Interviewing with Respect
There is a lot that goes into being in Human Resources, and even we are entitled to have bad days, right? Same goes for job seekers, right? We all deserve a second chance – or does a bad first impression cancel out that chance?
I was at a wedding this past weekend and my friend “Mary” talked about a job interview she had recently been on. I think what goes forgotten a lot of the time is that we are not only interviewing potential candidates, but that the candidates are also interviewing the potential company as well.
Let me walk you through her experience:
It all begins at a job fair…a candidate arrives at a job fair after doing research on the companies that are on the roster to attend. Rule of thumb job seekers – always do your research – thank you google!
“Mary” arrives at a booth and inquires about specific positions relating to communications and the recruiter told her, “all we are hiring for is such and such job for $10 an hour.” What’s wrong with this statement? Impression to the job candidate – when “all we are” or “all we have left” is used, how does that make the potential candidate feel? Don’t we want to hire the best of the best? I know I do. Sometimes this $10 job could be the beginning to their futures, their first step in the door, a way to learn the company from the ground up… Also, who is to say that in these times $10 an hour is a bad starting wage for a great company who has benefits (etc).? Just all food for thought.
The anxious candidate expresses her interest and had done her research on the company and deemed it to be a very “professional company.” The recruiter invited her to the main office to interview and gave her the name of the person she would meet with and directions. The job seeker arrives and is greeted by a robot at the reception desk who did not look up when speaking. When did we become too busy to acknowledge people? I find people always appearing in my office at the busiest times and I want to continue to read the hundreds of emails on my screen and listen with one ear, but I have a feeling employee’s would stop coming into my office if that were the case. No one, especially me, wants to feel like they are being “processed.”
“Mary” was then directed upstairs where she sat down for a mandatory typing test. Have you ever taken one of those? Back in the day, I took quite a few when I was interviewing for banks – how many words can you type per minute or simple computer math. This one is a new one, I had no idea typing tests like this existed! The typing test was based around chronological events and putting things in order. She was asked how to toast toast. (A. you get out the toaster, B. you put bread in the toaster, C. you plug in the toaster, D. you pull down the lever, E. you take the toast out and eat it.) I guess I had it tough when it came to typing tests…
Following this test where the job seeker wasn’t sure whether to stay or go, she waited around for another 90 minutes before any “interview” took place. Now I am guilty of making candidates wait once in a awhile, but 90 minutes?
After “Mary’s” wait, the same recruiter from the job fair reappeared at the office and asked her what my name was and what position I was applying for. The recruiter shuffled through stuff on her desk, and then asked her name again and asked if she had a resume. “Mary” wasn’t really sure what to say, as she had just met this person at the job fair and the recruiter didn’t even recognize her. Personally, I have done many job fairs and I know you see hundreds of candidates a day, and I wouldn’t remember every single applicant, but their face would ring a bell for me I hope?!
The job interview began with the recruiter asking her if she had any questions…for me this is a tough spot to put a job seeker in before telling them anything about the company, my experience or asking them any questions to get to know them. “Mary” responded well to this question and asked for a job description and what the day to day duties entailed – good question job seekers!
The recruiter replied to the question with “Sales.” The job seeker asked “so…is this telemarketing or business to business?” The recruiter said, “No, this is not telemarketing. You aren’t calling your mom and dad and trying to push for hard core sales it’s sales. I mean… you try to sell things but it is not telemarketing!” I’m not sure about you, but even I am confused at this point. So the job seeker asked again, “what do you do in this position?” The recruiter snapped back with, “You call people, businesses. You know you really don’t seem like you are interested in this position.” Okay rule of thumb for recruiting – know what you are interviewing for and have a job description nearby if you are not too familiar – we are not expected to be experts on every single job position in the entire world, but my rule of thumb is – if you are going to ask a candidate if they have any questions be prepared to have answers! And second rule of thumb is – if you don’t know the answer commit to finding out and follow-up with the candidate.
Needless to say, the interview did not end well, the recruiter said she would keep the job seeker’s would resume with her “acquired skills” on file, but the candidate felt so disrespected that she told the recruiter that she would be taking her skills elsewhere. I say good for her! Aretha Franklin summed it all up in one word, “respect.”
It amazes me sometimes how something as simple as a story told by a friend can affect so many people, which is why I wanted to share this experience and my thoughts with you. I know there are many more stories out there, I could write a book on my interviewing stories, but hopefully there are a few takeaways from this story for both sides of the playing field.
