We are in interview hell at work. In the next six to eight weeks we need to hire more than 100 people. To say that finding good quality people is hard is an understatement. As I mentioned in an earlier post we often take people that are in our “no” pile because…we’ll we have to. My boss is fond of saying, “Breathe on this mirror. You are alive. You are hired.”
That being said I’ve learned to trust my gut. Twice in the first six weeks of having my job I didn’t trust my gut and I got burned. The first time it was a bar manager named Chris. When I called to let him know I was hiring him I left a message asking him to call me back. He called me eight times in the next four hours. My gut said he was crazy and run, run, run from the relationship. I did not. I ended up firing him on his third day. Next the girl I hired to replace him was recommended to me by my boss. She didn’t have the exact experience we were looking for but she looked good on paper. So as I sat interviewing her in my office, we were interrupted by a woman from Fed Ex making a delivery. My interviewee was rude and inappropriate with her. My gut said run, run, run from the relationship but my boss said hire her. He felt we were desperate to fill the position and so I did. I fired here four weeks later.
Where am I going with all of this.
10 days ago, last Wednesday to be exact I interviewed a guy for a server position. He was pleasant enough, and liked him. Was he suited to work for us? Not exactly but he could probably do the job, would be fine for the summer and so I told him I needed to discuss all of the people that I was interviewing with the dining room manager and I’d get back to him. I also explained that I was going on vacation the next day for a week, and when I returned the dining room manager would have the following two days off and we would not be getting back to him until Friday, March 27 at the earliest but would probably be more like Monday, March 30.
While I was on vacation last week I got the following email forwarded to me from the front desk of the hotel that he’d sent them.
Hi Jeff ,
Was nice meeting you last Tuesday. You had mentioned that you would not be seeing Andrew for ten days and so I know you are very busy and hope you do receive this message. If you could , I would like to receive a conformation of my being hired for seasonal till Christmas. I do realize you had said that emails would be sent out this Friday but , at this point and time , if possible , I would just like to be reassured of my employment at David’s.
Sincerely,
Robert
First, I never promised him a job. Second it’s very fucking presumptuous to assume that you have a job. Third don’t be pushy. Fourth, I told you it would be more than a week before you heard from us and for some reason you don’t seem to understand that. UGH!
I ignored him all the while thinking to myself…”go with your gut.” Which translates to this man is crazy and you don’t want him working for you. However, at this point I’ve still not made up my mind BECAUSE I haven’t discussed it with the Dining Room Manager.
This afternoon I got this email:
Hi Jeff ,
You had mentioned during our interview , that the first training class would be on the 3rd of April and that an email conformation for my employment at David’s would be sent out today. It has been ten days since we last spoke. I did call the restaurant earlier today and spoke with Ashley and she did convey to me that you are exceptionally busy and so, I do understand. She did mentioned that I should here some news by Monday at the latest. Just know that after our meeting took place, I did cancel four interviews because I left our meeting feeling assured and confident. I am waiting very patiently and so just excited and anxious at the same time.
Thank you for your time,
Robert
Warning. Danger. Danger. Warning. Run. Don’t walk to the nearest exit!
So I immediately sent the following email:
Dear Robert,
Thank you so much for your interest for your interest in my restaurant, and giving us your valuable time to come in for an interview.
We are unable to offer you a position at this time and wish you the best of luck in your job search.
To which was following almost immediately by:
My gosh Jeff , first off , I am on shock ! I was lead to believe by you that I should feel very secure about said position. If you remembered , I had asked you about my chances for being hired and you had indicated to me that they were very good and so I had assumed that I would be assured a position within the company. I have put my life on hold for ten days and now this. I just recently cancelled an interview on Wednesday for server at _____________ along with some outstanding restaurants in Ogunquit. At this point and time , I am feeling very disheartening and sad . I just don’t understand what happened. Everything was fine and so, the only conclusion I can come up with is after the interview , you had access to the application I filled out and discovered my age . I am 56 and think I may have been a victim of age discrimination. I need for you to shed light on this , if you will
Robert
Age discrimination? REALLY? YOU ARE MY FUCKING AGE! No. I’m not discriminating against you because you are old. We have several servers who are that old and I love them a lot. I’d NEVER NOT hire someone because of their age. Just this week I told the Executive Sous Chef that he HAD to interview someone who had to be at least 75. No. I’m not hiring you because you are needy, and demanding, and not someone I want to spend my summer with. I want to spend my summer with people who are friendly, and laid back, and fun to be around. You my friend are NOT that person.
So take your age discrimination and stick it up your butt. And get on the phone and start calling some of those restaurants you cancelled on start rescheduling. Oh. By. The. Way. That restaurant you mentioned by name….they are one us of. I’ve already sent an email to the General Manager with my concerns. So good luck with that!
A Maddog In The City 