Do Not Get On the Elevator Or, Can you follow simple directions

We operate in Huntsville, Alabama, one of the tech capitals of the world. In two years here, I’ve seen everything from rocket scientists to cyber security experts to DoD head honchos come up to our office to interview. Of those, about 95% have one thing in common: they get on the elevator after I ask them not to. 

Let’s back up. We’re on the second floor of a business/residential building. We have to buzz you in the front door then you get on the elevator (no stairs) and punch in a code. If you don’t have the code, you get stuck on the elevator until someone else pushes the button down to get you.

Every time I buzz someone in that front door, I say “Do not get on the elevator.” Without fail, they always do. I’ve had some people pretend it didn’t happen—weird since I find them in the elevator and they say “Oh, I didn’t get on the elevator.” Some people pretend they didn’t hear me even though I always wait for them to confirm that they heard me.

It drives me nuts. More than that, it looks bad in the interview. Do you think someone would hire a DoD employee who couldn’t follow the most basic of directions? I wouldn’t. We now consider that to be the first question in the interview process.

Here’s the bottom line: Your interview starts the second you pull your car onto company property. The hiring manager might not be watching you, but the research assistant might be and you can bet she will tell him what weird thing you did (hey, days get monotonous. Sometimes we need gossip to break things up.)

Listen closely to the directions you are given from everyone at the interview. If the janitor tells you to do something, do it with the same gusto that you would do a task given to you by the CEO. You never know who is watching.

If nothing else, follow directions so you don’t have a panic attack on the elevator. I’ve had to talk too many people down after they hyperventilate. One guy even turned around and ran out sick. Never saw him again.

Jessie Gable
Research Assistant
Global Recruiters of Huntsville
Office 256.533.1444 x200
Fax 256.418.4485
jgable@grnhuntsville.com
www.grnhuntsville.com