Why should I Interview You?
I have to blog this quickly. This is really rich. I was doing a mock interview with a friend of a friend of mine, let’s call him Steve. He wants to get as much feedback as possible before he goes out and faces the myriad of interview experiences that await him.
As we talked about the mock interview he said, “You know a buddy of mine just had an interview that was hostile.”
“What?” I said incredulously.
“My buddy told me that the hiring manager was hostile through the entire interview. He started out by slamming his resume.”
This hiring manager proceeded to tell Steve’s friend that his resume was 2 pages (barely) and that Lee Iacocca (saved Chrysler) and Sam Walton (Mr. Wal-mart) both had one page resumes and look at all they had accomplished. Why should he read his resume? He then went on to say that his resume had so much content that he felt like he knew this candidate very well and why should he even continue interviewing.
Wow! My jaw dropped to the floor. First of all, why did either Lee or Sam even need a resume?
Steve asked me what he should do if he had the same experience and was this a “style” of interviewing.
No. I told Steve this was a sign of incompetence. This hiring manager should not even be allowed to interact with people. I told Steve if this had happened to me, the temptation to walk out of the interview would have been something hard to fight off. Why would I even want to work for someone like this?
Good grief.
I told Steve I want to blog the whole story. He is going to hook me up with his friend.
I’m looking forward to the weekend, how about you?
The Blogging Boss, Eric Boehme
Comment by Doris
WOW I agree not someone I would want to work for either!
Comment by Ananke
Yikes, definitely a hint of things to come. If he was like that during an interview, how would he treat his subordinates?
Comment by Crazy Dan
Interersting, I have had some wild experiences interviewing including one where I met my girls boss and he told me I could have the job if I stopped dating his daughter. But never had a hostile one.
Comment by Dave
M)ay
Y)our
B)oss
O)nly
S)ay
S)tupendous
I)ncredible
S)ensational
A)mazing
J)ust
E)xceptional
R)emarkable
K)ewl
Comment by The Blogging Boss
Doris, Ananke
Can you imagine? CAn’t wait to get the full story.
Dave,
Depending on what your brain digested first, you might be able to say if your tendency is to see the glass half full or half empty. I keep voting……
Comment by Shane
man I would have loved to have put that guy in his place in front of his subordinates no less.
Comment by The Blogging Boss
shane,
I wonder if he had any subordinates left and he was trying to hire back the first sucker.
The story behind this interview is much more infuriating than we even know yet. Tune in.
Eric
Comment by Ayannali
WOW!!
That makes me scared to even try to move jobs.
I interview horribly!
I hope this isn’t something that is catchy - sheesh
Comment by The Blogging Boss
Ayannali,
Don’t worry, this is not the norm. It is such an absurd exception that I had to blog about it.
Eric
Comment by Helen
Well, I have to agree with you buddy, somewhat. I was in management for many years (yikes) and have interviewed hundreds of people. While I personally would not choose this style, I know many who have incorporated it and feel as if it is the interviewees job to sell himself. I would really have to say it would all really come down to his tone of voice and body language in the end.
Please let us know what happens, though.
Peace…………….
PS - We also frowned on any resume that could not be consolidated to one page.
Comment by Mark Daniels
Great new site design!
Comment by mojo shivers
I had a hiring manager do this to me too. It’s not a common practice, but it’s getting there. Supposedly it tests how a candidate reacts under pressure, but I think interviewing is pressure-filled enough that you shouldn’t have to amp it up.
Comment by The Blogging Boss
Thanks for you insight Helen! I have never experienced this kind of interview. It is the candidate’s job to sell himself; however, in this case it is all so artificial. I like to be real with candidates and really try to understand what makes them tick. I employ behavioral techniques to help with this.
I will blog the full story when I get it.
Mark, thank you - BUT
I am redesigning it completely again. This was just a temporary design until I finished the more complicated CSS version.
Mojo, you are right on in my book.