Job Interviews and Cultural Fit

[Liambruno]

Hi. Need a bit of advice from those who are better than I am at surviving the more pretentious popular rituals that have snuck into job interview processes. To avoid a long soliloquy and a bunch of attendant whining about the unfairness of life (which, my analysis tells me, is an indifferent natural force and not the malevolent entity my paranoid side imagines must surely be bent on my destruction alone), I'll just spill it.

I'm between jobs right now, having depended on recruiters and dumb luck to this point to get me to a decent professional position as a software developer. Thing is, luck doesn't appear to be on my side this time. I'm two months into this unemployment stint, and I'm coming up against this cultural fit thing. Prior to being diagnosed, I was shocked and dismayed when I failed these tortuous panel interviews where I'm asked disorienting questions like "what video games do you like?" (when does a working dad with executive dysfunction have time to play games?) and "what do you do for fun?" (geez, nosy much?). I've always thought I was doing well, and then I hear the inevitable words when I get the word back on the panel decision: "you're technically qualified, but we're concerned about the cultural fit." Translation: "You didn't say or do the right things, so we decided we didn't want you working here." Silly, but I think that's really what it amounts to.

I present well enough that most people are surprised to learn that I'm on the spectrum. But these cultural interviews are killing my chances in jobs where I could likely do very well--unless the people interviewing me are so picky about their associations that they really can't stand to have a somewhat eccentric, quiet colleague in the office who doesn't give a crap about wine tastings or the Super Bowl.

Well, great. I wanted to avoid the soliloquy and I've written it anyway. Hey, it was fun; I enjoy writing. Anyway, to the point of my message (and sorry if that's all whiny; I'm really not trying to whine so much as to make fun of the problem while seeking advice). Experience tells me that my reading of people is more often a misread. I know I need to try different approaches for presenting myself and interacting with these interview panels, but I'm not sure I want to reinvent the wheel. What's worked for other employed people here in the cultural fit vein? Thanks for reading this.

 

[wanderer03]

Hi. Need a bit of advice from those who are better than I am at surviving the more pretentious popular rituals that have snuck into job interview processes. To avoid a long soliloquy and a bunch of attendant whining about the unfairness of life (which, my analysis tells me, is an indifferent natural force and not the malevolent entity my paranoid side imagines must surely be bent on my destruction alone), I'll just spill it.

I'm between jobs right now, having depended on recruiters and dumb luck to this point to get me to a decent professional position as a software developer. Thing is, luck doesn't appear to be on my side this time. I'm two months into this unemployment stint, and I'm coming up against this cultural fit thing. Prior to being diagnosed, I was shocked and dismayed when I failed these tortuous panel interviews where I'm asked disorienting questions like "what video games do you like?" (when does a working dad with executive dysfunction have time to play games?) and "what do you do for fun?" (geez, nosy much?). I've always thought I was doing well, and then I hear the inevitable words when I get the word back on the panel decision: "you're technically qualified, but we're concerned about the cultural fit." Translation: "You didn't say or do the right things, so we decided we didn't want you working here." Silly, but I think that's really what it amounts to.

I present well enough that most people are surprised to learn that I'm on the spectrum. But these cultural interviews are killing my chances in jobs where I could likely do very well--unless the people interviewing me are so picky about their associations that they really can't stand to have a somewhat eccentric, quiet colleague in the office who doesn't give a crap about wine tastings or the Super Bowl.

Well, great. I wanted to avoid the soliloquy and I've written it anyway. Hey, it was fun; I enjoy writing. Anyway, to the point of my message (and sorry if that's all whiny; I'm really not trying to whine so much as to make fun of the problem while seeking advice). Experience tells me that my reading of people is more often a misread. I know I need to try different approaches for presenting myself and interacting with these interview panels, but I'm not sure I want to reinvent the wheel. What's worked for other employed people here in the cultural fit vein? Thanks for reading this.

