Day 14278
So, I interviewed a woman today for a position in our West Sacramento, CA location. I saw her out in her vehicle checking her look and applying perfume before she came in. She was dressed quite nice and the perfume was surprisingly very subtle. All in all, quite tasteful. For some context, I've mentioned in the past that I work in an industry that is dominated by men. (I purposely don't wish to get more specific than that.) Anyway, I think she tried to present herself as being tough enough for "a man's world". Specifically, she used the dreaded "c-word" within the 1st 2 minutes of the interview! I was totally stunned! You wouldn't think it possible, but the interview actually got worse after that. In all seriousness, she would have done better saying, "Gotcha!" when it was over!
For those of you who are, or are soon to be, job hunting, let me give some "advice". Never use the "c-word" or any other profanities in an interview. Never use racial slurs in an interview, especially if you unknowingly are sitting in front of one of your targets. Never say that you have told a customer to go ____ themselves. When describing what you enjoy most about the sales process, never brag about purposely overcharging customers, especially those you don't like. Never state that your favorite past employment was one which gave you "plenty of time to put your feet up". Never refer to past supervisors as bitches or morons or question their sexuality. If you are of the opposite sex of the majority of the customers (actually, even if you aren't), never state that you are "sexy enough to keep `em coming back for more". Never claim to have experience in one thing or another, only to mention later that you look forward to gaining that very same experience so that your future job opportunities elsewhere will be increased. Never have your significant other call back afterwards to promote your cause and ask if the interviewer was impressed by your interview.
Truth. It's stranger than fiction. Idiots. They are dumber than you think.
posted by Yibbyl @ 11:55 PM
3 Comments:
This is the second time (that I recall) you telling us about something job related that seems too far-fetched to be true. Not because I would ever think that you'd lie about anything like this, but because it is SO far from comprehension that anyone would behave in such a manner.
How do these people even make it through the door to interview with you? Is there someone else doing your pre-screening process for you, or do they look that good "on paper"?
Nope. No lie. Admittedly, this instance is by far much more obsurd than someone accepting a job and then not showing up. As I said, I was stunned within the first couple of minutes.
Getting quality people hired for this particular location has historically proven to be a challenge. Therefore, the bar is a little lower in deciding who I bring in for an interview. In this case, I am interviewing strictly from what was written down on the applications and resumes. Phone calls to verify info. occur afterwards, and then only for the people who interviewed strong enough to warrant the time and effort to make those phone calls. After that we do criminal and credit checks.
This individual's performance, on the other hand, was so off the mark, that morbid curiousity kicked in and I made phone calls anyway. Half of the companies were either out of business or possibly didn't exist at all. The one I could reach on a Saturday would only go so far as to say, "She is not elgible for re-hire". That phrase is code for "Watch out!", but without the risk for giving the applicant a basis for a lawsuit. Can you guess which companies she claimed she had the most responibilities at?
My guess here is that if I ran a credit check, this person would probably be up a creek and have been there for some time. On the other hand, people do some strange things when they are nervous. Unfortunately, she appeared relaxed. The "plenty of time to put your feet up" comment was definitely accidently leaked. I suspect the "sexy enough to keep `em coming back for more" comment was her attempt to show humor. She continued on by saying she thought "men would prefer to go up to a lady as opposed to a man in shopping situations". Nevertheless, the comment was still inappropriate.
This one was just a flake with some serious issues and hopefully the worst interview I will ever have.
Oh that's great! I work as a woman in a male dominated industry and can't believe what you've written (well, I believe you of course but that is just so far beyond the pale)!
We hired a lady similar to the one you describe. She worked with us for 29 days. She had gone through a messy divorce (which you'd never guess occurred over a decade before). She would go around telling our male clients just how much men sucked. Not that that would go over well anywhere, but here in the South it was particularly bad. Its unbelievable how stupid some people are!
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