The Job Candidate Said, What?!!!

Hiring new employees includes sifting through resumes and conducting interviews to fill a job position. Major faux pas that I’ve seen from candidates are: using abbreviations appropriate only for text messages, applying for jobs with cover letters addressed to someone at another organization and saying inappropriate statements in interviews. I complied some of the funny, and not-so-funny, statements that were written on resumes and said during interviews.

·      She attached a long cover letter to her resume that actually said, “I have no experience for this job. I really don’t know why you’d want to hire me, but I still want this job.”

·      During the interview she wore a blouse that was low cut. With each hand gesture it slid down further. Not until it had about reached her waist, did she give it a huge tug and pull it up. We weren’t sure if it was a tactic to impress the men on the search committee or if it was just a Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction.

·      He was asked about the activity on his resume that said, “cattle rustling.” He said it was something he did with his friends. We questioned him about it being illegal. He replied confidently, “Not when we do it.”

·      When we asked if there was typo in what appeared to be an X-rated email address she replied, “That is the nickname that people call me.”

·      When the job candidate, Sue, was asked, “Complete this sentence, ‘Sue, is a great person and we enjoy being around her, but sometimes she _______________.’ Sue became visibly upset and said she couldn’t believe that we were asking her that question. Then responded, “I get aggressive and lash out at other people.”

·      In my initial interview with him, he said that he didn’t want to report to me. He would only take the job if he could report to my boss. He was mystified as to why he didn’t get a second interview.

Today’s gift was to give a career counselor an article for her to share with job seekers. The article describes wacky tactics that job seekers have used to get jobs—some successful and some not. Hopefully these ideas will keep her job seekers from hearing a potential employer say, “She said, what?!!!

In Giving,

Robin