Have You Met a Human Robot?
The other day I came across a republished article on interviewing skills from Chris Dunn in The HR Capitalist. The Comments were just as interesting as the article itself.
How many of you have gone through an interview where the interviewer - often the HR rep.- goes through a list of questions and reads them to you? They stick to the script. And at the opposite side of the desk you wonder: "now what's next?"
You are HR, you are the company. Corporate gives you a script and you are to follow it. Religiously?
It could give you an insight of that organization's culture: rules are to be followed without discussions. Just adhere to them or you are out.This could be your understanding as an interviewer. But most often - if not most likely - it is a sure indication of the inability of the interviewer to adjust to situations.Granted you are given a script. Let's figure out why.
So, yes, granted, you - HR rep. or equivalent whatever your title could be - are given specific instructions, and you have the script. But are you to be a robot and repeat what is written? I bet you also got trained on the matter. Have you ever thought that actors are also given a script? At worse, they memorize it. At best, they make it their own, flawlessly.
To me, the issue is not only limited to interviewing skills. HR skills are not given. They can be learnt. But if you think that you have to lack flexibility, interpretation and ownership of your decisions to be a good HR, then, maybe another line of function would be a better fit. HR is a job, yes, and if it is yours, make it your own because it is not any job.... I doubt you were ever hired to be a human robot.
How many of you have gone through an interview where the interviewer - often the HR rep.- goes through a list of questions and reads them to you? They stick to the script. And at the opposite side of the desk you wonder: "now what's next?"
Corporate Gives You a Script: Follow it
You are HR, you are the company. Corporate gives you a script and you are to follow it. Religiously?
It could give you an insight of that organization's culture: rules are to be followed without discussions. Just adhere to them or you are out.This could be your understanding as an interviewer. But most often - if not most likely - it is a sure indication of the inability of the interviewer to adjust to situations.Granted you are given a script. Let's figure out why.
- "Corporate" likes uniformity: "they" want to convey the same message across the border
- "Corporate" wants to probe some behaviors or competencies relating to a specific position: questions have to be relevant
- "Corporate" needs to stay within legal requirements: instead of giving you a list of "not to dos", "corporate" gives you an all-made list: just read it.
Corporate Wants You to Understand the Script: Don't be a Robot
So, yes, granted, you - HR rep. or equivalent whatever your title could be - are given specific instructions, and you have the script. But are you to be a robot and repeat what is written? I bet you also got trained on the matter. Have you ever thought that actors are also given a script? At worse, they memorize it. At best, they make it their own, flawlessly.
To me, the issue is not only limited to interviewing skills. HR skills are not given. They can be learnt. But if you think that you have to lack flexibility, interpretation and ownership of your decisions to be a good HR, then, maybe another line of function would be a better fit. HR is a job, yes, and if it is yours, make it your own because it is not any job.... I doubt you were ever hired to be a human robot.
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