Professionalism is a Two Way Street

I'm always reading tips online and in the paper for people who are looking for a job. What to wear, what to say, how early to arrive, how to follow up. All of these topics are readily available to the job seeker who wants to improve their interviewing style. The bottom line from all the tipsters is that the job seeker must show courtesy and respect to the interviewer who has given his or her time to meet with you. In other words, be professional.

I think professionalism is a two-way street. I think the interviewer also must show courtesy and respect to the interviewee. After all, the impression I get of a company and its culture is largely due to my interaction with the staff I meet on interview day.

In this current job search, I have been on four interviews. Four very different companies, three of whom were the hallmark of professionalism and one which was not.

Here's what the three did right:
One was a small not-for-profit, one was a large international entertainment firm, and one was a large national staffing firm. Despite the differences in size, all three made sure that we were making good use of our time. They had clear job descriptions in their advertisements. One did a lengthy phone interview first but all had a basic pre-interview. All needed me to meet with multiple people and arranged the interviews so that I would only need to come once and I could meet with everyone. Though I arrived a bit early for each interview (to show respect for their time, I am always 10 minutes early), they had someone to greet me, ask if I wanted a glass of water, etc. Each meeting was kept to 30ish minutes which also showed respect for my time.

I have not heard a final decision from all of these companies, but I have heard from one in the negative. That is fine. The interview process is about seeing if you are a good fit for them and I wasn't. But I would encourage friends to apply to any of these companies whether or not they hire me. That's because my sense is that each of them values their employees and my friends who may end up working there will be treated with respect.

Now for company number 4, a small hospitality company, and what it could have done better:
First, the advertisement simply said "Accountant wanted". That's all. No job duties or degrees or certifications that would be required. I found this odd, but I applied for the job anyway. I figured that my resume would speak for itself and if I wasn't what they were looking for, that would be that. As it turns out, I wasn't what they were looking for and I would have known that if they had written a clear job description in the posting. Unprofessional.

Next, they sent me a letter asking me to come in to interview. After reading my resume, they should have known that I wasn't what they were looking for, but they asked me to come in all the same. I phoned them upon receipt of the letter and reached voicemail so I left a message with my number and the days and times I was available in the coming week. This was Saturday. On Wednesday, they phoned me just before noon and said they had an appointment available that afternoon. I'm sorry, but unless you are a temp agency, you shouldn't expect people to be available to interview within two hours of your phone call, especially when that wasn't one of the days they told you they were available. Unprofessional.

They were able to offer me an appointment two weeks in the future. I found this odd, but I took it and figured if I found something else first, I could always phone and cancel. Fast forward to interview day. I arrived at the appointed address 10 minutes early and the office was locked! No one was there. I'm sorry, but if you have someone coming to interview, you should be present. Unprofessional.

I phoned the woman who made the appointment and she said she would have to call me back. While I was waiting, a gentleman showed up. He was also there to interview at the EXACT same time as I was. This is the most unprofessional thing of all. No employer should ever schedule two interviews at the same time.

Eventually, someone showed up. We were ushered into the small waiting room and handed accounting tests to take before we met with the interviewer. It wasn't a temp agency or a staffing firm so why were they handing us accounting tests? The gentleman left. I sat there in the waiting room doing the test while they listened to loud music and spoke in a language not English. This is also unprofessional. It is rude in the workplace to listen to music at a volume that others can hear. While people often speak other languages in the workplace, when someone is waiting to interview and within earshot, it gives the impression that you are discussing that person or else you would be speaking in English.

After my test was scored, I was ushered in to meet with the interviewer. She looked at my test results, asked me my salary range and then said that I wasn't what they were looking for. Well, good, because they weren't what I was looking for. I want to work for a company that treats its employees with courtesy.

I don't know if the gentleman will go back or if he will be hired. I kind of hope that he won't be hired there because he was a nice man and I think he deserves to work at a nice company. Like Numbers 1-3.