Kilted interviewing...

[MACKAY]

Throughout my corporate career I have had the opportunity to interview many candidates for various positions and levels within the companies I was working for at the time. Some of the interviews were for direct hires who would be working for me, or in my department, and many others were as part of a round table of interviews.

While I have never interviewed anyone kilted, I would not hesitate to do so in your situation. As you indicated, you wear a kilt to work daily, so wearing one to the interview would not be inappropriate as you are conveying the same work environment and image as that the candidate will be working under. If you never wore a kilt to work, and did so for the interview purely to see what happened, or throw the candidate for a loop, then I would say that would be completely inappropriate and unprofessional.

One thing I focus on when interviewing a person is their ability to think dynamically. Outside the box if you will. I want to find out how they can handle an agile approach to problem solving and operational development verses regurgitating conventional wisdom and saying what they ‘think’ I want to hear.

Now usually I present some type of a case study, or example of a real life situation or challenge as it relates to the position, and get a feel for how they approach the solution as we discuss different angles and perspectives.

However, I would be interested as to how they approached the kilt. I would fully expect the candidate to inquire about it, and at least be inquisitive. I would see that as someone who is interested in engaging me and shows me that they can be a team player, not afraid to ask questions and speak out and learn something new perhaps.

I actually would not be too sure about someone who just ignored it, or pretended to, as that person may also show the same trait on the job.

Do I want someone who is inquisitive and is looking outside the box and is not afraid to engage me in a conversation about what is, one must admit, and unusually site in the corporate world (for now) or someone who is just looking to play along and sees just the paycheck, and not the job?

Just my thoughts ... best of luck with your interviews,

Brian Mackay