Candidate leaves interview — right through a glass door
July 22, 2009 by Sam NarisiPosted in: Uncategorized
All HR pros have seen job candidates do dumb things. But these interview bloopers are just unbelievable.
Staffing firm OfficeTeam recently asked recruiters and hiring managers about the strangest things they’ve seen interviewees do.
Our personal favorite was the guy who performed well in the interview — but on his way out, he walked right through a glass door, shattering it.
Some of the other highlights:
- One candidate took a personal approach and repeatedly addressed the interviewer by first name — too bad it was the wrong one.
- Another realized halfway through the interview he was applying for the wrong position. He unsuccessfully tried to convince the company he was right for that job, too.
- One particularly dedicated candidate was told he didn’t get the job — and then showed up to work the next day.
What strange behavior have you encountered? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
July 24th, 2009 at 8:08 am
One I will NEVER forget is an applicant for a senior level IT job. He constantly was putting his little finger in one ear or the other, looking at it and then flicking or rubbing what was there onto the chair! It was such an unconsious gesture on his part but so distracting because it was all throughout the 30 minute interview. I was worried he was going to go fishing elsewhere before the interview was over. Luckily, his credentials were not as impressive as he had mad them sound through a background check. I wasn’t sure if he had OCD and if it would have been covered by ADA!
July 24th, 2009 at 8:40 am
1st place – I had a cnadidate show up for an interview drunk and was very upset when we told them we would not doing the interview due to thier impared state. Thier reply “Um ok I can come back tomorrow when I am “more soberer”. We respectfully declined.
2nd place – I asked an accounting/data entry clerk if they had 10-key by touch the response – with arm movement “oh no you didn’t”. I further explained that it was required due to the nature of the job, the response “I don’t know what type a place this is but I ain’t touching nobody”.
And folks think HR is boring….
July 24th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Kay – love the accounting clerk one!!!!!!!! hilarious!
July 24th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Cindy that has got to be the funniest yet grossest thing I’ve heard as far as interviews go. Too bad you didn’t have any QTips to offer him. I don’t think I could have made it through without getting sick. It does sound similar to a Turets type thing, at least with a manager I had who had Turets. He used to just yell at people and had weird actions while doing it over the smallest issues and used to always make one girl cry. Needless to say that guy stressed me out with all the yelling he did (he never yelled at me though) so I left..Oh did I mention the President of the company drooled when speaking?
July 24th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Funny Kay, can someone top this one….
I actually had a telephone interview for a high school student Intern position. The candidate stated that she just graduated from high school so I asked her how well did you do and what was your grade point average. She stated “I don’t know, I just took my diploma and put it on the wall”, I did not bother to open my report card. I then asked her “Have you ever had a clerical position before”? She stated “what, I repeated clerical…she said what, I spelled the word clerical and then she said “what’s that?”. I told her that I would let her figure that out and I ended the conversation quickly and as professional as possible. I have no idea if anyone ever hired her but for sure we did not.
July 24th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Cori-I grew up with 5 brothers. Very little grosses me out to the point of extreme reaction. This interview was maybe 10 years ago and I still remember it the vividly!
Another incident I had was remember when nearly transparent clothing was all the rage to the point you could see a bra quite clearly? I had one very endowed applicant show up for an interview she was very articulate, was looking very nice, make up, demure skirt, heels, clothes fit well. She had one of those blouses on………..minus the bra.
July 24th, 2009 at 9:23 am
I had a candidate that was having a bad hair day. When the interview was over and she left the room, one of her weave tracks had fallen on the floor. Her her was long on the sides but there was one area in the back of her head where there was barely any hair. It was a pretty akward situation.
July 24th, 2009 at 9:36 am
The sans bra one has happened to me a few times. Not to mention applicants dressing like they were about to head to a night club, or had just returned from one.
One of the funniest I encountered was a gentleman who came into the lobby and told the receptionist that his father was the local fire chief and it had been arranged for him to start work. HR had never heard of this guy. We decided to interview him. He sat sideways in his chair and never looked at us across the table. He said the 10% of 400 was about 90 or so, then he said “I’m not great with that kind of math, but I can read a tape (tape measure). We pulled one out of our little box we use for mechanic interviews, he couldn’t tell us where the inch and 7/8″ mark was. At the end of the interview, he reminded us that his father was a fire chief and had 2 degrees, so obviously since he was his son he was no dummy. He re-applied 3 months later.
