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Top TJNTIY Stories

Interviewer TJNTIYs are funny, informative anecdotes from recruiters and executives (hiring managers)about the things candidates say or do that ruin their chances of being hired, from the outrageous to the subtle and nuanced.

Candidate For Whom Nighttime Is the Wrong Time

I've run into many strange people over my long years of interviewing candidates. My two favorites are the young woman who was impeccably dressed with great educational credentials who was apply for a job as a senior corporate banking analyst. When asked if working long hours posed a problem for her, she responded by telling me she was prepared to work as many hours at it took to do the job - so long as she didn't have to work them from the office and that she was allowed to leave everyday before it got dark outside. She told me she was afraid of the dark and couldn't go outside after sunset.

Candidate Asked Us to Hire His Wife, Too!

After a five-month national search for a candidate with the right combination of skills and personality, we were in the homestretch with our final choice on his second interview. He was literally ten minutes from the offer when a member of the interview panel asked, "knowing what you learned from this exhaustive interview process, what would be the first thing you'd do in this role?" His ill-fated answer? "Well, first I'd hire my wife as an assistant because we're an unstoppable team..." Not in a publicly funded organization,sir...yikes! TJNTIY.

Mile High Club Member Stuck at Sea Level

Another recent one that cracked me up: A sales candidate told me that he was looking to change jobs because in his current job he was traveling about 90% of the time. He could have left it at that but he added, "Trying to get my wife pregnant between trips is not working out - I even had her meet me at the airport one time because I was only going to be in town for a couple hours." TJNTIY

Candidate was BFFs with Obi-Wan Kenobi

The most memorable for me was when I was recruiting for a new assistant product manager. A staffing firm had convinced me they had the guy. He was young, energetic and had a MBA. On paper he looked great. Our products were very mechanical, so I always ask how mechanically inclined the candidate is and give an example. Well this poor guy went on to explain how he went to Home Depot and was able to source all the components, design and build his light saber. When he dresses up as Darth Vader the others in the club thought the light saber was a production unit! Needless to say, I didn’t hire the kid. TJNTIY.

Video Montage, Tears, and Do You Want to Wrestle?

True stories: (2 are from me..and 2 are from some colleagues over the years)

1. I once had a guy send me a video montage of himself. It started out with his professional background and then he decided to give me a day in the life of......which got a little creepy.

2. I once had a person cry in an interview as I was questioning them about their background and they admitted to falsifying their resume and they broke down when I started asking them about their responsibilities in their positions.

3. I once had a guy challenge me to an arm wrestling match for the job.

Interview Interrupted

On another occasion I was interviewing a smart young lady who was graduating from college and looking for a full time job. The interview was going in her favor until she stopped and said "I expect your company pays competitive salaries because if they don't I don't want to waste my time interviewing any further." I looked her in the eyes and said "yes, we always pay competitive salaries; however, I don't want to waste your time, so we really can end the interview now." (Needless to say, her interview coach at college wasn't doing her any favor!) I'll save the one about the lady who passed out on me during an interview! TJNTIY.

Subliminal Message . . . Er, Massage

I was interviewing one gentleman some time ago and in the middle of the interview he took out two bottles of massage oil and proceeded to first warm it in his hands and then massaged it all over his neck, back and front. He repeated the procedure with the second bottle. It was weird. TJNTIY.

Candidate Arrives With Entourage

I once had a candidate for an interview. My recruiting assistant brought the candidate to meet me in a conference room. I greeted the candidate, had him sit down, and began the interview process. Into the interview for about five minutes the candidate suddenly changed subjects and asked whether his mother could come into the conference room to join him! I told the candidate I only had two or three questions that I needed to ask him and I asked those questions quickly! TJNTIY.

The Watch Watcher

I had a candidate, very nice and pleasant, come in to interview with me. The interview was going great she seemed to have done all of her research on the company and the position. She was energetic and excited but started talking really quickly (almost rushed) about 15mins into the interview. I noticed that she then started to look at her watch quite frequently between questions/answers. I was wondering what had caused the sudden change in her mood so I asked her. She let me know that she did not want to be late for her next interviews and I assured her that I would get her to the next one on time. I looked at her interview schedule and noticed that I was her last meeting of the day and she went on to say "Yes, you are my last interview here, but I don't want to be late for my next company interview". Needless to say, I wrapped up the interview quickly after that so as not to make her "late" for her next appointment. Yes, I gave her credit for her honesty....but we decided to hire someone else...TJNTIY

So Sue Me

I actually feel almost sorry for the candidates when I read some of these posts, for some of these things I can´t see as that important. I can´t help feel a sense of arrogance, a "he needs this job so he should shup up!" I try to be more understanding with the candidates as I´ve been in their spot myself.However, I prefer not to hire people:
1 - Who come late for the interview
2 - Who don´t know what the company does
3 - Who give me long speeches on how they´ll be 100% committed to the company etc (the more they talk the less they do!)
4 - Who criticize their last employer or so mentions the possibility of filing a suit against them. TJNTIY.