A Roadmap to Successful Interviews

Dan Jessup VP Human Resources, Groupon

¤  Launched in Chicago in November 2008

¤  200 employees Jan 2010, U.S. only

¤  6,000 today, 40+ countries. (1,600 domestic, recently at a clip of 200 / mo)

¤  Time-sensitive offers from local merchants, shared with opt-in subscribers

¤  Tech, Sales, Editorial, Customer Service, Marketing

¤  Chicago & Palo Alto – U.S. hubs

� Leave the interview with comfort that we’ve met the person, vs. the applicant

� Assess mutual match beyond the honeymoon phase

� Candidate to feel & believe that he/she has been given the chance to vet us as thoroughly as we did him/her

� Candidate to feel they know how the potential role fits into the larger org

� Think past the immediate need – and steer

hiring managers to do the same � Recruiters as a resource to the candidate vs.

a gatekeeper � Recruiters as partners vs. vendors to hiring

managers � Accelerate the relationship between

candidate & us through our messaging. � Not assuming candidate –at any level- wants

the job simply because they’re interviewing …even if candidate may not realize that yet.

� Social Media presence � Employees � Job postings – external & on corp site � Non-recruiting marketing & media

presence � Office � Interview � Expectations & Follow-up � On-boarding / Orientation

� Set the expectation – esp. expectation of tone

� Transparency � Pride and excitement � Take our jobs very seriously, but might

not take ourselves too seriously � Use objectivity to set the table for an

often subjective decision � Humor as a strategic tool - to show vs. tell

� Tangible vs. Intangible aspects of the candidate, the role, the company

� Risk of allowing skills & experience relevance to drown out team dynamic considerations

� “Reading people” � Impact of improvisation – emphasis on

listening & reacting, and on subtext •  How vs. What

� Dedicated page for Recruiting

� Dedicated handle - @grouponjobs � Consistent branding through FB as well…

same handle, same primary admin on our team

� Objectivity � Clarity � Surprise � Humor � Eliminate, or acknowledge clichés

� We have an opening for an additional staff accountant. This should not be confused with a staph accountant, for which we do not have any openings at this time.

� [Core components & Requirements follow]

� All candidates draw pictures of themselves while waiting for meeting

� Reading material includes Awkward Family Photos, The Pop-up Book of Phobias, along with copies of recent press coverage (i.e. Forbes)

� Most interviews start with tour, explaining how each department fits into the plan

� Walls covered with mix of white-board collaboration, headshots of employees, or white-board random art

� Not assuming the candidate wants the job � Level the playing field, act as resource –

even if that means challenging the candidate

� Conversation more than Q&A � Multiple people, strategically balanced

for style & purpose � Closing out, setting expectations…re-

emphasize objectivity & lack of assumptions

¤ Care vs. obligation, and the good kind of pressure

¤ Embody the culture you want to project. ¤ Where’s their moral compass? ¤ How comfortable are they calling out the

cons as well as the pros? ¤ Benefits of relevance ¤ How do they blend confidence with

humility?

� Employment branding as a tool to set the table for an accelerated discussion

� Emotional & Social Intelligence of Recruiters and Hiring Managers

� Ensure team dynamic considerations are given same weight as skill & experience relevance. (Mantra?)

� Hire a lot or a little in a short time frame, but don’t hire fast.