July 24th, 2009 at 9:36 am
We are a very professional office (financial services) and I’ve had more than one employee show up with children in tow. One such employee got mad at us because we suggested rescheduling her interview for another time when she could arrange a sitter. Her response, “I don’t have anyone to watch her during the day”. Seriously???? Then how was she planning on working? We passed.
July 24th, 2009 at 9:57 am
A number of years ago I was toward the end of 2 weeks of recruiting for a new manufacturing facility my employer was opening. I had been administering 2 different pre-employment tests, alternating every half hour, for most of that time. As anyone who does multiple presentations in a short time knows, it becomes difficult to remember whether you said something to this group of if that was the prior group. I either stumbled over words or repeated myself in giving directions for a test. One applicant looked up and asked, “Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?” I brushed it off, got the test started, and promptly found the person who had interviewed her to make sure she wasn’t hired. Not surprisingly, the interviewer had already decided not to hire her, but this sealed her fate.
July 24th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Funny stuff! Here’s my craziest interviews: One candidate, when asked why she wanted to leave her current position replied, “Just between you and me, my boss is a member of the Brazilian mafia.” If that’s true, I don’t think I’d be repeating it, and if it’s not, why say something so like that? One candidate for an administrative assistant position fell asleep in the reception area and was snoring loudly. Another candidate for an accounts payable position cursed at me 3 times during the interivew. The resume of the year goes to the candidate applying for a proofreader position, and in her cover letter she said, “I am interested in applying for the Proffreader opening.” If you can’t spell proofreader, then it’s probably not the right job for you!
July 24th, 2009 at 10:57 am
1 – I had one interviewee show up to interview for a clerical position in our outside sales department in bedroom slippers and what was clearly a pajama top. Her hair was uncombed and she looked as though she’d just rolled out of bed. She didn’t apologize for how she looked, so she may have been perfectly comfortable with it!
2 – The best one was an applicant for a fairly high level manager position. This candidate came in, could not sit still, and beside digging in his ear like Cindy mentioned, he constantly blew his nose into a hanky, and then checked it out. He also constantly adjusted various areas on his body throughout – very disconcerting! Seemed like a harrassment charge looking for a place to happen…
July 24th, 2009 at 11:14 am
I’ve had several adult women show up for interviews with the kids. Screaming, unhappy kids who disrupt the office so badly I have to ask them to leave. I’ve also had several show up with their grandmothers, mothers, etc. We’re talking 35 to 40 year old women bring their family to an interview. You would think they would be experienced enough to know better.
The grandmothers are the worst. They want to be involved in the interview and they have had a tendency to chew me out when I don’t hire their granddaughters. I have a feeling they are desperately trying to get these women and children out of their houses by making them get a job.
This is an employee with drama that I don’t need.
July 24th, 2009 at 11:27 am
My favorite interviewee was about 15 years ago, the candidate was a man in his mid-50s. After a few minutes of small talk I asked him to tell me why type of office environment and management style he preferred and why. I can’t fully tell you his full response based on the numerous repeated racial/ethic slurs, but here is hte edited version: “I like an office where people are comfortable, I hate this PC cr**. I miss the days when you could make fun of b(slur for women), n(slur for African Americans), c(slur for Asian), s(slur for Latino), c(slur for middle Eastern), and f(slur for gay).” I thanked him for his time and explained to him that we were a diverse organization and that we do not tolerate language like that. He became indignant and told me I was missing out on a great opportunity to hire someone like him. A great opportunity for what?? A lawsuit?? The kicker- I got a call from the Dept of Labor a few weeks later, he tried to claim that I was practicing age discrimination. I repeated verbatim (no edits) what he had said during the interview. Needless to say, his age discrimination claim didn’t go any further.
July 24th, 2009 at 11:31 am
We once had a lobby full of applicants for a customer service representative position. Their appearance ran the gammut from hobo to hooker. One female applicant wore cut-offs and a t-shirt. The t-shirt had a hole in conspicuous area, and the lady wasn’t wearing a bra!! Another female applicant wore a red chiffon cocktail dress complete with rhinestone-studded spaghetti straps. Wow!
July 24th, 2009 at 11:32 am
My all time favorite is when an applicant was walking on the entrance to our building. He passed my window that had mirror reflective coating on the floor to ceiling windows – he could not see in and see me but I could see out and see him. As he passed my office he started looking at himself to see if he looked ok for the interview. He even checked out and adjusted his personal equipment (if you get my drift).
I did not know the person I saw was my candidate until I met him in the lobby and I had to keep a straight face during the entire interview.
