Bizarre interview happening

[brewer12345]

So I have been going through an extended interview process with a small firm. I am close to concluding that it is not worth the trouble, but I am about at the end of the process and I applied in part because I know one of the partners. The oddest thing happened today. I had the final interview last Thursday and figured I was done. This afternoon I got an email to the effect of "Hi, I am XYZ. I missed the interview when you came in last week and would like to chat with you for 30 minutes tomorrow by phone." He copied nobody else in the firm and as far as I know he will be the only one on the line.

I have never seen this in 20+ years of job searches. Neither has DW who makes a living as a career counselor. This strikes me as something that HR would never let an individual do because of the discrimination lawsuit potential, but the employer is so small they do not have HR.

Anyone seen something like this?

 

[rodi]

I've had 1 on 1 phone interviews... but never after going through many previous interviews.

What do you have to lose?

 

[W2R]

When I got the job I retired from, the only interview I had was by telephone. But, they had discreetly nosed around among those who knew me and had worked with me, asked about me, and had a pretty good idea of what I would be like.

I read online about telephone interviewing, and it said to smile while you talk even though they couldn't see it, because it would make you seem like more of a go-getter. Don't know if that was true, but I smiled like a crazy person through the whole interview and got the job.

 

[brewer12345]

I've had 1 on 1 phone interviews... but never after going through many previous interviews.

What do you have to lose?

Not a lot at this point. It is yet another warning sign about this place to me, though. If my buddy were not vouching for them, I would have walked away a long time ago because the interview process has been pretty strange.

 

[joeea]

I have never seen this in 20+ years of job searches. Neither has DW who makes a living as a career counselor. This strikes me as something that HR would never let an individual do because of the discrimination lawsuit potential, but the employer is so small they do not have HR.

Phone interviews and discrimination lawsuit potential? I don't see the connection.

If an individual does something on the phone that would invite a lawsuit, why would they do something differently in person?

As a hiring manager, I always started the process with a 30-minute phone screen, before anyone was brought in house.

 

[Aerides]

I read online about telephone interviewing, and it said to smile while you talk even though they couldn't see it, because it would make you seem like more of a go-getter. Don't know if that was true, but I smiled like a crazy person through the whole interview and got the job.

I actually recommend you "talk" to a mirror on any phone call of importance, like this. Not only will you smile more, but overall your expressions and tone will match your face more, as you would in person. It sort of tricks your brain a bit vs. the barrier of a phone.

 

[dirt_dobber]

I actually recommend you "talk" to a mirror on any phone call of importance, like this. Not only will you smile more, but overall your expressions and tone will match your face more, as you would in person. It sort of tricks your brain a bit vs. the barrier of a phone.

Great tip! son#2 has a phone interview today and I just forwarded this to him!

 

[brucethebroker]

You can always ask your friend who works there if this is standard procedure.

 

[brewer12345]

You can always ask your friend who works there if this is standard procedure.

I did. Apparently nothing is standardized there.

 

[candrew]

Phone interviews and discrimination lawsuit potential? I don't see the connection.

If an individual does something on the phone that would invite a lawsuit, why would they do something differently in person?

As a hiring manager, I always started the process with a 30-minute phone screen, before anyone was brought in house.

+1

Same here, 35 years as a hiring manager for a large health care system. I've conducted countless 1 on 1 interviews with candidates on the phone and in person.

 

[euro]

It depends a little bit on the position, but what you describe doesn't sound that crazy to me (although you indicate that there were other curious parts to the process?). For key hires who have to fit into existing teams, managers and team leaders may want to get a "personal vibe" so it may be as simple as they say - guy missed the interview and wants to see if the two of you might jive. I remember going much further than this and bringing key people in for a second on-site interview (and this was a Mega, not a small outfit) in such situations. From a business standpoint, there are very few mistakes that are costlier than a bad hire.

 

[MichaelB]

Not a lot at this point. It is yet another warning sign about this place to me, though. If my buddy were not vouching for them, I would have walked away a long time ago because the interview process has been pretty strange.

Well, the guy does have access to your email address, and he also knows you're being interviewed for a job, so odds are it is a legitimate request. You can clear that up in the beginning of the phone interview by just confirming that XYZ should have been in on the interview (even though the email states that).

If you have concerns about working for that business, another interview with someone different is probably a good thing. If exposes you to one more person that you would have to work with, letting you see if there is any good chemistry.

 

[Milton]

This strikes me as something that HR would never let an individual do because of the discrimination lawsuit potential

How's that again?

 

[LOL!]

I think even small places now look for a social media trail of prospective employees. There is even a technique to do something 'interesting' during the hiring process and then see if it appears shortly thereafter in social media as a way of identifying the internet footprint of someone. It's about as routine as a drug test nowadays I think.

 

[brewer12345]

I think even small places now look for a social media trail of prospective employees. There is even a technique to do something 'interesting' during the hiring process and then see if it appears shortly thereafter in social media as a way of identifying the internet footprint of someone. It's about as routine as a drug test nowadays I think.

These guys are highly unlikely to be that sophisticated. I imagine they look at one's linkedin profile and that is about it. I have increasingly little to do with social media these days anyway, so no worries there.

The weirdness here is the one on one after all the other group interviews. Never seen it before.

 

[misshathaway]

Spidey sense is telling you this might not be a good fit for you. Not b/c of the phone interview but the casualness / lack of structure, which seems to be putting you off.

 

[brewer12345]

Spidey sense is telling you this might not be a good fit for you. Not b/c of the phone interview but the casualness / lack of structure, which seems to be putting you off.

Yet I can see where they are going and have a heavy hitter vouching for them. Appropriate compensation will make me willing to take a leap.

 

[brett]

I always treated a job interview, even if I was not overly interested, as good practice.

You have nothing to loose and everything to gain. Why not simply attend the phone interview?

 

[brewer12345]

I always treated a job interview, even if I was not overly interested, as good practice.

You have nothing to loose and everything to gain. Why not simply attend the phone interview?

Just finished it. I just thought the request was strange.

 

[Another Reader]

The company sounds a bit disorganized. You have to wonder who is running the show. Or maybe they are just really informal, although that would be unusual for a non-tech company.

 

[CoolChange]

Nothing about his sounds terribly abnormal for a very small company.

 

[CaliKid]

I do phone interviews a lot and one thing I can tell you for sure... I would not hire someone that refused to set a time to talk. No call = no job. I don't see what the big deal is.

 

[Amethyst]

XYZ wanted to check you out for himself, not rely on what others told him. XYZ sounds like a careful, thorough person who wants to hire only "good fits." He gave of his time, which he didn't have to do. I see nothing wrong.

I have an intuition that you don't entirely want to go back to work, and may be subconsciously looking for something to put you off. If you get the job, are you sure you'll look forward to going to work every day? Or if not full-time, then every day that you are scheduled to work?

 

[euro]

I do phone interviews a lot and one thing I can tell you for sure... I would not hire someone that refused to set a time to talk. No call = no job.

of course, that would be an instant red flag!

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I don't know if this applies to you, but I read an advice column once where a person with an unusually long extended interview process figured out the interviewers were really just looking for free advice on how to handle some of their issues and were picking her brain, and didn't actually plan on hiring her. They just kept bringing her in and asking questions like have you come across this type of problem in the past and what did you do about it.

If you do a Google search you can find articles on interviews vs. free consulting.