Startup Interviews Break Mould
Startups are taking the
unconventional route to hire people. With companies valuing cultural fit just
as much as expertise, they are innovating with interview formats. If you aspire
to work for a startup, here's a tip: Expect the unexpected.
URBAN LADDER
The Airport Test
Online furniture curator Urban
Ladder has, by its own admission, put in place a “cumbersome“ interview process
to fluster prospective employees.
The rigorous process starts even
before hiring managers meet the candidate. As a first step, the company screens
the candidate on phone. In the 45-minute conversation, the functional manager
tests the candidate's basic communication, past experience, basic fit and
career plans. Next, an exercise tests candidates' problem-solving skills. This
is literally the start of the interview, and some candidates drop off at this
level itself. Time spent on the exercise: between three and six hours. And if
you are an engineer, you will find yourself in the midst of a hacking test.A
week later, the interview is scheduled.
THE GOOGLY: WHEN THEY'RE `STRANDED'
Candidates are given an `airport
test' to gauge whether they can hold a conversation if they are stranded at an
airport for two hours.
The interviewer asks people about
their hobbies or encourages them to talk about something they are extremely
passionate about. The questions are not very structured but are left for the
interviewee to decide based on the flow of conversation. The idea is to keep
the conversation informal.
The fundamental premise of hiring is
potential more than performance.Since we are trying to do something that has
not been done before -selling furniture online -we need a rigorous process to
spot talent
RAJIV SRIVATSA,
Co-founder & COO
JOMBAY
Testing Area: The Reception Area
Talent assessment and analytics
platform Jombay keeps a keen eye on the candidate from the word `go'. You are
being interviewed even when there is no one around you. Or you could be asked
to play the guitar when you may not even when you may not even know how to hold
one.
Jombay often conducts a rapidfire
round centered on the candidate's personal life. Current affairs,
relationships, wellness, food and art are part of the conversation, aimed at
evaluating the cultural fit.Candidates are asked to create their own
psychometric report. They are asked to compare that with one generated by
Jombay, and explain the perception gap.
Recruiters at Jombay sometimes make
the candidates sit for 30 minutes in the reception area and observe ception
area and obser the wait. They usually keep five books, and an equal number of
newspapers and magazines at the reception and closely watch the candidate's
behaviour to infer the cultural or personality fit from which books, magazines
and newspapers they pick up. At junior-level interviews, candidates are asked
to play the guitar to check how the person adapts or learns in unfamiliar
territories.
THE GOOGLY: PUSH-UPS & STRETCHES
Half the office was doing push-ups
and stretches when a candidate arrived. The hirers told him this was their
exercise time, and he could join in. They were checking the candidate's
adaptability. He happily joined in.
There are people who look at the
notice boards and our awards, and try to absorb as much as they can about the
company (the smart ones). There are people who portray that they are reading
The Economic Times but don't flip the page at all (those trying to make an
impression), and there are people who read inspirational books (startup
material)
MOHIT GUNDECHA, CEO & co-founder.
IBIBO
Many Levels to Cross
Ibibo Group founder Ashish Kashyap
has a unique task -he approves every single hiring.Group companies Goibibo and
RedBus have 400 and 650 employees respectively, all of whom have been vetted by
him.
At ibiboGroup, the hiring process
has been the same since Day 1. If you are being hired for mid-level positions,
you get to face at least you get to face at least three interviews. At the
senior level, there are at least five levels of interview.Interviewers can be
junior to the prospective hire.
Each interviewer rates the candidate
and writes a small essay. Ratings are then aggregated. At this stage, it is
also decided if the candidate needs to be interviewed by more people. Then
comes the approval from the founder based on the hiring dockets and interviewer
feedback.
The key reason for close involvement
is to ensure that we continue to maintain our culture; ensure that people we
are hiring are a cultural fit to our philosophies ASHISH KASHYAP Founder &
CEO
PAYTM
Take Exams From Home
Indian mobile payments and ecommerce
platform, Paytm, has a coding competition wherein candidates can work from
home.
This part of the interview process,
implemented in 2013end, is meant to recruit engineering students from remote
areas. The coding competitions are held online, eliminating the need for test
centres, especially for those who want to work for Paytm from remote areas.
THE GOOGLY: DIRECT EXPERIENCE
For management students, in 2014,
the company came up with the idea of letting shortlisted candidates work from
the Paytm office for a few days. The idea to let senior employees test their
working conditions and teams came from a few entrepreneurs who wanted to figure
out if they were comfortable working in the e-commerce company.
The management thought this was an
excellent way to get feedback and ensure the right candidate is selected. This
also helps Paytm extend the message that a cultural fit is important for the
company.
We get to hire from Shillong,
Guwahati and not go there.Students get to crack the code from home and we save
initial travelling costs
VIJAY SHEKHAR
SHARMA CEO & founder
Saumya Bhattacharya and Devina
Sengupta ET13MAR15
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