This is where you can lie through your teeth. I know lying runs counter to us and everything we are taught but your interviewers would be none the wiser. Name a video game whether or not it consumes any time, even if it's an old one. I got this question about video games once. I liked them as a kid but not now - I find video games to be juvenile but that is my opinion only, it is not intended to judge those that do. I answered that I love classic video games like Nintendo Ice Hockey. It's amazing what a discussion starter that was.

Part of these kinds of cultural questions is to see how well you think on your feet when you are thrown a curveball. For your next interview, think in advance what questions might be asked and have a prepared answer. This is how I survived the panel ones.

 

[Xenocity]

Don't take it too hard.

Over the last 10 years, HR has taken over the hiring and interviewing process to the point that perfectly good people are being denied work.
They through out the normal interviewing form.

Most interviewing is done with HR People, who rarely interact with that department and job, leaving you in an interview with people who literally know nothing about the job and department they are hiring for.

I've even been asked new age questions such as:

1. Choose a super hero power and why?
2. What's your favorite color and why?
3. What's your favorite word and why?
4. What does work mean to you?
5. What does life mean to you?
6. Which is more important to you work or life?
7. What kind of animal do you want to be and why?
8. When you are on your death bead what do you want your life to be about?
9. What does this image represent and why?
10. How do you feel about ______ and why?
11. Define _______ and explain?

I've made it to final rounds of interviewing and know that I am good at interviewing, but damn how I hate trying to explain IT and marketing stuff to HR.

Also if you make HR and interviewers look stupid and/or inept at understanding that job and department, despite you actually knowing more than them then will show you the door.
Also if they perceive you as weird, different, unique etc.. they won't hire you either.
Most people prefer to hire those people who are close to them personality wise and look wise, they don't like different types.


My rant/point was the hiring practices/process is highly screwed up to the point of good people being screwed out of jobs they would be good for, in favor of people that are lesser due to HR being HR.
It doesn't help that you normally get interviewed by HR people who know nothing or very little about the jobs they are hiring for.

It's rare for someone from that department and job to actually meet the candidate before they are hired, leaving a huge disconnect from those who do the hiring and those who the actual work.

I've heard plenty of stories of people being hired who were ill suited for the job and were only hired because HR felt they met the literal requirements.

Know come join me in the world of unemployment!

P.S. use LinkedIn, Indeed.com, DICE.com and http://www.itjobcafe.com/Index for IT jobs (or other jobs too).

 

[wanderer03]

Don't take it too hard.

Over the last 10 years, HR has taken over the hiring and interviewing process to the point that perfectly good people are being denied work.
They through out the normal interviewing form.

Most interviewing is done with HR People, who rarely interact with that department and job, leaving you in an interview with people who literally know nothing about the job and department they are hiring for.

I've even been asked new age questions such as:

1. Choose a super hero power and why?
2. What's your favorite color and why?
3. What's your favorite word and why?
4. What does work mean to you?
5. What does life mean to you?
6. Which is more important to you work or life?
7. What kind of animal do you want to be and why?
8. When you are on your death bead what do you want your life to be about?
9. What does this image represent and why?
10. How do you feel about ______ and why?
11. Define _______ and explain?

I've made it to final rounds of interviewing and know that I am good at interviewing, but damn how I hate trying to explain IT and marketing stuff to HR.

Also if you make HR and interviewers look stupid and/or inept at understanding that job and department, despite you actually knowing more than them then will show you the door.
Also if they perceive you as weird, different, unique etc.. they won't hire you either.
Most people prefer to hire those people who are close to them personality wise and look wise, they don't like different types.


My rant/point was the hiring practices/process is highly screwed up to the point of good people being screwed out of jobs they would be good for, in favor of people that are lesser due to HR being HR.
It doesn't help that you normally get interviewed by HR people who know nothing or very little about the jobs they are hiring for.

It's rare for someone from that department and job to actually meet the candidate before they are hired, leaving a huge disconnect from those who do the hiring and those who the actual work.

