The Other Side of the Desk

Had a lovely exchange with the HR manager of a new customer. While she was out on maternity leave the boss tested Role-Based Assessment, saw the value immediately and integrated it into their hiring process. The boss shared some reports with the HR manager (including the boss’s own report!!) and the HR manager was amazed at the accuracy of details of behaviors and interactions. She wanted to understand more about the technology, so we had a brief conversation, during which she told me this story.

She and a hiring manager were supposed to interview a candidate together and the hiring manager had to leave so she decided to interview the candidate alone and bring him back to meet with the hiring manager later. She sat at her desk and expected the candidate to sit on the other side, the normal interview arrangement in this company. She thought he would be rather professional from the very formal way he was on the telephone when the interview was being set up, but he quickly became very condescending to her and then moved in closer. And closer. Till his chair was all the way around her desk. Not a sexual come-on thing, she quickly said (I hate to think what would have happened if he’d tried anything. She’s a mom – she knows you have to cut bad behavior off fast.) It was just not the kind of behavior she expected from someone with such a good resume. (Do you believe in resumes? I still believe in Tinker Bell but I don’t believe in resumes…)

When she came back from her leave, she realized the hiring manager still had an appointment to interview the guy. She went to her boss who double checked and said, no, he was not recommended and she breathed a big sigh of relief. This guy was not going to fit – not with her, not with their customers.

The good news is she is now on board, along with her boss, with the idea of screening before interviewing. The bad news is this guy is still out there and hasn’t learned the basics of respect. He’d better stay away from my daughter…