Website offers 'reviews' of job interviews

No matter how polished the resume, how confident or well-connected the interviewee, savvy-job seekers are always on the prowl for an 'in' when they try to land a dream job.

A new website developed by a local computer programmer could be the crystal ball that a worker needs to prepare for the next meeting with a potential employer.

And job candidates can even make a little cash for reporting back about their interview experiences.

Puvu.com, which started up last year, offers ''job interview reports" on about 100 Boston-area companies for purchase. The reports offer applicants insight into what an interview for a position was like, including examples of specific questions asked.

''Showing how the interview process works is good for the employee and the company," said Ashot Hayrapetyan, 25, the creator of Puvu.com.

The Armenian-born MIT computer programmer came up with Puvu.com after going through an interview where he was asked an unexpected technical question about programming code, which he said would have been easier to answer had he known about it beforehand.

Interviewees who don't want to get caught flat-footed like Hayrapetyan can shell out $19.99 for an individual report on a company. Businesses wanting to take a look at their own reports or those of competitors pay $79.99.

The creators of those anonymous reports, job applicants who have already survived the interview process, get paid $40 per report filed to Puvu.com.

Hayrapetyan said the money paid to interview reporters is an incentive for them to provide a lengthy, detailed report of what happened on the job interview. He said the reports are thoroughly edited for content, especially potentially libelous statements.

''We don't accept reports that are written in a negative spirit," Hayrapetyan said.

No matter what quality-control checks are in place for websites like Puvu.com, Chuck Mollor, regional vice president at Right Management Consultants, a Boston-based human resources consulting firm, warns those looking for specific information about interviewing at a company that their efforts could be futile.

''It's definitely an interesting idea, but I have to wonder how valid that information really is," Mollor said. ''I would be more than a little cautious about putting faith in people from the Internet."

He also warned that many leading human resources managers would be able to recognize an interviewee who coached him or herself with prepared questions drawn from a job interview report. ''They will find out, even if it might be after you're hired," Mollor said of applicants who appear excessively prepared in their responses to questions. ''That's just a waste of time for everyone involved."

If job seekers are to seek interview information from previous candidates, Mollor suggests they should only consider the interview reports as part of a comprehensive study of a potential employer.

Still, Hayrapetyan said his site continues to draw in new users -- most importantly, paying customers -- despite the company's narrow focus on just the Boston metro area's job market.

Hayrapetyan said he hopes to secure venture capital funding from a financier and start expanding the reach of the website to include all of New England or the New York market.