Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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I read an interesting article on Motley Fool the other day. It was a reference to a discussion with Steve Jobs and the fact that he spent one whole day a week, even when he was the CEO of Apple, interviewing people.
He did that he said, because he thought that a really good worker was worth not 3 times what an average worker is worth to a company, but 60 times. He felt it was his job to weed out the average worker, and he could achieve far more for his company by trying to ensure a bigger percentage of really good workers than of average workers, and so as the CEO, he spent 20% of his time interviewing people. I think it is true of any company that there are those who can just get on, do their work and achieve results and there are others who unfortunately don’t seem to enjoy working 40 hours a week, and need to be monitored, watched, warned and trained all of the time. How much of that you can pick up in an interview is another question but some of the deadbeat boyfriends accompanying girlfriends to interviews tell you all you need to know. It’s amazing how poor an impression some candidates do make, and while one will always make mistakes, there are many people who make such a poor impression that you continue the interview for a few extra minutes out of politeness alone.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Monday 04-Mar-13
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Comments
Thabitha said:
on Thursday 07-Mar-13 11:40 AM
I think the boss of the company must be in the interview too because two to three minds is better than a single mind and he/she will know what he/she wants when they are looking at it.
Brumilde said:
on Tuesday 05-Mar-13 07:55 AM
Say what you will appreance is everything. It also is nice for a person who is being interviewed to meet the boss. and the final decision should come down to the boss. He knows what he is looking for in the company
Sinead said:
on Monday 04-Mar-13 04:57 PM
I agree with Tanith. It is great to meet the 'man behind the magic'
Tanith said:
on Monday 04-Mar-13 01:33 PM
I have always found it a great privilege to meet with a person that is the blood, sweat and tears behind a company, the mind that created it. and i take my hat off to any person that has started a company, and manages to keep it afloat. and it shows alot about the person that takes the time to meet with the people that he/she is "entrusting" the workings of his/her company to. so i definitely think its a good thing.
Lucretia said:
on Monday 04-Mar-13 01:31 PM
I am a firm believer, when interviewing someone, don't look at what they say, look at what they don't say. Let them do most of the talking and ask them about the company, i.e. do they know what the company does, etc - people who have drive and initiative, look up these things prior to an interview. Look at the way they dress to the interview. People who are confident with themselves, their work and their worth, will not wear revealing clothing, they don't need too. Another important thing is the kind of questions the candidate being interviewed asks. If one thinks that conducting an effective interview is easy, they are mistaken, that is why we have people who study HR.
Lourien said:
on Monday 04-Mar-13 12:58 PM
First impressions last and the interviewer will have to be able to tell what type of candidate he is interviewing as soon as possible, not wasting time but also looking for the best candidate that will fill the position.
Julie said:
on Monday 04-Mar-13 11:58 AM
If you want to keep running a successful business the CEO/Director should definitely see candidates himself/herself after they were interviewed by whomever it is that conducts the interview. Another very important thing is that the person who does the interviewing has an overall knowledge of what goes on in the firm. You cannot tell an applicant that she is going to type a couple of letters if you are interviewing her for a secretary's position.
The expression : "First impressions last" is very true although rendered out-dated or old-fashioned. If a person walks into your office for the first time you immediately form an opinion. Another thing I've learnt is to check the gait and pace the person walks at - I have never experienced a "slow" walker to be a good worker. I prefer to walk with the applicant through the building or show her around or walk her to her vehicle.
sheena said:
on Monday 04-Mar-13 11:37 AM
agree with Jessica.i think its very important for the owner of the company to appoint/interveiw new employees as he knows what is best for his company and who will be suitable for he position that needs to be filled.the owner will know best. before the business expanded he owner did these duties themselves.
Sarah said:
on Monday 04-Mar-13 11:37 AM
Agreed, that a boss should interview his new employee.
cherise said:
on Monday 04-Mar-13 11:34 AM
I agree not only should the boss know what he requires from a canidate but the person incharge of doing the interviews needs to be sufficiently trand with different types of people, interview procedures, body language and the entire interview process to then choose the correct canidate
Angelique said:
on Monday 04-Mar-13 11:27 AM
Agreed. I think its important that the CEO himself also takes the time - he might also see something in someone that HR might not. It also shows how hard working Mr Jobs himself was - to actually take the time out to do that as CEO.
Safia said:
on Monday 04-Mar-13 11:17 AM
Totally agree with Juliet, the CV can be misleading and one should know how to read people well. Everything, including knowledge of body language must be incorporated.
Claudette said:
on Monday 04-Mar-13 10:55 AM
Interessting, but true.
Juliet said:
on Monday 04-Mar-13 10:54 AM
I think this was a great strategy implemented by Mr Jobs. Interviewing is a skill and CVs can be very misleading. Interviewing is multi-levelled and the interviewe must be able to handle all types of candidates and be able to draw from them as much information as possible in a short period of time in order to make an objective decision regarding many aspects including their suitability within the organization. By example, he showed that he was willing to put in the time and become an expert at one of the things he believed was important and that is, learning to read people, weeding out the average employees and learning how to identify excellent employees. I also agree with his idea that it is better to have 1 excellent employee who can do the job of 3 average employees.
Benita said:
on Monday 04-Mar-13 10:52 AM
I compeletly agree. It is like my father always says if you area paid to work 40Hours a week and you do not actually work for those hours. You are stealing.
Jessica said:
on Monday 04-Mar-13 10:51 AM
I think it is important for a boss it interview his new employee as he/she should know by looking at that person if they will make it or not. A boss knows his company the best and only he/she will be able to chose the best.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
