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Here’s an interesting conversation for today (that may also get serious): What’s the weirdest thing you’ve experienced in a job interview, either as a candidate or an interviewer? We’d love to hear it! (It’ll be nice to have a somewhat lighter discussion than one about about the current brutal job market, though we should probably tackle that soon as well.)
Here’s what inspired this post: We spotted a NYT “Work Friend” column [gift link] a few days ago that’s been making the rounds on the internet for featuring a WILD reader question.
In case you haven’t seen it, here’s the reader’s, uh, unique query:
We recently had a job candidate come in to give a presentation as part of the interview process and bring family members with them — their spouse and several children. This included a 1-year-old who the candidate carried around and interacted with, repeatedly interrupting their own presentation. The candidate also kicked off their shoes and walked around barefoot during the presentation. No one from H.R. was at the presentation (not unusual), but I did mention it to H.R. staff after the fact. The H.R. representative said that it is a generational difference and many candidates are showing up at interviews with parents, spouses, children or other family members in tow. This does not seem professional to me. Have I lost my mind? Does H.R. need to make a “no-family policy” for interviews?
We were shocked to read this, as was everyone who’s come across it, we’re sure (except for the people who do this, I suppose!).
Some years ago, when millennials weren’t yet nearing middle age, we all heard about young candidates bringing their PARENTS to interviews (and about parents CALLING hiring managers (though both were probably exaggerated to some extent). Now, supposedly, as the HR rep told the reader, “[M]any candidates are showing up at interviews with parents, spouses, children or other family members.” Really?! Are they doing this for staged TikToks or something? (Sadly, apparently not.)
Besides your likely reactions of “Seriously, this is happening?!” or “The audacity!”, what do you think about this “trend”? If this is indeed a growing trend, what on Earth could have prompted it? Sometimes you hear of single moms, desperate to attend job interviews (retail, food service), who feel forced to bring their kid(s) when last-minute childcare falls through and so on, but this is on another level.
The Work Friend columnist, Anna Holmes, told the reader that mainly she chose the bizarre question because she wanted to find out whether this is actually a thing. In addition to noting that her attempt to fact-check this “trend” turned up no similar stories, she came up with two situations in which bringing someone to an interview could be appropriate:
One: The candidate has mobility issues and needs assistance. Two: The candidate has other disabilities and needs assistance with communicating.
Do you agree with this, or can you think of anything else? Clearly, this situation involved neither.
Readers, do tell: Have you ever heard of bringing family to an interview? What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen in a job interview, on either side? (Silly or serious is OK!) What did you do, and what were the consequences of the person’s behavior? Did you contact HR?
