Ed. Note: In case you missed Part 1, read it here.

Whether a situation is positive or negative, it is a part of your history. Just as American History and World history is important, so is your personal history. Often, I have heard that “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Indeed, those who turn a blind eye to the lessons history has to teach us not only repeat the same mistakes, but will consistently fail to make progress and innovate.

I have learned just as much from my negative experiences as I have from my positive experiences. The best thing that someone can do is find humor, even in the worst things that they have had to face. It is in that spirit that I submit this week’s writing:

My Worst Job Interviews: Part 2

   This week I have decided to go back to my previous job search, which took place in 1996…

The company I worked for relocated to California. I had to choose between accepting layoff or relocating to the west coast. It was a difficult decision to make, but I decided not to relocate. I was able to work out a consulting agreement with my employer, however the agreement was temporary, and time was running out! I was finishing some mundane tasks at home when the phone rang.

   “Is this Mr. Howard K. Young?” the caller asked. I responded affirmatively. The woman on the phone continued. “We notice that you have Supply Chain experience. Our company is looking for someone with your experience to lead our new Supply Chain Department. Are you available for an interview?”

   So far so good. This looked like a great opportunity. “Would you be able to come down to our office on Thursday?” the woman inquired. “Thursday is perfect” I replied. We agreed that the interview would take place around 9AM. The time was an added bonus for me as I am at my best in the morning hours.

   Everything was starting off on the right note. I arrived at the office with time to spare. I reviewed my resume and took a last look at the company brochures as I was called into the Director’s office.

   “Good Morning Mr. Young. I am Mr. Greenly, Director of International Operations. Please give me a second to take a look at your resume.” I gave Mr Greenly a cordial smile and invited him to take his time. Looking back on the interview, that was my first mistake.

   Mr. Greenly was silent for about 5 minutes as he studied my resume, but it seemed to be much longer to me. He finally spoke.

   “According to your resume, you do not have any occupation listed between the time you graduated college in 1974, up to 1979. Why is that?”

   This was a question that I did not expect. Nonetheless I was prepared to answer.

   “Mr Greenly, I have 17 years experience in supply chain related positions. I felt that it was important to discuss the credentials I have accumulated while I worked in supply chain, starting with my position in 1979.

From the look I received from Mr. Greenly, that was not the right answer. He immediately shot back with another question.

“So what are you trying to hide from me?”

   My answer was immediate. “Sir, I am not trying to hide anything, In between the time I graduated college and the time I started in supply chain, I worked as a recreational aide in a nursing home.”

   “So, your first job out of college was in a Nursing Home….correct?”

   “Yes”, I answered, “I wanted to pay off my college loan, and I was offered a position as a recreational therapy aide.”

   “Why didn’t you select a job in your chosen profession?” Mr. Greenly inquired; “As far as I am concerned, that would have been a far more logical more.”

   I sensed that this interview was not going well and I needed to turn it around. “Mr Greenly, I had bills to pay. As I said before the most important one was my college loan. My parents also provided me with funding. I felt a higher obligation to pay my debts before I concentrated on my chosen field.”

   Good answer, I thought. Let’s see where this goes next. Perhaps he is seeing how I react to a potentially hostile situation. Little did I know, it would all go downhill from this point.

   “What was your salary when you worked in health care,” Mr Greenly asked next.

   At this point I thought the more appropriate question might be what my current salary requirements would be, nonetheless, I felt obliged to answer. “When I was hired, my salary was $13,500 per year and when I left it was $16,000.”

   “Why did you settle for such a low salary?” Mr Greenly sternly asked.

   I quickly answered, “Sir, we are talking about salary levels from the early to mid 1970’s. It is now 1996. The cost of living is different now.”

   Again, Mr. Greenly seemed to disapprove of my answer. “Mr. Young, I also worked in the mid 1970’s and I know what the cost of living was back then. You were making a very low wage! Do not try to put that past me!”

   At this point I had contemplated walking out on the interview. My gut instinct was to tell Mr. Greenly what he could do with his job, however my logical side took over. Before Mr Greenly could ask another question, I immediately jumped in with one of my own. “Mr. Greenly, we have been talking for several minutes now and you have not asked me a single question about my experience in supply chain, or about the credentials I possess that make me a viable candidate. I do not understand why you are focusing on a job I held for a short time period before I started my career in supply chain. Can we please discuss my more recent positions and the experience I gained from them?”

   Mr. Greenly was clearly angered by my question. “Mr. Young, When I interview a candidate for a position, I require a complete background! Based on our discussion so far, you have not given me what I am looking for. So I will tell you, straight up, that you will not be considered for this position.” I was then asked to leave, and despite strong temptation, I resisted the urge to use expletives.

   So you may want to ask, what have I learned from this interview? The main lesson I learned was to remove graduation dates from my resume. Although it seemed this interview was doomed from the start, another lesson I learned was that, if you are treated unfairly, do not keep it to yourself. Instead of writing the usual “thank you “ letter, I wrote to the top management, complaining about the way I was treated during my interview. Although it did not get me another interview, I did get a letter from one of the directors, apologizing for the way I was treated during the interview. Would I have used that as a platform to ask for another interview? Probably not. This leads to another important lesson that I learned. If an interview with your potential supervisor tends to be caustic, you will most likely be in store for more of the same if you are the candidate of choice.

   As I had stated in an earlier writing, “If the shoe doesn’t fit, don’t buy it.”This was a clear case where the shoe did not fit. I sincerely hope you have more positive job seeking experiences, and, of course, I wish you Good Hunting.

-By Howard K. Young, Contributing Writer & Member of The 405 Club.

View all of Howard’s posts here.