I've heard plenty of stories of people being hired who were ill suited for the job and were only hired because HR felt they met the literal requirements.

Know come join me in the world of unemployment!

P.S. use LinkedIn, Indeed.com, DICE.com and http://www.itjobcafe.com/Index for IT jobs (or other jobs too).

It's putting up with crap like that that caused me to leave the corporate world for a career as a bus/truck driver. HR ineptitude is just astounding. The number of good candidates that get passed over simply makes no sense.

 

[Xenocity]

It's putting up with crap like that that caused me to leave the corporate world for a career as a bus/truck driver. HR ineptitude is just astounding. The number of good candidates that get passed over simply makes no sense.

It's not just the corporate world, even smaller businesses because they can hire HR firms to do the hiring.

There are companies who specialize in HR and hiring, which smaller and mid size companies use.
Even the big companies who are outsourcing their HR and Hiring to them.

I've had the unfortunate luck of dealing with them.

There are two types of candidates, those who fit the literal HR profile and those who don't.
Sadly those who are good at a job/career tend to not fit the literal HR profile, thus don't get hired.
Ironically those who do tend to be mediocre employees tend to fit literal HR profiles to a T.

From all my interviewing, I found out that I'm good at interviewing for the most part but I from the feedback I've gotten I don't fit the literal HR profile.
This is in part is why I am still unemployed since graduation.

That and no one wants to train new hires, so they expected you to know everything day and date.

 

[wanderer03]

It's not just the corporate world, even smaller businesses because they can hire HR firms to do the hiring.

There are companies who specialize in HR and hiring, which smaller and mid size companies use.
Even the big companies who are outsourcing their HR and Hiring to them.

I've had the unfortunate luck of dealing with them.

There are two types of candidates, those who fit the literal HR profile and those who don't.
Sadly those who are good at a job/career tend to not fit the literal HR profile, thus don't get hired.
Ironically those who do tend to be mediocre employees tend to fit literal HR profiles to a T.

From all my interviewing, I found out that I'm good at interviewing for the most part but I from the feedback I've gotten I don't fit the literal HR profile.
This is in part is why I am still unemployed since graduation.

That and no one wants to train new hires, so they expected you to know everything day and date.

I guess I should've used the phrase, "white collar world." I am sorry that you are having difficulty finding work. Sadly, there are more qualified people than there are jobs available. Employers can be very picky about what they want. This is why I chose profession where I would be in demand. The trucking profession has a critical shortage of drivers. I read somewhere that a truck driver with clean record will only be unemployed an average of 4 hours. Trucking companies are fighting to retain people.

 

[Xenocity]

I guess I should've used the phrase, "white collar world." I am sorry that you are having difficulty finding work. Sadly, there are more qualified people than there are jobs available. Employers can be very picky about what they want. This is why I chose profession where I would be in demand. The trucking profession has a critical shortage of drivers. I read somewhere that a truck driver with clean record will only be unemployed an average of 4 hours. Trucking companies are fighting to retain people.

It's more due to the fact I live in Metro Detroit.

The U.S. economic recovery has pretty much seen all the job growth in CA, TX (until recently, they are in a massive recession) and NY.
There is a very high unemployment figure for people under 35 and recent graduates.
The underemployment figure for those groups are just as high.

The BLS says it take ~3 years for a college graduate on average to find a full time job and/or career job.

Essentially very few companies are willing to take on young and inexperienced workers.

I have 3 people looking for jobs for me, one of which is my counselor which are all through the state agency...

With that said, trucking and shipping have a bad stigma in the public eye on how they've treated their employees for the past few decades in the U.S.

Though I can't stand being in a car for more than a few minutes, I definitely would hate driving a truck ( I don't like driving).

 

[wanderer03]

It's more due to the fact I live in Metro Detroit.

The U.S. economic recovery has pretty much seen all the job growth in CA, TX (until recently, they are in a massive recession) and NY.
There is a very high unemployment figure for people under 35 and recent graduates.
The underemployment figure for those groups are just as high.

