The Problem With "Standardized Interview"​ Services Like Karat

Full disclosure, I am the CEO and founder of https://www.skilledinc.com - We provide interview feedback for everyone. 

A few days ago many users (not myself) were engaged in hearty discussion regarding the interview techniques and feasibility of a company like Karat. This conversation was brought to my attention by a client, which I then got to thoroughly enjoy today. Reading through the entire thread, I knew I had to respond.

For those who don't know Karat- their goal is to standardize the interview process, because they believe it is fundamentally broken. It is their core philosophy as an organization, as found in their manifesto, that interviewing is “broken” and should be standardized. 

This is wrong. Interviewing is not broken. Interviewing cannot and SHOULD NOT be standardized across the entire ecosystem as if we were shopping/evaluating for an inanimate product like a car (I want a blue tesla- ok here are a list of blue teslas for sale). 

Why?

1. Interviewing isn't just for companies. Interviewing is also for candidates to get a sense of their potential employer, team dynamic and job role/functions. Understanding the value of an opportunity requires deep thought and analysis from a personal perspective that weighs heavily on ones life, ambitions and goals. You can only understand an opportunity fully when you have invested serious time in getting to know/understand it.
2. No two companies are exactly alike. No two companies share the exact same ideals or philosophies. Each organization is its own ecosystem comprised of a culture and team already in place; therefore no two companies interview or evaluate talent the exact same way. Interviewing is very personal to an organizations brand, identity, culture and growth. You may be a phenomenal engineer who lands a job @ Google, but that does not mean you are going to get an offer from Apple or Facebook, and that may have nothing to do with your ability. 
3. Interviewing is an art form. As one of our interviewers from Snapchat put it, “I have been doing interviews for the last 5 years and realize that conducting a technical interview is no easy task. You not only need experience and competence, but also a mix of other non-technical skills, like the ability to build a rapport with the candidate and the ability to understand his/her train of thought even if not phrased properly.” Art can be duplicated, but the artist cannot. Google is a hiring artist. And like all art, it is subjective. 
4. The value of differing opinions. Imagine a scenario where Karat takes over the recruiting world and becomes the gatekeepers of every job in technology. Suddenly one person, one company, one process will dictate your success or failure. One perspective/opinion defines your core value as an employee, to us that is unacceptable, and will kill innovation across our entire industry. Imagine if all companies were built the way Karat FEELS they should be built. 
5. Sometimes interviewing for a company SUCKS (and I don’t mean it’s hard). When a company sucks at interviewing, they will fail to attract the people that will help make them successful and therefore they will fail in general. In regards to growth and scalability of an organization Karat is removing the natural survival of the fittest companies and allowing half-ass organizations to prosper. The nanny-state of tech recruiting.

Thanks for reading!

-Amir Savar

CEO/Founder Skilled