July 24th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
OMG!! Thank you all for sharing your experiences! I was in tears (laughter) reading them all. Can’t say I have any story that will top any of them. However, I have had several candidates show up, inappropriately dressed for an interview either in very casual (t-shirt style and/or very revealing blouses/dresses). Once had two candidates (they were friends & applying for the same position) show up in sweat pants & shirt …. the position was for a Sales Assistant!! Thanks again, All!
July 24th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
A few years ago I was interviewing for a position in our purchasing department. The male interviewee had written on his resume that he was a mime. During the interview his facial expressions ranging from toothy grins to exagerated frowns had me coughing and crying trying not to laugh, I could barely look him in the face trying not to laugh. It was the longest interview I have ever suffered through. At one point I thought it was a joke management was playing on me.
July 24th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
I had an in-person interview scheduled with a male candidate whom I had interviewed over the phone. The HR rep informed me that my candidate Amanda had arrived for her interview. I told her that I didn’t have an interview with an Amanda that it was with Matthew. The HR rep looked at me and nodded her head indicating she knew that and said this is your candidate. I went out and met a person who was quite apparently a guy who was dressed in drag. She never said anything about interviewing over the phone as Matthew and it was really hard to conduct the interview because the appearance was so distracting. I don’t know if this was a case of schizophrenia, just a gender issue or if she was in the process of changing her gender. Definitely a strange experience I will never forget!
July 24th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
I have an application from a guy who was applying for a Teller/Maintenance position. We didn’t have any openings for a Teller/Maintenance position at the time but we let him fill out an application anyway and this is what he wrote:
Employment History
For the prior 3 months, he had been working at a local bowling alley as a “Pin Setter Mechanic”. His “Reason for Leaving” says “Wrongful Firing”. On the “May we contact this employer?” question, the guy checked “No”.
Now during that same 3 months, he also worked at a local Parts store, where he was a Delivery Driver. Reason for Leaving? He put “Fired, Question Motives”. He also checked “No”, we could not contact that employer either.
Education
He received a 2 yr degree in Automotive Maintenance Repair at a Vo-Tech.
He also received his 2 year degree in Nursing at a local college. He obviously was a man of many talents.
References
The first one listed both a first and last name.
The second one had the initials “BJ”
The third one said “Jeff M”
He didn’t know any of their addresses but they all had the same phone number.
And the frosting on the cake can be found on the back page. The question is “Have you ever been convicted of a felony or any offense including acts of dishonesty or breach of trust such as shoplifting?”
Answer: “Possible, but not confirmed it so please let me know”
Please let him know what? Please let him know if he has been convicted of a felony or please let him know if we want to hire him? I was stumped
July 25th, 2009 at 10:58 am
I will never forget the applicant I interviewed for a heavy truck driving position. It didn’t bother me that he showed up dressed in a wife beater t-shirt, it was the pot leaf earing in his ear that said DO NOT HIRE ME for a safety sensitive position.
July 25th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
A woman sloppily dressed in old jeans and a baggy T walked in the front door, talking on her cell. She stopped only long enough to look at me and say “Job Application”. I waited until she looked at me again, still talking, and pointed the building across from us, saying “Next door.” Before she could get there, I called over and said “Don’t hire the one walking in the door right now.”
July 27th, 2009 at 9:09 am
I once interviewed an obviously very angry man. Not only had he practically shaved his nose off that morning before coming in, leaving a big sore on it, but his fly was down and as he continually, casually rocked back and forth in the chair during the interview, his fly was opening and closing with the rocking motion as though his voice was coming out of his pants…needless to say, the angry attitude alone eliminating him from the choices.
July 27th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Love these stories!
July 28th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
I was taking applications for a “reciever” at our recycling scales. We do background checks. On one of the consent forms it asks “are there any other names you have gone by?” I’m guessing so we can search maiden names as well…
Anyway, one guy put “Crimeboy” the other name he went by!! We got a roaring laugh reviewing that application…
July 28th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I showed up to work one morning and my fisrt candidate to interview was passed out in front of the main door. He was out celebrating that he had gotten an interview.
When i questioned the security guard why he left him there, he told me that he was here to see me so he let him sleep it off.
So the guy was not interviewed and our security guard was terminated for not performing his job to our satisfaction.
July 28th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I was holding interviews for a tutoring center position working with children. One resume I received had a gap in employment. When I asked the candidate about it, she said she, “took time off to have a boob job.” She also shared that this was a job-related activity, as it related to her hobby as an amateur porn star.
Really, you think I am going to let you work with my students? What would you say to them?
July 28th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
We recently had a guy come to our office to fill out an application – and he was already wearing one of our logo-shirts! Talk about coming in with confidence. Evidently his brother had worked for us about 10 years earlier – still had our shirt.
