TSNE -> TSNe-Bulletin -> March 2007 -> Interview Stories

Five Telling Interview Stories

We asked, and you responded. Culled from the emails that we received about readers’ nonprofit interviewing experiences, the following stories run the gamut from humorous to poignant to just plain odd. They illustrate – sometimes painfully, sometimes humorously – valuable lessons for those hiring or seeking work. We've also included commentary from a TSNE authority on the hiring process – Jennetta Hyatt, human resources manager for Fiscal Sponsorship and recruitment.

When the Personal Isn’t Political

During the final interview that I had with an executive director, she asked where I lived now. I replied that we had lived in the city for eight years and thoroughly enjoyed it, in part, because of the easy commute to downtown (where this nonprofit was located). The executive director replied that she lived in a suburb two hours away from Boston and that we "had to" move there to escape certain bankruptcy resulting from the outrageous rents.

She added that the suburban community was "better for raising a family." Her comments were disturbing enough on their own – but especially awkward because the prospective position was to serve families through community development in Boston. This was a rather jarring introduction to the organization’s leadership for sure!

Did this interviewer forget that the information exchanged during an interview flows both ways? An interview allows both the candidate and the organization to evaluate each other to determine whether there is a match, so your goal should be to make a good first impression - whichever side of the interview table you're on.

Culture Shock

Soon after returning to the States from a few years working in Nigeria, I flew to a university in the Southwest in pursuit of an assistant professor position. After arriving and meeting some of the search committee and staff and touring the campus, I had an interview with the department chair. We had just begun the process when my interviewer received a phone call. I heard him say no more than, "Hello" and "Yes...Yes... I see," in a monotone, then "Okay, thank you," and he hung up. After a pause, I asked him if everything was okay. He answered slowly saying, "That was my brother...telling me my mother just died." And then he turned back toward me in a businesslike fashion and said, "So, where were we now?"

I couldn't believe what I heard. In Nigeria, when someone died, everything stopped, women began wailing. When the dean of my department lost his mother, the entire campus shut down for three days, including a day spent in his village mourning, dancing, and remembering his mother.

I immediately told this gentleman – for whom I would later work for three full years – that I was so sorry about his loss and that I could not bear continuing the interview. Telling him that nothing was more important than whatever he needed to do at this time in his life, I got up and left, and everything did take care of itself. Yet I was in shock for a long time at the contrast between two cultures and their very different ways of handling loss.

It's true that any hiring process should begin with a well-thought-out hiring plan, including timelines, and continue by using this plan as a road map to establish clear direction for your hiring process. But in this case, sticking to a hiring plan is simply taken too far.

When Decisiveness Doesn’t Cut It

I have never been the impulsive type, tending to mull over each option before arriving at a decision. This meshed well with my former supervisor’s way of decision making and had worked well for us through many hiring processes.

My new boss was definitely a type A personality, perhaps even a type A++. He saw no reason to take more than a couple of weeks to hire for a mid-level position. So when the second interview for a marketing position went reasonably and with just one reference called, he suggested I offer the position on the spot.

This did not set well with me, but I wanted to be a team player, so I grabbed the candidate on her way out and offered her the position. She grabbed me, hugged me and started crying loudly in appreciation. That was the first of several loud, rather physical (on her part) interactions between the two of us that became increasingly distracting and inappropriate and finally ended when my new employee began screaming and throwing papers on the floor during a staff meeting.

This is an example of hiring by gut that didn't make the cut. In order to avoid a lengthy hiring process, an employer may be tempted to take a shortcut. Employers beware: these types of decisions can be costly, starting with the time and money you'll spend to repeat the hiring process.

Playing the Odds

Back in 1998, I was hoping to land a job as director of urban affairs in a local public school system. I was qualified. I was confident. I was passionate. And I was nine months pregnant. I figured that by the time they made the final decision and were ready for the new hire to start, I would be back in the swing of things with my second child in a trusted relative’s daytime care, as I transitioned back into the job market.

I was called in for an interview on my due date. "Now, how many women actually give birth on their due date?" I thought to myself. "I can do this." It turned out I had a doctor's checkup the same afternoon, so I called them back to see if I could change the time. With an interview panel of seven, they weren’t able to move the interview by more than an hour. I had to decide. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions all morning. Should I just withdraw myself from consideration? No, this might be a great opportunity. I took the new time slot.

Well, I arrived for my interview on time, and promptly went into labor. My contractions were still spaced quite a bit apart, so I bit the bullet and went inside. It was a structured interview – the panel could only ask the questions in front of them, and I couldn’t ask for clarifications. I thought I did a good job with my answers, and I’ll bet they had tons more questions in mind, about what possessed me to interview at nine months. I did have to stop a few times to breathe through the increasingly stronger and more frequent contractions. "You did well," the director of personnel said, as he escorted me to the elevator once I was done. I didn't get the job, but I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy that night.

While this story might seem eccentric to the extreme, it's actually a good illustration of interviewing practices that respect applicants and their rights to non-discriminatory consideration. An even more powerful illustration would have ended with this qualified, confident and passionate candidate actually getting the job.

Interview S.O.S.

I was interviewing candidates for a job that required design expertise. The interviews were scheduled an hour apart, but the human resources director and I could covertly communicate that a candidate did not meet muster, to end the interview early. Within 10 minutes with one candidate, both of us knew that our interviewee had no hands-on design background. She simply liked the idea of gaining design skills.

Both the HR director and I moved to the question about references, our cue to end. The candidate gave us this information, and went on to tell us why she was the best candidate for the job. I thanked her and let her know she’d hear from us in the next few days one way or the other. The HR director stood up and thanked the applicant for her time. But the candidate began asking me a series of questions about the organization, what I was looking for in a "good" [her word] candidate, and what I hoped to do in my own career.

After answering this last question quickly, I looked at the HR director for help in ending this interview. The director let the candidate know that we had another interview shortly. Instead of taking this as her cue to leave, the interviewee began describing the exhilaration she felt at re-aligning fonts. (She had been a typesetter for a short time.) At this, an hour after trying to end the interview, I began coughing repeatedly to hide what would otherwise have been uncontrollable laughter. Only after I excused myself to find some water did the candidate gather her things to leave.

To avoid this type of situation, interviewers should not wait until the interview to determine requirements that a candidate doesn't have. Instead, implement a good applicant/resume screening process in the beginning. This will reduce wasted time for both you and your candidates.