HR Follies, Part 3

For your reading pleasure, I have a few more crazy things I've seen on resumes or heard in interviews.  As always, all of these examples are 100% real.  As they say, truth is stranger than fiction.  If you like these, I recommend that you read my two earlier "HR Follies" blog posts.

What exactly are you trying to say?

In the education section of a resume, an applicant put this:

I'm not exactly sure what that means.  He went to high school but didn't take any Math or English classes?  He graduated from high school but his school didn't offer Math or English classes?  Most of the time, I can at least figure out what they mean or what they are trying to say.  But this one?  It has me completely baffled.

Was that really your greatest accomplishment?

An applicant for a construction job with our company had done work for a pipeline company from August 2014 to January 2015.  Below the responsibilities for the job, he listed his "accomplishments":

Really?  You worked for a pipeline company and your accomplishments have nothing to do with, you know, getting the job done on time or under budget or learning new skills?  No, instead you point to the fact that you survived working through winter in North Dakota?  That's like a teacher saying her greatest accomplishment was "making it through the school year" while neglecting to mention if she actually taught the students anything during said year.  Also....can I point out something else?  He says that he "worked through winter" but yet he quit/was fired in January, which is right in the middle of winter.  So, really he didn't work "through winter," which means the one accomplishment he listed on his resume is bogus.

Interviewing in the Dark?

As part of an interview for a field job, we have them some technical questions to try to gauge their mechanical aptitude.  One of the questions was an electrical question - basically, if you were needed to work on a light fixture and you turned off the light switch and the light went off, are you safe to work on the light fixture without getting shocked.  Typically, they say "yes" or "no" (which is the correct answer) and then explain why.  However, we had an exchange in one of the interviews once that went a little sideways.

Interviewer: "If you were to turn a light switch off to service a light fixture, could you be shocked while servicing the fixture?"
Applicant: "So, if I were turn off a light switch....and the light goes off?"
Interviewer: "Right, say you were to flick that light switch on the wall off (pointing to light switch on the wall as an example)..."
Applicant: Turns off the light switch, plunging the windowless interview room into darkness.  Five guys sitting in the dark.
Interviewer: "Uhh...no that was just an example.  Can you turn the light back on?"

What Kind of Question?

We were once again interviewing for a field job.  Following some normal behavioral interview questions, we then transition to technical questions.  However, the interviewer tripped over his words and mixed up "technical" and "test" and wound up saying "Now, we're going to move on and ask you some testicle questions."  To the interviewee's credit, he didn't laugh or make a face and just answered the next question.  The other folks on the interview panel, however?  It took everything they could to not burst out laughing following their colleague's faux pas.

So, what you're saying is you got fired?

I inquired about an applicant's reason for leaving a previous job and he said that he was "involuntarily separated."  I asked him to explain that in a little more detail- thinking maybe he got laid off or something like that - to which he responded that he took a day off on Friday and when he went back into work on the following Monday, they told him they didn't need him anymore.  In other words, he got fired.

Guess what?  His reason for leaving the job two jobs before that one?  Yep, he was "involuntarily separated" from that job, too.  So, apparently "involuntarily separated" is to "discharged" what "sanitation engineer" is to "trash man."  In case you're wondering, we decided not to hire him.

Most Awkward Interview Answer Ever

Here's one answer to an interview question that I'll never forget.

Me: "Tell me about a time when you took the time to gather all of the facts before reacting or making a decision."
Applicant: "Hmmm. Does this have to be work-related?"
Me: "Not necessarily."
Applicant:  "OK, well.....my wife told me she was pregnant but I didn't think it could be mine because I'd had a vasectomy.  Rather than getting upset with her or accusing her of sleeping around, I talked to my doctor.  As it turned out, the vasectomy didn't take, so I was, you know, still able to, you know...But, so it was good that I didn't jump to conclusions and got all the facts first."
Me: "OK, next question..."

So far, that's the first and only time I've been in a job interview and the word "vasectomy" has been uttered.  Hopefully, it never happens again because I can only imagine the look on my face after he said that word in his answer.

That's all for now, though I'm sure I'll have more stories to pass along in the future.  One thing you can always count on with a career in HR is for people to do and say weird things.

Thanks for reading!