July 29th, 2009 at 6:44 am
Of all my years in HR, probably the funniest experience was when we were accepting handwritten applications. We had an entry level job and we received an application from a Neopolitan Elff. In the box labeled “Sex” he had written, once or twice a week! True story.
July 29th, 2009 at 7:33 am
HRP –
“In the box labeled Sex” ????? Was that 40 years ago when some applications asked that question?
July 29th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Dear Jim Rittgers, SPHR……You are close…..39 years ago, I was a co-op in HR. Believe it or not, I was turned down for a job because my skirt was too short! I have stories that would probably curl your hair…….
July 29th, 2009 at 8:12 am
I am new to the HR world as I just graduated from college a little over a year ago. I never dreamed that half of the examples my professors used in school would really happened! I woke up from that dream a little over a year ago when I received my HR recruiting position with my current company. I can not believe the way people represent themselves in resumes, cover letters, and in interviews. It’s UNBELIEVEABLE!!
My most recent resume came from a person who was recommended from an internal employee. I don’t know if this applicant just assumed they would receive the job because they knew someone within the company? It really bothers me when people want to get a job so bad that they don’t put any time and effort into our company. With the economy the way it is, people should be particularly careful as there are NUMEROUS applicants applying.
In this applicants cover letter they mention several highlighted skills. One of the skills was “attention to detail”. The person even went on to describe how this skill is a good representation of them and how it is extremely beneficial. In the VERY next sentence, the person says, “I look forward to the possibility of joining your close knit team at – - – - (insert a company name here that is NOT our company!)” I could not believe it. How can you list attention to detail as a top skill and then have that as your next sentence?
This applicant also gave us a good laugh by mentioning an award received in college for perfect attendance. Okay, maybe that would tell us that they will be dependable at work, but our attention was quickly taken away from the intended purpose when the applicant mentioned the class in which it was awarded, “Human Sexuality”. I’m sorry, but we were no longer thinking about their dedication to their school work, but rather the interest in the particular topic of discussion!
Thanks for all the great laughs this morning! =)
July 29th, 2009 at 8:21 am
Several years ago I worked for a company as a recruiter hiring oilfield workers. Our application included the question “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” One classic applicant wrote, “No, but I did have one Mister Meaner”. I have kept a copy of that application in my humor file ever since…
July 29th, 2009 at 10:35 am
About twice a year I get a resume from a gentleman who encloses lengthy explanations for why he left each prior employer. It reads like a soap opera. He left his first employer because they were discriminating against him. He got an attorney to represent him and it’s still an open case. He was fired from his second job because he spent too much time on the phone with his attorney discussing the lawsuit from his first job. He currently has a restraining order against him from our state senator because he called his office so many times to complain about his second job that a restraining order was placed on him by the senator’s office. (His second employer was apparently also harassing him because his new supervisor was friends with the supervisor from his first job so they were obviously out to get him.) I mean there are 3 pages of explanations that involve lawsuits, complaints to the EEOC, DOL and the state capital! Does this guy actually think someone is going to bring him in based on this resume?? His last cover letter also stated in big letters that he DOES NOT NEED INSURANCE unless he gets hurt at work then he would expect the employer to pay for it.
Unbelievable.
July 29th, 2009 at 11:49 am
While escorting an applicant to my office for an interview, the applicant answered his ringing cell phone while exiting the elevator. He held up one finger to indicate “wait a minute” and ducked around a corner and proceeded a short distance down a hallway in the opposite direction from the way we were headed. I continued on to my office and shut the door. I don’t know what happened to the applicant. But, since he didn’t attend the interview and never called again, I think he got the message.
A little off the subject is my most memorable…an individual’s attempt to get a job interview. Our receptionist tells most individuals to send their resume that I don’t take walk-in appointments. So, one day our receptionist calls telling me that I have a surprise waiting for me in the lobby. After questioning if it was flowers, a gift or something similar she said no it was someone from my past who wanted to surprise me. Again after much questioning she told me he was very good looking, wanted to surprise me and to please come to the lobby. Upon entering the lobby, I saw two seated gentlemen. I approached the receptionist and asked her where is my surprise as I looked around the lobby. She giggled and pointed to one of the seated gentlemen. As I approached the gentleman I introduced myself and asked if I could help him. I heard our receptionist in the background gasp and say oh no. Then the gentleman introduced himself stating that he was looking for a job. My response was, “So, you claim to be someone from my past.” He immediately responded, “No, but I would like to be someone in your future.” As I walked away, I told him it was obvious that we don’t have a past, but it was even more obvious that we don’t have a future. Then I called our receptionist and told her to call her relief because I wanted to see her in my office immediately. No, she wasn’t in trouble, we just had a really good laugh over some people have all the nerve.
