Jenna Tom
Hi All

How to respond to a situation like this ?

I'm new to an HR generalist role in a company. So I'm not very confident interacting with people.

As recruitment is happening in the company,I shortlisted a software professional to undergo a technical round.After the interview,I wanted to obtain feedback.As I did not get a chance to interact personally with the interviewer, I communicated through the internal messenger system.The interviewer said "The candidate has been shortlisted for the second round" . After that I asked the interviewer if he was technically good. She replied that if he wasn't technically good ,she wouldn't have shortlisted him for the second round.

Actually,I wanted to check if the candidate required a second technical round of interview or if the candidate needed to go through only the final round(HR round).However, I did not communicate this.

I did not reply to this. I just said OK. In any case, I felt like a fool . How do I respond to oversmart people like this?

From India, Kochi
K.Ravi
54

Hi your query is somewhat confusing,, you have termed the interviewer as being oversmart, can I know on what basis have you termed the interviewer as being oversmart,, Just kidding ,u c some people are like that, may be the interviewer must be busy in interviews so she must have replied like that , or her nature must be like that, ,at such times no need to feel like a fool ... this has happened with me also .. :oops: sometimes,,, and rather you should forget these little things as u r new to HR generalist its good u will come to know all aspects of HR,,

when the interviewer replied

"The candidate has been shortlisted for the second round" .

that is totally a company jargon, and unless specified you would understand it as that the candidate has been selected for THE SECOND TECHNICAL ROUND, and not HR ROUND.. if the HR ROUND is referred as third round..

Else what i feel is that even if you think that you were a fool you should have again clarified your doubt by asking clearly SECOND ROUND means HR or TECHNICAL,, as nothing can get worse than that but atleast ur doubt would have been cleard :wink:

From India, Pune
K.Ravi
54

After that I asked the interviewer if he was technically good.
next time ask for which round he has been selected,, TECHNICAL SECOND ROUND or HR ROUND,,, :roll: :roll: :roll:
OK and dont take heed to these small things,,,
BYE ,,,
Come on CITE HR members ,,,,, POST UR REPLIES

From India, Pune
Kumarz
1

Hi Jeena,
If you are yet to communicate the feedback to the canddiate, what you can do is... if possible try to schedule the same candidate with some other technical person who is capable of checking the candidate's technical skills thoroughly, else you can ask the same interviewer to evaluate the candidate once again. So that you can give the candidate one more chance and also this time the interviewer will check the skill carefully.
If your are not comfortable with any of the above, you can complete the HR Round and put him on hold to consider after a month or two.
Going forward get the written feedback from the interviewer, once the evaluation is done. Make sure the comments and feedback are appropriate to avoid this kinda issue.
If none of the above are possible, send across his profile, let me check the candidate :-)
- Thanks
Sanjay

From India, Madras
Jenna Tom
Hi Kumar
Thank you for replying. Actually, I wanted advice on how to respond back to the interviewer. It's not the outcome of the interview that poses the problem but the way the interviewer responded to me .
Regards
Jenna

From India, Kochi
binzy16
1

Dear Jenna,
First of all don't panic for such situations. As Mr. Ravishankar mentioned, such "SMART" people exist almost in every company. Infact you should be bold in facing such over smarties.... reply them boldly they'll realize that you're not the one to mess up...
When the interviewer replied "if he wasn't technically good ,she wouldn't have shortlisted him for the second round" - you should have replied." well I'm sensible enough to understand that,but I just wanted to know whether I should proceed with a 2nd tech round or the final HR round"
u might feel that it's a bit SHARP.Let it be.you can only give back what you GET correct?
Go ahead and be prepared for such interesting moments in your career. Take them as a learning experience. No need to feel like a "fool" ever ...
All the best!!
- binzy

From India, Bangalore
Rupali 26
2

Hey Jenna,
Dont take this situation too personally, as you mentioned that you are new to HR, and these situations might effect your confidence level. Be confident in what you are doing and asking, as being into HR, i think you have the right to question about such things.
As regards tackling with oversmart people is concerned, you can find such people in any field and at any point of time. What you can do is, be more clear in what you are actually asking and be more specific with such people. As our friend, ravishankar has also said, from the next time, ask whether the candidate is shortlisted for the second technical round, or finalised for the HR round. I think thats the best way to go about it.
Take care and All the best
Regards,
Rupali

From United States, Cambridge
Jenna Tom
Hi All Thank you Binzy and Rupali for your responses . I guess the best to deal with issues like this is to be as diplomatic as possible . Thanks a ton Jenna
From India, Kochi
john prakash
3

Hi Jenna,
First of all I would say don't panic so much since you are new in HR Field and this is your learning curve. Pls understand there are different kind of people in world with different attitude. It is nothing only attitude which hurts others. What you do, take the feedback later on, it could be the reason that interviewer may not be in good mood, because mood swing is always there. You should be more bureaucratic.
Keep it up.
Thanks,
John

From India, Delhi
M.Peer Mohamed Sardhar
733

Jenna when did you join the company,,,
Did you have a meeting with all before resuming duties,,,,
Sometimes there will be a friction b/w Technical & HR,,
after receiving the answer from the technical person, you should aksed her to rate the candidate on 1-10 basis.....
about his orevious projects, how well he executed, time bound etc,,,,,
be transparent, mingle with peopel, be with people...
People are the asset to the organisation,,,,,
Spend atleast 2 hours with all the people & learn the domian knowledge...
you will feel comfortable & happy,,,,,
All the BEst,,,,,

From India, Coimbatore
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