I will have a second round interivew and the person interviewing me will be the person leaving the company. Any experience with that and useful tips? Thanks
I had an interview with an HR employee who had taken a job at the employer I was coming from (although she didn’t mention this at the time). The interview was filled with mutual questions - a lot of the questions coming from her asking about the culture, why i was leaving, pros/cons, ect.
Looking back, i think a person leaving the company opens the door for a less formal interview where you can be more personable and truly open up to that person. Depending on the reason for departure (retirement, different company, different business altogether), I think you can gain valuable insight to the true underpinnings of the culture, what to expect, and some nuances that may not have leaked if that person was going to remain employed.
I would suggest being 100% honest with both what you are looking for along with what you have to offer. Sincerity can go a long way especially if your competition has stronger experience.
I just interviewed with a person with wasn’t leaving the company but moving over to another industry group within the same company and thus leaving the team. I was to replace him. I would say you can ask some more honest questions related to the team that you’re going to be working with. For example, you could start with “why are you moving on?” and then “tell me about (boss x, y z) and his management style.” Other questions could be “what are the pros and cons of working under (boss x, y, z)” You’ll get more honest answers from that vs. asking some other employee.
Don’t drop your guard down too much though. The fact that he’s interviewing you means that the company still values his thoughts and thus he is a contributor to whether you’re hired. As always, you should have a “selling” mentality in the interview. Just think about what questions he will give you a more honest answer for and ask those quesitons.
Thanks for the comments. It’s a small company and that this person is interviewing me definately means that their opinion is in high regard and will be crucial in the final decision they make, plus since it is their function that the new recruit will be filling they are in a unique position to judge this way or that.