July 29th, 2009 at 11:50 am
About 16 years ago, a young man came in for an interview carrying a very large convenience store soft drink. When he sat down, he said, “Sorry about the drink, but the Prozac makes me very thirsty.” Yeah, that’s just what I wanted to hear…
July 29th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
About 5 years ago I was interviewing candidates for an internal training position. The incumbent would present training sessions to all employees from VP-level to blue-collar, union workers. I was looking for someone with confidence and poise along with our other pre-reqs to fill the position. I couldn’t afford someone whose feathers were easily ruffled. A woman came in for the interview. Her resume looked perfect for the role.
She got stuck in the turnstile going through security. She tripped over her own feet walking to my office. She heard a noise, turned quickly and her glasses fell off. Then, during the interview, she laughed so hard at one point that mucus came flying out of her nose and onto my conference table. She wiped it up with her hand and then on her pants.
I couldn’t get out of that interview fast enough.
July 30th, 2009 at 10:27 am
We’re having a good laugh over these stories. Nothing is stranger than the truth!
My funniest applicant was an IT professional about 20 years ago. He stayed overnight before the interview in the apartment building that our company owned. Half-way through the interviews, we went to lunch in the company’s executive dining room. When asked what he wanted to drink, he ordered a beer. All through lunch, he stared at me in a creepy kind of way. When we finished he asked if he could buy my dessert, then told me I had the most wonderful eyes he’d ever seen.
Ah, but it gets better… At the end of the day, after he’d left for the airport, we received a call from housekeeping that he stolen a blanket from the room! And he didn’t think we’d know who did it??
Another crazy lunch story – an applicant bowed her head when her meal was served (again in the dining room) to pray. My fellow recruiter thought this was funny, made a muffled sound to stop his laughter, and spit a piece of corn chip into her beehive hairdo. She sat through lunch with this piece of food prominently above her bangs!! Fortunately, after lunch she used the ladies room and came out sans corn chip.
Ah the good ol’ days!!
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:58 am
I’m sure the person who sent me a resume applying for an admin assistant position and gave the e-mail address of “sexyhandcuffchick@___” never really understood why she wasn’t called for an interview!
August 4th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Thanks for all the great stories! Between poorly written cover letters/resumes, inappropriate interview attire and nearly obscene email addresses, I thought I had seen it all!
One of my favorite interview stories: I was recruiting for a receptionist position which required a professional telephone presence and the ability to page over our intercom system. One candidate came in and, at first glance, looked like a perfect fit. However, as soon as the interview started, I notice a HUGE ring in her tongue which clicked against her teeth and made her speech slurred and nearly impossible to understand. If that wasn’t bad enough, she had to continually wipe her mouth because the ring apparently also caused a somewhat severe drooling problem!
On the flip side, I have had a couple of rather embarrassing things happen to me while conducting interviews. The one that sticks out in my mind is the time I brought a candidate into my office to interview and promptly slammed my hand in the door! I was somehow able to compose myself and get through the interview despite the fact that I had fractured 2 fingers.
August 4th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
We had a walk in ask to fill out an application for a job. It took her over an hour to fill it out. In the mean time several male employees kept coming into the office. We finally figured out that all it took was one coming in and then going back out to the shop to tell all the guys about her. After filling out the application the HR Manager decided that he wanted to interview her. Needless to say she was hired. This meant that there were more forms for her to fill out. Since she was going to be here for a while she decided to take off her coat. She was wearing a top that did not cover much. But the best part was when she removed her coat. She had on a pair of jeans the the rear end part was removed and she did not have on any undergarments on. Right at that moment the HR Manager happened to walk out of his office to get a full view. She then proceeded to sit down and fill out the remaining paperwork. She then had to be seen by the nurse. Boy did we receive a phone call from the nurse to ask if we had the pleasure of seeing her full outfit. She never showed up for work the next day. But we sure got our laugh for the day and had to make sure that the chair that she sat in was washed.
August 5th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I have run across so many real winners, however the ones that I have read are right up there. One of my most memoriable one was… i do get alot of immigrant applicants, and one of the first questions I ask is if they do have a green card /SS.. my reply, ” do you want the real one.”
August 7th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
This was the 70’s, and I think someone was indulging. At any rate, I received, for a professional position, a resume of about 8 pages written in stream of consciousness prose which included a paragraph about dancing through the trees and what an fulfilling experience that was. Okayyyyyyyy.
