How to Humiliate a Candidate in an Interview

Marcianne Kuethen

September 23, 2013

As a hiring manager, you know that if you really want to get to know candidates, you’re going to have to put them at ease. As the demand for knowledge workers increases, you’ll also want to use the interview to give them reasons to choose your company for their next career move. Well, sometimes we can learn from someone else’s mistake. Here’s a story that will make you squirm for these poor candidates.

In a group interview for Currys, a number of candidates were forced to do an impromptu dance to punk or rap music. It proved to be an exercise in embarrassment, because, as one candidate put it, “All professionalism went out of the window. I’d spent the past week researching the company and looking forward to being able to express myself and talk about what I love doing. But I just felt so embarrassed and uncomfortable. I ended up dancing to Around the World by Daft Punk, doing rubbish robotics in my suit in front of a group of strangers.”

The company said later that this technique was not part of its official recruitment policy. Currys apologized to the candidates later and offered them a chance to have another interview, but the damage was done! To read more about their humiliating experience, click here.

When you’re preparing for your next interview, you may want to place yourself for a moment in your candidates’ shoes. Imagine being asked the interview questions you’re preparing, and being grilled by your interview panel. Would you find yourself feeling interrogated and intimidated? Keeping in mind that your interviewees are also interviewing you, what ways can you think of to put them at ease to attract them and get the best information out of them?

As your expert staffing partner, we want to help you conduct successful interviews where you get the most out of your time with candidates. We hope you will tap into our resources and take advantage of our staffing managers’ experience as you filter through the prequalified candidates we bring your way. Our goal is for you to hire better talent with our superior process for technical and professional recruiting. Please let us know how we can help you!

Candidates’ behavior is changing. Are you prepared for their new mindset?

By Marcianne Kuethen