I had one candidate bring me flowers at the interview; another brought donuts and coffee (had they been Krispy Kreme, he might well be CEO by now); one fellow tried to give me Orlando Magic tickets, bless their hearts.
Payola? Desperation?
Maybe, but I choose to believe they understood interviewing is seldom enjoyable for the hiring manager. Tangible gifts, of course, aren’t the right way to go; being prepared and upbeat is.
Except in rare circumstances, a hiring manager has a full-time job apart from interviewing. It is a necessary evil fraught with things to make that manager feel truly crummy. The fact is, you can only hire one person per position and you have to go through a lot of people to find that individual. That means the manager will be dealing out a lot of rejections. Few managers are so sadistic that such a thing is enjoyable. Nonetheless, the interviewer is on your side; we want you to be the one so we can stop looking. Let’s run down the candidate possibilities from my personal experience.
The Bad Interview: The candidate sits like a lump and answers questions in one or two word replies. Or shrugs. Conversely, there’s the candidate that runs off at the mouth and never answers the questions. I ache for these people. They probably have value but can’t express it, so there’s nothing I can do for them. If I have to pull teeth to learn anything meaningful, you’re blacklisted.
The Bad Candidate That Doesn’t Fit:  She thought she was perfect for the job and I disagreed. Normally not a problem but she wouldn’t let go. Even when I told her I need these certain skills she didn’t have (and wasn’t teachable), she argued with me. Never a winner. In another similar instance, he begged. Personally, I’d rather argue; at least there’s some vindication in saying no.
Just got a message from Robert stating he will be teasing us with half. Check out tomorrow’s submission for the exciting conclusion where Robert will review:
* The Bad Candidate Who Does Fit
* The Great Candidate That Doesn’t Fit
* The Great Candidate Who Does Fit
* The Great Candidate Who Does Fit
and will close with the ever popular:
* Sometimes Hiring Managers are Wrong
Rob Swanson, CPRW, DTALM
Education Career Services: www.educationcs.com
Career Services International: www.careersi.com
Thanks Robert and look forward to your conclusion tomorrow!
dhuffman