Also in that time period, not a resume, but a job analysis quesionnaire that was summarized by the statement – “but I know that one monkey don’t stop no show.”
August 11th, 2009 at 7:21 am
This isn’t a horror story, but it always makes me laugh. We often hire college students to work part-time during the summer and we had a high school senior who applied. On the application question “Date you can start,” he wrote May 32nd. This was a straight-A honor student … During the interview, I said, “I see you wrote down on here you could start …. May 32?” He said yes, he graduated on the 31st, but would be ready to come to work the next day ….
Again, not a horror story, but very annoying – people who not only don’t turn off cell phones during interviews, but actually have the nerve to answer them and carry on a conversation. Do they really think I care to hear what their plans are for that night?
August 11th, 2009 at 8:26 am
For several months I received a handwritten resume from an individual currently working at a local hospital. He listed his current job as “Soil Technician.” We had a job opening for a common labor on a construction crew. I called this individual for an interview thinking that he probably worked in some kind of ground maintenance and was conditioned to working outside. In the interview, I learned the individual’s job as Soil Technician was a fancy word for dishwasher.
August 24th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
I have thoroughly enjoyed all of your “experiences”. Some of them are almost unbelievable but it just brings home the old adage “truth is stranger than fiction”. A couple of my experiences:
I had only been in HR but just a year when a supervisor & I interviewed for a summer temp job, the son of one of our employees. The supervisor questioned him about why he had left a previous job (he had written on the application “Will explain at interview”), when the young man burst into tears and proceeded to sob so heavily we couldn’t understand a word he was saying. The supervisor & I just looked at each other in shock! Between the two of us we finally got the young man calmed down & asked him gently to come back at another time when he could handle the interview better. We never saw him again. His dad never mentioned his son working for us, either.
Another interview was a lady who had applied for a cleanup position. Her background check came back not only alarming but downright scary! I sent her the standard letter (with a copy of the background check), letting her know that we would allow her the opportunity to explain the information on the background check. She showed up in my office one morning, bawling & almost hysterical, practically screaming that her identity had been stolen, this wasn’t her at all! After getting her calmed down, I gently explained that of course I understood why she was upset but if this really wasn’t her, then she needed to get this information straightened out, we weren’t the only company who did background checks. Awfully strange that if it WASN’T her, the birthdate & SSN# were the same! She haunted my office every week for a couple of months (still swearing, in tears each time, that really wasn’t her!!) I was almost to the point of getting a restraining order – finally, I think, she got the message I wasn’t going to hire her & she just stopped coming in . . . thank goodness!!
August 24th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Very early in my HR career I took a phone call from a young lady inquiring if we had any manager positions open. I asked her what type of management position she was looking for, and she replied that she had just graduated from college with her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, so was looking for a manager position. I again asked what kind of manager. She started to get very agitated and said she didn’t care what kind, she just wanted to be a manager. I tried to explain that we had marketing managers, accounting managers, IT managers, and these positions were usually filled with someone with expertise in that area. She got totally frustrated with me because I apparently was too stupid to understand that this degree now made her qualified to be a “manager” and finally hung up on me.
August 25th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Samantha, I think the second lady you mentioned was the same one that I interviewd a few years ago. She swore her deceased sister stole her identity before she passed away and she is having such a tough time getting it straightened out. I told her that when she does she can come reapply.
But she was calling the CEO, the GM, the VP and they all just told her in a nice way to stop calling and bugging us about it, and one day the VP had enough of her calling us everyday and responded with “Why don’t you just be honest rather than blaming your deceased sister for your problems” and at that point, we never heard another word from that girl.
August 26th, 2009 at 2:09 am
I happen to be one of candidate for an interview. One of the others applicant was with the interviewer, then he became very stressful and stop responding to questions. suddenly, he stood up and demanded to know if the types of questions put to him was the same questions the intwerviewers were asked during their own interview. when no one answered, he pick up a glass of water a poured on them and walk out.
August 28th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
coriHR, the correct spelling of your “Turets” is “Tourette” Syndrome. I am sorry you did not feel comfortable working with someone who suffers from this syndrome, which happens to be a neurological disorder that effects 1 in 1,000 people. My 24 year old son has Tourette and was popular in school and has always been well liked by adults.
One thing people should remember – especially HR professionals, is that you learn to except people with their disabilities and like them for the wonderful caring person they are on the inside. There is a lot more to the person with Tourette Syndrome than their verbal and motor tics!
