If you survive the interview, you get the job

Mark Franchetti, Moscow

AT FIRST the job interview seemed to be going well for Natasha Grishkina. The questions were straightforward and the female interviewer seemed friendly. But suddenly the atmosphere changed.
The woman started shouting, accusing Grishkina of lying about her qualifications. Yelling abuse, she ordered the 26-year-old applicant to leave, throwing her CV after her.

The next day the same recruiter telephoned to offer her the job. Her hostility, she explained, had been faked to test how Grishkina reacted to difficult situations. “I was so shocked I told her to get lost,” said Grishkina, a public relations manager in Moscow.

As Russian businesses grow more competitive, 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.

Elena Agoshina, a 32-year-old personal assistant, stormed out of a job interview at a Moscow headhunting firm when the female recruiter first congratulated her on her successful interview, then said there was one small formality: her future boss liked Scandinavian-looking women and “before you get the job we’ll have to colour your hair and improve your nose and lips with a bit of plastic surgery. But don’t worry we’ll pay for everything”.

“At that point I was so angry and humiliated that I stormed out. Obviously I didn’t pass the test because they never called again,” Agoshina said.

Recruiters claim unconventional methods help them to assess potential staff more accurately. Throwing a glass of water in someone’s face is said to be especially revealing: the interviewee is considered to have strength of character and leadership qualities if they react aggressively.

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.

“It’s a very effective method because it really does reveal someone’s true character,” said Natalya Kondratyeva, of ABC Consulting.

Some firms call new employees with a bogus job offer from another company. Those who express an interest are sacked for disloyalty.

However, many in Russia find such tactics unacceptable. Grigory Ganin, 32, a Moscow telecommunications manager, said: “No serious professional would stand for such treatment. If a recruiter threw water at me I would definitely hit him in the face.”

Clearly he is a born leader.

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