By now I've long since concluded - mistakenly, apparently - that everybody knows the do's and don'ts of job interviews. Things like, "dress conservatively" and "behave professionally" I took to be "givens" for both seeker and interviewer alike.
Apparently I couldn't have been more wrong.
Yesterday, my better half interviewed with an advertising firm in Georgetown. Her interviewer was in his late 30's and initially seemed rather distant and aloof but did not display anything that set off any alarm bells.
Until he crossed his legs, pulled up his pants leg past his knee and began to scratch himself during the interview.
Picture this: You're sitting across from someone you desperately want to impress so you can land a job, and suddenly the same interviewer you're trying to win over decides he wants to show you why he should be considered for the Rockettes. The guy scratched himself absent-mindedly for several seconds before pulling the trouser leg back to its original position and resuming the discussion. Understandably, Linda concluded she wouldn't be working there.
"Either he has someone else in mind and wanted to let me know in no uncertain terms he wasn't interested, or he's a creep that I have no interest in working for," she told me when she got home. (Yes, this falls into another chapter of the you-couldn't-make-this-up-if-you-tried Hall of Shame...) She mentioned the experience to her recruiter, who confirmed that she had also developed "an impression" of the fellow and appreciated Linda's feedback. (Whether the recruiter will continue to send candidates to this company remains to be seen; although given the current state of the economy, I suspect the relationship will probably continue in some form or another, although hopefully the recruiter will provide some critical feedback to the client or at the very least warn future candidates about his behavior.)
I recently saw a profile on the evening news where someone published a book compiled of nothing but rejection letters. I wonder what such a collection of bizarre interview stories would be like...
Apparently I couldn't have been more wrong.
Yesterday, my better half interviewed with an advertising firm in Georgetown. Her interviewer was in his late 30's and initially seemed rather distant and aloof but did not display anything that set off any alarm bells.
Until he crossed his legs, pulled up his pants leg past his knee and began to scratch himself during the interview.
Picture this: You're sitting across from someone you desperately want to impress so you can land a job, and suddenly the same interviewer you're trying to win over decides he wants to show you why he should be considered for the Rockettes. The guy scratched himself absent-mindedly for several seconds before pulling the trouser leg back to its original position and resuming the discussion. Understandably, Linda concluded she wouldn't be working there.
"Either he has someone else in mind and wanted to let me know in no uncertain terms he wasn't interested, or he's a creep that I have no interest in working for," she told me when she got home. (Yes, this falls into another chapter of the you-couldn't-make-this-up-if-you-tried Hall of Shame...) She mentioned the experience to her recruiter, who confirmed that she had also developed "an impression" of the fellow and appreciated Linda's feedback. (Whether the recruiter will continue to send candidates to this company remains to be seen; although given the current state of the economy, I suspect the relationship will probably continue in some form or another, although hopefully the recruiter will provide some critical feedback to the client or at the very least warn future candidates about his behavior.)
I recently saw a profile on the evening news where someone published a book compiled of nothing but rejection letters. I wonder what such a collection of bizarre interview stories would be like...
No comments:
Post a Comment