August 28th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Melonie,
I think you took what I said entirely wrong. I did not feel comfortable working with him not because of Tourettes, but b/c he was always yelling out (and I mean yelling) at an employee and making her cry and many times it was unsubstantiated stuff like (ARE YOU F*&%$ing STUPID why did we even hire you) so would you enjoy that? I thought I made that clear. I believe the Tourettes was the cause of these outbursts. He was part owner so it’s not like we could “write him up or counsel him”. I did not mean to offend you or anyone else and thats wonderful that your son has so many friends. I knew a few others in college who had Tourettes but I never experienced that type of behavior with them. I happen to be married to a former Marine who is now neurologically disabled and I happen to be all for hiring disabled people and I work with diability services and hire many of their workers.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
coriHR,
You are again saying that you could not deal with this person’s disability when you say you believe the Tourettes is the cause for the outbursts. A small percent of people with Tourette do suffer from “Coprolalia” which is a spontaneous utterance of socially objectionable or taboo words or phrases. Again, this is something that can not be helped, any more than you can stop the need to cough or sneeze. Would you get written up at work for sneezing if you have allergies? I don’t think so…..
I am glad that you hire people with disabilities. I am just saying you do not seem to have the same empathy for this man who suffers from a very misunderstood disorder.
August 31st, 2009 at 10:40 am
Melonie,
Im not going to get into a bitching contesting with you about this nor do I feel I should have to defend my position but I will ..this guy has tourettes and that’s fine but screaming at someone is not. If someone has a disability that causes them to act in a manner that is disrespectful to their employee, perhaps he should not be in a management level job. It is a workplace and regardless you should act professionally. This was an everyday occurrance and the girl never received an apology. It worked my nerves to sit in that office everyday and listen to a girl get cussed at and screamed at. Anyone that tells me it doesn’t bother them is either as angry as he was or is lying. I understand you defending your position but I would prefer you not tell me what I can and can not deal with since you do not know me. I can deal with his disability but not his outbursts caused by the disability ONLY because it is unprofessional and disrespectful. Ex) my husband as I mentioned has a neuro disability due to his service in the military, I can deal with the fact he now has a permanent disability, but the angry outbursts he gets I can’t deal with, but we are still happily married.
I was not saying he should not be employed or that he is not a nice person outside of work (he actually was a nice guyand a great family man) I just tend not to work well in a hostile environment. Where I am now we have low drama and no condescending coversations with any of our employees.
What I want to know since you know about this disability…Do they tend to pick out one person to harrass? I guess that’s my main problem with his actions. He did not have this “outburst” toward anyone but the same girl everyday. How would you handle the situation? The employee came to me everyday shaking and I could not ignore the complaint so in order to avoid real problems counseling or warning an employee has to take place, in a manner keeping the disability in mind. But disability or not he made this place difficult to work in and verbally abused an employee and I do not support that. He was part owner and I did ask him one day why he always yelled at her. His answer was not kind about her. I said then if you truly think she is doing such a bad job why not talk to her, put her on a performace Improvement plan, or terminate her. He said because she doesn’t expect alot of money and she keeps her mouth shut.
You can not compare allergies to a neurological disability. Completely different. Too many times people use their disability as an “excuse” to treat others a certain way or to act or react in a manner that is not sound. Protection only goes so far. If you care to respond, answer my concerns to another email so other people don’t have to read this back and forth. Send to coriandmiked1@gmail
August 31st, 2009 at 11:45 am
Cori,
You have a lot to learn my friend…….have you not figured out yet by what you have said that the yelling at this co-worker was not a tic from his Tourette Syndrome, but rather, his own unprofessionalism? I figured that out from your very first post, but you kept saying you thought it was a tic – so I kept pointing out to you that you were stating you could not deal with his disability.
And……..yes……comparing a neurological disabilty to an allergy is perfectly acceptable. Most people with Tourette Syndrone describe their “tics” to us that do not have them as an “urge” such as the “urge to scratch or sneeze.” You can choose not to scratch or sneeze for a short amount of time but while you are choosing not to, it is all you think about, and eventually you must do it. Some people with Tourette Syndrome can hold their tics back long enough to get through a job interview, etc. but they then report that as soon as they can allow the tics to come out – it is like a sudden flooding of all the built up tics they repressed.
I suggest if you want to post something about someone and blame their disability for their behavior, you find out more about it. That may just stop you from spreading false information!
I agree with you, he had no right to treat your co-worker that way. However – it was not the Tourette that caused him to do so. And……in a previous post, you said you could not go to him about it because he was one of the owners, but in your last post, you said you talk to him about it. Which is it?????????
