Earlier this month, Business Insider presented us with the questionable prospect of an interviewless recruitment process, well, at least in the traditional sense.
One ‘hot’ tech startup, Automattic, best known for the blogging platform WordPress, detailed their decision to give their CEO HR’s traditional role of screening applicants, taking up between a quarter and a third of his surely valuable time. A skype chat (not video or voice, but reply-when-you-can messaging) would replace the usual face-to-face or phone interview, with a trial project to separate the proverbial wheat from the chaff.
Who’s to say this odd modus operandi doesn’t work for them? After all, Automattic are fast-growing and in profit. If we’re talking about hiring remote-working coders, then personality is conceivably less of a crucial factor than in the more highly collaborative world of marketing. Not being a spokesperson, they don’t need to internalise, and align with, the company’s values in the same way. Culture fit isn’t a main driver, vision and strategy don’t need to be articulated at that stage, if at all. Past experience can be proven concretely and the candidate’s own take on it doesn’t need to be heard. Therefore the usual phone or face-to-face interview becomes less important.
It’s safe to say the opposite is true in the world of marketing recruitment, where the face-to-face interview remains a keystone, and direct discussion is still an important way to gain a sense of a person’s likely long-term performance. At marketingmoves, we make sure to meet with our candidates face-to-face and to deepen that relationship over the course of their career. This puts us in a better position to match people and culture. Likewise, our more thorough understanding of candidates’ particular skillsets gives us a clearer indication of where they’re likely to excel.
For expert assistance in sourcing marketing professionals within the technology space, contact Marketing Moves on 01932 253 352 or email Melvin Day direct on mday@marketingmoves.com
