Tinder's HR chief spends interviews listening closely to how job candidates describe their current roles. Here's what she wants to hear.
- Tinder HR head Lina Alcala wants to hear an objective assessment of why a job candidate's current role isn't a fit — and why a position at her company might be.
- It gives her insight into how that person might deal with similar challenges in a new role.
- Plus, she's able to figure out whether there's space for the person's passions and interests at Tinder.
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If you're interviewing for a job at Tinder, expect to be asked about why you're leaving your current gig.
It's not a trick question — hiring managers really want to know why your current role is no longer ideal and why a position at Tinder might be.
Lina Alcala, Tinder's vice president of human resources, told Business Insider that she listens closely to how job candidates describe current and previous employers and coworkers. She's looking for people who can "speak to those things respectfully and constructively," and who are able to be honest about "where things maybe weren't a fit before."
Even more importantly, Alcala said, the way a candidate speaks about other employers "gives you insight on how that employee might deal with similar challenges," for example if they don't get along with their direct manager.
That doesn't mean you should sugarcoat a difficult experience. But it helps to provide "more of an objective assessment of the situation, as opposed to subjective," Alcala said.
Alcala shared an example that applies to interviews at Tinder and beyond: Maybe you didn't have enough autonomy in your previous role and you'd like to have more trust and authority in your next role. The hiring manager can give you a "realistic preview of whether this organization can offer that," Alcala said.
Alcala's insights echo advice from Toni Thompson, senior vice president of people and talent at The Muse. Thompson previously told Business Insider that you should explain why your current job isn't giving you the chance to grow or to take your career in the direction you'd like. Thompson advised against badmouthing any current or former coworkers, which might lead the interviewer to question your character.
When Alcala was interviewing for a job at Tinder, she was manager of learning and knowledge management at Hulu. She remembered telling her interviewers something along the lines of: "Here are the aspects of my environment that I really enjoy; here's the work that I'm able to do and the work that I'm not able to do, and ultimately where my career passions are and why this next step at Tinder aligns."
"At the end of the day," Alcala said, "our job within organizations is to make sure we find a really strong fit between what an employee wants to do and the organization's ability to harness that and provide space for it."