The desire to do what you want, not do what you should

I once interviewed a man who held numerous temporary positions but had a good excuse why (he was a failed writer and finally was giving up his dream). He was also engaging on the phone so I agreed to a face to face interview. When he showed, he was dressed in a very outdated suit that was about 3 inches too short and he did not fit the image of a conservative sales rep, but I continued the interview because looks are deceiving. During the course of the interview, he mentioned that he left these numerous temporary jobs because his co-workers would fall in love with him. I laughed outloud because I really thought he was joking. He ignored me and went on to describe the sexual tension he felt developing between us and that he might find it difficult working for me. I assured him that I would be able to control myself by why put it to the test and thanks for coming by. As he was leaving, he told me that he would give it some serious thought, but he was still interested in the job. The scary thing is he is still out there somewhere.

I once worked for a very smart, well educated, talented and yes, attractive woman. She walked out of her office in a state of shock after she had interviewed a candidate to fill a position as a business analyst and the candidate spent the 15 minutes (cut short) staring at her chest. No he did not get called back for another interview.

I interviewed a number of candidates to be a personal assistant to me. At the outset of the interview one woman told me she knew exactly what I was looking for, a "job wife".

Unfamiliar with the term, but suspecting the response I would get, I asked her to further describe. In great detail she went into EXACTLY what benefits would be mine if hired. No, she didn't get the position, but I'm confident she found one (or more) to her liking

I was interviewing a former employee for a position at another hospital where I had transferred 4 months earlier. Our working relationship at the previous facility had not ended on good terms. She was constantly absent and/or late and at times had an overall nasty attitude. But, I figured this was a new situation and even though I was keeping the past in mind I would not let it totally influence my decision because sometimes people do change. In fact, I asked one of my colleagues to conduct the interview as opposed to me just so this lady could get a fair shake. Well, after the interview, my colleague asked me, "What is up with that woman?" I ask what happened and she explains to me that she reviewed the position and hours and that there would be weekend work required, specifically every other weekend and asked would this be a problem. The candidate then stated to the interviewer, "Well, I need to run this by my man 'cause the we usually spend the weekends layed up in bed, if ya know what I mean!" My colleague just thanked her for her time and told her if she didn't hear from us within a week we had selected another candidate. That was in 2002 and today, still I will think about that and almost fall on the floor with laughter or not be able to stop the tears.

Moderator: We love this story! Two tales of lust in one.

I am not sure if a category exists for this one...

I was interviewing a young lady (at the time I was not much older) for a position she was well qualified for. Her background was in essence a perfect match,(highly educated, top university, etc.) what she forgot to do prior to the interview was leave her personal life outside.

At one point in the interview (she was never able to sit completely still, looking as though she had something really bothering her) while I have my head turned and I am leaning across the other portion of my desk, she continues to fidget, as I am spinning back around to ask her a question, she blurts out " I hate it when you look at me like that". Mind you, at this point not 10 minutes into the interview, I had little if any eye contact at all because she chose to stare out the window and chew her fingernails. 99.9% of the time I am not phased or surprised by what people will tell me in an interview but suffice it to say, this time I almost hit the floor laughing and continued to laugh with tears pouring out of my face as I escorted her to the exit, absolutely hillarious...Apparently she had just had a fight with her boyfriend and everything was "wrong" that day, I of course apologized for my out burst and thought this to be the end of the show. As luck would have it I bumped into her nearly six months later watching a football game with some friends...Now 7 years later she is my wife, I am still laughing. Sometimes even the interviewer can get caught in a situation where emotion controls the end result. Obviously, I was not going to ask her back for the 2nd interview but in light of her outburst and my uncontrolled laughter, what message am I sending to the people (subordinates) watching this happen...that it is alright to behave this way? As interviewers, the moral to this story is always expect the unexpected, even if the person sitting across from you on that particular day, happens to be having a bad one.

Here's a story from the other side of the desk.

The best, though, was meeting the Regional Manager for a company and going to dinner in his rental car at a very nice restaurant. The RM had 4 drinks before dinner and a bottle of wine with dinner. He spent the entire evening telling me how great he was. The position was never mentioned. After dinner, I had to get his car keys and drive him back to the hotel where I dragged him into the lobby and turned him over to the night manager. My wife wanted to know if I got the job and I had to tell her that I had no idea. Two days later the RM called to find out what day I had agreeded to start. I (mistakenly) took the job but when the RM found out that I didn't drink, it became an uncomfortable position. Fortunately, the company was bought out in 90 days and my position was eliminated.

I had earned a second interview for a field-based sales position with the person who would be my supervisor and his boss. The location was a hotel some 4+ hours from my home. Compounding matters was a trip I had to make earlier that day (no dress code). Needless to say, I did not want to drive around in my suit all day. I placed my suit, etc. in a garmet bag, hung it in the car, and went along my way. I arrived at the interview location almost 2 hrs. early-enough time to change, and review my notes and research. As the attendant at the hotel is directing me towards a place to change, I hear my name being called. Uh-oh!! I turn around, and there are the people who will be interviewing me. I'm dressed in shorts, golf shirt and flip-flops. Fortunately, they had just returned from a company golf outing and were dressed much the same way. I apologized for my appearance, and was told by the senior person not to worry. He saw that I had my interview attire with me, and said I didn't have to bother changing. After giving it some thought, I changed anyway. There was just no way I could interview with flip-flops on!! Maybe his statement was a test?? (I was offered the position)

A couple of stories come to mind...

A lady brings her little dog to the interview with her, holding it on her lap during the SHORT interview.

During another interview with a very pleasant lady, her boyfriend barged into the interview and wanted to inform her that he was tired of waiting for her and that he had the car engine running outside.

Another lady brings her two children to the job interview, who were very disruptive, noisy and restless. Bathroom breaks were required for both children during this twenty minute interview.

A young woman, who was recommended to me by a former colleague, came into the company I work for to work on a project that required a lot of management.
She was asked to prepare a financial projection of project costs, asked to be able to do it at home. When the Vice President hadn't heard from her, he asked me to check on her during the day as the President was expecting his report on the project within the day.
When I called her, she wasn't home. When I called one of the outside vendors for pricing so that we could get the report together ourselves, I then received a very terse and demanding phone call from her. Her volume increased during the conversation to the level of shouting.
When she returned to the office the following day, I had withdrawn any support for hiring her and was, in fact, dead set against it.
Sensing that she had lost ground with me she began wearing provocative clothing and tried to "woo" her way in through other departments. The President called a meeting with me and another department head. I reported that aside from all the chaos that she was causing (and she was) she did not have the skill level that we needed.
So she didn't get a job with us. After a period of time, I called my contact who recommended her, only to find out that she had never had a full-time position. So, on top of the "defiant child" act, she was a fraud.
Thank goodness for intuition and instinct on my part.

Do not come to an interview with homemade barrets, made out of ping-pong balls, in your hair!

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