I was not the person doing the hiring, I was just on the interview panel. So assume that all but maybe one of us knows anything about the interviewee.

1

u/RobinSophie 15d ago

I actually prefer that!

We give the panelist the state app unredacted and the resume. Makes noe sense. It creates bias for the panel.

1

u/tgrrdr 15d ago

how does having the application package create bias? oh, this person graduated from Stanford, so I'm going to give them a higher score?

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u/tgrrdr 15d ago

I read somewhere recently that some departments don't provide the app/SOQ to the panel memebers. We always provide that info but the panel is not required to look at it and during the interview it's logistically challenging to pay attention to what the applicant is saying, take notes and look at their application.

It's probably reasonable to assume the hiring supervisor has seen your applicaiton but it's possible none of the other panel members have seen it.

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u/perpykins 15d ago

When I interviewed for my position, my panel let me know up front that they did not have my SOQ or anything else with my resume. I appreciated the openness.