Would you be impressed with this in an interview?

[foresterr]

I interviewed for a newly qualified position and there was a man there who was super nervous. So nervous in fact he gave short bursts of answers. Not coherent sentences. You could tell from the detail in his answers that he did have some good knowledge of the subject area but he was just a nervous mess. His skills and experience answer lasted literally 3 minutes and he left out most of what is written in his CV.

After answering all the questions he apologised for his previous answers and explained that he was nervous and asked if he could re answer the skills and experience question. We said yes and he did so with real determination. You could see he was still nervous but he fought through it and gave quite a good answer in the end.

There were however, candidates who gave stronger answers overall. But I'm so impressed .

Would you be impressed? Does anyone here interview and what would you make of this? AIBU to choose him over candidates who got it right first time.

[topcat2014]

What is the job for:

Salesman - probably a no.

Ultra techie engineering type - might be worth it.

We can't all be city slicker types.

[TheSnowFairy]

Will he be required to do presentations? Is he customer facing?

If either of those then I would have hesitated (due to being a 'nervous mess') but difficult to say if YABU without knowing the other candidates.

[OhSuckItUpDucky]

Gut instinct , request references

[ApocalypseNowt]

Depends what the job is for.

To be fair if he was still nervous the second time (even though he battled through) you probably still didn't get half of what he's capable of/his experience. Shows a really good attitude.

Depending on job / his reference I think i'd like to take a punt on him.

[TheMortificadosDragon]

Well, it would depend on the role of course. If he's up to the job, he'd probably be motivated to show his worth after being given a chance and probably not be keen on moving on too quickly.

[lljkk]

Not someone who works well under pressure

[foresterr]

The first part of the recruitment process is a written assessment and this is purely competency based and on a point system.

The individual interview is not strictly competency based and is a general overall idea of competence.

To qualify in this field you would HAVE to be competent so no worries about anyone unsuitable getting in. If you've qualified you can do the job.

It does involve being extroverted and having good communication skills. But it was clear he was infact extroverted, just very nervous. After all the questions were finished with he was happy chatting to us.

[HaPPy8]

I would. He showed courage and determination.

[FlouncingInAWinterWonderland]

I think you need to consider how much time you/ your department has to mentor this candidate. Even in an ultra techie type role an employee needs to be able to confidently confirm where they are in a project, what hurdles they yet have to master, what resource they need to throw at an issue. Someone who is technically capable but lacks the confidence to express that capability can be quite a resource sap if someone else needs to oversee their every move.

Could you do a second interview, even over the pnone to guage if this was particularly bad interview nerves or a significant life hurdle?

[HaPPy8]

He also showed self awareness, which is a good thing.

[scaryclown]

This rule is the most forgotten in interviews...


As an interviewer your job is to find the best candidate for the job

Its not who performed best in interview, who dressed well, or who had the warmest handshake. If there is something about this candidate and nerves at interview is stopping it coming out, add a low stress assessment or chat somewhere else.

The horrible numbers of times i've seen awful people interview well and get jobs they can't do is legion, and the amount of people i've seen who interview nervously who are brilliant is also pretty high.

Can you offer him a chance to explain anything he think hes missed?

[foresterr]

I have to say I am an extrovert, ultra socially confident, very competent at my job. But I cannot do jobs interviews either. I would rather give a three hour talk infront of 1000 people than have a job interview. So I don't presume just because someone is a mess in an interview they are like that generally. But obviously if they don't give good answers they can't get the job.

He gave decent answers in the end.

[MrTumblesbitch]

He's got under your skin! I interview a lot (sales) and have learnt to trust my gut instinct. Can you call him under the guise of checking a fact and see what he's like when the pressure is less?

[haveacupoftea]

References. If his references come up saying he needs a lot of reassurance or similar, STEER CLEAR.

[Wigeon]

You have to give the job to the candidate who gave the strongest answers. Otherwise what's the point of an interview process - it's unfair on the other candidates if you offer the job to a weaker candidate. Did you score the candidates? I'm not entirely sure what you are impressed about.

If he knew that he finds interviews very stressful then he should have done more practice / done a mock interview with someone / brought notes into the interview to prompt him. I'm not that impressed that he used this real interview to practice twice his answers.

[Believeitornot]

If he gave decent answers then I'd give the job.

Why let him have another go if you weren't prepared to take it into account?

[scaryclown]

I say this also as someone who can do dangerous stuff, plan projects in depth, front out CEOs and tutor experts..but at interview thinks of all directions my answer can go at once, pick the least threatening or boasty answer then get feedback that i'm not brave or ambitious enough!

[elodie2000]

I would have cintunued to talk to him after the Q&A session - some people who are horrendous during the actual interview really know their stuff and when 'tricked' into thinking the interview is over, relax and open up.
What was he like 'off camera' so to speak? When you were talking informally?

[foresterr]

His reference said he was very out-going!! I didn't ask specifically for this it just came back with this.

Very good reference from two previous employers.

[Stormwhale]

The way he handled it does show strength of character, which is why I think you are impressed. Can you see him performing better in the role than the other candidates?

[elodie2000]

You have to give the job to the candidate who gave the strongest answers. Not always. The world of work is full of well rehearsed bullshitters I find.

[CondensedMilkSarnies]

I've interviewed loads of people and find its not an exact science . Some candidates weren't strong on industry knowledge but there has been something about them where I knew they would do well . Others who have given text book answers but not come across well.

I'd employ him if I were you .

[RichardBucket]

I would, absolutely. The fact that he acknowledged his issue and gave it another go, despite how bad he must have felt, impresses me.

I have to admit I'm that you didn't think a three minute answer was comprehensive enough? I don't think I've ever spoken for that long in answer to one interview question, and in my latest job move I had three offers in a week.

[ArcheryAnnie]

It depends if communicating complex information will be one of his duties. If so - well, he might not be the best communicator out there. If not, then I would go on the content, not the delivery. Sometimes people are excellent bullshitters who shine in interview but can't deliver when it comes to the work, and sometimes they are the exact reverse.

(And I take my hat off to you for not going immediately for the slick interviewees.)