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Once again, we've compiled a sampling of anecdotes sent in by Monster members, demonstrating there's more to a successful job interview than a smile and a handshake.
I was interviewing a woman for a clerical position. On her application, she checked "Yes" to a felony conviction and wrote, "Will explain during interview." She said she got mad at her now-ex-husband and hired someone to kill him. But at the last minute she called it off, and he is still alive. She stated she was now on medication and is "all right." She was a great interview up until that point.
We sure had some interesting candidates while hiring staff for a customer-service call center for the holiday season. Two were drunk when they came in, separately. Then there was a man dressed as a woman, whom one of my coworkers interviewed. One applicant told me that he "hated the Internet, hated catalogs, hated shopping." What was I interviewing him for? Inbound sales calls, and his duties would be assisting customers with their catalog and Internet shopping! (Insert icon of me smacking my head on my desk.)
Here's another case where the applicant should have read the job description:
I'm the placement person at a trade school; we train phlebotomists, among other positions. One of the students went on an interview, and when asked if she enjoyed doing blood draws said that she really didn't like needles.
I recently did a reference check, and all three references were acquaintances from a hot dog stand where the applicant went each morning after church. They all had very nice things to say about her, but it was funny when each one I called said, "Oh yes, I know her. I wait on her each morning. She orders coffee and a donut. She is a very nice, honest woman."
The funniest objective I ever read on a resume was from an applicant who was trying to make a career change from the food service industry to corporate America. Under objective, he wrote, "To get out of the kitchen!"
We were conducting panel interviews for refinery operators. One young man came in and while he did well on the interview questions, appeared very nervous and kept glancing at his watch. At the end of the interview, we told him he needed to report to the medical department for a drug screen. He seemed somewhat distressed at this news, glanced at his watch yet again and asked if it would take very long. Kind of annoyed at this point, I asked him if there was a problem. We were all floored by his response. He said, "No, it's just that my wife is in labor. I dropped her off at the hospital on the way to the interview." When asked why he didn't call and reschedule, he said, "Because I really need this job." He was hired, of course.
When we asked him how his wife felt, he said this was their second child and she told him that she would be fine and it was more important that he go to the interview.
I was interviewing a young man for a customer service position. He had worked at a hair salon, and in describing his experience there, he said, "I had to deal with a lot of old biddies." Needless to say, that's where his candidacy ended.