To think that introverts are given a hard time by recruiters/potential employers?

[Rhine]

I've been looking for another job for a while now and I feel like I'm hitting my head against a brick wall. The modern recruitment process seems to be designed to favour extroverted people, placing introverts into situations that they will naturally struggle and feel uncomfortable in.

Gone are the days where you just popped off a CV or application form and if you were lucky then got a one to one interview with the manager, now before you even get to one one one you have these group interviews with bloody "role play" situations and "ice breakers" where you have to stand up and "sell yourself". FFS I'm an introvert, It's just not in my nature to sell myself and I find the role playing stuff stupid and awkward.

If it was a sales job I was going for I'd say fair enough, but you even have to do these silly "recruitment centres" for a job stacking the shelves in Tesco now, and that's only if you get past those awful aptitude tests that they make you do online which are always the kiss of death for introverts! It's like being on the fucking Krypton Factor!

I just wish employers would give introverts a chance and go back to the old methods of a face to face interviews. I know I've lost out on jobs that I KNOW I can do.

It's not fair, is it?

Oh, the Asda Magical Day. Yup, very magical. Watch as my self esteem poofs away in a cloud of invisible smoke, marvel at the mysteriously vanishing promised trial run on the shop floor. Experience the wonder of role play with gobby 22 year old recent graduates. Be amazed by the difference between the promised magical day and the reality....

Farmfoods did a similar day, but it was actually fun, they took you off for interviews and tests individually. Same concept but much better deployed.

I think this is so true. My DH is incredibly quiet and shy, and he will most likely never achieve the level of job that he is capable of because he just clams up in these artificial situations.

He can work well with people, or on his own. He has had incredibly good feedback from his superiors in every job he has ever held, and has a lot of technical knowledge.

He has a good job, but he would be more than capable of one at a far higher level. But he wouldn't even contemplate attending an interview where he had to do a long presentation for example, because the humiliation of it would be too much for him, he simply can't do it. He could do it in an actual job, in a role he was familiar with, but he could never do it in an interview situation.

Aptitude tests are perfectly valid and useful way to filter applications (assuming they are properly developed and tested)

As LoneCat says, it's a competitive market and if you're not going to tell an employer how good you will be, then someone else who will speak up for themselves will get offered the job. They might not be nearly as good as you, but how is the employer supposed to make a decision if you don't sell yourself?

ReallyTired
Do you honestly need leadership or teamwork skills to stack shelves in Tesco? Or any other low paid job. Let's get this into proportion the op is not applying for a high flying graduate training scheme

No, but presumably each assessment centre is designed to look for the skills the job warrants? So for shelf stacking it might be to demonstrate customer care, neatness, ability to work fast. For an entry level managament position it might be delegation, leadership, communication.

When employers are getting 1000s of near identical applications they're right to whittle down in the way they think is best or they may as well just pluck 6 at random and invite to interview - is that fairer?

Telling an introvert that they just have to sell themselves like everyone else is like telling someone with no legs that they just have to walk like everyone else.

YANBU

The whole world should read Susan Cains book .. 'Quite'
Introverts simply do not show their potential in group situations. So you get nothing from them. It is infact an extremelly unfair assessment process developed to favour the loud brash extrovert. Who is not always right regardless of how confident they appear.

Agree, I am naturally quiet even shy and just get on woth my job - no fuss. You kind of get over looked and become part of the furniture! I am rubbish at blowing my own trumpet and could never wprk in a job whre I had to do presentations or even chair a meeting

I am worried about this as my introverted kids are approaching job hunting age and already struggle with the increasing emphasis on presentation skills and team working at school these days.

I think it is worth mentioning that both the people I know who are HR Directors are extroverts, and prone, after a couple of glasses of wine , to trying to get everyone at parties up dancing or singing, they genuinely seem convinced that all introverts are secretly frustrated extroverts who just need some encouragement to join in the "fun".

I could do a presentation but I would need a week to mentally prepare for it and a week to get over it. It's one of the worst things you could spring on me. I would, honset to god, I would show you all right now if I had to, walk over hot coals instead of do a presentation or role play.

Asking me to do that is the same as asking me I have to sing karaoke in front of them all - it ain't gonna happen. I'd rather go back and look for another job.

I agree. Selling yourself and stacking shelves etc are different skillsets. Employers should be clear on what they are looking for and devise tests to test for the skills they need. It's them that miss out ultimatey

Totally agree and this is the reason my poor children are doing drama classes at school to try to harden them against this sort of shit which they will have to come into contact with at some point whether they like it or not.

OMG the "we'll drag you out of your shell" senario.

Sometimes I tell people that the shell is the only things that stops me from killing them so it's best if they leave me in it.

Also, my final word on this as I'm aware I've somewhat taken over boring day at work ...some extroverts are actually skilful and will get jobs on that basis and not because they are extroverts.

