The real story behind the job interview

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 555.

Hamburger University

In 1961, Ray launched a training program, later called Hamburger University, at a new restaurant in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. There, franchisees and operators were trained in the scientific methods of running a successful McDonald's. Hamburger U also had a research and development laboratory to develop new cooking, freezing, storing and serving methods. Today, more than 80,000 people have graduated from the program.

The End of a Legend

Right up until he died on January 14,1984, Ray Kroc never stopped working for McDonald's. Even when he was confined to a wheelchair, he still went to work in the office in San Diego nearly every day. He would keep a hawk's eye over the McDonald's restaurant near his office, phoning the manager to remind him to pick up the trash, clean his lot, and turn on the lights at night.

From his passion for innovation and efficiency, to his relentless pursuit of quality, and his many charitable contributions, Ray Kroc's legacy continues to be an inspirational, integral part of McDonald's today.

Job seekers arrive early for their appointment, have time to look around and assess the environment. They're dressed appropriately for the meeting, have done their homework on the company and understand what the job entails.

They know what questions to expect and what to answer and have the necessary information to negotiate a good salary and those all-important benefits. They show up for the interview with names of excellent references in hand and are ready to start work immediately, hitting the ground running. And they know how important it is to be polite and professional the entire time.

Human resource personnel know what they're supposed to do, too: Put job candidates at ease, assess their skills and ascertain how they will fit into the corporate culture. The interviewers know the right questions to ask about educational credentials, past experience and knowledge of the work involved for the position to be filled. If necessary, they administer skills and psychological tests that will yield important data about the job seeker. They keep the interview moving along and usually complete it in under an hour. And they know how important it is to be polite and professional the entire time.

The preceding is pretty much how things go for both parties involved in a job interview. But that's only on the surface. What's actually happening, the unsaid reactions and thoughts, rarely are discussed.

But I'm changing all that now. I'm going to reveal what the job candidate and the interviewer really are thinking at critical moments, particularly about questions that delve into the job seeker's background. Here are a few questions and answers, with private thoughts of both parties in parentheses:

Human resources:Why did you leave your last job? (You were probably let go.) Candidate:I knew it was time to move on. (And my boss hated me.)

Human resources:What skills did you acquire in your last job that you would be able to use here? (Surfing the Internet doesn't count.)

Candidate:I've worked in this area for 10 years and my previous employers sent me to school for advanced training. (Bit I never learned much.)

Human resources:How do you get along with your colleagues? (Probably had no friends) Candidate:Extremely well. I was a good team player. (And they all hated me, too.) Human resources:What are your greatest shortcomings? (This might take quite a while to answer.)

Candidate:I really am a workaholic and spend all my waking hours thinking about my job and what I have to do. (I better be able to leave at 5 p.m. exactly.)

Human resources:What kind of salary do you expect to make? (I plan to pay as little as possible.)

Candidate:I'm completely open on that subject. (It better be $10,000 more than I made in my last job or I'm out of here.)

Human resources:Well, thank you so much for your time. I really enjoyed meeting you. (What a creep.) Candidate:Thank you so much for this inteniew. I really enjoyed meeting you. (What a creep.)