Hiring Challenges

Several website offer handy tips for candidates how to handle interviews, especially how to handle so-called 'tricky questions'.... For those familiar with HR or hiring processes no need to list them. In addition, some sites specialise their message to a slowly increasing group; the job-seeker over a certain age. 

Though explicitly prohibited by many legislations, to exclude older candidates from hiring, yet this practice is unfortunately rampant, even by those companies, which proudly undersign ethical values /sic/.

Interestingly enough, although any kind of valuable tip is always welcome, and perhaps in some individual cases giving the 'right answer' on the question as to 'what animal you would choose to be' or 'how do you see yourself in our company in 5 years time' should be saying more about the deplorable situation HR professionals behave rather than apparent deficiencies more experienced professionals seem to have. 

Why is it then, that instead of making candidates believe they need to give an academy award winning performance during an interview (making the candidate unnatural, uneasy, and a little less sincere), why not address the HR community to stop misperforming with nonsensical questions (where any given answer has hardly a valid unequivocal conclusion). Let's be honest; judging a professional with over 25 years of experience in his/her field by a junior - even if the interviewer has perhaps 10 years of experience,  is to say the least more than cynical. 

Human Resources - once administrating salaries, sick-days, etc - have taken over the role of judges over skills, which they seldom understand. A dedication, willingness or experience of a potential employee is never measurable by referring to favorite colours, or hypothetical cases with insufficient background information. 

Time to address the real problem. Yes, as companies profess; 'People are our biggest asset', but in practice being far from it. In the end, the economic damage for a company could be far worse than most CEOs imagine. Perhaps the training should ultimately go rather to HR staff, to raise their awareness of the erring. Because, when talking to most professionals up there, don't we all actually know what goes on?