One thing though. My very confident colleague who went through several assessment centre sessions said that one test was a group discussion and those who plunged straight in and dominated were doing it wrong. What was wanted was to show you could listen and take on board what others were saying and also have the skills to get others talking. However, as an introvert in that situation I would blunder straight in and talk too much in a panic. I don't do this in a normal work situation though!

Introverts - they can talk, they can be people persons. I suspect there is too little focus on the tends to and prefers part of the usual description.

I say this as a very introverted person who has always managed to do well in jobs you might expect an extrovert to do - bar work to public health/speaking and lecturing.

But I do hate those aptitude tests.

Sorry, I know I said I was going but

EddieStobbart

One thing though. My very confident colleague who went through several assessment centre sessions said that one test was a group discussion and those who plunged straight in and dominated were doing it wrong. What was wanted was to show you could listen and take on board what others were saying and also have the skills to get others talking

this is like that very famous example - there's a list of instructions and the very first one says:

"this activity is timed. Please read all instructions before starting"

Then there are about 25 other instructions for cutting/folding/glueing a piece of paper in certain ways.

The final instruction says "disregard the previous 25 instructions and return your paper intact to the person at the front of the room"

I think being introvert is a problem/handicap for roles that involve liaising with other people and departments. If you are an analyst who purely sits in front of a spreadsheet all day long its not.

A lot of roles by their nature deal with looking after or interacting with many different people with very varied and/or tricky and challenging (HR speak for mad or tosserish) personalities. Luckily i learnt to hide my introversion at work by watching other people. Now i can employ my extrovert people skills together with my introvert ones : my quiet side means I am good at calmly observing and noticing what makes people tick and I can push myself to be more social and assertive and not get crushed or walked all over by bigger or demanding personalities. But i agree, roleplay with stranger is my biggest cringey thing ...

Well in that case, the employer isn't losing much by not employing them - why would you employ someone who knows the solutions but doesn't offer them? Surely it's just like being on time for an interiew or wearing a suit? You do what's expected no matter how unnatural it feels?

And that shows you missing the point spectacularly. To extroverts it feels natural. Therefore they have an advantage in this type of interview situation that requires cutting across other people and making yourself heard. An introvert may try to offer the solutions repeatedly and get talked over every time because they aren't as loud or as naturally able to trample over somebody else. They can be as employable as the extrovert but because they don't get chance to show this due to the interview set up, they are dumped.

SiennaBlake
And that shows you missing the point spectacularly. To extroverts it feels natural. Therefore they have an advantage in this type of interview situation that requires cutting across other people and making yourself heard. An introvert may try to offer the solutions repeatedly and get talked over every time because they aren't as loud or as naturally able to trample over somebody else. They can be as employable as the extrovert but because they don't get chance to show this due to the interview set up, they are dumped

No that is giving the extrovert "enough rope to hang themselves" - the assessor will be looking at everyone. The ones cutting across and making themselves heard at the expense of the person who knows the solution wouldn't get through either.

And how does the interviewer know the introvert has a solution when they aren't able to share it? They don't and assume, like your previous post, that they don't have a solution to offer and that they aren't worth employing because they aren't doing what's expected at an interview.

Surely though if you are introverted it is up to you to do something about it to build your confidence. I am quite a confident person in general but I hate interviews and talking in front of groups of people. I have to force my self to do these things in the hope that the more experience I get the better I will become.

"wouldn't get through either."

It's the either bit. Introvert looses out for not being like the extrovert and the extrovert looses out for not being like the introvert.

Proof if anything that interviews like this are bloody useless.

SiennaBlake
And how does the interviewer know the introvert has a solution when they aren't able to share it? They don't and assume, like your previous post, that they don't have a solution to offer and that they aren't worth employing because they aren't doing what's expected at an interview

I don't think you're giving enough credit to recruiters. Generally assessment centres (at least back in the day) would be run by huge employers who were looking to whittle down hundres of applications. If assessment centres are still going, they must be acheieivng something for the employers or they wouldn't still be doing them 15 years after I last attended one. What would be the point? They're not cheap to run - 30ish people x expenses, equipment, lunch and 2-3 assessors. They probably know they risk talented people slipping though because they don't shine during these processes but must feel on balance it's worth it.

I think you're being unreasonable, and I say that as an introvert myself. Just because you've labelled yourself an introvert doesn't mean that you don't have to sell yourself to the company.

Don't get me wrong they make me cringe and I physically die a bit inside when someone mentions the word 'role play', but if that's something they want to use to get an insight into you then so be it.

Being put out of our comfort zones is a test and it can be a valuable one.

Well, yes, I'm sure the employers are getting successful results and employees out of it. I don't think that was what we were discussing though. I was responding to the theme of the thread that introverts are given a hard time by recruiters because of the use of group interviews and role plays often with no one on one interview. Introverts miss out and don't get the opportunity to show their skills in group interviews or role plays while the extroverts do.

So basically group interviews and role plays are great for the employers but not so great for introverts like the title of the thread suggests.