Managing the Enemy

Yesterday I had a second interview, face to face with a company in Munich.

First I was interviewed by the manager who interviewed me on the phone last week.

He drew things on a flip board. Then asked if I had any questions. I asked if I could outline my approach to his situation on the flip board.

At the end of that he asked if I would like to do that role for them.

I replied, "Yes, please".

He laughed because the only other possible answer, framed that way, was "No, thank you".

In all that bit of the interview went well.

But then he went away and the HR director came in.

He was asking questions about my technical competence which were nonsensical in the role we were discussing. Plus his English wasn't that good and mostly we spoke German.

HR people can really screw up your recruitment. You have to keep them under a tight leash and never let them interview your candidates on their own.

I should hear by the end of the week about this job.

The company who telephone-interviewed me only in German for 45 minutes felt that my profile wasn't right for the role. Which is kinda good because it means that my German was quite good.

Oh and today at work senior management have been wondering if my role is of use to them. Which means that they are only slow by about nine months - I've felt that my role added little value since I joined and was ripe for disintermediation.

Still, I've earnt a lot more than I normally do in a year when permanently employed.