Agile Coach Interview Predicament

Recently, I had some interesting experiences during my interviews for Agile Coach positions and as I saw some  interesting patterns,  I thought it would be valuable to share them with the Community.

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A few months ago, during one of the calls,  I noticed that my interviewers were getting agitated with me because I was asking quite a few questions. Actually, at one stage during the interview, they expressed very clearly that they didn’t have all that time for questions. They informed me that 5 mins at the end of the interview was allocated for any questions I possibly might have and they asked me to stick to answering the questions they had prepared for me.

I was literally stunned. I explained that  I could not answer their questions without knowing what their situation was, what challenges they experienced and how they generally operated? I tried to explain that I needed to gain some insights in order to provide them with the best possible answers, and possible solutions, if any.

Well, I will just say that it was clearly visible that they were very unhappy with my reply.

Unfortunately, I encountered the same situation two more times. I got feedback that the companies didn’t progress with me, because I was asking too many questions. They went with somebody who seemed to be more knowledgeable, in their eyes,  because that candidate had a plan and was able to provide a solution, AKA framework.

So, I’m thinking, how somebody can provide a solution when they do not have a very good understanding of the  situation. In my opinion without the right questions, they would know close to nothing about the organisation.

The Paracetamol Effect

I find this  situation very confusing, because in our private lives, I can hardly imagine anybody going to a doctor, who prescribes the same medication each time to their patient without checking what the symptoms are?  You would never go to a doctor who would give you, for example, a paracetamol for every problem you might have; I have sore a throat –  paracetamol, I have a sore back – paracetamol, I think I broke my leg – paracetamol, I have a severe headache – paracetamol…

Photo by Usman Yousaf on Unsplash

Paracetamol – a solution for everything. Well, admittedly it might help with the symptoms, because it will reduce the pain level, but you still are not resolving the cause of it. So you are actually not improving the situation.

This is an interesting phenomenon because most people would never proceed in this way in their private lives, however, the same smart and highly intelligent people are very happy to follow that approach professionally and go with the consultants, who are offering ready-made solutions upfront without even knowing what the problem is.

I am still wondering, why do some professionals proceed with this approach? Is it because there is a lot of pressure on hiring managers? Do they just hire because this will give them some temporary peace of mind as there is some level of certainty linked with having a very prescriptive, easy to follow solution?

I would love to know what is driving that type of behaviour, as it’s insane in my opinion and  lacks common sense.

Please share your comments, if you have any thoughts on it or any similar experiences.

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