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The New Job Paradigm – The Interview Process

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Article from ADMIN 34/2016

By ADMIN Magazine

I have been self-employed or employed by Electronic Data Systems/Hewlett Packard/Hewlett Packard Enterprise (EDS/HP/HPE) for the past 20 years, so I've really been out of the traditional job market interview game for some time. However, two months ago, I found myself needing to update my résumé to find a new job. Since that time, I've had multiple interviews and have discovered that the world has changed – and perhaps for the better this time. It's true. The task of obtaining new employment has changed dramatically since 2000, when I joined EDS. I took no tests. I only had two interviews. I was hired and started my job within a week of the second interview. Yes, even a big company can move fast when the right people have a need and know how to get things done. It's 2016 now, and oh how times have changed.

The new interview process is quite interesting. When interviewing for a technical position, such as a system administrator, you don't simply rehash your job history or discuss your successful projects; you're put through a series of screening interviews.

The first interview consists of some very pointed questions about who you are as a technologist – meaning that you're asked to solve a problem interactively or answer a series of questions that you can't solve by googling. Unfortunate for some, because most of us these days rely on our trusty browser to be our second brain. Your talent as a searcher is almost as valuable as your ability to produce a solution. If you're a Google Monkey, as I used to lovingly refer to those who had no real skills, but who typed every question into Google instead, you don't stand a chance in today's job screening process. In fact, if you can't answer those screening questions accurately, your progress in the job-seeking process ends abruptly with that particular position.

You'd think that being a technology master would also lasso jobs by the dozen for you, but you'd be wrong. You're also expected to get

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