… the HR Minion. Because even minions have opinions. And giggles.

Have a laugh at my expense

I know I’ve ripped on candidates in this blog. I can’t help it; it’s funny and it makes me feel better. There’s a reason sites like Not Hired are so popular. I think you need to have a sense of humor to work in HR. It’s easy to take yourself too seriously. Everyone makes mistakes, and they are often funny once you have several years distance from them.

So for today, turn about is fair play. Here are some stupid things I have done as a job seeker. Go ahead, have a laugh with me at my expense.

1. Forgetting the interviewers name and wandering into the reception area with no idea who to ask for. I did this 3 different times at 3 different companies before I started writing everything down. Fast learner, aren’t I? It’s very embarrassing and not good for you if the interviewer ever talks to the receptionist.

2. Showing up at the company for an in-person interview when it was supposed to be a phone interview. I still cringe when I think about this one. I was very excited to get the call and didn’t pay enough attention to what the recruiter was saying. I’m fairly confident I gave her a good story out of that one.

3. Disparage the interviewer’s home state. I made a disparaging comment about Wisconsin (what can I say, I live in Minnesota) and the interviewer then told me she was from Wisconsin. Talk about opening mouth and inserting foot.

4. Not coming to the interview prepared because I forgot about it until 30 minutes before it started. A job interview is stressful enough without adding that kind of anxiety on top of it. I couldn’t answer some basic questions and I was flustered. How well do you think it went?

5. Being apathetic and boring in the interview because I wasn’t sure I even wanted the position. No excuse here except that I was young and stupid. I applied for the position but wasn’t sure I would like it. Without even giving it a chance I came in ready to dismiss it. It was a waste of their time and I was just demonstrating how unprofessional I was being.

Okay, that’s enough painful nostalgia for today. You guys have any stories you want to share?

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July 22nd, 2008 Shauna Posted in HR

4 Responses | Add your Own

  • 1 Ask a Manager :
    July 22nd, 2008 saat: 6:24 pm

    #2 is pretty funny.

  • 2 HR Minion :
    July 23rd, 2008 saat: 7:16 am

    Ask a manager – #2 was surreal! It almost felt like an out of body thing, staring down at myself wondering how I could be so stupid! I actually feel a lot better after posting about it though.

  • 3 Training Time :
    July 30th, 2008 saat: 8:20 am

    Showed up to an interview forgetting the name of the person I should have been interviewing with, not good.

  • 4 HR Minion :
    July 30th, 2008 saat: 12:23 pm

    Training Time – Yes, very not good. I can be such a dork sometimes, what can I say?