Apparently the IT industry is getting back on its feet in a big way, at least in the US. I’ve not seen much evidence of this with the number of jobs being advertised online, certainly a few years ago my inbox was being crammed full of emails from job sites, many with several new and exciting opportunities. At the moment I’m subscribed to one list (…just to keep an eye on the market you understand…) and the number of jobs is currently running to about one every week to 10 days. I’ve changed my criteria since a few years ago, but not by much.
All this got me thinking about some interviews I attended at the Halifax when looking for a new job back in late 2006.
Essentially I had sat three interviews, the first a standard technical test which went very well (I vaguely recall this was one of those occasions where I found a problem in the question I was being asked that the interviewer, a question he’s been asking for several years. I’ve done this a few times in interviews, Goldman Sachs being another example*).
The second interview was with the team manager. Apparently several people had passed the technical round, but during the managerial interview she had turned down all the candidates so far. It’s an important step, if you don’t get on with the manager there can be no working relationship of value, and if they think you won’t fit into the team the role becomes very difficult for everybody.
To the delight of the agent (and he really did seem pleased) she liked me and I made it through to the HR round.
HR started off well. The small talk went OK, I’ve done a few of these and generally if you tell the truth, and that includes failures and achievements, then you don’t get caught out and they appreciate your honesty.
Then she asked me the next question on her script: “What projects have you worked on that have failed?”
I’ve worked on an array of software development projects over the years in various roles from development, management and analysis. Some have been more successful than others, but I can’t remember any that you would class as a failure.
There have been difficulties, things that were promised by sales teams which proved ultimately impossible to achieve ‘as sold’, issues getting information or client buy-in required to complete a task, and problems with implementing the ultimate solution. In all cases these have eventually been resolved, usually by consultation with the client. Most clients are reasonable if you demonstrate to them that you are not trying to rip them off.
The upshot has always been a happy (or at the very least, satisfied) client, even if the delivered product needed to deviate from the original specification, such is the nature of the beast.
Often the ultimate solution was more practical and beneficial than the original proposal. Problems encountered often highlight a misunderstanding in the requirements, unrealistic expectations or just plain faulty analysis.
That wasn’t the answer HR wanted to hear. She wanted a failed project from me.
I thought for a moment, what project could I spin into a failure? Some took much longer than expected. Some were canned before completion (or even before we started) due to changing priorities or requirements (but usually because the client “thought” they wanted one thing when they actually wanted something completely different, or nothing at all).
Neither of these satisfied Ms HR. She wanted a failure, and she wanted one NOW!
We had reached an impasse.
I don’t remember much after that, frankly I knew the damage had been done. For all I know she may have shown me ink blots (and I hope if she did I responded with “It looks like a man biting the head off a bunny”, but I know I wouldn’t).
I left dejected. I’ve screwed up plenty of things in my life, but apparently not enough for her.
Needless to say HR advised the team not to take me on as I didn’t have enough experience (the role specified a minimum of 2 years, at this point I had 15 years commercial on and off, 12 years solid).
The agent was astounded, and suggested “the manager was impressed with you, would you like to chase this up?”
I decided against it. By this point I no longer wanted to work with the company. What was the point arguing?
You can probably tell I’m still a little perplexed by these events, possibly more so because the company I ended up going to was so terrible (but I can’t legally tell you about that, well, not in any way that you could use to identify them).
Oh well, you live and learn… although on this occasion I’m not sure I actually learnt anything.
If I get the Interview, I generally get the job. My experience with H.R. people has been mostly negative though. They're often charged with hiring people for technical roles that they don't understand and end up playing "buzzword bingo", which isn't a great way to find the right people.
ReplyDeleteIt used to be that way for me, I remember back in 1998/1999 I went to interviews for 13 different jobs and was offered 12 of those.
ReplyDeleteFor my last job in Ipswich I only interviewed (or even applied) for that position, and likewise for my current job (for which job I only actually sat 1 interview, a technical test, and sent in a Java application they asked me to write and that was enough).
Neither of the last two roles have been directly for banks though.
It's amazing how many banks are doing stuff nobody else in the world is... at least in their heads. This is half the problem, if they didn't have such a "we are the best" attitude they may actually look around a little more and see ways to improve and actually become the best.
Oh well, it's not my problem.