Personal Job and Interview Related Experiences:
The following are some personal experiences that I have had relating to résumés and job searches
Selecting a candidate: the worst
- An interviewee had parked in the no parking area directly in front of our main entrance, showing no respect for our company, staff, clients or fire regulations. With this attitude he was unlikely to do well in our business environment.
- When an applicant immediately drops his folder on my desk during the interview like it’s his personal workspace I wonder about his etiquette with our clients.
- After escorting the applicant out I regularly asked the receptionist how the applicant acted when he or she arrived. I get interesting comments. Several times she stated what she overheard from a cel phone call.
- The fit and selection of dress is an important aspect of the first impression. I once had an interviewee show up in a white undershirt and jeans for a professional sales position that requires full suit and tie.
- I once kept a collection of some of the worst résumés and
cover letters I’d ever received. I never showed any of these to anyone
but would read them occasionally as a distraction (some were both funny
and sad at the same time).
- Occasionally I’d have to deal with difficult people. One person showed up at our reception and demanded an interview on the spot. Another kept calling every day even though I’d asked him not to call. Several people spoke so much during the interview that I had difficulty asking the questions I needed to ask.
- I marked grammar and spelling errors on résumés with
a red pen like an English teacher. Although one shouldn't write on a résumé I
simply couldn't resist.
- Sometimes I’d call a reference only to reach a disconnected number. One reference person swore that she didn’t know the person yet I had the right name and phone number.
- Several persons listed relatives as a reference, with a few listing their
own mothers. More than once I’ve had a letter of recommendation
from the person's mother. I wonder if she helps them pick out their clothes....
.
- My roommate received a surprise call about a résumé he had sent over a year earlier and got the job.
- I’ve received résumés and cover letters written entirely by hand, and some with photographs of the person attached. I've received a photo with a note on the back thanking me for considering his résumé. Creepy.
- I regularly received telephone calls about the status of a résumé even though the ad stated "No Calls". These were expected to happen sometimes, but the ones that upset me were the calls on the day after the ad, well before I could possibly receive anything mailed the previous day. For these in particular I would record the name of the caller and ensured that their résumé was in the “reject” pile.
- Several times I had to select my second choice because the first choice received another offer.
- We offered a job to an enthusiastic, customer-driven waiter at a restaurant while we were conducting a business meeting. He took the job and is still in the industry.
- I regularly received résumés with my name or the company name misspelled. Both names were in the advertisement.
- The worst cover letter I ever received was a terrible photocopy of a
template letter, with a line where the applicant hand-wrote the
name of the position she was applying for, in pencil. “Please consider
my application for the position of _______________ .” Funny and sad at
the same time.
- The shortest "interview" I gave lasted less than 2 minutes
in our lobby. The person was one and a half hours late for the appointment. He at first apologized for being late, then he resorted to blaming me for making a mistake on the interview time, then he stated that since I was there I should conduct the interview anyway. First impression was not good.
- I’ve interviewed several people that stated if they were hired their first task would be to change our internal processes. These are the same processes our company established through years of experience, and through consultation with industry experts, with customers, suppliers, and with staff directly affected by the processes, and within the laws and regulations set by the government. In short, the inexperienced interviewee stated that we are all completely incompetent while having no idea what he/she is talking about.
- I’ve had a person come to the interview with his wife and two young kids. They waited in our lobby while I gave the interview but the kids became noisy and disruptive, enough so that my boss interrupted the interview and ask me to move it along. Very embarrassing for the interviewee and I.
- I would sometimes get calls from Employment Canada staff to confirm if I had interviewed a specific person, presumably because they were collecting unemployment benefits. In most cases I hadn’t interviewed the person and in some cases I hadn’t received a résumé. I guess the government had a good sense of who was cheating the system.
- I received many rejections when I was looking for work fresh out of school.
In one case, having just completed my post-secondary studies, I went to
an interview for a low-paying job repairing vacuums. The older woman interviewing
me stated that I looked too young to have completed my
schooling (I guess she accused me of lying) and when I showed her my diploma she stated
I was too young for the job anyway. I suspect she wasn't going to be a good boss but I surely missed out on milk and cookies.
Misc Facts
- I worked for a company where the person with the most university education was the receptionist (she had both a history and an archaeology degree).
- I usually hired warehouse staff with a future front office position in mind because we would try to promote from within. Shippers and production staff became successful in industry as technical sales professionals, purchasers and product management staff.
- I often hired people with no direct experience but sufficient transferable skills.
- I’ve hired several people through recommendation from other staff.
