

The too perfect applicant - emedernach
https://cernjobsinsight.wordpress.com/2015/05/04/the-too-perfect-applicant/

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DanBC
> Then, on the stressful occasion, the recruiter asked me to explain their
> organisation chart, with the names of departments heads, which I couldn’t
> recall accurately. Was this question a subtle way of giving me advice on or
> an assessment of my preparation?

What's the point of this question?

As a candidate I'd probably try to fot it in with my 30/60/90 day goals - to
meet my colleagues, learn their names and roles, and find out what they expect
of me.

As an interviewer it doesn't feel like a useful question. It feels like I'm
adding pressure just for the sake of it. How someone handles interview
pressure doesn't tell you how they handle pressure at work.

~~~
kagamine
I've wondered at the organisational chart myself, even when it isn't a
question but a presentation at the start of the interview it seems pointless.
"Hey, you! candidate, here is some information that is only relevant if you
get the job and only then six months down the line. You have no control over
this at all, and when the new CEO starts in June it will all change anyway,
the people you see here today you will never see again! Coool, huh?!"

It's like getting the bus timetable during the interview to make sure you get
there on Monday in 5 weeks time. IF you get hired.

Oh and the one time we went through this and I then recognized the CEO in the
corridor 1.5 hours later, they thought I was mad for saying "is that the CEO
from the presentation just now?".

~~~
Consultant32452
Glancing at the org chart is valuable to me because I prefer working for
companies with a flat management structure rather than one with multiple
levels of middle management. Knowing how many people are between you and the
CEO can hint to you you something about the culture. Memorizing the names or
anything on it does seem quite pointless though.

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choult
As a hiring manager, when I interview people I don't generally care if they
don't know the answer to an interview question I ask* - what I care more about
it is how they respond in the negative. If they don't understand the question,
I'd expect them to ask for clarification, or state they didn't understand it
and then try to reason it. If they don't know the answer, again I like to hear
their thinking.

* Within reason; there are certain questions candidates for a given job should be able to answer!

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pjmlp
Interesting to see such advises coming from CERN blog, given how the whole
process works in reality (aka just like any other academic position).

~~~
captainmuon
I assume this blog is not just about the strictly academic jobs (postdocs,
fellows), but all the other jobs (engineers, administration, civil
construction, ...).

If you apply for a fellowship (or even as a summer student), the process is
roughly (from hearsay, I have no inside knowledge): A few hundred people apply
via web form. This is whittled down by formal criteria (completeness,
qualifications, publications) to a handful, or a few dozen maybe. Then they
might do video interviews with various groups (sometimes they don't know where
the new hire is going to work exactly - a fellow gets to choose his/her area
of interest). Then there is probably a lot of internal discussion an politics.
If you are already well-known, or one of the groups is interested in you, you
have a great advantage at this step. Finally, they invite you in for an in-
person interview. From what I've heard, if you get that far and don't screw
up, your chances are pretty good.

~~~
pjmlp
I used to work at CERN for a couple of years....

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jedanbik
Wouldn't you expect the interviewer to explain the organizational chart and
then move on to the next question? I don't understand the business or
technical context of that question, and it doesn't seem like a behavioral one
either.

~~~
troebr
I was once asked to name the last 5 CEOs and the past major acquisitions of
that bank during an interview. I was a junior software engineer not even
working in that industry.

