Is the Job Interview Overrated?
Among the details that came to light following the ouster of Hewlett-Packard CEO Leo Apotheker, was the fact that he was never interviewed by members of the board of directors other than the search committee. In a revealing story in The New York Times James B. Stewart illuminates how the hiring process unfolded.
This makes the third CEO H/P has dismissed in recent memory, although some may think its a bit unorthodox that the board did not seek out Mr. Apotheker. We asked Michael Useem, a management professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management He wrote in an email, “I have never seen a statistic on how many board members have met a CEO candidate before his or her hiring, but my impression is that most board members in most large-company CEO searches would have a direct conversation with the final candidate or two, though that could be by conference call.”
At a time when unemployment remains just shy of double digits, and job applicants participate in multi-part interviews, why did the board of H/P consider this unnecessary?
Meg Whitman, the former CEO of Ebay, was named new CEO, after the markets closed on Thursday.
Tags: board of directors, career transitions, Ebay, female executives, Hewlett-Packard, hiring, interviewing, James B. Stewart, Leo Apotheker, management, Meg Whitman, Michael Useem, msnbc.com, phone interviews, The New York Times, University of Pennsylvania
