Generation Y – A New Generation of Interviewees

Generation Y – A New Generation of Interviewees
 
 
Although HR functions are as varied as the people they serve, the most common activity we are most remembered for, and the one function we are most associated with is interviewing. Statistics show that HR professionals spend at least 60% of their time interviewing, and only 40% doing a combination of all other HR duties. So, you'd think after all this time spent interviewing, we could do it with our eyes practically shut. Once you've done it for a while, you can forget about preparation. Or can you? 
 

Interviewing techniques are the same; every now and then one of them occupies the spotlight, and becomes en vogue, and we all rush to incorporate it into our interviewing process - be it situational interviewing, behavioral, stress, panel, or even the case interview. After all, we do need to be up-to-date with our counterparts. And the only thing we take into consideration, in addition to the fashion, is the job itself. These are the two things we think of when we decide how to interview. But what about the people we interview? After all, they are different; they always have been, and always will be. How many times do we interview clones?? But, regardless of how different they are, they do have a lot of similarities. We speak the same language, we know what they want/expect, and we've perfected our understanding of their needs. 
 

So, if we've been doing this for so long, with positive results, why are we, suddenly, approached with candidates who might as well be from another planet? While we may speak the same language, we mean very different things by what we say. And we can't seem to please them whatever we do - they seem to ask questions we are unprepared for, and have expectations we do not meet. . 
 
Meet Generation Y. A group of dynamic, ambitious, expectant job seekers and interviewees who know a lot more about us than we do about them, and a lot more than we knew about our interviewers a few years ago. Their knowledge and awareness put us on our toes all the time, no matter how experienced we are. It's true, we've interviewed for positions x and y hundreds of times, and we know the kind of questions we need to ask by heart. But, can we afford to stick to our tried and tested questions and mechanisms? Not with this new interviewing public we are dealing with. This generation is one that has never known a day without technology - without knowledge and power. They have access to mountains of information that teaches them what the world owes them, and what they should expect from potential employers, and the HR personnel that represent them. They know what questions they should ask us, and how we should answer them. They also know what we cannot ask them, and what they can do if we attempt to cross that thin line. 
 

These new recruits come with such high expectations of us HR people, but are we up to it? Are we as professional as they want us to be - as we should be- according to their new rules? After all, we were good enough for all those people we recruited and interviewed before; but they were more like us - from our generation, with the same mind set and expectations. 
 

So, how do we tackle this new generation? Well, to start with, we should admit that they are different, and that we need to learn more about them. We also need to stand our ground and show them who's the boss in the interview. No matter how prepared they may be, we need to be more prepared, and exercise our control (ever so subtly, of course) in the interview, and steer it in the direction we want it to go. In short, make sure they tell us what we want to hear, and not what they want to say. We will need to give way at one point and turn over the floor to them, and allow them to ask us questions. And we need to take these questions seriously and answer them carefully. At this point we are being evaluated, not only in our own personal capacities, but also as representatives of a larger entity, thus adding even more weight to the situation. But, we can still use this to our advantage: take note of the type of questions they ask. Do they have substance? Are they listening to the answers, or are they simply doing what someone told them they should do, to score a few easy points with the interviewer? 
 

While we may have perfected one or two styles of interviewing that have become our trademark, this is the time to be a bit more adventurous. While interviewing is interviewing regardless of what century we are in, there is a lot that can be added to the traditional that can give it the edge required by this century and the generation we are dealing with. Although this generation is extremely competitive, they are also very close knit. They share information like the kind of questions Mr. X of company A asks and the style of Ms. Y of company B. So, our modification in this area will add an element of surprise and break the cycle of predictability. Why not add an assessment instrument at the preliminary stage, and maybe a case interview later or even an assessment center if it is a highly competitive position? 
 

A common problem for HR professionals in the Middle East is that we tend to underestimate certain factors that, if taken into consideration, would be of great benefit. Small things like a candidate's facial expressions or body language can complete the picture of this potential employee, and either add points or undermine his/her whole performance considerably. But is it logical to take these small and maybe even trivial things into consideration when the employment market is in this bad state? Should it make any difference to us if a candidate comes on time, or 20 minutes late, and apologizes or doesn't? I say it should. For one, as we have come to agree, they are more informed, and should realize the importance of these items, and be taxed accordingly. And, given the scarcity of employment, don't you think they should give the few available opportunities due attention and take into to the competitiveness out there? Some people think these are unrealistic expectations of our job-seeking public. But, I say they are not. They have access to a lot more information and education in such matters than the previous generation - it should only be fair to take this into consideration. And, by adding a competitive edge to the job search we are doing the corporate world a huge favor. Whether we mean to or not, we are definitely raising the caliber of candidates out there. 
 

So, with Generation Y's expectations of the HR professionals of today's working world, and with our expectations of them, I think we can safely say that this is one of the most competitive working world arenas we have seen in quite a while. And it looks like it will be around for some time. So, don't let your guard down just yet!