Job Interview Miscues
June 17, 2008
Anne Fisher of Fortune mag’s “Ask Annie” column has a great piece on job interview mistakes made by candidates over the years (June 12, cnnmoney.com). The story cited a poll of 1,000 executives by Office Team, a staffing firm. Some of the funniest examples: one job seeker arrived with a cockatoo on his shoulder; another candidate sent his sister in his stead; one applicant asked for a cigarette in the middle of the interview; another fell asleep; while one insulted the interviewer’s tie. I personally know of a great PR pro (and good friend) who noted a photo of Cal Ripken, the retired Orioles shortstop, on the interviewer’s wall during a job interview a few years ago. The candidate mentioned something along the lines of Ripken being known as “a high-maintenance pain in the ass” in baseball circles. To this day, I needle my friend (and remind all job seekers) that if the interviewer has a photo on their wall or desk, it’s probably of someone they admire, like and/or respect.
Interviewers are quite often no less disappointing than the candidates they reject. They wait ever-vigilant, to pounce on miscues that will help them quckly dispatch with a duty for which they’re not necessarily qualified. After all, they’re busy — why should they have to put out any more?
I once encountered a sorry sack of an unspirited interviewer, an AVP/Communications, who was “screening” for her boss candidates for an executive communications post. She started off our monotone interview with, “So tell me, why do you want to work here?” The question was so incredibly weak and unspirited, my immediate thought, “Why would I indeed?” Instead I blurted, “Because I need the money,” with a small laugh. I went on to explain that I liked the firm’s conservative approach (which actually is always refreshing to encounter, given how many financial services wind up impaled on their “innovative” visions) and that the position required handling many different types of communications, which was right up my alley.
Her biggest takeaway from the interview was that I needed the money. The quip on my part WAS moronic — I should have remembered this was s stranger with potentially NO sense of humor — and was all the worse as it let my recruiter down and he has never forgiven me since. On the other hand, better not to work there!