Recruiters for MSN or Data Miners?

Is Kenexa recruiting for Microsoft or just mining for data?

I had a chilling experience the other day. A man from Kenexa called me, ostensibly to recruit me for a job in New York as a Search Marketing Analyst for Microsoft's new MSN search engine.

The first time he called he said he was looking for someone to do work for Fortune 400 clients. I told him I was really busy and that I usually deal with smaller clients. He didn't think that would be a problem ? he was very insistent to talk to me. I suggested I'd call him back, so we left it up in the air and for a few weeks I forgot about him.

Then he called me a second time, telling me I was supposed to call him and set up an interview. He practically begged me to do a 45-minute phone interview to see if I was right for the "job." He e-mailed me and sent me a very generic job description that was more like a newspaper ad than anything else.

Well, hey, something smelled fishy about the whole thing, but if it was for real how could I turn down a chance to get some high-paying work from Microsoft, so I agreed to the interview and we set a date.

The phone interview was unlike any job interview I have ever had while working for Fortune 400 companies in the past.

The man never mentioned my resume, never asked about my work experience or salary requirements, had absolutely no interest in me as an individual or asked any of the usual questions a company asks when trying to size up a potential employee.

Instead he was interested in my clients, their budgets, my current involvement in search word optimization, how much time I spend on each client and was very interested in only the most negative experiences with clients, asking me to name them more than once (which I refused to do). This went on for about half an hour, with him finally asking me "Can you give me some of the specifics of an optimal life-cycle and what happens in that life cycle?" Almost like he didn't know.

I answered that with "I can't give you specifics without looking at my data."

Then came the kicker ?

"Do you have your data with you?" he asked, grinding his teeth in desperation.

"On the first phone interview?" I thought, blushing madly.

Man, this guy really wants everything doesn't he? He wants to know nothing about my qualifications for this "job" but he sure doesn't mind asking me everything about my clients, my strategies and pretty much how a small, successful web design and online advertising and marketing company like Valor Cross Media keeps its clients and now he wants to see my data?

Hell that's like asking for sex after a bad meal at Denny's on a first date.

So I said "No."

Well, you can actually hear the groan of defeat from this guy. He obviously wasn't trying to hire me, he was data mining pure and simple.

I recently did a search to see if Microsoft is actually hiring for MSN (careers at MSN)in New York and though there are a few ad-marketing positions open in the Big Apple, most are 3,000 miles away in Washington State.

Who is Kenexa anyway?

If you go to the Kenexa website and wade through all the double speak they use to describe their company and what it does for employers and business, a rather sinister picture emerges about a company that not only helps recruit employees but has developed software to screen all candidates by profiling their behavior, as well as other factors.

"Kenexa Selector® behavioral profiling tool combines personality, experience, situational judgment problem-solving assessments for hourly, sales and management positions ? (it) relies on a broad range of proven performance-predicting questions designed ? to reveal candidate personality traits, biographical history and problem-solving ability ? one click provides immediate results."

Whew!

That is from their website and is just one of the many "tools" they have created to turn applicants from human beings into a series of measurements to increase performance from Kenexa recruited employees.

They also have a recruiting program called Kenexa Recruiter® which Wachovia Corporation has decided to use as a recruiting tool. Wachovia loved the software so much they decided to install it internally ? "behind the firewall" as Wachovia's Brian Drake, VP of Recruiting Practice Technology put it.

Hey, maybe it works, but shouldn't we all be afraid of any technology that reduces people to a series of bits and bytes?

The Kenexa web site has a big fat quote that says "If you can't measure it, it doesn't exist." That may be true when it comes to measuring distances and size, but how do you measure the intangibles a productive employee brings to a job? Hiring someone is always going to be a crap-shoot, whether you think you can use the psychological approach or Kenexa's high-tech software to weed out undesirable candidates. Even Bill Gates, in a quote from Fortune Magazine in 1996, agrees that without his best people there would be no Microsoft. "Take our 20 best people away, and I will tell you that Microsoft would become an unimportant company."

So Kenexa is wrong about that. But watch out, they are after your information and even if the interview was somehow legitimate who's to say they wouldn't use anything you say for their own purposes.

There was a moment at the end of the interview after I refused to give up my data when Kenexa's interviewer said, "I don't think I'm getting the answers I'm looking for." Though Bill Gates himself feels the human factor is the most important part of any company, the Kenexa recruiter (or whatever he was) showed no interest in me as a person. Everything about the interview revolved around my clients and my strategies and was as cold and impersonal as if I was one of the programs I was being recruited to work on.

