Welcome to The Fordyce Letter:
Anyone who’s been around this business long enough has some really great stories to share about candidates who had…shall we say, interesting…interviews with clients. For example:
- A candidate was posed the question, “When your workload is heavy and you are overwhelmed, how do you handle the stress?” Her response: “I run in the bathroom and cry.”
- A candidate threw up on the interviewer’s desk and then immediately started asking questions about the job, like nothing had happened.
- An over-the-top enthusiastic candidate for a copywriting position high-fived someone on the hiring manager’s team after hearing that the team member just got engaged. He talked about how terrible his boss was for a good 20 minutes. He said he felt like he was already working with them. And then he left something behind so that he could come back and get it. He called wondering when he could come back, and they observed him prepping in the parking lot.
- A candiate for a highly visible administrative assistant position was asked, “What is it that attracts you to this job the most?’ Without hesitation, she replied, “My mother thinks this will be the right job for me.”
- A recruiting agency owner had a candidate in the final interview stages. He pretty much had the job. He was invited to interview with a couple of people who would become peers as last step in the process. One would-be peer asked the candidate to demonstrate to them his work ethic and drive, to which he replied, “You can just strap a saddle on my a** and ride me!” Apparently, he was hoping to show what a workhorse he is.
Of course, we all like to believe that these types of situations would never happen with our candidates because we thoroughly prep them on interview etiquette and any possible questions they may be asked. Nevertheless – they do happen from time to time!
Do you have a crazy story of an interview gone wrong? Share it in the comments below!
I was reading a post recently that discussed the pros and cons of 
In a recent discussion, an unemployed job-seeker shared that she had been on five interviews and was certain that she wasn’t offered a few positions because the salaries they were offering were lower than what she was making at her previous job. She had concluded that the companies were most likely wary of hiring her at a lower wage, for fear that she might leave for a higher paying position once the economy improved. Frustrated, she asked for help on how to approach the delicate topic of compensation for future opportunities.
When I was interviewing for my last job (prior to joining ERE), my soon-to-be boss and I started discussing compensation. At that time, the position I was interviewing for was a contract role, and thus my compensation would be at an hourly rate. I shared where I was compensation-wise in my most recent job, which was a salaried position, and we worked out where that would be hourly. My soon-to-be boss then told me something that stuck in my head – paraphrased, he said:
Today, 
It’s Friday – so let’s have a little fun! Today’s challenge:
However, there seems to be a new (and somewhat disturbing to me!) trend on the rise with new college graduates. The 
