Common sense, courtesy and giving a damn?

One of the questions I ask when being interviewed is “Have you read my blog?” And I have been surprised by the high number of times the answer is “No”. Sometimes this is accompanied by some excuse, usually quite lame. If that excuse is that they haven’t had time then (IMO) they are just digging themselves into a bigger hole.

As a candidate I may be expected to prepare for an interview, for example, showing some basic knowledge of what the company does, for instance, if the company has developed an application what the application is designed to do. So why shouldn’t I expect the same from the interviewer? If my CV says that I blog, is it not common sense that the person doing the interviewing should take a look, after all a blog could tell you more about me than any CV could do. Frequency of posts, technical and other content could reveal a huge amount. The contents of the blog could be used to shape the way the interview is conducted, break the ice or phrase a question. In my previous post I stated how I dislike interviews that are just a set of technical questions read off a piece of paper. They can feel like the Spanish Inquisition, adding pressure and not getting the best out of the candidate.

If you don’t find out as much as you can about a candidate before an interview can you say that you are actually performing the best service for your company? When I interview people, I make sure I read the CV, then go through the CV a second time highlighting any points I think are worth following up on and also make a note of any requirements that are not mentioned on the CV so I can ask the candidate.

I’ve covered common sense and giving a damn, that leave courtesy. Courtesy is something that often seems to have died out in this day, so here's the definition from Merriam-Webster.