037 Funny things

Interview Stories

My recent blog posting concerned interviewing applicants for library positions. I have interviewed many job candidates and have been interviewed for a few jobs myself. In stressful situations, funny things happen.

I always felt that asking a candidate to perform a task related to the job was a good interview tactic. When scheduling the interview, I would give the individual a heads upon what task we would ask him or her to complete. 

Was it a successful technique or stress that discovered bookkeepers who could not do math or writers who could not write a coherent paragraph? . . . They didn't get the job!

A candidate for a library job that entailed teaching students how to use the library was asked to prepare a five-minute presentation on an assigned topic. She misunderstood the topic that I had described in a phone call. When the appointed presentation time came, we discovered the mix-up, and she said she would wing it. So she gave a five-minute talk on how to use an index to research the topic “suicide in rats.” We thought she did a great job on explaining the index but we were distracted by visualizations of rodents trying to off themselves . . . She did get the job!

I had scheduled one applicant for a day-long interview and put him up in a local hotel the night before. The scheduled time came but not the candidate. When we called him at the hotel to inquire why he was a half-hour late, he said he was running a little slow but would be there shortly. He had a five minute walk across campus to reach the library and did make it fifteen minutes later . . . He did not get the job!

Humor is not always appreciated in interviews. I was interviewing for a library job in at a large metropolitan university. I was struck by two things on my way to the interview. The first was that the sidewalks and streets in the area immediately outside the campus were painted with hundred of arrows all pointing to area shops and restaurants. The second was the gorgeous green marble in the first floor of the library—it seemed to be a ceremonial area since all that was there were elevators leading to the functional part of the library.

I went through a series of interviews and meetings that culminated with a grilling by six staff members as we all sat around a large conference table. They were interesting in some of the writing and research that I had done on way-finding in libraries. “What would I do to help people find the library after they entered the huge marble lobby?” I much too quickly wise-cracked, “I’d paint arrows on the floor, similar to the ones on the streets” . . . I didn’t get the job—I had insulted the sacred green cow !

At an institution where I once worked there was a new college president who was from the business world and wanted to learn about academia quickly. One thing he tried was talking to every candidate for every faculty job. Obviously this idea did not last too long but long enough for me to bring an applicant over for a brief meeting.

I barely knew him myself so I was a little nervous when sitting down with the big boss. We had some general chit-chat and then he said to the female applicant, “Tell me about yourself—are you married, do you have kids?” I jumped in “You can’t ask that!” ( I had been thoroughly trained by the college Affirmative Action Officer. He obviously had not.) . . . I kept my job and she got the job!

Sometimes habits or gestures can completely derail an interview. Another staff member and I were interviewing a woman with very long, very attractive curly hair. Each time she answered a question, she would put her hand and arm under her hair, toss her head, and flip up her hair. After a few questions, I don’t think we heard the answers . . . we were too busy waiting for the lift and flip! Unfortunately, we could not keep the experience to ourselves and for weeks after, anyone (long, short, or no hair) who wanted a cheap laugh only had to go through the lift and flip motion. . . . She did not get the job and not just because of the hair thing!

The more I interviewed candidates, the more I was convinced that instinct and a lot of luck resulted in some of the best hires. Silence is probably the interviewer's best tool. When candidates try to fill the silence, they sometimes reveal things about themselves. It seems many really want to tell you how bad their last boss was! 

I tried very hard not to hire people just like me but to look for complementary strengths. I especially liked candidates who had researched the institution and came with questions of their own. 

I liked doing job interviews—people are so fascinating . . . and funny!

Trish