Today I interviewed a candidate on MS Teams, and around the 20-minute mark of our 30-minute call, her phone started ringing loudly. What's more, she pretended that she could not find where it was. She apologized profusely, and it just made me chuckle.
I've had my share of snafus in interviews like the one I shared in a previous post. But you would think by now people would have figured out how to change conduct for online interviews. If you are on a phone interview, you can't control whether someone happens to call you. You notice it, dismiss it, and move on. But if you're on a Teams or Zoom call, then your phone is a ticking time bomb. It should be turned off, in airplane or silent mode (if you must) to avoid any interruptions.
In the case of this candidate, the interview was going well. I did not let the intrusion interfere with my assessment of her. If I were on the fence about a candidate, something small like that could be the difference between whether someone gets a thumbs up or thumbs down. I would say it rarely comes down to a technicality like that, but remember, an interview is where you are supposed to show your best self. You have one chance to make a first impression. If you are dogging it out of the gate, then it's probably only downhill from there.
I've had my share of snafus in interviews like the one I shared in a previous post. But you would think by now people would have figured out how to change conduct for online interviews. If you are on a phone interview, you can't control whether someone happens to call you. You notice it, dismiss it, and move on. But if you're on a Teams or Zoom call, then your phone is a ticking time bomb. It should be turned off, in airplane or silent mode (if you must) to avoid any interruptions.
In the case of this candidate, the interview was going well. I did not let the intrusion interfere with my assessment of her. If I were on the fence about a candidate, something small like that could be the difference between whether someone gets a thumbs up or thumbs down. I would say it rarely comes down to a technicality like that, but remember, an interview is where you are supposed to show your best self. You have one chance to make a first impression. If you are dogging it out of the gate, then it's probably only downhill from there.
