I was interviewing a job seeker today for a client and 3 mins into the interview I thought to myself, she is absolutely not a good fit. So I did what I do when I feel an interview is going nowhere and wrapped the interview up. Before our final goodbye I asked the candidate if she had any questions for me and she said she did. She asked me if I thought she was a good fit for the position. I was caught off guard. For a split second I thought, gosh! Just answer the question without answering it.
Then I thought of myself, and my job hunt. How many times I had wanted concrete feedback and hadn’t gotten it. Instead I got some generic politically correct answer. So I told her the truth. That I didn’t think she was a good fit and exactly why. Her CV was all over the place and she seemed to lack stability, shifting from job to job after a maximum of 1 year. After my honest feedback I thought she would say OK and leave but instead she responded with answers to all my concerns, valid answers. I still wasn’t convinced but I begun to second guess myself.
I had to decide at that point whether or not she should be shortlisted. Though I had doubts, I was impressed that she was willing to “fight” for the position. Most people who get constructive criticism would just say thank you and leave but not her. She fought for the job in the most professional way. It is that energy and drive that got her shortlisted. As she walked away with an almost satisfied walk I paused and wondered, Am I wrong? Maybe she is a good fit, maybe her reasons for job hopping are all valid as she has said. Maybe her CV just does a bad job at representing her. I guess time will tell.