- Guidance counselors:
- A business acquaintance told me about a daughter's
experience: In 2010, a guidance counselor at a Calgary high
school told this female student that she wouldn't enjoy an IT job because
those jobs are for geeky men and not for women. Her mother is a regional
manager for a major IT company. She was not impressed and met with the counselor to prove that women can be successful in IT.
- I've volunteered for every open house at our college (twice per year)
for over a dozen years and have only once met a high school guidance
counselor, despite having thousands of high school students at the college for each event.
- Guidance counselors had a meeting in Toronto a few years ago. The topic?
Trades. They were reminded how expensive it was to have work done by a
plumber, electrician, carpenter, mechanic, etc. They were told that they must consider
these as valid career choices instead of only providing information on
university education.
Looking for a Job
- One company created a new position for me based on the skillset I presented
at the interview. I initially thought about canceling the interview because the job was
not in my area of experience.
- The worst interview was for an electrical supply company (in Alberta
with a double-vowel at the start of its name). When I arrived for the interview
there were two people in the office: one was the interviewer and the other
was another candidate that was on very familiar terms with the interviewer.
This was strange and very unprofessional (I should have left at this point
as it was unethical to share personal details with anyone other than the
interviewer). I was uncomfortable but the interview was going relatively
well until I was quizzed on the finer point of physical layer Token Ring
network design, something I knew thoroughly (I designed, tested and troubleshot
the physical networks). I answered the question easily and accurately. It was at this point that the other candidate spoke up
accusing me of not knowing what I was talking about. Although I was quite
offended and somewhat surprised by this unwelcome intrusion I stood my
ground on the technical details and even expanded on the answer, explaining in more detail why I am right. It quickly became obvious that he and the interviewer didn't
understand Token Ring. The interview essentially degenerated into an argument between me
and the other candidate as he was trying his best to
discredit me, and the interviewer seemed to be taking the bait by siding
with the old electrician. After a few minutes I knew there was no point
and put an end to this ridiculous interview by suddenly asking the interviewer "do you have any more questions because I am done with this interview". He didn't, so I left and
as expected didn't get the offer. I realized that working for such an unprofessional
company wouldn't have been good idea. I never dealt with that company professionally since.
- On a personal note, twice I was hired while dropping off unsolicited résumés
door-to-door and all of the other positions I held, including summer jobs,
were through word-of-mouth. Only one job I held was advertised, but due
to company policy they had to advertise it even though I was already working
there for 2 years as a full-time contractor and they wanted to hire me.
- I was interviewed by 4 people at once (got the job). I was interviewed entirely over the telephone (was offered the job). I was interviewed twice for the same position by two different people at two different times (did not get the job).
Some Bad Decisions
- Although I had the fortune of hiring excellent staff most of the time, some people that I'd hired didn't work out. When this happens there is considerable management pressure on the interviewer, me, for not having made a good decision. It looks bad on me. I had bad luck specifically with shippers, a low-pay position that typically involved hiring people with little work history, and some without high school diplomas:
- A young, seemingly eager shipper I'd hired fresh out of high school
missed several days in his second week of employment. He called a couple
of days later to say that his grandmother had died. We made due without
him and offered condolences when he returned. A few months later he
again missed several days and later called and claimed that his grandmother
died. Either this fellow had incredible misfortune or something was
up, and I sensed that something was up. I decided to test this. I called his mother to offer
our company's condolences and flowers. She began to cry and stated that she was confused because one grandmother
was ill in hospital and his other grandmother had died two years previously.
The jig was up. I gave the shipper his final paycheque when he returned.
Later, rumor was he had gone on a road trip to another city with some buddies instead of attending a fake funeral.
- The replacement shipper worked for 2 days and then didn't show up any
more. No calls or communication. After 2 missed days I called his home number and spoke with
his mother. She was surprised that he wasn't at work for the past couple
of days as he had left the house on time each morning. I left a message
with her to pass on to her son: we didn't require his services any more.
I had to review the remaining résumés and offer the position to another
person. About 2 weeks later the shipper suddenly showed up at our business with his mother
asking for his paycheque. It didn't show up either.
- I hired a shipper that was doing very well for several weeks. One day
I came to work to find my production and warehouse managers waiting for
me in my office, door closed and locked. They were obviously shaken.
Apparently the shipper, a big burly fellow, had arrived a few minutes
earlier and immediately went berserk, punching the warehouse manager
in the face and threatening our female production staff. I had to (carefully)
meet with the shipper and asked him what happened. He said that he was
having a bad day and was very sorry, and he wasn't sure why he was so
mad (drugs, perhaps?). I had to (carefully) tell him that he couldn't
work here any more and fired him. Exhibiting fine leadership and a profound
concern for his staff, the president of our company locked himself in
his office until I personally escorted the now ex-shipper from the building
and confirmed through the locked door that he was completely off the property. As the person
that hired the shipper, I had to apologize to everyone for this man's actions.
