Re: Employment Interview

[Mark Baker <mbaker -at- OMNIMARK -dot- COM>]

 Tracy Boyington wrote


>> Would you rather have
>> someone hide the truth so you could deal with the consequences after you
>> hire them or tell you the truth so you can ask one or two clarifying
>> questions during the interview.
>
>But how many hiring managers *would* ask clarifying questions, and how
>many would just slam a mental door in your face as soon as they heard
>"personality conflict?" Isn't that code for "I don't like my
>pointy-headed boss and my boss doesn't like me, therefore I am hard to
>get along with and you should not touch me with a ten foot pole?"


The first question that the devil's advocate asks about any candidate for
sainthood is: "had he any enemies?" If the answer is no, the cause is
immediately rejected.

I always ask about conflicts and strategies the candidate uses to win those
conflicts. I would never hire someone who has never had a conflict. As far
as I'm concerned, if you're not quarreling with the engineers on a regular
basis you are probably not doing your job as a technical writer.

Are those conflicts necessarily personality conflicts? Maybe, maybe not. But
to a certain extent I think they are. We have jobs because engineers often
lack the personality traits necessary to communicate well with
non-engineers. ;-)

---
Mark Baker
Manager, Corporate Communications
OmniMark Technologies Corporation
1400 Blair Place
Gloucester, Ontario
Canada, K1J 9B8
Phone: 613-745-4242
Fax: 613-745-5560
Email mbaker -at- omnimark -dot- com