How to Tame Summer Job ApplicationsPart 6

So, now that I had a nice schedule for the job applicants to follow, I needed a schedule for myself - to handle all those applications and job interviews in a very short period of time. I received requests from over 60 students, from Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and India.

I wanted to interview as many as I could for two main reasons. First, to meet the students and find out more about their qualifications, and second, to give them practice interviewing at a real firm.

Time to set up another schedule!

Interviewing that many people in a week takes some pre-planning. I set up a daily schedule with appointments set up at 90-minute intervals. I allowed one hour per interview, and a 30-minute break for me in between. I sent the list to the people who I wanted to interview and asked them to give me their first, second, and third choice. Once I had all the responses, I set up the schedule and informed each one when their interview would be. I intentionally did not offer to give them directions to the office or suggestions about where to park. I wanted them to have to figure that one out on their own. If they asked, I would give them the information they needed. If we hired any of them and needed them to run errands, I want someone who knows how to get to places on time.

I have to admit that I underestimated the quality of the applicants. I thought it would be relatively easy to make the first cut and then narrow down the list to 2 or 3 people. I really did want all of them to experience an interview, so unless they were not even close to what we wanted, I invited them to a Level 1 interview.

I was very impressed - and a little overwhelmed. There were few easy cuts to make. What I ended up doing was spending an entire weekend evaluating, comparing, and examining all the choices. I had to step away from it for a few hours, and when I came back, I wrote down something that became THE criteria for selecting the candidates. I wrote, "We are the best. We want the best. Choose the best."

I made the decision and notified all of them. Those who made it to the Level 2 were given a schedule so that they could give me their first, second, and third choice for interview times. Since this round of interviews was occurring after Spring break, I was much more flexible to accommodate their schedule. I freely gave up an evening or weekend if that truly was the only time they could meet with me.

I invited some other members of our staff to attend the Level 2 interview with me. I wanted them to help me decide who to hire, especially if the students had skills and interests that were similar to theirs. From the company's point of view, I wanted to hire people who had skills that we could really use. From the student's point of view, I wanted this job to be a continuation of their education, and give them a chance to use some of the skills they have already learned.

Making the final decision was really, really hard. I had met the person twice, studied their application over a weekend, thought about how they might fit in, and knew their aspirations and goals.

While I knew some would be sorely disappointed, there were two who had already accepted a summer job elsewhere. I couldn't believe it! Some of my top choices didn't choose us! Apparently someone else saw them as exceptional and snatched them up.


Previous:   Part 1     Part 2     Part 3     Part 4     Part 5
Top of this post:   Part 6
Next:   Part 7     Part 8
.