My team had several new staffs without much IT background (no Degree) in education. Though they claimed they had experience in using computer, it gave me much amusement when I was in good mood. When manager asked me, “So how are they?”
I ranted my head off, counting good & bad.
“Are you having too high expectation?” He asked.
“No.” I expected them to know how to use computer reasonably - don’t have to know how to network but they have to know how to use most basic functions in MS Office like cut, copy, paste, change fonts, browse & research on Internet, what’s a printer, scanner, etc. Thank goodness nobody types like L (Death Note). But of course, I wouldn’t mind if they have L’s brilliant mind.
I didn’t participate in the interview sessions for 2 of them. I had no idea what sort of questions were asked to them by the interviewer.
When I asked 1 of them to login to Windows Live Instant Messenger, she logged in with her Gmail email address. Then she reported, “Cannot login.”
When I asked the other to login with email in company’s website, he logged in with his personal Hotmail account. Hah!
After screaming internally, felt like punching the wall and stomping the ground several floors down; I told my manager, “I need to be in the interviews.” The thing is, I’m the one to train these people and work with them directly. Which I had no control in hiring.
He agreed. It was too late to take back hiring the 2 staffs which was hired by my superior. There was still chance for future candidates as we are getting more volume of work.
So for the 3rd newbie, I joined the interview with the other interviewer. I asked the potential employee, “Can you tell me a bit about yourself?”
The other interviewer told me the answer - what the candidate is currently doing, education & experiences.
Imagine my shock. Maybe the interviewer thought it was my problem that I was there late a few minutes (had some escalation) and she had already asked the candidate this question. BUT! I wanted to hear from the candidate, not the interviewer!
The candidate assured us, “Yes, I can do. I can learn. I know how to use computer. I had Cert in Computer. I’m very flexible.”
“Flexible as in?”
“Oh.. like in my previous company, I follow my teammates.”
“That means if everyone in our team is lazy, you would be too?” I asked in a joke (not).
“Hahah, yeah.”
No bone.
I told my manager about my reservations that when there was no question from candidate during interview, there would be a lot of questions (and problems) once the person works. Of course, manager rebutted, “Not everyone asks so much questions like you.”
“OK.” I got what he meant: asking lots of questions doesn’t mean a person is suitable, asking no questions doesn’t mean a person isn’t suitable either.
Forward a few days later, this candidate was hired after 2nd interview with manager. Ha?!
The best was when I talked about different types of Operating Systems used by our customers from Unix to Linux to Microsoft, I got a blank face from her.
“Uh.. what is Operating..?”
I recalled she had taken Computer Cert before. Surely, she would know this?
I asked her, “Do you know what is Microsoft Windows?”
A blank look.
Oh gawd. * Deep breath * Be calm, be calm. * Breathe! * How can anyone not know what is Microsoft when one had Computing Cert?
I asked her again (maybe with accusing tone), “I thought you had taken computer course before?”
“Oh, that was 5 yrs ago,” she waved her hand non-chalantly.
“Forgot all already?”
“No… I remember some.”
“Like?”
“Mm…” she shrugged her shoulders. “You ask me.”
“What do you use - (I better ask this 1st) - which program did you learn there?”
“Mm.. all the Office.”
“Which one? Can you show me?” I gestured at the START button on the monitor in Windows.
She had problem finding Office Tools.
When I moved the mouse over those, I asked her again. She mixed up all of them. Or she had problem in communication & explaining things in general. To which, SHIT! We work in the communication and IT field!
“PowerPoint is to add pictures and words.”
“Mm.. Word to write.”
“Access to do calculation.”
“Calculation?” I asked.
“Like accounting?”
“Oh.”
Holy. Someone needed a refresher course badly.
After learning my lesson that I must be present & ask the right questions in interviews, I learnt that I had to test the candidates on English & computer skills too. For the 4th candidate, the other interviewer used my question in 3rd candidate. What a laugh! Sure, nobody has patented interview questions before but she used the exact word as mine.
No point hiring people who doesn’t even have basic English grammar or those who need me to train them on what is “mouse”.
I can do that (explain what is “mouse” or “all-in-one” and it’s not the shampoo + conditioner) but that will make the training sessions wayyyyy much longer.
I consoled myself. Put myself in their shoes. Maybe when I jump to a totally different field, someone would be kind (and patient) enough to pass his/her knowledge to me when I am the duh one. *cross fingers*
We all say