If you’re a boss, ask yourself: How much can I really learn about a person in an interview? How much of what they’re telling you is because they know you want to hear it and how much of what they say is true and unbiased?
I often wonder to myself why businesses bother to interview. Instead we should be able to narrow the candidates down from the ‘must-have’ and ‘nice-to-have’ criteria and set them to work with us in a trial capacity and see who fits best with company expectations and culture.
I mean, there is an industry built around passing interviews, from courses on interview techniques, books on tips and tricks and professional CV writers – it’s pretty much an art form unto itself about how to sell yourself into a job. In my opinion, a bit like dating, its best to present yourself honestly and openly to prospective employers (and vice versa) so there are no nasty surprises and everyone can save a lot of time and energy when the inevitable comes out.
The interview itself has been around for thousands of years with one of the first being documented in Ancient Egypt the Bible: "Pharaoh started this interview with a compliment: “It is said about you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it” (Genesis 41-15) - and you'll all know - nothing has changed Isn’t it about time for a different approach?
Imagine a world where the Costanza-approach were to be applied to candidate matching (I.e. Do the opposite of what you would normally do). Where candidates’ skills, personality, aptitudes and working style were laid bare as were that of a prospective employer (where the company excels, what it’s really like working for said company etc.). Then you would get hard data with which to match the two interested parties. Sure there will be more factors than I have mentioned here but the essence of the reason why we conduct interviews will in effect be eliminated.
If you had a person with the 'right stuff', why wouldn’t you invite them in to see how they perform? Would there be a need to interview them if you know exactly what they can do and how they go about doing it?
Advances in technology and its acceptance has meant that some employers and candidates have decided to let an algorithm do the tango. Resulting in better employer-employee matches and a serious reduction in time spent interviewing and screening and more time getting down to business. Some are touting that the interview as you know it will be dead by 2018.
Merlin is a year ahead in killing the interview, giving time back to employers. Bosses can be specific with who they’re after (personality type, working style, skill set/s, qualifications etc.). The Merlin app will then (depending on how urgent your shift is) find the closest person that fits your criteria and that is able to work immediately. Bosses can then rate the shifter, and both profiles are enhanced each time a shift is completed.
I am proud to be in the race to revolutionize the way people are hired – making the process as smooth and accurate as possible for all involved.
We are slated to launch in Feb 2017.
Cheers
James
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