How will you distribute gold?
“Dependency” is the basic requisite for respect and being silent. People usually make fun or crack a joke on CM, but they never tend to mock any water boy or municipal worker of their own locality, because they have a direct dependency on the water boy with respect to CM.
Same happens at Interview, whenever you need a job, you’re in need and the interviewer will be the most respectable person even if he is ill-minded and less knowledgable than you. I got an offer letter from IIM-K long back, I have cleared written, GD. But at the personal interview, the three-member board asked me to take Mixture and Tea. After viewing my DAF form, they said “ We think you should pursue your research than management” and said, “I can leave”. Not even a question was posed.
Till today, I didn’t understand on what basis I was rejected and I wasn't satisfied regarding the interview, as no question was asked and I didn’t utter a single word. The previous year I was awarded Idea champion award from ISEED entrepreneur organization and had a successful startup journey, gave a TED talk. Now my question is? Did I fail or IIM-K interview panel failed? in identifying the right candidate.
Personal Interview is been part of the hiring process from years. But the authenticity of them is still a doubt. Like who are these people who will judge you in five minutes, where everyone knows that those 5-minutes are the minutes of expressing lies in a beautiful way. Is that what you’re looking for?
Many time interviewer expects, that you should answer what exactly he thinks in mind, rather than what exactly you want to express. Let me give you an example, I attended an interview with a company in my home town. After the written exam further round was taken by the CEO himself, where he wants to check my skills. Confidently, he asked a question,
“You’ve got someone working for you for seven days and a gold bar to pay them. You must pay the worker for their work at the end of every day. If you are only allowed to make two breaks in the gold bar, how do you pay your worker?”
my answer was: I will never make cuts, As gold is the most malleable element found on the earth. I would rather melt it and will make coins.
Being a chemical engineering student who knows about metals, my mind has its own space and thinks on its own. Yes, my answer is a possibility for the question asked. Means If a problem is given, my mind came up with a solution which is practically possible.
But my interviewer who has a fixed answer in his mind, probably from the website or book which he has taken up the question isn’t satisfied with the answer and came up with a mathematical fraction method solution, which he has byhearted from the website. My point is, Yes, I do agree with what you said . But there are “N” number of ways to solve any problem and every mind thinks in a different way while solving it.
As I applied for the post of an executive, I may have a different approach to solving problems in a more practical way. The core context of taking an interview should depend upon how good the candidate is in responding or thinking, rather matching his answer with the answer you read somewhere. If he/she is saying the exact answer, believe me, you both follow the same website and they will never add a creative solution or innovative programme to the company.
Allow your employees, interns and even wife or girlfriend to talk, to discuss. In this nature, any free mind will give you better solutions or ideas than a trained or programmed mind and believe me those minds are gold, which can be distributed and will add value to you, rather than a baseless mathematical fraction which satisfies employers ego — Sakthi Swaroop.