Could the interview by Kenexa be nothing more than the company testing a new piece of software? It's hard to tell, but it is pretty obvious that to test any software of this type, you need human subjects. What could be better than picking the brains of an independent freelancer to find out the "human factor" under the guise of a job interview? Except it isn't fair, it's underhanded and should be illegal. For a giant Human Resources company to use the experiences of a small company to fine-tune its software without compensation or foreknowledge is an outrage. If it really was a job interview and is the wave of the future watch out when Kenexa contacts you ? it's really Big Brother cashing in.

--- copyright 2005 Galina Arlov

For comments or questions about this article contact galina@ValorCrossMedia.com or visit http://www.ValorCrossMedia.com

Galina Arlov is a E-Business Professional with 15+years work experience working for Fortune 400 companies like Disney, Priceline, ABC and more. She is a founder and owner of Valor Cross Media a Creative Web Site Design Services company located on Upper East Side in New York City Where Substance Supports Style.


More Resources

How to Receive Multiple Job Offers After You're Fired
Ask survivors of the most popular reality television shows and they'll tell you "If you have to eat a cockroach, don't spend too much time thinking about it." Keep focused on the end-game and move on.
Self Describing Skills - Key Strengths
You need to be the best you can at describing your best qualities; particularly your key strengths. In my coaching practice I generally, at some point, ask my client: "What are you good at?" purely as a means to establish if they have already thought through this most important question.
The Interview - A Few Tips for Making a Great First Impression
Searching for employment is one of the most nerve-racking activities to engage in. As if the direct need for income is not stressful enough, the process of writing a résumé, networking in your industry, and applying for jobs can leave anyone shaking in their tracks.
Those Little Things
Moving to another state meant finding a new dentist. I tried one a neighbor recommended who seemed friendly, competent and eager to please.
Searching for an IT Job
Looking for an IT job is one of the easiest to perform due to the incredibly high demand in the IT field. As the Internet grows, corporations network through Intranets - even the advancement of science has the demand for anyone with IT skills at an all time high.
How to Become a Successful Freelance Translator
After completing their translation training programmes at higher professional education or university level, many students can't wait to set up as a freelance translator. However, gaining a foothold as a freelancer in a very competitive translation market may turn out to be a pretty complicated business.
3 Reasons To Hire From Outside Your Industry
While at times it may prove comfortable and convenient to hire from within your current industry, often the best candidate for the job comes from outside your "comfort zone". How can that be? As a recruiter focused on a highly regulated and competitive industry experiencing significant growth nationwide, here are 3 reasons to hire from outside your industry:1.
Resume Writing and Preparation is Free Online
Creating a strong resume is a very important part of applying for a job, either online or off line. There are many resume writing services that will help you build an impressive resume for job interviews.
Using Recruiters: How To Get A Step Ahead Of The Crowd
When there is an opening to fill, a company has four basic approaches at their disposal:? Advertise the position on Internet job sites? Network? Probe the Internet for viable candidates? Use recruitersWhen a company advertises an opening on an Internet job site, they receive hundreds of resumes. It simply is too long of a process and financially prohibitive to review every resume and move through each step of the interviewing and selection process to fill the opening.
The Dog Days of Job Hunting
Does a headline like this scare you? it should because the consolidation is not over yet.Don't despair just because we are in the "dog days" of job hunting there are action items you can do now to keep yourself primed for.
Getting Started: 5 Things You Need to Decide When You Get Started with a Job Search
There are few things more frustrating for a headhunter than asking a person basic questions that revolve around what you as a job hunter are looking for in a job and being given uncertain answers. I'm not talking about salary; that's a question where a wise person states a target objective and is flexible enough to let the market decide their value.
The Top 10 Ways to Achieve Balance in Your Life
1. Define Success for YourselfClarify and write down what success means for you.
Job Interviews -- How to Follow Up Effectively
Getting a job is not just about your performance in an interview. The post-interview follow up you do has a critical role in a successful job hunt.
So You Want A Promotion - What Do You Need To Do To Get the Champagne Corks Popping?
The champagne corks have been popping to celebrate your promotion.You have a well paid job you love - its really interesting.
Do Dream Jobs Really Exist?
More than four out of ten thirtysomething professionals want to change careers, but feel trapped and don't believe that they will, a new study shows.More thirtysomethings than ever before are feeling disillusioned with their careers and openly acknowledge that they'd like to move into something more rewarding and fulfilling.
Kick-In-The-Pants Job Search
Believe it: three obstacles will hold you back from your ideal job -- your résumé, you, and your job-search methods. There's no hidden formula; there's no bribery needed; there's no one standing in front of employment - other than YOU!You've probably heard all the excuses, or used them yourself.
Your First Summer Work in the UK - Picking Strawberries The Right Way
Most jobs on farms in the UK involve picking strawberries or berries in general, raspberries and possibly other berries with which I have not have the lucky chance to pick.Picking strawberries is very demanding and hard work and if this being your first summer job, then it will take lots of patience and clear mind.
Employment Law: Attendance Rewards - Legal Ramifications
If you were thinking of offering your employees special rewards as incentives for having good attendance records, then you must read on. In fact, employers that offer attendance bonuses may find themselves falling foul of the law.
Successful Job Seeking - The Importance of Your Cover Letter
As an employer I receive many job applications each week. Some cover letters are so well written that I am compelled to review the attached resume even if our company is not currently hiring.
I Just Lost My Job: How Am I Going To Tell My Kids?
One of the responsibilities of a human resources professional is to let employees know that their job has been eliminated. It is seldom easy to do and often painful for the person who is hearing the news.

