These days even getting an interview seems like an uphill battle, but once you do of course you’re on your best behavior. Right? Well, that’s not always the case. For some people, their behavior is the determinating factor for hiring (or not). And it can get quite wild when interviews go south. Content edited for clarity.
Confession
“It was an unforgettable experience for me as an interviewer. This interview was for the recruitment of a Content Writer at one of the universities I was associated with.
The setting was perfect for an interview. The moderate temperature in the conference room, a revolving chair (for me, of course), and a good chair for the candidate.
The candidate was a smart girl who impressed everyone with her writing skills. Now, the face-to-face round was approaching and I was entrusted with conducting the routine meeting.
She entered the room (after seeking permission). A tall girl, with sharp features, smartly wrapped in perfect formals, carrying a classy leather folder. She impressed me upon first look.
The interview started with the cliche question- yes, you guessed it right- a personal introduction. I shot my next question i.e. what elements of a good writer do you have? She answered smartly with all the fundamentals of being a good writer.
The next question was about her education, which was not suitable for a writer’s job. She explained that she had a flair for writing since her adolescent stage and showed her blog. It was well-filled with lovely pieces of content.
The questions and answers continued in a smarter way and she started feeling very comfortable.
Now here comes the ruining and sickening factor.
She suddenly burped badly and puked on the table. I could sense a few drops on my shirt. Yuck.
Still, I showed no sign of any heinous or disgusted feelings. I asked if she needed water and showed her the way to the washroom. She came back crying and made a confession.
She was very nervous about the interview and one of her friends suggested she take two vodka shots right before.
It was unethical for an interview but she had the caliber and potential to become a writer. I never wanted to lose a candidate like her. I said, ‘For the rest of your life in this office if this remains between both of us, then I can give you a chance.’
She nodded her head with signs of agreement. I asked the cleaning staff to clean the space and conveyed her feedback to HR Deptt. as a candidate selected. In the department, everybody knows one thing about that incident- she had food poisoning.
So that was an experience I can never forget. I always wondered how she didn’t smell like vodka when she came in. Her secret was never revealed.”
No Filter
“We were interviewing this really smart and outgoing gentleman for an advising position. Aside from the one internal candidate that we had our eye on, this guy was pretty much our top pick. During the course of the interview, we asked him about some of his strengths, and he talked about being an educator at heart, and how he had a knack for being able to communicate anything as long as he understood it. He called it his ‘superpower.’
At the end of the interview, one of the guys on our hiring committee decided to ask him an off-topic question. He asked, ‘If you could have any superpower, what would it be?’
Keep in mind, we really liked this guy, so we were super eager to hear his answer.
He said, ‘If I could choose one superpower, I would want the ability to stop time so that I could walk into Walmart and load up my cart and leave.’
He suddenly realized what he had said and then awkwardly added, ‘Oh, but I wouldn’t do that, because stealing is illegal.’
Whether he meant it or not, his response said a lot about his character. He was basically advertising the fact that he might steal or embezzle if the opportunity presented itself. So, that was enough for us to pass on him as a candidate.
In the end, I think he was overconfident and wasn’t thinking when he spoke. That’s a big deal when you’re working with the general public. If you can’t control yourself in an interview, then how can we trust you to do the same when you’re working with customers and clientele?”
Close Call
“The last question I always ask in any interview is, ‘Is there anything you’d like to know about us that we haven’t already told you?’ It’s an easy, casual way to wind the interview down, and we sometimes get a response that reflects very favorably on the candidate and makes a good impression.
About a year ago, I was interviewing a woman whose resume was a little weak, because she didn’t have a very lengthy employment history. There were a couple of gaps and some unusually short tenures. But she was young, had good explanations for her spotty employment history, and had some solid educational qualifications. She also had a very good interview. She had no way of knowing it at the time, but I had already decided I was going to hire her. That last question was just a formality; I’d already made up my mind.
But… that last question…
She furrowed her brow and looked very intense and focused for a moment before saying, ‘Mmm… Well, I’m wondering about your attendance policy.’
‘Sure,’ I said. Not an unreasonable question; it showed foresight and attention to detail. ‘What can I tell you about it?’
She looked very nervous, and asked, ‘Well… how many days can I miss without calling in before I’m fired?’
So, I gave her a brief but comprehensive explanation of how our sick days, vacation days, PTO days, and floating holidays worked, and our procedure for calling in when there was an emergency. She looked a little uncomfortable, and then said, ‘No… I mean, how many days can I not come to work without calling in before I’m fired?’
I wasn’t sure I understood what she was asking, so I asked, ‘Do you mean… just… not come in? Just not show up? At all?’
‘Yes!’ she said, ‘That’s it. If I don’t come to work, or call in, how many days is it before I’m fired?’
I said, ‘Well, I don’t usually get asked that, but our normal policy is three days of no-call/no-show is considered job abandonment – which is voluntary termination.’
Somehow, this did not seem to reassure her. She looked apprehensive, and said, ‘Well… Okay… thanks.’
I asked her if she had any more questions, and she said no, and clearly seemed preoccupied. I escorted her to the parking lot, shook her hand, and said she’d be hearing from us in a few days. Then I walked straight back to my office, called HR, and said, ‘Forget it.’
I understand that people have lives, things come up unexpectedly, people get sick, etc. There are a number of reasons that people may have to miss work. I understand that, and if you’re one of my people, I’ll work with you on whatever issues you need help with. But as an operations manager, part of my responsibility is to make the best, and the wisest, hiring decisions I can with the information that is available to me. If the only thing you really want to know about the company is how many days in a row you can not come to work without even calling to let me know what is going on, you’re giving me a strong indication that you’re going to be an attendance problem. Unless you’re an absolute superstar candidate, I’m going to have to give that position to someone who doesn’t flash such a bright red flag.”