Background. With the exception of one year, I’ve always worked self-employed. I like it that way because else “Your foreman or supervisor gives you more or-else orders in a week than the police do in a decade.” (Bob Black, The Libertarian as Conservative). But I learned a point in the two job interviews that I ever had.
Application story. It starts with me finding out a bit too late about that open position as IT and AV teaching aids technician in the computing center of an European university. It was just too late to send them my application in printed form, as desired - and I told myself, if the computing center does not take my e-mail application, they don’t deserve their name and I won’t want to work there. I also added a quick mindmap of ideas on how I thought to organize my future workplace.
They accepted the deviant application indeed (point for them on my score!), and invited me to a face-to-face interview. There, to my horror, they took out my application in printed out form. I remember the moment of wanting to ask: “You are a computing center, and this was once a digital document, right? So what?” Lateron I got criticized for some impractical ideas on the midmap (me thinking “Hey it’s titled brainstorming, never heard about its difference to plan?”). And finally, somebody complained about the small font size in the attached, now printed, mindmap PDF … (me thinking “Adobe Reader has zoom”). In aspects of worktime and my proposal of combining job and a PhD program they were astonishingly flexible, however. Now I don’t think that job a short interview helps any side very much, and proposed that I’d come one week for free to check out their company culture, and let them see what I can do. They said this could not be organized because of “accident insurance issues” … well, that finally told me enough about their culture actually.
I finally cancelled my application because the internal culture felt too inflexible and rigid after all. And I was confirmed three weeks later when I received a big letter from them, containing, lo and behold: their printouts of my application PDF. The trash bin would’ve been a better way for their relief …
How to test the employers. I did not have much of a hidden agenda with my digital application, attached mindmap, and internship proposal. But it all turned out in a way that taught me: such means are great to test your potential employer. Asking questions about company culture etc. in the interview does not help much - if they’re after your qualification, they’ll advertise their company to you. But challenge their behavior by the very style of your application, dare to deviate, and you will see from small natural reactions and insecurities how their mindset and the company culture is really working. You can test for several aspects, depending on your priorities. In my case, I checked how they deal with unconventional behavior, rule-breaking, and innovation. (Note, this procedure might not work if your only contact is with a human resources manager rather than your future supervisor.)
