Part II: The call

The Web Production Associate position entails a lot of time answering phone calls from administrators who use UJC Web.  10-12 candidates are selected from the application process for the phone screening round.

A phone screening checklist is used to follow up with the candidates on some general topics as you might expect in any interview. What are your career goals? What interests you about this position? One of my personal favorites is the question : What three words would you use to describe your work ethic? This often will stump candidates and we get some very interesting responses. (So if you are a candidate reading my blog as part of your pre-interview research, be ready for that question ;)

We also focus very specific questions related to the three core areas of the job: HTML/CSS, Quality Assurance, and Tech Support/Customer Service.  The questions are designed to verify information provided during the application process and to determine how the candidate will handle situations on the phone that they will inevitably face in this role. 

Specifics are important, for example during the HTML phase of the questioning, my co-interviewer and lead trainer, Deanna Ishikawa, PMP, gets very detailed in her review of a candidates website example. She probes them on how and why they used tableless CSS or if they used javascript for navigation, why did they do that.  It is important to have a capable expert like Deanna on the call. 

While it makes sure we are getting a qualified candidate, this kind of questioning re-iterates how serious we are about filling the job with the right person to all the candidates and in a way helps us build the Flightpath brand in the eyes of the potential hire.  It also gives candidates a sense for the kind of accountability they will face if they take the job.

The candidates who make it through the phone interview round are typically good enough to be hired and we have the luxury of hiring on some fine distinctions among candidates who are very capable rather than having only one good candidate from a series of 4 or 5 face to face interviews.

Next up Part III: The Show and the Pudding …. Check back next week.