- I hired a shipper that was a relatively new immigrant to Canada. He worked for a week and then didn't show up for the following week. He had no phone so I couldn't contact him. I was already getting set to hire a new shipper when he showed up for work the week after, and he had his sponsor with him. They both begged me to take him back, stating that he had made a bad mistake. I did, and the shipper worked for the week but once again did not show up the following week. He played on my good will and I gave him a second chance but in the end he made me look like a fool not once but twice. We never saw him again, and he never asked for his pay. I felt bad for his sponsor.
Employment and Recruitment Agencies
Agencies are often good to deal with. If you are looking for a temporary position or you are not having much success finding work they are generally excellent. Personal friends of mine have had some good experiences with agencies but some have also had bad experiences. The term "headhunter" is used to describe these agencies.
Here are some examples of actual cases I have experienced:
- An agency may want to act as your “agent” and even though a friend found
a job on her own the agency threatened her because she was supposed to
deal with them. Be careful what you sign. They threatened her with legal
action and even suggested she quit her new job and deal through them for
employment. She was shook up over it but based on my advise she just ignored them and they
eventually went away.
- I’d sent a résumé to an agency once to keep my options open but they kept
calling me indiscreetly at work with poor offers, even after I’d asked them
to stop calling me. Their calls were intrusive and could affect my career
if my boss suspected I was looking for work. They only removed me from their
database after I grew very angry and threatened to go to their office and
remove my résumé from their files myself. I'm afraid that I
may have used some bad words but it worked. They never called again.
- This was the dirtiest trick I'd ever seen: An agency kept calling a co-worker
of mine until one day he reluctantly gave in to the pitch and sent his résumé
thinking that he’d have nothing to lose. Unfortunately, this agency later
called his manager to tell them that this staff member was actively looking
for work (they had his résumé in hand to prove it) and the agency wanted
to supply his replacement! I found out about it because the manager called
me into his office to tell me, and asked if the employee was planning on
leaving.
- Later on that year, this same underhanded tactic was tried on a staff member under my supervision, and I was the one that received the call advising me that I had an employee about to leave and they’d like to supply the replacement. I was very upset with this agency and I had to advise my employee what had happened. The employee was very embarrassed as he was not really looking for work...just thought he would keep his options open.
- Someone I know very well was offered a permanent position at the place where he was already working as a contractor through a contract agency. Even though he had been working there for almost a year and a half the agency refused to release him for less that a year’s salary. This made a transition from a contract company to permanent employment very difficult for him. Fortunately the permanent company eventually threatened the agency with not giving them any future business and that fixed the problem.
- Be aware of " bait-and-switch" interviews. This is were a person
is misled into thinking that they are being interviewed for a specific position
with a company but that position was never available. It is a dishonest means of getting résumés. Unscrupulous employment
agencies use this very common tactic. I once called an agency about a position
advertised in my industry as I had exactly the experience they were looking
for and I was very curious as to
whom was setting up a competitive business. The agency did not want to discuss
the position at all over the telephone and wanted me to come to their offices
with a résumé. When I met with the agency the very next day they stated that
the position was unavailable. Unavailable by the next business day? This is completely wrong. I had
that section of the newspaper in hand and asked about another position that
I was qualified for. It too was "unavailable". It was obviously
a bait-and-switch tactic, and all they wanted is my résumé and my signature
on a contract. I told them that those were the only positions I was interested
in and left without leaving a résumé. It reinforced the reasons why I hate employment agencies and agents.
- One person I interviewed stated that the agency she was dealing with wanted
a finder's fee from her and that was the reason she wanted to change jobs.
Normally an agency pays the employee or the agency gets a fee from the employer
but in this case the employer was paying her directly and the agency wanted
their cut. This is not right. An employee should never pay an agency. I advised her to speak with a government department that handles employment issues.
- An agency may want you to sign a contract stating you cannot use another agency. Companies may also make you sign a contract that states that you cannot work in the same industry for a year after leaving the company. I've actually seen one of these contracts. These types of contracts have been repeatedly struck down in courts throughout Canada. If you wish to break your contract but are worried about the legal ramifications, speak with a lawyer. Nobody can be prevented from working!
- I have seen résumés that some agencies helped to rewrite. They took something workable into trash.
- Some agencies are rude and pushy. A friend did not want to work the temp job that the agency offered. She had told them in advance that she did not want that type of job. They responded with pressure tactics that soon turned in rudeness and threats. This caused her a lot of stress. I had to call the company myself to help "sort it out".
- Although I hate dealing with agencies because of my experiences, some people speak about good experiences.