Had to talk about a subject at a job interview. Another 12 people did same. Most talked about taking photos or being part of family project.
I talked about sustainability. How a humble piece of fruit can be used in various ways and gave examples.
Disappointed to see that the person who shut the thread missed my point. The topic was sustainability, the location for original discussion was at a recruitment agency office… thank you for proving to me that when people don’t ask and just assume communication fails.
The look of disgust on some of their faces surprised me… of course I didn’t go to the next stage of interviews.
Thoughts? Is it really disgusting? Am I missing something?
Office job. We had to talk about things we are passionate about… taking about family activities and being passionate about them would not have fallen into relevant category nor loving doodling.
I’ve had a couple of clanger interviews, one where I called it short and never went back - probably a good thing in some ways, of course we never know what that path might have been … so be it
You could have been the last in a long day…or quickly they realised you were not suitable…or realised other earlier candidate would be offered the position/shortlisting with others completed but had to go through the motions as your interviews had been locked in etc.
As indicated, I would be asking for feedback before jumping to conclusions.
I’m a little confused.
Is this topic about sustainability or about job interviews?
If it’s about sustainability and related consumer needs, great! But that seems not the topic discussed.
If it’s about how job interviews are conducted, the topic needs a new tittle.
It would seem most usual, illogical to expect a persons passion for sustainability might be the basis for rejection.
About peoples attitudes towards those who are passionate about sustainability is how I saw it, the interview was just the forum in which this bad experience took place??
I missed that - like a group interview? if so, were the attitudes coming from fellow job hunters?
I’ve little time for most agencies or head-hunters - some are excellent, but they are rare in my experience and when you find them its worth investing some time making sure they are legit and know who you are. Most seem to make dodgy real estate or used car sales people look well informed and respectable, but that’s just my view I know from experience that sorting through hundreds of resumes can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but I’d rather put the effort in and find that needle - it paid dividends on a few occasions back when I was in a job hiring people for a team I managed. Maybe it should be an initial point against choosing to work for any company that outsources the hiring process to any extent, but that is probably most of them these days, sadly. This also seems to happen with internal HR in some organisations - judging people where they have no clue about skills simply by some arbitrary metrics (or worse still, by who they know …).
My instinct is she was assessed as having too high an intellect and if hired, would have been seeking something more to her abilities almost immediately. eg intellectually over qualified.
Looks? Perhaps it was so simple as ‘why are you here?’
It could also have been (not suggesting it was, but all possibilities should be presented) your own unconscious reactions to being among others with fewer qualifications, even to the point of seeming more managerial than staff.
I know many people who struggled to find work because they were deemed over qualified; one case was someone with a BSc who was struggling and sought work in a factory. He did not make the short list either.
Nothing to do with being assessed on having too much experience nor intellect… things like that are an ice breaker and gives consultants a tiny view into who you are.
Oh I agree, most are terrible and getting a good consultant is like finding a needle in the haystack .
This interview was the last step prior to commencing a job. As always they blamed the company. The girl who called me to tell me I didn’t make the cut sounded vague and didn’t know what to say. Took her at least 5 minutes to get the words out.
All I wanted was input on the sustainability topic… not a character judgement.
Reviewing the original post, this thread focused on the interview not on sustainability, a direction that @annaa63 apparently did not anticipate.
I encourage @annaa63 to start a new focused topic on sustainability as there does not seem to be one exactly germane that I could identify. To avoid further excursions I’ll close this one.
I know from experience that sorting through hundreds of resumes can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but I’d rather put the effort in and find that needle - it paid dividends on a few occasions back when I was in a job hiring people for a team I managed. Maybe it should be an initial point against choosing to work for any company that outsources the hiring process to any extent, but that is probably most of them these days, sadly. This also seems to happen with internal HR in some organisations - judging people where they have no clue about skills simply by some arbitrary metrics (or worse still, by who they know …).