About 8 weeks ago, I broke my arm in a fall while rollerblading. I am now wearing a cast which, due to scheduling conflicts (read: my Dr.’s Mediterranean Cruise :dubious: ) still has to wait to but cut off for another 2 weeks. The bone is fully healed, all the textbooks say ‘6 weeks’ and it has been 8 weeks already; I’m just stuck in a cast for right now.
A company that I really want to work for has an opening in my field. They contacted me about my resume and they want me to meet with 3 of their people (an HR rep, the position’s manager, and position’s second-line manager) for an interview. The trouble is that it all takes place before the cast is scheduled to come off.
As I see it, my only options are either to bite the bullet & go (and lower my chances accordingly), try to delay the interview two full weeks w/o a good explanation as to why :dubious: , or lastly, try to soak off the cast in a bucket beforehand so that I can compete on a level playing field. Did I mention that I Really want this job?
If it helps, this cast has been on over 6 weeks and has accumulated all the funk and ambiance of any cast that has been on a human body, unchanged and ‘protected from shower’ that you might expect. (No artwork, but it doesn’t smell like roses.)
Q1: As a job interviewer, would you ever even consider a candidate who was qualified in every other respect for a position you were offering, but who interviewed with an arm or a leg in a cast?
Q2: You are the one stuck in the cast and you Really want this job. What would you do to maximize your chances in this situation?
(Assume for the sake of argument that both HR’s “Violence in the Workplace” policy and Homeland Security specifically prohibit ‘Nuking it from Orbit…Its the Only Way’ as an option.)
The interview notification was on Friday and everyone at that company is scheduled to meet with me in 3 days. Orthopedists are Specialists and booking a Specialist when you are not an existing patient in my neck if the woods always guarantees you the longest wait-time bar none.
That’s my thought, too. I’ve been on hiring committees that have sat for a couple of days, interviewing candidates, and at the end of that, anything neutral or positive that helps a candidate to stand out from the herd of forgotten faces is a good thing.
Use it as an ice-breaker - “sorry about the cast; I broke it doing [whatever]; I tried to get it off before the interview, but didn’t have time, and I certainly didn’t want to put off this interview pending the cast removal because I really am interested in this job, and think I would be a good fit [segue into your self-promotion].”
Unless I was hiring for a guy to dig ditches, or a gymnast, I don’t see where it would make any difference.
It will undoubtedly come up as part of the interview, plan now for a good answer.
The only problem the cast will give you is in your head. I am kind of picturing you trying to hide it underneath the table or something. Just mention it straight off and get on with the interview. I guarantee no one will give it a second thought.
Warning: As I have never interviewed or hired people the following opinion is completely uninformed.
I wouldn’t think that a cast would have any effect on the interview as long as your explanation for how you broke your arm doesn’t start with “Funny story really, I was busy stealing expensive equipment from my former company when…”
Plus, as others have said, anything that makes you stand out in an interview is a good thing.
People, thank you for the positive feed back!!! I really am a good fit for that job (I’ve done it for a competitor), I live within 2-3 miles of that building (so I’d never be late due to trains/traffic), and I really think I’d fit in well given their corporate culture.
No one wrote on the cast (thankfully) and I do have a clean sling. Also, my wife suggested that I can Fabreze the open ends that morning to try to minimize any ‘cast smell’.
How very odd that you’d even think having a cast would handicap you. No pun intended.
I went on a job interview a week after I had surgery to have half my thyroid removed. Since it would have been illegal of the manager to ask, I explained why it looked like I had been OJ’d.
Could work to your advantage, both in making you memorable, and in demonstrating that you really want the job - after all, you have to be strongly motivated to go for the interview while you’re still in a cast, right?
I certainly wouldn’t disqualify anyone for a job because he was wearing a cast. As others have pointed out, that cast itself wouldn’t count against you and, if anything, it might make you more memorable.
Go for it, good luck, and let us know how it goes!
That’s an excellent point. I say go to the job interview and have a brief-but-entertaining story prepared about how the injury happened. If anything, I think it’ll show that you can overcome problems while maintaining a positive attitude.
