Does this briefcase make my hips look big?
Posted on 06/27/2010 5:46:22 AM PDT by STONEWALLS
Daphne Batts sometimes wonders if practical jokers with hidden cameras are spying on her as she interviews people for jobs at Bankrate Inc., an online publisher of financial information in North Palm Beach, Fla.
That's because job candidates—including experienced professionals—behave so inappropriately that Ms. Batts, vice president of human resources, suspects she's the target of a prank.
"I find myself peering out my blinds to see if Ashton Kutcher is on my office balcony with a camera crew," she says, referring to the host of the former MTV show "Punk'd," which featured pranks being played on celebrities.
Of course, there's nothing funny about a bad job interview, especially for the long-term unemployed. Yet hiring managers say many job hunters don't take their search efforts seriously enough and make the kind of mistakes that they should know better to avoid. In fact, many say they are frequently amazed by some of the colossal blunders they witness at a time when there are five job seekers for every job opening, according to the Labor Department.
Here's a look at eight bone-headed moves job hunters commonly make.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I applied for a position a few weeks ago where all of the candidates showed up wearing suits and had briefcases, myself included. The HR lady even commented about it. I thought a suit and tie was standard..
I applied for a position a few weeks ago where all of the candidates showed up wearing suits and had briefcases, myself included. The HR lady even commented about it. I thought a suit and tie was standard..
But most don’t. There are many fine young folks out there ready to fill our shoes.
It doesn't matter if you think you will just be asking the floor clerk for an app, or if you think you are meeting the President of the company, go in the door the FIRST time expecting that they just lost an employee five minutes ago, and are desperate for a new worker. Even if it only happens 1% of the time, you never know when a manager might be the one handing out the applications, and he may have 10 minutes to interview on the spot. That is not the time you want to be dressed in your favorite rock group T shirt, or you faded, ripped jeans, with flip flops on. And above all, take a shower before asking for that application!
I've never had a candidate show up in flip-flops and T-shirt, had a kid in tow, or took a cell phone call in the middle of the interview. This kind of stuff just doesn't happen to me. 99% of interviews are hum-drum affairs where the candidate always plays it safe. The most exciting interview I had was when a candidate vowed that I'd be a fool not to hire him and that his goal upon being hired would be to "get me promoted so he could take my job." That kind of confidence was refreshing - he never did take my job (and get me promoted) but he did end up being one of my better hires.
I can't help but think this article is a total fabrication, concocted by a bored journalist who couldn't find a real story to write about.
I’m not sure what I’m most shocked by... the behavior of the idiots these companies selected to interview, or the fact that there were that many job opportunities to mention for the article.
I think that number is a litte low - more like 500 job seekers for every opening - it maybe narrowed down to five for the initial interview but there are a lot more than five for for every job opening.
It really depends on the college. Some colleges are churning out highly entitled young people. At least they *think* they are entitled.
Its just a collection of worse case stories, one out of 10,000 kinda sampling...
I am guilty of being rude at the interview, but I was not being unintentionally rude. The interview was going very well and we were discussing compensation. The position was advertised as having “good wages.” When I discovered that his idea of good wages was two bits over minimum wage and about two thirds of the prevailing wage for that job in that area at the time I was more than a little incensed. I snatched my application right out of his hand, opened the door so the people filling out apps could hear and loudly told him pretty much how I felt about his false advertising and wasting my time. “Pretty much” because I left out all obscenity and profanity. After that I stormed out of the office, with two or three other applicants behind me.
Good advice!
I saw that EXACT scenario one time, too!
And from personal experience from a candidate I once interviewed, remove any body piercings on the your face before the interview.
Most folks I’ve interviewed have presented themselves appropriately, but I have seen highly inappropriate attire. Unfortunately for that woman, half of the interview panel was female. And the males wouldn’t even look at her - didn’t want an EEO complaint.
That is very refreshing. Most HR types I have met have never made a mistake. Ever. Just ask them.
I am sure your attitude allowed you to hire some very qualified applicants who might have otherwise declined the position.
The weirdest one, was a young candidate that told me that if he did not get the job his Dad was going to call me. It was like a threat. He did not get the job, and his Dad did call.
About 1 minute into an interview, a college candidate took a 2 minute cell call. I thanked him for coming in and returned him to HR. Interview over.
Best interview was a lady who just had the best, “never say die” attitude, I have ever seen. She was Hispanic and was the first in her family to go to college. She said "I can do this." and I believed her. Didn't have the best grades in college but we hired her and she was great.
No Beer? Not even Shiner???
Odd, I NEVER carry a briefcase to an interview. I use a zipped leather portfolio: extra resumes, business cards, and a handy pad for taking notes.
But then, I’m a techie, not a management or sales type. . .
Because the interviewer might expect you to share? :)
Especially not Shiner. See my post #21.
My Wife used to manage a pizza place, and one of the guys who worked there had more metal in his face than the terminator.
The odd thing was, he was the best employee they ever had - always courteous and a very hard worker. I just can’t figure out why anyone would want visually mangle themselves like that.
Well, if I really wanted the job, I might be willing to give up one bottle out of my six pack....oh, you’re right. I ain’t sharing my Shiner!
“The most exciting interview I had was when a candidate vowed that I’d be a fool not to hire him and that his goal upon being hired would be to “get me promoted so he could take my job.””
Not very original, a movie cliche.
