Everyone has THAT friend. Everyone has had the friend of theirs that continuously brings about the same questions from other friends: “why exactly are you friends with that guy again?” He’s the guy that sits in the back seat of your car and barks for no reason (yes, I had a friend that used to bark). She’s the girl that finds it necessary to speak at the top of her lungs with every breath because she needs to be heard…by everyone in the bar…even the cooks in the back…and she talks loudly about how drunk she was the night she ended up in bed with a frat dude, a goat and a…well you know the one.

These people suck! Inevitably they’re your friend for some valid reason. They saved you from a house fire. They have pictures of you with the aforementioned girl and goat. They’re a good “ugly friend” to have around when you’re out at da club…the kind that makes you look like you don’t play “Dungeons and Dragons” and have to wear a retainer when you sleep. Whatever the reason, it’s something that you feel entitles them to your friendship…despite the fact that they make everyone else sick to their stomach.

Guess what…every agency has a “that employee” in their midst. You know what they do? They make idiotic negative comments to people that you are trying to hire. Depending on the size of your agency, there is probably one (if not more) person who feels like they were passed up for a promotion or is still pissed from overhearing Tammy in Accounting say they looked like Cruella De Ville (that damn Tammy in Accounting!). Don’t worry, every agency has them…you’re not alone.

I always suggest to my clients that they conduct their interviews in as much of an open forum as possible. Yes it’s important for your team to all have a chance to interview a person that might be coming aboard…that they might have to sit next to. But, too many time–way too many times–the “each team member interviewing the candidate on their own” scenario ends up biting you (and me) square in the ass!

Case in point: Back in my Healthcare Finance recruiting days, I had a small hospital in dire need of a Director of Medical Records. As boring of a search as this turned out to be, it was also one of the hardest searches that I’ve ever conducted. Why? It was for a 20 bed hospital (that’s tiny) that was located on the Outer Banks on the coast of NC. This was a beautiful place…sand, ocean, mansions, hurricanes (wait scratch that last one)…you couldn’t ask for a better place. However…FOURTH HIGHEST cost of living in the nation. And, you couldn’t buy a house anywhere close to the place. There was no way to find property in the area unless you had millions and millions of dollars to flush down the toilet. And, guess what? There’s no Director of Medical Records that has that type of money! Why don’t you just put a blind fold over my eyes, spin me around and ask me shoot an apple off of my mother’s head! Not easy! But…

I found the perfect candidate! This girl was dynamite…had every single tiny bit of experience they needed. She was cheap on salary! She already had a house that was 45 minutes outside of the area and was willing to make the commute every day. Holy crap batman! Am I amazing or what! Am I a god? I submit to you that yes I am. So, I sent her up there, had her prepped, closed on money, ready to accept this job! I had this one baby! More importantly, the hospital had her…the hospital that had been looking for a needle in a haystack for over 6 months! Slam-freakin-dunk!

The interview consisted of my candidate speaking with the CFO first (she would be reporting to him) and then the wonderful team that made up the medical records staff. Here’s the kicker…ready…wait for it. The LAST girl on the team that she spoke with said the following to START the interview, “If I had it all to do over again, I would’ve never taken this position.” Stab me please! Oh merciful God, please smite me with all of your awesome power! A 4 hour interview that should’ve ended with an offer letter and a lot of smiling ended up becoming another two week process of contemplation and, ultimately, a declining of the offer. All because of this one ignorant, disgruntled and (what I found out later) passed up for a promotion she didn’t deserve in the first place employee. And, I found out later that MY COMPANY had placed said employee the previous year! Someone please use my head as a bucket and paint your house with my brains!

Here’s a little tip from your uncle Lance, Mr. / Ms. Hiring Authority: Make sure your team is all on the same page. As wonderful an environment as your agency is, there’s always someone who’s got their panties all bunched up! And, bunched up panties hurt. They’re uncomfortable and cause people to lash out at their fellow brethren. If you have ANY doubt about ANY of your employees’ happiness, it’s probably not the best idea to give them a one on one shot at ruining a candidate interview. And, more times than not, they don’t actually MEAN to do it. It’s just the “foot in mouth” disease catching up with them. Trust me, it destroys interviews. I know…I’ve seen it! I and the company interviewing have lost $$$ because of it!

“Heroes may not be braver than anyone else. They’re just braver five minutes longer.” — Ronald Reagan

[tags] Talent Zoo, advertising, marketing, recruiting, Cruella de Ville, hiring, interview, job candidate, director of medical records, outer banks, disgruntled employee [/tags]