Whenever I have shown up for an interview, or even just to drop off an application and resume, I alwasy look and act my best. Becuase it IS your interview.
I have lots of work experience, and I have found that one of the first questions the hiring exec asked the receptionist is “So, what did you think?” If the answer is less than satisfactory (“dressed pretty sloppy,” “kind of bitchy when I asked her questions,” “treated me like a serf,” “showed up 20 minutes late,” etc), the person isn’t interviewed.
I have used this kind of information myself several times when I was in charge of hiring new people.
A valuable lesson- often it’s the secretary’s opinion that carries the most weight!
I worked at a vet clinic, and the outfits some people would wear to bring in applications just boggles the mind. “Daisy Duke” shorts with butt cheeks hanging out, halter tops with flab rolls hanging out…but they did submit an application, so when the unemployment office called we had to verify that.
And yes, the person who you hand your application to can have some influence on your being hired. If you are rude and snarky with me as you hand me your application, of course I’m going to tell the office manager. I’m the one who has to train you, and she’s the one that’s going to have to handle the complaints from our clients when you are rude and snarky to them.
First impressions do matter. I was told (several years after I was hired) some of the reasons I got the job had to do with the time I came in to request an application. I was dressed as if for an interview; waited politely and interacted well with the clients and pets in the waiting room, and encouraged the receptionist to wait on clients before going to find the application form. This was reported by the receptionist to the office manager when I took the application back in.
I’m not always going to be dressed in shirt and tie when I go in to get a job application, but I will be dressed in clean, presentable clothes, appropriate for the work I’m applying for. And rudeness would seem to me to be an automatic downcheck for anyone applying for work.
For some weird reason- I think people think they are entitled. Even after we hire folks, we often have problems with entitlement and this feeling that we are lucky to have them. The people we really are lucky to have don’t act this way, and they are compensated accordingly. I had one girl, to be fair she was quite young, who within one week of being hired called in twice because of “school activities”. The third time she called us was the next weekend, she called on Friday to say she couldn’t come in that afternoon because she “forgot” she had a school trip to Reno. I fired her, and she whined at me that I shouldn’t fire people without “giving them a chance!” Well…first requirement of holding a job is attendence, dear…
Oooooh…okay (it could very well have been my reading comprehension too :D).
It wasn’t me who saw her though, I’m sorry I don’t remember which poster took her resume. I know one thing, I have nothing but admiration and respect for those who have to work so directly with the public.
I’d have to uzi someone, people are idiots. Not all of them, but in my experiences with customer service type jobs, the bad experiences with morons sure seem to outweigh the good ones.
A couple of years ago, I was the administrative assistant in a tiny company. We placed an ad for a sales rep and got about 150 resumes in response. My boss, the owner, reviewed those resumes and had me send out rejection letters to about 75 which didn’t make the first cut for various reasons. It was a form letter, and my name was at the bottom of it. Someone called the office three times to complain to me about being rejected. The first time, I was at lunch, so he reamed out the girl who was covering the phones. She told me about him when I came back from lunch, so I wasn’t completely surprised when he called back about half an hour later. He was quite rude and offensive in the way he wanted to know why I’d rejected his application, told me how wrong he was, and, when I explained it was the boss’s decision, insisted on speaking to the boss and on knowing why my name was at the bottom of the letter. The boss and his co-owner had come back from lunch during this conversation and stood by while I tried to get rid of the guy as politely as possible by saying that we had received a great many applications and the decision was final (and becoming more final by the moment!). When I wouldn’t put him through, he continued to harangue me. He then called back one more time to try to convince us to change our minds and harangue me some more. In the meantime, I’d pulled his resume from the reject pile. He had too much experience and the wrong sort for the type of entry-level sales rep we needed and he was asking for more money than the company was prepared to pay, although he wasn’t actually a bad candidate. It was more that we had a lot of others who looked more suitable. His physical resume and my electronic records were flagged with a note saying that, if he ever applies again, do not even consider hiring him. :wally
On a lighter note, back when I was working for a dinner cruise company, a gentleman called about 8:00 am asking about a job as a pilot. When I explained that the gentleman who made the decision wasn’t in, but I’d be happy to pass along a message, he said, “OK, I’ll let you get back to your coffee now.” I wasn’t the secretary; I worked in Japanese reservations and had actually come in at 7:00 am, as scheduled and spent the past hour confirming reservations and been busy doing other various chores. I passed along his name and phone number; I also passed along the remark about getting back to my coffee.
CJ’s First Rule of Business
Never, ever annoy the person who answers the phone or mans the front desk. You have know way of knowing who he or she might be!
I think this should be on a big banner behind every receptionist’s or front office desk. Heck, maybe I’ll make a big banner and hang it over my office door.
Whenever I interview people, I ask members of my team to talk to the candidates. Afterwards, I get opinions and thoughts from them. I still have the final say, but I’ve found people who’s attitudes towards managers and non-managers can change drastically.
“A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person. --Dave Barry”
**Smokinjbc **, I think you are missing out on the fact that this Ms M situation is a good thing. Wackos that act like wackos are great. You can avoid them. If push comes to shove, you can get restraining orders against them.
The ones I absofuckinlutely hate are the wackos that interview well. They shine during an interview, and are hired quickly because you are afraid someone else will snatch them up. They only turn on the wackiness the day after they are hired.
Flat? Vegas is surrounded by mountains- some of them quite nice- and the actual valley has many draws, washes, etc…
Actually- my bosses just told me they may pull up stakes and move to the Reno/Sparks area in a few years- thats less “flat” than Vegas and greener too- so if your sister is looking a few years- have her drop me a line…couldn’t have better folks to work for in the vet industry IMHO.