More Careers & Employment Information:

Related Articles

Prepare for Your Performance Review Before You Start the Job
When you start a new job, you probably realize the first three months are critical to your long-term success. Everybody's eye is on the "newbie" as you learn the ropes.
The Changing Values Landscape of the U.S. and How It Impacts Midlife Job Searchers
Imagine a huge river that has been flowing for centuries: See the thick underbrush that has grown up on either edge of the river's expansive banks and the moss-lined stones that litter its shallow edges.
The Top 10 Reasons to have a Career Coach
Many people in the last decade have experienced for themselves either a layoff or termination. Some of these people affected have experienced outplacement-consulting services.
Working in Dubai
Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is one of the world's fastest growing employment hotspots in the world. Up to 20 new companies establish themselves in the emirate's free trade zones every week and since 2002 some 650 companies have registered in the Dubai Media City free trade zone alone.
Unemployment Blues: Staying Afloat
The unemployment checks are running out and there is no potential job in sight. The wolf is knocking at the door and you need to survive.
Make a Good Living Doing What You Love
Don't let anyone talk you into going to college when all you really want to do is be a chef or tear apart a car engine.Some times our society pushes the wrong thing on us.
Skilled Mechanic Wage Study Review
Well what is a good mechanic worth these days? You cannot place a value on them simply as labor units as they teach in management school, they are worth more than money. So why not treat them with respect and dignity and pay them what they are worth, we believe that the national averages are too low.
Do Dream Jobs Really Exist?
More than four out of ten thirtysomething professionals want to change careers, but feel trapped and don't believe that they will, a new study shows.More thirtysomethings than ever before are feeling disillusioned with their careers and openly acknowledge that they'd like to move into something more rewarding and fulfilling.
How to Make Your Career Change Easier
Despite what your grandmother told you, life is not supposed to be a struggle. The same is true for making a career change.
One Step at a Time in the Job Search
What is the first step to take in a job search?Let's start with "Who Am I?" If the job seeker can answer that question easily, then the rest of what to do, comes easily.It is often the hardest thing to do in a job quest, or anything else in life.
How To Answer Your Call In Mid-Life
Hank Bochenski's story proves it is never too late to walk away from a life you feel trapped in and do something that you really love.Hank spent 30 years in demanding senior positions at large high-tech companies.
7 Steps To A Job-Winning Resume
A new resume can jump-start your career. Your network contacts may ask for a resume and some industries absolutely, positively demand a resume as the price of admission.
Is it a Scam?
I wanted to quit my job. So I decided to make my fortune online.
I Just Lost My Job: How Am I Going To Tell My Kids?
One of the responsibilities of a human resources professional is to let employees know that their job has been eliminated. It is seldom easy to do and often painful for the person who is hearing the news.
After Your Interview - What Must You Do Next?
Other than actually landing the interview itself and living through it, waiting after the interview and wondering whether you will get a phone call or a rejection letter can be one of the most difficult aspects of searching for a job. What you do after the interview should actually start while you are still 'working' the interview.
Simple Tips to Move Forward on the Job, Part II
After establishing a trusting relationship with the safety officer, it would be helpful to document what was talked about with the safety officer. What kinds of information was shared?
Three Myths About Resume Writing
Your perspective on resumes - what they are and how they function - will doubtless influence how well you can write your own. To create an outstanding resume, begin by questioning and replacing some of the commonly held assumptions about resume writing.
Mastering The Lunch Interview
Interviews can be nerve-racking, brain-draining, headache-inducingexperiences. These days, recruiters have found a way to make theinterview even more difficult by combining the experience with ameal.
More Companies Using Job Interview Phone Screening
Planning and preparing before you begin to send out resumes could save you some embarrassing moments when you receive that unexpected call.You just never know when that phone is going to ring.
Handling the Dreaded Why Did You Leave? Question
If you left your last job under less-than-ideal circumstances, you probably dread the "Why did you leave?" question that almost always comes up at job interviews. Here's how to handle it.