With it being Halloween, I thought it would be a perfect time to write about the recruitment horror stories some of our consultants have experienced over the years.
Scent to kill
‘It was very early in my career of recruitment and I placed a candidate in a new startup. All going great, the company loved him and he seemed to love them also. About two months after he began, I got a phone call from the client to say that my candidate had severe personal hygiene issues and that other members of his team found it impossible to work around him.
This was a situation no one wants to find themselves in. Bringing up someone’s hygiene is awkward enough, even more so when its coming from a third party.
I had to bite the bullet and call him. He actually took it very well, he wasn’t awkward about it and didn’t seem embarrassed at all. The issue wasn’t that he didn’t shower – he informed me he showered every morning before he left for work. This candidate cycled into work every morning and as it was a casual setting in the office he didn’t feel the need to change his clothes from his jeans and t-shirt. I had to suggest that he should bring a change of clothes every morning and potentially avail of the showers in work before he began his day’.
David McGuigan – Recruitment Consultant
Heebie-jeebies
‘I once was working with a candidate who was in a final interview (face to face) with a client. The candidate rang me before the interview and was clearly very nervous, we spoke through all her concerns and ran through some prep just before she went in. I thought she had relaxed a little and would be grand once she got in.
I received a phone call from the client after the interview (I hadn’t spoken to the candidate yet) to tell me how the interview went. Apparently my candidate halfway through the interview was so nervous that she downed the glass of water in front of her and instantly threw up in a bin in the interview. The client said despite her clear nerves, she was more than qualified for the role and wanted to extend an offer. The poor candidate couldn’t believe it and to this day has the best final interview story in the company’.
John Elliot – Recruitment Consultant
If you have any recruitment horror stories or just funny stories please do comment them below, we love hearing them.