 |
| Generated by Google Gemini Advanced text-to-image AI software, powered by Imagen 2, and by Pixlr AI image editor |
I’ve been spending all day conducting phone interviews with the first wave
of applicants. It wasn’t just me, though. Jasmine took part of the list, as
did my colleague who has been helping me prepare for the in-person
interviews that will come later. As I was about to make the first call
today, I realized that I should have also taken some time to practice these,
not only because they come before the face-to-face meetings, but because I
don’t tend to be too great on the phone. I have trouble picking up on social
cues, but at least when I’m in the same room with someone, I can do my best.
It’s so much harder on the phone. They could be muting themselves, and
giggling at how I stumble over my words, or gesturing their boredom with the
blah, blah, blah hand gesture. These possibilities start swirling
around in my brain, and I start to lose my train of thought, which only
makes things worse. I sometimes hang up the phone having kind of blacked
out, and being unsure whether anything I said made any sense whatsoever.
That all being said, my colleague’s training helped with these too. I did
okay, and I think the candidates were receiving me pretty well. I asked the
right questions at the right time, and remembered that one major reason for
phone interviews is to give candidates time to ask questions of me.
Hiring managers might forget that it’s not just about us choosing them, but
them choosing us too. This is meant to be a new business partnership, or in
the case of internal candidates, a change in that relationship. Just because
someone needs a job, doesn’t mean that they’re desperate for it, or that
they ought to be desperate, or that they should be thankful that we’re even
bothering to consider them, or that we have the right to exploit them for
all we need.
It’s important to me that I never forget what it’s like for people in their
situations. I don’t know everything that they’re all going through, and I
shouldn’t be expected to, but I should try to empathize anyway. It wasn’t
too long ago that I was in jail, and before that, I was on the run, and
before that, I was unhoused. I didn’t get to where I am by being brilliant
and hardworking. I relied on a lot of other people giving me a chance, and
putting their trust in me, and not being judgmental. Long ago, in my home
universe, I was in between jobs, but it hadn’t been too long yet. An
interviewer asked me how long I had been on the search. I was afraid that
she wouldn’t consider me if I told her the truth, because someone who had
been searching for longer was in more need, all things being equal. What my
mother told me later was that it was the opposite; that if you’ve been
looking for too long, they’ll assume that something’s wrong with you. That’s
bullshit, and I won’t tolerate it. So I’m not going to ask people how long
they’ve been out of work, or why. It’s none of my goddamn business. I more
than anyone know how hopeless it feels to be treated like everything bad
that has ever happened to you is your own fault. People deserve better. They
deserve the benefit of the doubt. Now, I’m mostly hiring highly experienced
and specialized workers for my team, as we have no entry level positions
available on the team, but I’m still going into it with this attitude,
because I don’t want to become everything I’ve hated in people who held my
fate in their hands. I want to take my personal experiences, and make them
better for others. So if you applied, and you feel like you’re being
mistreated, or if you have stories to tell about your issues with other
employers, send me a message. I’m always looking to improve, even if I’m not
the only one who should hear what you have to say.
No comments :
Post a Comment