Interviews Gone Wrong
Over the years I have witnessed more than a few interviews that have gone wrong. I do wonder sometimes what people are thinking. When they reflect on the interview, do they even realize where they might have gone wrong? Here are a five of my favorites:
Those People...
This was a phone screen. I was on the call with another manager. We were about 15 minutes in and it was going well. Then we elaborated on the structure of our team. The bulk of the development was done in India and we often have calls in the early AM hours when there was the most overlap. When our description was done the candidate's comment was "well I don't have any problems with those people." The other manager and I looked at each other as the alarm bells went off. We quickly, but politely ended the call. To this day I still wonder what people they might have an issue with.
Candy is Bad...
This one was in person. I used to work for one of the largest candy companies in the world. We were interviewing this candidate and she just seemed increasingly uncomfortable. We took the time to explain what our company did, who we were, etc. Finally, they had a meltdown and went on a 5-minute angry tirade about childhood obesity and how corporate candy companies were evil, etc, etc. That essentially wrapped up the interview.
Take a Breath...
This was another phone screen. We were looking for a contractor developer. The phone screens were only supposed to last 20 minutes to weed out people we did not want to invite for a face to face. We got on the call and introduced ourselves. Then asked the candidate to introduce themselves. They said "Let me walk you through my experience..." and then proceeded to quickly and literally read through the resume. Sometimes on a corporate conference call, it can be hard to breakthrough. Especially if one does not take a breath. About 15 minutes someone was able to get their attention. At that point, we ended the call.
Calm your Nerves...
One of the things we would always offer was something to drink. This candidate was so nervous that when trying to open the bottle of water they ended up squeezing the bottle too hard and water got everywhere. It was one of those Murphy's law days for this individual. They eventually recovered and found their footing, but the damage was done.
Stereotyping the French...
There is a good chance if you are using the phrase "no offense" then the words that just came out of your mouth were offensive. Such was the case when we actually had a fairly good interview going. That is until the Sr manager, who happens to be a French national, got the candidate talking about world travel. They started to get a little too comfortable and discussed a trip they had taken to France. In the course of the conversation we ended up taking a detour someplace and they went on to spout about French stereotypes and how lazy and rude they are and then realizing, probably by the shocked looks on our faces, they quickly added, "no offense, you seem like a great guy." Now to be clear, the Sr manager was very agreeable and helped them dig their own grave. But as soon as this person left he was fuming. "Can you believe the nerve of this person!"
Those People...
This was a phone screen. I was on the call with another manager. We were about 15 minutes in and it was going well. Then we elaborated on the structure of our team. The bulk of the development was done in India and we often have calls in the early AM hours when there was the most overlap. When our description was done the candidate's comment was "well I don't have any problems with those people." The other manager and I looked at each other as the alarm bells went off. We quickly, but politely ended the call. To this day I still wonder what people they might have an issue with.
Candy is Bad...
This one was in person. I used to work for one of the largest candy companies in the world. We were interviewing this candidate and she just seemed increasingly uncomfortable. We took the time to explain what our company did, who we were, etc. Finally, they had a meltdown and went on a 5-minute angry tirade about childhood obesity and how corporate candy companies were evil, etc, etc. That essentially wrapped up the interview.
Take a Breath...
This was another phone screen. We were looking for a contractor developer. The phone screens were only supposed to last 20 minutes to weed out people we did not want to invite for a face to face. We got on the call and introduced ourselves. Then asked the candidate to introduce themselves. They said "Let me walk you through my experience..." and then proceeded to quickly and literally read through the resume. Sometimes on a corporate conference call, it can be hard to breakthrough. Especially if one does not take a breath. About 15 minutes someone was able to get their attention. At that point, we ended the call.
Calm your Nerves...
One of the things we would always offer was something to drink. This candidate was so nervous that when trying to open the bottle of water they ended up squeezing the bottle too hard and water got everywhere. It was one of those Murphy's law days for this individual. They eventually recovered and found their footing, but the damage was done.
Stereotyping the French...
There is a good chance if you are using the phrase "no offense" then the words that just came out of your mouth were offensive. Such was the case when we actually had a fairly good interview going. That is until the Sr manager, who happens to be a French national, got the candidate talking about world travel. They started to get a little too comfortable and discussed a trip they had taken to France. In the course of the conversation we ended up taking a detour someplace and they went on to spout about French stereotypes and how lazy and rude they are and then realizing, probably by the shocked looks on our faces, they quickly added, "no offense, you seem like a great guy." Now to be clear, the Sr manager was very agreeable and helped them dig their own grave. But as soon as this person left he was fuming. "Can you believe the nerve of this person!"
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