September 1st, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Responding to Cori & Melonie
First off – congrats on your professionalism Cori for asking Melonie to respond to you “privately”.
Melonie, I understand your feelings regarding this highly misunderstood illness however, you do have to understand that while a person may be accepting of people with this disorder and may even have as much knowledge of it as you seem to, still may not be able to deal with an extreme situation such as what Cori is describing. I’m not going to go into detail but I too suffer from a (neurological) disorder that is considered to be a disability. However, if the symptoms of my illness were as severe as it seems Cori’s former manager’s are, I would not expect someone to just let it slide because I have a disorder. There is a fine line between being accepting of and accomodating to a disability in the work place and all out allowing extreme behavior that would not be acceptable from a non-disabled employee to continue just because someone pulls the disabled card. A hostile work environment is a hostile work environment…period.
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:46 am
Stacey,
I will say this again. Hopefully someone will finally get it. The yelling and demeaning of the employee that was done by the manager with the disability, had nothing to do with his disability. It had everything to do with him being a jerk.
My son tried telling one of his teachers that he had Coprolalia and that if he yelled out an obsenity it was part of his Tourette. I personally went to the teacher and explained that while a very small number of people with Tourette do have that verbal tic…..my son does not and it should not be tolerated.
What upset me, is that Cori was trying in her first post to say that the manager’s brutal treatment of this co-worker was due to his disability, and yes – I get very offensive when people who are uneducated about this disability say very inaccurate statements such as that because Tourette does get such a bad rap to begin with. I have helped my son battle and educate some extremely rude people that make very rude and hurtful comments about his tics as he was growing up. One lady even yelled from her table across a restaurant at him because he was doing his usual “physical tic.”
I do not condone the manager’s behavior. I also do not beleive that the behavior has anything to do with his disability. Please do not blame someone’s obvious charater flaws and unprofessionalism on a disability that has nothing to do with it.
Melonie
September 17th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
I conducted most of the interviews for our company based out of NYC. Lots of diversity to say the least. The most interesting of them all was with a young man name Jeff. At the end of all interviews I explain that there is a intense background check before we hire anyone. This gives the interviewer the opportunity to discuss any findings that may arise. After a moment of silence Jeff said there “might” be something that shows up…….he was just released from jail for murder.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
I once had to conduct interviews for a supervisory position at a production facility I was running. The hourly workers knew of the opening, and some were very upset that “outsiders” were being interviewed. The job opening required a college degree (not my rules) so that eliminated most of our workers. One guy in particular begged and pleaded and made a good case for himself, so I sold the idea to corporate and proceeded with the interview. Everything went well until he pulled his gun out. He didn’t point it at me, he just admired it as he stated how much he deserved to be “a boss” and that things might get real uncomfortable if he didn’t get it. When he got out of jail (repeat offender) several months later, he showed up with the union steward to file a grievance for “unsubstantiated firing.” We actually had to go to arbitration, but won the case. I was more than nervous when he approached me afterwards, but he just shook my hand and said “Thanks for trying to get me in..”
I guess he bought my story that “corporate” had him arrested, not me.
Whew …
October 5th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Mike, you are so lucky!!!!!! The ones wacked out employees or ex employees go after the most are HR and whoever was the immediate supervisor who usesually blamed anything bad on HR to begin with. After that, co-workers they never liked in the first place. I was in a work place shooting. A man’s wife was not covered by insurance because he never enrolled her. Then she got cancer and could not understand why I was being such a b*&^h, just back date some forms (that were almost two years old. two days later, I heard shooting, shut off my light and got under my desk and called 911. I didn’t even know who it was until it was all over. The employee was killed by the police and one other employee died a few days later. He had been on the job 16 days. 7 more were injured including my HR Assistant as she was coming in from lunch. Her giant handbag saved her life because it slowed the bullet down enough before it went into her.
October 6th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Wow Cindy, that’s awful. I’m glad you made it out ok! How long were the counselors available at work? I bet some people never got over it… did you?
October 16th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I was a production supervisor once and we did a group hiring panel made up of hourly employees with a supervisor. We all had preset questions. We were hiring a lot of people for a new assembly line we put in. One older gentleman came in who had been “on strike” for about 2 years. We weren’t a union plant. We asked him about his previous job and he proceeded to tell us that there were a lot of days where he wanted to bring his gun in and “go postal” on everyone! Yeah, we weren’t interested in that happening at our place. We ran 7 days a week 364 days a year. You could go nuts, but we didn’t want anyone going postal.