The BLS says it take ~3 years for a college graduate on average to find a full time job and/or career job.

Essentially very few companies are willing to take on young and inexperienced workers.

I have 3 people looking for jobs for me, one of which is my counselor which are all through the state agency...

With that said, trucking and shipping have a bad stigma in the public eye on how they've treated their employees for the past few decades in the U.S.

Though I can't stand being in a car for more than a few minutes, I definitely would hate driving a truck ( I don't like driving).

Driving a truck is definitely not for everyone. That stigma has largely gone away. My trucking school class two years ago was very diverse in age and educational levels. I think there are folks that realize white collar does not necessarily mean high pay.

 

[Liambruno]

This is where you can lie through your teeth. I know lying runs counter to us and everything we are taught but your interviewers would be none the wiser. Name a video game whether or not it consumes any time, even if it's an old one. I got this question about video games once. I liked them as a kid but not now - I find video games to be juvenile but that is my opinion only, it is not intended to judge those that do. I answered that I love classic video games like Nintendo Ice Hockey. It's amazing what a discussion starter that was.

Part of these kinds of cultural questions is to see how well you think on your feet when you are thrown a curveball. For your next interview, think in advance what questions might be asked and have a prepared answer. This is how I survived the panel ones.

Yeah, the whole thinking on my feet thing only works in a literal context (i.e. I've gotten around motor clumsiness partly by learning to dodge people as I walk. I probably look like a freak, but I don't crash into others if I see them first). Generally if I'm asked a curveball question and I'm unprepared, I try to answer quickly and end up missing the point. Then I get the point and it's too late to backpedal. I wonder if there's a way to address that delay in processing (cognition vs. intuition) directly. In the mean time I'm doing what you suggest, only having my wife quiz me with random oddball questions while we run.

 

[Xenocity]

Yeah, the whole thinking on my feet thing only works in a literal context (i.e. I've gotten around motor clumsiness partly by learning to dodge people as I walk. I probably look like a freak, but I don't crash into others if I see them first). Generally if I'm asked a curveball question and I'm unprepared, I try to answer quickly and end up missing the point. Then I get the point and it's too late to backpedal. I wonder if there's a way to address that delay in processing (cognition vs. intuition) directly. In the mean time I'm doing what you suggest, only having my wife quiz me with random oddball questions while we run.

I hate to break it to you... The best you can do is take a few seconds to think on it before answering.
Just take your time to process it before answering and hope for the best.

The only other thing you can do is focus on the non verbal cues and facial expressions of the person interviewing.

You just happen to be a literal person.

I've had this issue too, because I couldn't get read on the interviewer.
When I can't get a read on someone, I default to being literal to the point.


It's very hard for anyone to prepare for out of the blue questions on anything...

 

[Liambruno]

I hate to break it to you... The best you can do is take a few seconds to think on it before answering.
Just take your time to process it before answering and hope for the best.

The only other thing you can do is focus on the non verbal cues and facial expressions of the person interviewing.

You just happen to be a literal person.

I've had this issue too, because I couldn't get read on the interviewer.
When I can't get a read on someone, I default to being literal to the point.


It's very hard for anyone to prepare for out of the blue questions on anything...

Ah, yes, the pause. Everyone thinks I'm stalling, and I'm really just trying to figure out what the asker's intentions are. I tried asking for explicit clarification on a salient question the other day. Worked perfectly. I do need to give myself permission to pause and think about a question, though; it's easy to let pressure to speak get to one, and then it's so easy to misread someone's intent.

 

[Xenocity]

Ah, yes, the pause. Everyone thinks I'm stalling, and I'm really just trying to figure out what the asker's intentions are. I tried asking for explicit clarification on a salient question the other day. Worked perfectly. I do need to give myself permission to pause and think about a question, though; it's easy to let pressure to speak get to one, and then it's so easy to misread someone's intent.

Those "curveball" questions exist to purposely to throw you off and confuse you.
Everyone gets hurt with them.