Photo by David Drexler
A long, long time ago, I was an administrative assistant. I worked my way through college that way. Part of my job was to cover the front desk from time to time. It was especially interesting when we had candidates coming in, because I got a chance to check them out.
So this one guy comes in for his interview for a blue collar position. He was wearing a three-piece suit and carrying a big briefcase, and he looked nervous. Really nervous. Like, hands-shaking nervous. I felt kind of bad for him.
So I told the hiring manager he was here, and then told him to have a seat. He did, and he started to open up his briefcase to get something out. Just then, the hiring manager walked in. He jumped up when he saw her, and in doing so, he knocked over his briefcase, and the contents spilled out.
The contents were as follows:
- A pen
- A folder with resumes in it
- A copy of Penthouse magazine
We all froze for about five seconds. You could have heard a pin drop.
Then the guy grabbed his briefcase and ran out the door. He didn’t even stop to pick up the pen, the resumes, or the Penthouse. We never heard from him again.
So here’s today’s job hunting clue: don’t bring porn to the interview.
Tales of the Cluefree appear pretty much every Friday. Past stories are here.
{ 4 comments }
I love reading these! Thank you for sharing them.
Maybe he bought it for the articles?
I’m so intrigued to learn what he was thinking? Maybe he is like a flasher and just get’s off on the shock factor, or maybe he felt there would be questions during the interview in regards to his taste in erotic photography, and a picture does speak 1000 words.
I don’t think it was the shock factor—dude was clearly mortified to the point where I think he stopped breathing for a bit there. Plus, he was SO nervous. He was probably one of the most nervous candidates I’ve ever seen.
I think maybe he had the magazine because he had used it to help him “relax” before the interview. That’s the only explanation I can think of.
give the guy a break. he probably needs the porn to calm him down – oops just noticed that you thought so too. good thing he didn’t get a heart attack from the shock though, or your firm would have gotten sued…
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