Should you stress out candidates - on purpose?

This story is a tough one for me to believe......

This comes from the Management Issues (UK) blog in a post called Extreme Interviewing. Apparently, in Russia, there are some managers and HR types who think that stressing out candidates is a good tactic. From the post:

According to Mark Franchetti, the Sunday Times' man in Moscow, Russian employers are increasingly using the so-called "stressovoye" — stressful interview — to help them hire the best staff. Interviewers shout at applicants, throw water over them, insult them and ask intimate personal questions.

and again:

If the humiliation fails to provoke a reaction, the candidate is seen as ideal for a boss seeking a submissive deputy with little ambition who will pose no threat.

Are your kidding me????? I am amazed that any HR person in his or her right mind could rationalize that these methods could improve selection and retention. In the post it says that if someone reacts aggressively to having water thrown at him or her in the interview it might actually be a good sign if you are looking for a leader. OK, not sure I buy that, but even if I did, there's this little problem of just having pissed off said leader.

Perhaps in a labor market where people are desperate for work, you can do this to people. But why would you ever want to? I am sensitive to the fact that I know nothing about the Russian culture and norms, so I would invite Russian readers to comment and set me straight if there are other parts to this story I ought to consider.

Has anyone ever had any like this happen to him or her?

Comments

[Roman Rytov]

That's unheard! That HR manager must be insane. What I can guess from the article is the market of consulting companies is tough in Russia if such "progressive" approaches as ABC consulting practice find place.

Nobody who is normal would continue an interview for a second in the described situations but what the article doesn't mention is potential risks for the recruiter. What's about over-reaction? Don't forget, Russia is a wild coutry and he or she would better off have a good health policy:-)

Seriously, I'm sure it's a very etreme and exceptional approach.

[Lisa Haneberg]

Roman - Thanks for your thoughts on this. Yes, I would hope that this represents the extreme fringes. I had not thought about the safety of the interviewer!!

[Scott Ahlsmith CTC]

As a contractor with a Russian company, I've not experienced the Xtreme Interview, but I have experienced other subtle forms of psychological humiliation.

One Russian business tactic is to shower you with praise and attention and then disappear for prolonged periods of time.

A friend of mine was greeted like royalty when his flight arrived Moscow. He was whisked to his hotel by a police escorted motorcade and then made the guest-of-honor at a lavish cocktail reception and dinner. During this time he was the focus of attention and conversation.

For the next two days, he sat alone in his hotel room waiting for a call from his hosts to arrange their next meeting.

On several occasions, I've rushed to meet the Russians' unrealistic requests coupled with impossible deadlines. After successfully meeting each challenge, I basked in their praise and celebration only to be ignored for days and weeks.

One "insider" told me the Russians are so paranoid that they have to temper their enthusiasm with prolonged periods of relfection to try to determine how the foreigner is trying to cheat (not the exact term my insider used!) them.

[Lisa Haneberg]

Interesting...I suspect all cultures have their subtle forms of manipulation, and mostly based on some kind of fears.

[Bob]

At a previous job, we were looking for someone to join our team. My boss and another person in the team interviewed the guy. I heard after the event that my boss had pressured the guy so much that he got up and said that he was no longer interested in the job and walked out.

I asked to be present at the next interview, seeing as whoever we hired, I would be required to train up. In that meeting I had an opportunity to see my boss' interview style. He focused almost entirely on technical ability, neglecting anything along the lines of soft skills. From what I've learnt about best-practice in hiring, you focus on attitude rather than ability.

This same interview approach was shown for what it's worth when he later hired someone who had such an atrocious attitude (yet claimed he knew all the technical skills), that he was fired a month later. In my years working in Australia, I've heard of anyone having been fired (in contrast to being managed out).

It's easy to ask hard questions, but there's no need to give interviewees a hard time while doing so.

[Lisa Haneberg]

Wow - if an interview is a turn off, one can only imagine what it might be like to be there day in and day out. I truly believe that our interviewing process should be brand consistent - in alignment with how we want and expect people to experience the work environment.