Here’s a not so funny story. About a year ago I was helping a client hire a few employees.  This client expressed to me that he intentionally acts like a jerk during an interview. I was astonished! I couldn’t understand why someone would want to act like a jerk, especially when interviewing someone who could help this client grow his company.

I asked the client what it was he did to ‘act like a jerk’.  His answers were simple and not that far off from what most people do when interviewing.  I then had to question if his behavior was learned. Was all of our interviewing skills learned from what other people, like my client, shared?

If you are going to conduct an interview yourself, please don’t go out of your way to be a jerk.  This will not help you find the right employee and it will not help the right employee want to help you, or become emotionally vested, with your company.

Showing up late or making a candidate wait for you is horrible.  After speaking with my ‘jerk’ client, I was surprised to learn this is a common practice. It shouldn’t be. It is just bad manners!

I also discovered that people love to use an interview as a way to grill potential employees. This isn’t the time to play CSI! You should be able to have a conversation, accompanied by real questions, to get to know an employee- not discover if he or she committed a crime.  Don’t treat potential employees like suspects during a job interview. Remember, you were once in their position!

Finally, understand that you’re not perfect and neither is the candidate.  The goal is to hire someone who can perform his or her job accurately 92%  of the time.  If a new employee makes a minor mistake during his or her probation period, let it go.  You didn’t fail by hiring someone who made a mistake. And, the employee didn’t fail by making a minor mistake.

We don’t have to be jerks at work to get results.  Treat everyone with the respect you would demand for yourself.

Britanie Olvera