How to interview badly and still get the job...

I received a great deal of feedback from my recent article “How not to get a job or sell anything” CLICK HERE, and one person asked me for an example of a successful applicant and their career progress. The following is an exceptional case but does illustrate what can happen when the employer and employee are both prepared to take a risk.

I was asked to interview a potential new employee, who was only two years out of university so likely to be very junior. I did this as a favour to the recruiter, as we were not looking for anyone at that level, at that time. I was told that he was a nice bloke and would appreciate some career advice. He arrived at the scheduled time and brought a two-page CV. Possibly the worst CV I have ever reviewed. Apart from the obvious basics, it then included two paragraphs cut and pasted from his previous employer’s website, setting out how great they were as market leaders in our sector. Neither of those things were true. It transpired that he had done a law degree and then gone straight onto a civil engineering site to help evaluate compensation events. All with no construction or QS experience of any kind. The firm he worked for had simply made him redundant when the project came to an end, so he was now unemployed.

The interview went from bad to worse. I asked him about his law degree, gave him the opportunity to shine. I asked if he could tell me about recission. After an awkward silence, he said “Well, I’ve heard of it…”. It seems that the parties at that university were better than the lectures. I hear they are at most universities though.

After about an hour of scoring very low on every question asked, but showing some interest in developing a QS qualification, the interview came to an end. Every chance to impress missed, I felt like I wanted to help him, and considered he must have something about him to have survived on a construction site for two years with no prior knowledge. He also claimed to have done some research and to really want to work for us. Time to test that.

I decided on the spur of the moment to make him an offer that he could easily refuse. The deal was this:

·       No job offer;

·       Turn up and make the tea for two weeks;

·       Try and make yourself useful to the fee earners; and

·       If after two weeks they have used you in a positive way, we will discuss a job.

Not a stellar offer, but he took it on the spot. Against expectation, he turned up bright and early on the Monday morning, wrote a table of each of our team’s tea and coffee preferences and made a very good cuppa. He tidied the office and by lunchtime was the king of the photocopier. During day two he noticed an Associate entering timesheets into a spreadsheet to analyse productivity. He offered to enter the data, while the Associate sipped his tea. By the end of the week he was full time on Excel, which he was very good at. He did something called a pivot table, very impressive apparently.

The following week, I recall being quite parched by 11am and went in search of the new tea monitor. The office Director informed me that he was busy full time on a project and they were up against a deadline, so I knew where the kettle was. Disappointing. Delightful too.

At this point we had to give him an employment contract as we could not permit him to work full time without being fairly rewarded. This was Thursday of week two.

Over the next couple of years, he worked on many projects, with most people in the office. We worked together on a very challenging issue for two years part time and I found him to be an excellent and very reliable asset. He was a popular member of staff and we all helped to develop his skills. By the end of year two he had been promoted and was a couple of pay rises in as well. After another year or so he took the chance to get three months experience in the Middle East, this was requested to be extended by a further three months and then a further three months.

Eventually he was offered a full-time role in the Middle East for a competitor at a rate we did not want to match. Before going he thanked everyone for the opportunity and asked if he could come back if it did not work out. We of course said yes, but made it plain he would have to start as tea monitor again. He has since moved on again and is a now a Director in a competitor. I am sure he will come back into the business at some point in the future, when the time is right, in the right part of the world. Our kettle waits.

The point of this story is:

      i.         Just because you are a millennial, it does not mean you will get a corner office and a parking space on your first day!

     ii.         Sometimes you have to go with your gut and give someone a chance.

    iii.         Sometimes if you want a chance, you have to take one yourself, to get in the door and show what you can do.

    iv.         Starting at the top is rarely going to work and overselling yourself is the sure way to disappoint. Expectation here was for tea making, so when it came with all kinds of other skills that was a massive bonus.

Perhaps after reading this you might take a chance yourself soon, it won’t always work out but when it does it’s rewarding for everyone.