Communications of the ACM
Projects Are the New Job Interviews
Enrique Salem, CEO of Symantec Corp., at the Reuters Global Media and Technology Summit in New York, June 12, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid
Companies are increasingly supplanting resumes, references, brainteasers, and interviews with real-world projects, where candidates show their ability to perform on sample projects. Some even claim that these mini-projects are the real future of hiring, especially when it comes to hiring knowledge workers. World-class talent will engage in bespoke real-world projects testing their abilities to deliver real value on their own and with others. Examples of these projects include redesigning a social media campaign, documenting a piece of software, producing a webinar, or reviewing a CAD layout for an overseas tech manufacturer.
Most organizations have learned the hard way that no amount of interviewing, reference checking, or testing is a substitute for actually working with a candidate on a real project. For example, a fast-growing software company might have potential hires participate in at least two "code reviews" to see what kinds of contributors, collaborators, and critics they might be. Sometimes, these sessions effectively pit a couple or three candidates against each other. Within organizations, there is now an understanding that people only get hired if and only if they deliver something above and beyond a decent track record and social graph. For candidates, it's worthwhile to know what it's like to really work with one's colleagues on a real project as opposed to perceptions from personal interviews.
From Harvard Business Review
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