The tables have turned.
Just last year I was on the other side, being interviewed for the position that I am currently in. This year, we were looking for 2 new people to hire to fill the vacant spots in my department.
When I was being hired, my supervisor had decided to start having the team do peer interviews because we all had to be able to work together. And having a good team dynamic was essential to having a great work place environment.
It was almost bizarre for me because I re-read some of the questions that we had to ask and I could remember what I had said during the interview, nearly a year ago!
I knew exactly how it felt for the 5 people we had to peer interview this time around. It was intimidating to be sitting at the end of the table with 6 people staring at you and measuring you up. My supervisor had told me she knew the team would want to hire me because during my interview I had them laughing (hey, when you’re facing 3 guys, you gotta crack jokes, otherwise they’d be bored out of their minds and focus their attention on doodling!) One of the questions they had asked me was: sometimes it gets a bit loud and noisy, how do you handle that? I told them I’d just turn off my hearing aids. The guys thought it was HILARIOUS.
But I swear I haven’t done it yet. I just ignore it, or join in on the ruckus.
The thing about peer interviewing, no matter how much we groan and moan about how we don’t want to do it, it’s absolutely necessary.
This interview gives the applicant an opportunity to size up the company, get to know the employees and find out about the company culture.
It’s also a great way for the supervisor to allow the employees to approve whether or not they think the applicant is the best candidate for the position available. During these peer interviews, we asked questions related to work, tried to get to know them a little bit, find out what they were looking for in their career, and see if they meshed with our team.
We did have a difference of opinions with our supervisior over some of the applicants. Our supervisior had thought one person had a great personality, and when we had interviewed them, we found the person too conservative, and did not think they would mesh well with the team. The interview took close to 1 1/2 hours! Because the applicant talked so much and felt it was necessary to justify everything in her portfolio, which was really impressive (I almost wish i had some of those projects!)
Although we did take into account that we knew they were nervous. Who wouldn’t be? Facing 6 people at once!
I find this process to be very beneficial on both sides. It gives the applicant a chance to figure out whether or not they really want to work with this company and the team. They’re able to answer our questions, as well as ask us some questions that they might not feel comfortable asking the supervisor.
In turn, it gives us a chance to have a say in who we think will work well with us and blend in with our environment.
Strangely enough, as soon as one of the applicants we had interviewed, started working here. We could instantly feel the team dynamic shift. The energy was better. We started working together more efficiently. Since I’ve moved desks, I’ve started conversing with one of the guys more, and I’ve learned we have the same work style. I’ve been able to learn a few tips to make my job more efficient.
I’ve actually felt a lot better these days because I’m interacting with the team more. I’ve seen what a difference it makes. And feel that if I were to interview elsewhere, I’d want to ask for a peer interview because it would give me an opportunity to size up the company and the team I might work with.
If your work environment isn’t great, then your life isn’t good. You aren’t able to perform at the top of your game, and in turn, it affects everyone else around you. I also do think that your work life almost always affects your home life as well. Working in an environment where you mesh well with most people gives you the opportunity succeed.
Have you ever been peer interviewed? Have you ever been the one doing the interview? What do you look for in a company, a team?
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Great idea! I will have to keep that in mind should one day come when I am responsible for hiring. Also, I think this is an even better idea for a deaf applicant to be interviewed peer-style if he or she is going to be working with mostly or all hearing people since that will expose those hearing people to the deaf applicant right off the bat - expose them to the methods of communication available, expose them to the personality and mind of the deaf applicant while an interpreter is present, etc.
Yes, I went through a peer interview when I was actively job-hunting (still looking for a job, but have put it on the side because I’m a bit burned out and frustrated). Mind you, this was the first interview I had with a particular company. The interview was in the president’s office which had lots of windows. Of course, the interviewers were seated with the windows behind them, thus bringing in light even though it was cloudy. Yes, I had a hard time lipreading.
It was instructive though - when I asked them how did they keep their work and personal life separate, they all laughed themselves silly and didn’t really answer the question. That’s when I realized I really didn’t want to work there (that and a few other things I picked up from there helped me form a negative impression of the company). My feelings were confirmed when they never bothered to let me know if I had made it to the next step or not.
Which is another pet peeve of mine - companies who don’t let candidates know of their status AFTER the interiew (much less during the application process - yes, I know you guys get lots of resumes in response, but don’t leave us hanging and wasting our time waiting for a response).
I actually have no problems if they don’t respond when I first apply for the job. But if I’ve gone through the interview process and they don’t let me know the status of the job, that’s really annoying.
Good luck on your job search! I know it’s not easy!! If you’ve gone through the first interview, be sure to send a short note in the mail (yes, snail mail), thanking them for their time & going over why you’re right for the job.
I know they tend to really appreciate that! Hope this helps!
I didn’t experience a round-table peer interview. I had separate, back-to-back interviews with three people on the team. It was tiring, but good. I did not request an interpreter because I knew I wouldn’t have one on a daily basis. I wanted to do it as it would be if I worked there.
I was hired. And lest you think they gave me a hard time about using interpreters for meetings, they didn’t. I get interpreters for team and department meetings. It hasn’t really seemed to faze anyone.
I have been peer interviewed several times, and I have participated in peer interviews.
Personally, I can’t stand being peer interviewed, since as you say, it’s not very easy being judged by a group of people. I’d rather be interviewed by one or two people at a time, max.
But when I participated in peer interviews as an interviewer, it actually gave me a better perspective on interviewers in general and what a good interview process involves, and what to look for in an ideal candidate, etc.
Interviewing candidates isn’t just about finding a person who will “fit” within the company…you also have to make sure that the person will DO/wants the job, and has the skills needed to do the job, and is reliable, etc. And since we all know that nearly all candidates are on their best behavior and will parrot responses designed to make them look good as possible, which makes the interviewer’s job much tougher.
Hi Erin! Thanks for doing this! I actually have a peer interview tomorrow. I am SO excited but also pretty nervous.
With you being on the other side,
What is a good ice breaker?
I am perfectly confident in my deafness. I communicate VERY well but would it take the stress off me AND the interviewers to briefly mention that I may misunderstand a question and that they should feel free to clarify. What is the best way to “bring up my disability”?
Briefly mention to the interviewers after they introduce themselves & are getting ready to start the interview that you are deaf & there might be a chance where you will misunderstood a question or 2. So they should feel comfortable enough to clarify if you didn’t fully understand or misunderstood the question.
As for an ice breaker– my ice breaker was actually 1/2 way through the interview when they asked me about how I work in a noisy environment. I told them I just turn off my hearing aids. that got the guys laughing quite hard.
Just be yourself, don’t forget to smile, and use your sense of humor, but keep it clean! Don’t go on and on with your answers, keep them brief, but not to the point where they’re just 1 or 2 word answers. Hope this helps a little bit! Good luck!!