
“My CTO is so unorganised, it’s evident that he has no clue about coding. Not to mention my team, who can just never finish a project on time”. This is a friendly version of what a HR manager said one engineer who had applied directly had said in their meeting. I’m sure they got the job right?
As a recruiter, I would say the first conversation I have with an engineer is a practice run for a HR meeting. It’s how I gauge how an engineer may perform or behave in this very underestimated meeting.
Almost every company’s hiring process will include a meeting with a member of their HR team, which many engineers assume is just included so that the HR team feels involved. Another common assumption is that the fate of whether or not you may land the job falls in the hands of your prospective line manager, who makes this decision based upon how you perform in the coding challenge and technical interview. Whilst yes, the HR meeting may not include any technical questions to the same depth, it’s essential you take this meeting seriously.
The line manager will want to know if you can do the job, looked upon as experts in their field. They will ask questions both technically and from an operational nature, this testing how you may have certain technical situations in the company.
On the other hand, the HR manager will want to know what type of person you are. They are more interested in how you will fit in the company, based upon their company’s values or any transferable skills you may have. HR meetings are often dismissed as simply a box-ticking exercise, carried out by someone who lacks technical knowledge or any knowledge on the exact intricacies of their role. If this is your assumption, you may want to rethink this…
Here’s how and why you should prepare for this meeting:
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In some companies, the HR meeting may in fact be the first stage, which means it will have a direct influence on whether you actually proceed to the next stage of meeting with the Head of Engineering or Team Lead.
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Do your research. If the person you are meeting with is very senior in the company and has been there for a long duration, it is safe to say they will have a lot of power and influence in the team.
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They may also have a long standing relationship with your prospective line manager. This means, if you don’t impress them or take the meeting seriously, it is very unlikely that you will even get to meet them.
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As I said, if they have been working with your prospective line manager for a long time, they may well look to their HR colleague for advice on whether you would fit into their team well. In most cases, there are other factors other than your technical skills that will influence the decision on whether you land the job:
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How you will fit in their current team culture and values will become significantly important.
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Look into the company’s core values and think about how you will be able to embody these values.
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Think also about why these values may be important to you and how they will shape how you work.
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It is also assumed that a HR team member will lack technical knowledge, which is often incorrect. As a recruiter myself, I have to have some sort of technical background knowledge in order to understand the depth of an engineers experience. This is the same for a HR manager or colleague.
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Whilst the technical questions they ask may be basic, take them seriously. They may not only be looking at your answer, but also your response to such questions. If you answer in basic terms, they may also think you lack technical experience.
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Do not underestimate their knowledge, treat them the same as you would have if the Head of Engineering asked you the same questions
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Remember, any conversation you have must be treated with respect. Whether it is the cleaner, the receptionist, the CTO or the HR manager. You never know how a conversation may be interpreted internally and in turn influence the decision of you landing your dream job.