I reread your post and I may have caught the disconnect. You state that you are a hiring manager. Can I assume that there is a HR department that sends you the cream of the total applicants? That would be why you never see some of the horror stories. They are told that they will be called and never are.
That is actually what I meant-a portfolio type thing with my creds, resumes, etc.
I believe the story.
I’ve interviewed people for a professional job who have:
___ Shown up wearing flip flops (with dirty feet even)
___ Had multiple piercings
___ Have told me intimate details about their life
___ Have told me if I didn’t hire them they *could* file a discrimination lawsuit.
___ Have told me they will not work for a female boss.
___ Have reeked of cigarette smoke.
___ Have taken cell phone calls during the interview.
___ Have brought a young kid (and had it wait in the reception area where she asked the receptionist to watch him)
___ Have lied about having a degree.
___ The usual mispellings on resumes.
In addition, I know another person who took an interviewie to lunch who brought his own chopsticks to eat with (the person wasn’t Asian and it wasn’t an asian restuarant).
I read them. How can people be that silly and unprofessional? They’re trying to make a joke out of the whole process. No one is that dumb.
I was the headhunter for faculty for a major university for many years. I interviewed daily.....all professionals with Masters degrees or doctorates. I never had 1 interview even close to any of these stories.
I tend to agree with you.
I always HEAR about such cases, but I have never heard of these things actually happening. Urban legends..
This isn’t an urban legend - a man came in to my office with his 3 year old who’s legal name was Bronco Billy. Let’s just say, the name fit because he did nothing but bounce off the walls the entire time.
That's not a really common microscope to use --usually that's for something to do with physics, academic research, or making a type of advanced silicon chip.
I beamed and exclaimed, "You can use an SEM, wow..!"
She said, "I just used my friend's resume..."
This answer completely astonished me --embellishing sure, but simply using the resume of ANOTHER PERSON...?
Like something out of the Twilight Zone, my colleagues continued interviewing her and even expressed annoyance that this would give me pause.
Funny. I went on a job interview a while back dressed in a jacket and tie. The guy that interviewed kept referencing how I was over dressed for the type of job (industrial maintenance) we were discussing. I didn’t like the guy so I didn’t pursue it. I’m guessing he had a buddy he wanted to take the job so he did his best to make me feel unwanted.
How about vacant, 24 year old female HR clowns who say things like, “I don’t know about that stuff, I don’t work on the shop floor.”
"You should also take out all your funky piercings and hide your tattoos," says career coach Cynthia Shapiro, who is also a former human-resources executive. "Even if you wear a business suit, if you have a piercing through your lip" it doesn't look good.
That fact that this even needs to be said is very discouraging...
“I just can’t figure out why anyone would want visually mangle themselves like that.”
Honestly, I think it’s a manifestation of mental illness.
For entry-level jobs, most people need an attitude adjustment. All through their schooling, everything has been about them—their development, their needs, their interests . . . Now it is about the company’s needs. Read up on the company and figure out how you would fit in.
Older applicants can use that too: don’t mention any of your own reasons for wanting the job; just focus on how you can help them out. This may seem so basic that it’s not worth even mentioning.
It does happen- I worked with a person who was going
to interview for a railraoad engineer job-
kept telling me he had an inside track to be
hired (had friends AND family members working for
the R-R)- he showed up at 8AM still hungover- slurring
his speech- and when they said they could SMELL alcohol
on him - he admitted he was out ALL night- but did not
currently have a Job so did not think it was a big
deal!- LOL- I was laughing so hard ..tears were coming
to my eyes- .. he felt insulted by me for laughing!!
can you say clueless?
Dressing right is crucial. Get someone to advise you if you think you might need help. I looked for a job for months, traveling from NJ to NY in a black dress, which is what I thought NY women wore to work. One day the black dresses were in the cleaners and I wore my old cotton paisley suit. I got the job.
I used to be in sales, so thankfully I know how to interview.
The best one was where I mentioned I had forgotten something, pulled out the cell phone, and turned it off. The interviewer mentioned the previous person they interviewed not only had the phone go off, they also took the call in the middle of the interview.
I got the job.
“This isn’t an urban legend - a man came in to my office with his 3 year old who’s legal name was Bronco Billy. Let’s just say, the name fit because he did nothing but bounce off the walls the entire time.”
...Good One Bgill!....your post cracked me up.
A woman applied for a job at my brother’s CPA firm. The interview was going well until she dropped a bomb, “I need Tuesday mornings off for my tennis lesson.” She did not get the job.
Right. Bring two, so you can give one to the interviewer.
Cheers!
My previous employer was one with a large footprint in India. When I began to conduct technical screenings of candidates for our Indian operations, I was warned of "CV inflation". Candidates would learn what skills got interviews and would list them on their CV.
Most of the time, they were honest in interviews and admitted they knew nothing about the skillset
No joke, when I was involved in the hiring process at a call center I used to help supervise we had people on a few occasions show up to the interview hung over and smelling of alcohol. We had one candidate show up so drunk we called him a cab.
No, they didn't get hired.
The last job interview I went on was in 1966 (obviously, I was hired) and I did’t need any of the advice proffered here. I knew then—from common sense—that one went into the interview dressed in a neat, well-fitted suit, cleanly shaven, and on one’s best manners. The shenanigans outlined here would have been unthinkable to me.
"You have exactly ONE chance to make a good FIRST impression."
FReegards!
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