The Blind Spots of Hiring Managers & Candidates with Varun Puri of Yoodli

2022-05-05

Let's face it, a lot of people are BAD at interviewing on both sides of the table. It is easy to understand that candidates or job seekers are bad for numerous reasons. Being nervous, out of practice, and under pressure to do well because of NEED, create a large margin for error. For seasoned interviewers, it becomes easier to perform because the person has a lot of practice interviewing. That practice is what eventually makes it easier to land a job. On the company side, interviewers get a lot of practice asking the same questions as everyone else, but the lack of structure & coordination does very little to uncover evidence to support the decision. The problem with that is that only surface information is gathered and at the end of the da...

Let's face it, a lot of people are BAD at interviewing on both sides of the table.

It is easy to understand that candidates or job seekers are bad for numerous reasons. Being nervous, out of practice, and under pressure to do well because of NEED, create a large margin for error. For seasoned interviewers, it becomes easier to perform because the person has a lot of practice interviewing. That practice is what eventually makes it easier to land a job.

On the company side, interviewers get a lot of practice asking the same questions as everyone else, but the lack of structure & coordination does very little to uncover evidence to support the decision. The problem with that is that only surface information is gathered and at the end of the day, the hiring decision is made on circumstantial evidence, assumptions, and bias.

Guest Bio:

Varun Puri is the Founder of Yoodli and an Entrepreneur in Residence at Paul Allen's AI Institute. Yoodli uses AI to help people improve their public speaking and interviewing skills without the pressure of an audience.

Prior to Yoodli, Varun worked on a GoogleX project to bring high speed internet to unconnected regions using invisible lasers. He also ran special projects for Sergey Brin, Google's co-founder.

Today we discuss:

Why it is important to practice your interview (or any presentation)
How to practice effectively for an interview

HIRING STORY:

Struggle getting someone to hire him…
Now getting people to hire for his startup
The key to getting people to bet on you is how you communicate with them

PROBLEM:

Smart people on both sides of the fence (interviewers and candidates) who miss dream job and miss dream candidate
Outcome: Missed hiring on both sides
Hiring managers may not represent companies in the best way

Challenges today?

Communication skills are an amorphous training concept. No clear way of measuring progress or diagnosing issues (we’re dealing with peoples’ deep insecurities). We practice in front of the mirror, camera, and stopwatch. Or worse, avoid it altogether

Why is this important to the company?

Individual:
- Land your dream job. Get access to the opportunities you deserve and don’t miss out on them because of how you speak
Corporation:
- Get your dream candidate
- Ensure your team is aligned
- Help people become more confident communicators and leaders

Rick’s Nuggets

We don’t set Expectations
- Allow people to prepare
- Makes interviewers seem unimpressive - demonstrate
- Unable to

How do we solve the problem?

3 pronged solution needed:
- Be aware of your biases/ way you communicate
- Collaborate with your team to ensure you’re all saying the same story
- Diagnose the issues and work on them
Solution:
Practice interviewing skills for hiring managers:
- Be aware of your biases/ way you communicate
- Stay on company brand
  - Collaborate with your team to ensure you’re all saying the same story
- Don’t say the wrong thing (non inclusive language, berate competition)
- Diagnose the issues and work on them
  - Time stamped feedback
- Convey energy
Practice for candidates

Rick’s Nuggets

Interview Structure- expectations
Repeatable & predictable process
- Timing and Steps in process
- Interview question scripts
- Feedback loop
Interview training
- Documentation habits
- Interview preparation
  - How to prepare the candidate
  - How the interviewer prepares

Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! (Value):

Align with your team with a set of interview questions you want to ask and follow up with the Why questions to dig deeper.
Conduct the work as a team
Watch the post-game highlight reel & critique

Guest Links