Recently, I’ve been on the job hunt again and I’ve fortunately had some great success by getting invited to interview with some incredible groups and people. One critical thing I’ve learned is when it comes to evaluating these companies, how they handle the interviews can provide a clear picture of how the company runs and how they treat their employees. After being in the workforce for a couple years, I’ve come into this interview game with a new perspective of what company I want to work with and a new strategy on how to find the right one, which has made these “glimpses” of the company even more intriguing for an overthinker like myself.

The variation in timelines and interviewing requirements between scheduling, response times, requested documentation, and different aptitude or capability tests have made this almost an arcade-like experience for me. Do I jump into this line for donkey kong? O, wait! The whirley-ball just opened up and I can get 2x as many tickets as the donkey kong game. But, my throwing arm is sore today and I still have the high-score on the DK game from last time, so I know I will crush it again today! A lot of things to consider when juggling your options and seeing which company will be the best fit while racing against the clock.

Interviewing is the glimpse of the company from the beginning; how honest is your company’s glimpse to potential hires?

And with being in the market again for such a short time, I’ve prioritizing my interviews with some great and some not-so-much companies. One group that I was blown away by with their dedication in the interview process to finding the right talent is Keller-Williams. I know: I’m a manufacturing advocate by trade and heart, but the opportunity seemed intriguing because it was with a friend I respected and would have been awesome to work on some of my recently-acquired business skills to grow a business from the ground up. So, despite realty not being my initial true passion, I went through the vigorous interviewing process with my friend. A phone interview, two personality tests, a card game to evaluate my strongest values, talking about my passions and priorities down to the “t,” two 3-hour on-site interviews, and a couple of Starbucks visits later, we decided that this opportunity wouldn’t be the best fit for me. And for me, that was heartbreaking! Why? Because we both knew I would be able to help him out with where he wanted his business to grow into, we would’ve been a great team together due to our strengths complementing each other really well, and along with a bunch of personal perks for me. But, my passion was in manufacturing and I’d hate to get traction with all of the projects I would be working on for him only to leave for another job that was more in line with my desired career path.

Despite it not being the best fit for us, the interview process BLEW me away. Even though I may have had a word-vomit by calling it “excruciating” to my friend’s face (sorry, Chris!), the time he dedicated to me to learn who I am, about each others’ goals, and our ability to work together to make sure there was a strong, healthy working relationship from its inception resonated with me in a powerful way. Chris and all of Keller-William’s offices are incredible in showing they walk the talk: they want the right talent in there for the right reasons to make sure that talent is nurtured properly from within. Their mindset of you can train the individual in the skill sets you want, but you can’t teach them the character they need to have was extremely reassuring to me to know that there are companies out there that truly want and are striving to get the right people in the position, not just the right candidate.

You can train the the skill sets you need, but can’t teach character

Not to say that the other companies I’ve been interviewing with don’t have the same practice within their interviewing process. I’m super excited about my career’s future because of all the companies I’ve been interviewing with. I was just so impressed with Chris’s Keller-Williams team because of how thorough and dedicated they were from the starting point, even if it was just for one person coming on to start a new business.

Tell me about an interview (for business or personal) where they blew you away with their integrity from the beginning. This post is for you Chris Smith! Thanks for the “excruciating” interview. I enjoyed every minute of it!

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