Have you ever had the job interview from hell? I have, and it changed the way I look at interviewing forever, whether I’m the one doing the interviewing or the one in the hot seat being interviewed. Here’s what happened.

I was interviewing with a local school and was really excited about the opportunity. It was a place and an opportunity that I thought would be exciting and different and I had a lot of respect for the unique learning programs provided by this institution. I had interviewed with their human resources rep./recruiter and it was a great experience. I wasn’t going for an HR position at that time, but obviously had that in my background and likely had something to do with how well we hit it off. Anyway, this person recommended that I go forward in the process and I was scheduled for the next round of interviews which would be with the Dean. I felt really encouraged by the recruiter and was confident going into the interview. When I arrived that day, I was ushered into an office where I was introduced to the Dean, department head, and the interview began. The recruiter was also in the room. There was a brief explanation of the position they were filling and then it was my turn to talk. They didn’t ask me a single question, but looked at me and said, “name 20 adjectives to describe yourself.” That doesn’t sound bad on the surface, but if you’re ever asked to do this, trust me when I tell you at about number 5, you start to struggle. I could feel my face getting really hot and my heart was pounding in my chest. He then said to me, “don’t make them all positive, you can use negative words too.” So helpful of him… 

Needless to say, that was the end of the road for me there. I should have known something was up when the first contact I had with their recruiter was at 9:00 pm on a Friday. Big clue that there’s something wrong on the administrative side, which usually indicates a deeper culture issue. When I walked out of there, I knew I didn’t want to work there. If I could turn back the clock, I would have thanked them for their time and ended the interview right then and there without trying to name all of those adjectives. I felt humiliated as I struggled to come up with those 20 words. After all, I wanted to impress them, so which words to describe myself would they want to hear? They learned virtually nothing about me that day and I could tell that the recruiter was embarrassed and felt bad for me. If their main objective was to see if I cracked under pressure, I actually didn’t. I gave them their twenty adjectives, but the dialogue afterwards was likely not nearly as enthusiastic as it could have been if not for that initial request. 

The moral of this story is:

The candidate experience should always be good when engaging with your organization. This applies to all levels – from receptionist to recruiter/HR staff, as well as, hiring manager to CEO. These candidates can become your biggest fans or your worst nightmares. 

Let’s say for example that I wasn’t the best fit for the job from the interview from hell. What if three months later though, they had an opening that I would be perfect for – any way I’d consider applying or interviewing there again? Not bloody likely. Would I send friends or colleagues their way? Not bloody likely. Could I give them a nasty review on Glassdoor or some other public space? I sure could, but I won’t because I’ve already wasted too much time on them. The next person might find that time to spare though. 

The fact is, I could have been a potential customer too. Maybe I would chart a new course for my career and want to study there, or maybe my son, or my friend’s son or daughter, etc.  The truth is that after my candidate experience, I’m not likely to buy from them or recommend them in any capacity to friends or family. Why would I?

On the other hand, if I’d been able to walk away from that interview experience feeling like I’d had a nice conversation, impressed with the leadership and that I’d love to work there, I’d keep them on my radar for future possibilities. Also, I’d likely be pointing people in their direction regardless of whether or not I’d gotten a job. Why? Because I’d be confident that my friends and family would feel just as welcome there as I had. That’s huge in building your employer brand and also your reputation in the community and customer base.

Another aspect is time. If you’re going to spend the time to interview someone, make sure you really use that time wisely to get to know them. If you try to intimidate people or throw them with your questions, you won’t get to know them. You want people to open up in the interview and tell you things, so make them comfortable. Make it easy for them to talk to you and they're likely to reveal their true personalities. The more you know, the better off you’ll be. It’s perfectly fine to dig deeper for more details. If you don’t feel like someone is telling you the whole story, ask questions. Fair questions yes, petty and counterproductive questions, no. The more you get to know the candidate, the better hiring decision you will make. Make a good hire and it’s golden, make a bad one and it’s going to cost you.

The truth is that from one day to the next, your personal situation could change at work too. You can find yourself laid off out of nowhere for any number of reasons or perhaps the doors have to close for financial reasons. Either way, there you are in the same soup with the person that you interviewed last week. Be thoughtful in how you interact with candidates because they are people with feelings, and memories. You may find yourself on the other side of the interview desk from them one day! 

J