When candidate interviews are conducted by multiple interviewers from different hierarchy levels, it can be challenging to have an unbiased interview panel meeting. Specifically, when senior participants share their opinion upfront and more junior participants/subordinates do not express a different point of view.

This is how paper clips will eliminate bias in an interview panel meeting:

• First of all, it is important that none of the meeting participants shares their view upfront. Instead, the meeting starts with the distribution of 3 paper clips for each participant.

• All meeting participants put their paper clip ‘vote’ on the table AT THE SAME TIME. They can choose between 3 clips (the perfect candidate), 2 clips (a pretty good candidate), 1 clip (big doubts) and 0 clips (no way).

• When all paper clips are on the table, the discussion & decision is short with similar votes. Having voted differently, participants share their rationale so that the panel can come to a joint decision.

Just try the paper clip method and you’ll be convinced by the results!

AKlein-Consult: Great Roles in FMCG 🛒, LifeScience 🧪and Asia 🌏

• Dress accordingly: You recall how your interview partners were dressed. Dress accordingly to ensure that your outfit is appropriate for your new job. You’d rather be a bit too dressy than too casual.
• Be there in time: Map out the best route to your new workplace in advance. However long your commute will take you, leave at least 10 minutes early on your 1^st real day of work.
• Be open for anything: Before your first day of work, think about what you want to know about your new job and company. Your new company might have an orientation plan ready for the first days/weeks with meetings of important bosses, peers and subordinates. You also might receive lots of orientation materials for you to go through.
• Elevator Pitch: Be ready to give a 30-second summary of who you are and your previous role. Be prepared to describe what you’ll be doing in your new role, since there may be peers who are not familiar with your role or simply want to start a conversation with you.
• Ask a lot of questions and listen carefully: Prepare ahead by writing down questions about your new role and don’t be afraid to ask. No one expects you to know everything about the organization on day 1. Listen and observe! No need to have a strong opinion or to come up with recommendations on day 1. Avoid saying “in my previous company we used to do it like this…”. To be 100% present at work, put your mobile phone on silent.
• Be available to your boss: You can easily get caught up with HR, other managers or peers on your 1^st day. Make sure you’re accessible to your new boss despite potential distractions. This is your chance to hear about the big picture, goals and top priorities from your boss and senior management. And be prepared to take lots of notes.
• Be friendly, talk to as many people as possible and remember names: You’ll meet lots of people at your 1^st day of work. When you are introduced to someone, write down name and function. Being friendly is a great start to make a good 1^st impression at a new job. Ask questions and smile to show your peers that you’re excited to meet them.
• Go for a joint lunch: Most probably, your boss and/or peers will invite you to go to lunch. It’s a great opportunity to talk in a more casual setting, learn more about the people you are eating with, and potentially get some additional insights. Ask lots of questions.
• Find out who you’ll be working with the most: As you meet people, try to identify who will be a key part of your job and who may be less involved in your work. Then, make an extra effort to get to know the former. Ask questions to exactly understand what they do and how they connect with you.

AKlein-Consult: Great Roles in FMCG 🛒, LifeScience 🧪and Asia 🌏

• Provide a detailed job profile (tasks, reporting line, direct reports, travel needs, salary, max 3-4 mandatory criteria, reason for search)
• Avoid to change the key criteria during the search
• Provide feedback to the consultant re. presented candidates within 48h
• Share with consultant why a profile was selected and why not
• Let the consultant coordinate the personal/Skype interviews
• Provide the consultant with a detailed interview feedback within 48h; share why the outcome was positive or negative
• Get a contract to the selected candidate 48h after the final interview

AKlein-Consult: Great Roles in FMCG 🛒, LifeScience 🧪and Asia 🌏

Did you ever ask yourself why you are barely contacted or contacted for irrelevant vacancies by HR Consultants in LinkedIn or XING?

Well, that’s ofetn because your profile is not meaningful enough. Try to be as specific as possible. Show your academic degrees and all your professional steps with timings in month/year, your title and an information re. people responsibility.

Do also differentiate between internships and regular jobs. And share your language skills, the level of language perfection and if you’re open to relocate for a new job.

You’ll be surprised to see quantity & quality of job offers from HR consultants increase.

AKlein-Consult: Great Roles in FMCG 🛒, LifeScience 🧪and Asia 🌏

Know your target company:  Conduct some proper desk research to know the key facts about the company. This includes information about the management, key achievements and challenges. Also, understand the company’s dress code (how do managers of this company appear in public?).

Know the details of your CV and the job: Be ready to briefly present your CV without reading from it. Identify the key skills that the company is looking for in the specific role.

Summarize concrete examples where you’ve demonstrated relevant skills: Write-up your examples around 3 points with specific facts/numbers: 1. What was your task; 2. What you’ve done and 3. What you’ve achieved.

Watch the time schedule: Don’t be late, plan for possible issues. In case you learn that you’ll be late (i.e. delayed flight) inform the company asap. Conversely, do not arrive much too early for the interview.

Dress properly: You know from your preparation what’s standard within this company. Take that as a basis, slightly over-dressing is fine.

Listen & understand: You really need to understand the questions. Ask, if you’re not sure. Smile, use a clear and loud voice and keep eye contact. Reply concrete and honest. Faking does not help. Remember, that you might have to go through more than one interviews. 

Don’t criticize a previous employer: Simply don’t do it. Even if a particular job was not good, you’ll always be able to identify something positive.

Ask smart questions: You’ve studied the company’s background. Use your knowledge to ask questions that demonstrate your deep involvement and your professional background.

Great Roles in FMCG 🛒, LifeScience 🧪and Asia 🌏