Communication experts say that 78% of first impressions is attributed to body language (including clothes, handshake, eye contact, etc.) and only 8% due to what you actually say. No wonder then that most interviewers make up their mind within 10 seconds of meeting a candidate.
In the first mystery in my concierge mystery series, the main character, Kate Ryan, goes on a job interview after losing her engineering job to outsourcing. Although she was the project engineer at the condo where she's applying to work as concierge, she feels too old and without the proper experience for the job. On top of that, the interviewer is the former high school boyfriend of her now adult daughter. When he makes the connection, she believes the job is toast. He even knows she's been an engineer and is worried she will bail at the first sign of an economic recovery and the promise of a higher paying job. Fortunately for Kate, she is able to convince him otherwise and ends up with the job.
Like Kate, I've had my share of uncomfortable job interviews. The most memorable was when I applied for a position as management trainer at a large corporation. There were six interviewers but that wasn't the worst part. The other two candidates under consideration were also present. Each of us had to give a 15-minute presentation in front of the decision makers as well as our competition. Luckily, I got the job but it was a highly stressful 15 minutes. Even with certain questions now off limits during interviews, I've endured inquiries into my day care arrangements, how my husband felt about my working outside the home, whether I could work with an all-male office environment, and similar personal questions.
Kate Ryan is the interviewer in the second novel in the mystery series. This time she poses the questions and the experience is just as uncomfortable. From the candidate who stops to take a cell phone call to one bold individual who takes off his shoes and asks for a sip of her coffee.
What about you? Have you had an embarrassing or uncomfortable moment in a job interview? Or, have you been the interviewer with a candidate from hell? Write your comment below. The most unusual or embarrassing incident will win a free copy of my new novel, "Concierge Confessions."
In the first mystery in my concierge mystery series, the main character, Kate Ryan, goes on a job interview after losing her engineering job to outsourcing. Although she was the project engineer at the condo where she's applying to work as concierge, she feels too old and without the proper experience for the job. On top of that, the interviewer is the former high school boyfriend of her now adult daughter. When he makes the connection, she believes the job is toast. He even knows she's been an engineer and is worried she will bail at the first sign of an economic recovery and the promise of a higher paying job. Fortunately for Kate, she is able to convince him otherwise and ends up with the job.
Like Kate, I've had my share of uncomfortable job interviews. The most memorable was when I applied for a position as management trainer at a large corporation. There were six interviewers but that wasn't the worst part. The other two candidates under consideration were also present. Each of us had to give a 15-minute presentation in front of the decision makers as well as our competition. Luckily, I got the job but it was a highly stressful 15 minutes. Even with certain questions now off limits during interviews, I've endured inquiries into my day care arrangements, how my husband felt about my working outside the home, whether I could work with an all-male office environment, and similar personal questions.
Kate Ryan is the interviewer in the second novel in the mystery series. This time she poses the questions and the experience is just as uncomfortable. From the candidate who stops to take a cell phone call to one bold individual who takes off his shoes and asks for a sip of her coffee.
What about you? Have you had an embarrassing or uncomfortable moment in a job interview? Or, have you been the interviewer with a candidate from hell? Write your comment below. The most unusual or embarrassing incident will win a free copy of my new novel, "Concierge Confessions."
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