The best “worst” candidates; 8 recruiting gems.

1. “I noticed the deception after 5 minutes: the candidate had sent his brother’s CV. Despite the physical resemblance, he knew nothing about the job. When pressed, he confessed that he had hoped to fool me” says Philippe, HRD of a transport company.
2. “I nearly gagged when a candidate who had obviously not showered in a while outstretched their hand. Dirty nails and body odor that was poorly concealed under a ton of perfume: an explosive cocktail. I canceled the interview “says Dorothée, Technical Manager.
3. “I received a candidate for an HRD position. I learned that she had been on sick leave for 3 months because she refused to take part in the business plan of the company that had just bought them out. And she was applying for an HRD position!” Recalls Fred, branch manager.
4. “I was looking for a young recruit. My candidate came with his father, who refused to stay in the waiting room. He answered every question I asked his son with anecdotes about his childhood. The young man was red with embarrassment. It upset me.” Souad, Employment Manager.
5. “The interview was bad. As he was leaving, the candidate grabbed my arm and begged me to give him a chance, or else his wife would be fuming.” Alexander, entrepreneur.
6. “From the minute he came in, he took a medical certificate out of his pocket with an endless list of physical constraints … Why submit his profile in the first place? Complete honesty? Foolishness? I was shocked.” Jean-Luc, Director of Technical Services.
7. A candidate once told me: “I warn you, I do not make coffee for the boss” when I asked her if she had anything to add at the end of the interview. So, I told her that I made the coffee. I also didn’t hire her. Hakim, former technical adviser.
8. “A young woman comes in and proceeds to inform me that she wanted to do the interview on behalf of her boyfriend. He was in prison and my promise of employment could allow him an early release…” says Sonia, Office Manager.

Recruiting is definitely not an easy job!

Apart from ensuring you have a strategy in place for your recruiting needs, this being a tool to captivate candidates where talent lives (not just on the top 3 local typical job platforms, what else are you doing to ensure you are using your time wisely? Have you considered digital interviews? Are you able to customize your job posts with specific questions that qualify? Are you optimizing your process for maximum speed without cutting corners? How else are you screening your candidates? How about looking into your internal candidate pool? So many questions….. so many options!

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