Saturday, March 21, 2015

STARTUP / INTERVIEW SPECIAL ......................Startup Interviews Break Mould

Startup Interviews Break Mould


Startups are taking the unconventional route to hire people. With companies valuing cultural fit just as much as expertise, they are innovating with interview formats. If you aspire to work for a startup, here's a tip: Expect the unexpected.

URBAN LADDER
The Airport Test
Online furniture curator Urban Ladder has, by its own admission, put in place a “cumbersome“ interview process to fluster prospective employees.
The rigorous process starts even before hiring managers meet the candidate. As a first step, the company screens the candidate on phone. In the 45-minute conversation, the functional manager tests the candidate's basic communication, past experience, basic fit and career plans. Next, an exercise tests candidates' problem-solving skills. This is literally the start of the interview, and some candidates drop off at this level itself. Time spent on the exercise: between three and six hours. And if you are an engineer, you will find yourself in the midst of a hacking test.A week later, the interview is scheduled.

THE GOOGLY: WHEN THEY'RE `STRANDED'
Candidates are given an `airport test' to gauge whether they can hold a conversation if they are stranded at an airport for two hours.
The interviewer asks people about their hobbies or encourages them to talk about something they are extremely passionate about. The questions are not very structured but are left for the interviewee to decide based on the flow of conversation. The idea is to keep the conversation informal.
The fundamental premise of hiring is potential more than performance.Since we are trying to do something that has not been done before -selling furniture online -we need a rigorous process to spot talent 
RAJIV SRIVATSA, Co-founder & COO

JOMBAY
Testing Area: The Reception Area
Talent assessment and analytics platform Jombay keeps a keen eye on the candidate from the word `go'. You are being interviewed even when there is no one around you. Or you could be asked to play the guitar when you may not even when you may not even know how to hold one.
Jombay often conducts a rapidfire round centered on the candidate's personal life. Current affairs, relationships, wellness, food and art are part of the conversation, aimed at evaluating the cultural fit.Candidates are asked to create their own psychometric report. They are asked to compare that with one generated by Jombay, and explain the perception gap.
Recruiters at Jombay sometimes make the candidates sit for 30 minutes in the reception area and observe ception area and obser the wait. They usually keep five books, and an equal number of newspapers and magazines at the reception and closely watch the candidate's behaviour to infer the cultural or personality fit from which books, magazines and newspapers they pick up. At junior-level interviews, candidates are asked to play the guitar to check how the person adapts or learns in unfamiliar territories.

THE GOOGLY: PUSH-UPS & STRETCHES
Half the office was doing push-ups and stretches when a candidate arrived. The hirers told him this was their exercise time, and he could join in. They were checking the candidate's adaptability. He happily joined in.
There are people who look at the notice boards and our awards, and try to absorb as much as they can about the company (the smart ones). There are people who portray that they are reading The Economic Times but don't flip the page at all (those trying to make an impression), and there are people who read inspirational books (startup material)
MOHIT GUNDECHA, CEO & co-founder.

IBIBO
Many Levels to Cross
Ibibo Group founder Ashish Kashyap has a unique task -he approves every single hiring.Group companies Goibibo and RedBus have 400 and 650 employees respectively, all of whom have been vetted by him.
At ibiboGroup, the hiring process has been the same since Day 1. If you are being hired for mid-level positions, you get to face at least you get to face at least three interviews. At the senior level, there are at least five levels of interview.Interviewers can be junior to the prospective hire.
Each interviewer rates the candidate and writes a small essay. Ratings are then aggregated. At this stage, it is also decided if the candidate needs to be interviewed by more people. Then comes the approval from the founder based on the hiring dockets and interviewer feedback.
The key reason for close involvement is to ensure that we continue to maintain our culture; ensure that people we are hiring are a cultural fit to our philosophies ASHISH KASHYAP Founder & CEO

PAYTM
Take Exams From Home
Indian mobile payments and ecommerce platform, Paytm, has a coding competition wherein candidates can work from home.
This part of the interview process, implemented in 2013end, is meant to recruit engineering students from remote areas. The coding competitions are held online, eliminating the need for test centres, especially for those who want to work for Paytm from remote areas.

THE GOOGLY: DIRECT EXPERIENCE
For management students, in 2014, the company came up with the idea of letting shortlisted candidates work from the Paytm office for a few days. The idea to let senior employees test their working conditions and teams came from a few entrepreneurs who wanted to figure out if they were comfortable working in the e-commerce company.
The management thought this was an excellent way to get feedback and ensure the right candidate is selected. This also helps Paytm extend the message that a cultural fit is important for the company.
We get to hire from Shillong, Guwahati and not go there.Students get to crack the code from home and we save initial travelling costs 
 VIJAY SHEKHAR SHARMA CEO & founder

Saumya Bhattacharya and Devina Sengupta ET13MAR15


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