The Interview: M&Ms and the Millennial

BLOGGER'S NOTE:  This is a true story, however, "Dan" isn't the candidate's actual name, and the circumstances have been altered to  protect a well intentioned interviewer who made a mistake he'll never forget.  

Photo Credit:  Cleanhotdry Blog

A few months after starting my blog, a friend and former D.C. colleague sent me a message on Facebook expressing her utter distain for a coffee commercial that was dominating the HD airwaves.  I immediately knew the one she was referring to:  20 something woman not just savoring but slurping her oh so good cup of joe oblivious to the interviewer sitting in front of her. "I know they're selling coffee, but good grief.  It is insulting to those who are desperate for work.  'I love this coffee more than I need a job'" was my friend's, a consummate professional, analytical interpretation.  Of course to someone as successful and professionally polished as her, this situation was unfathomable.  To me, unfortunately, its absurdity was all too familiar.

Though there have been several, one incident a few years ago specifically comes to mind.  I was working with a corporate manager on filling a marketing role.  She was seeking a motivated and mature professional with 2-4 years of experience in corporate retail.  Over the course of a very long week, I shared what felt like dozens of resumes, none of which were a fit.  "Too wordy, too concise, too much experience, too little experience..." No one for this hiring manager was "just right" until she saw Dan's CV.  On paper, he truly was thee idea candidate:  a business and economics double major who successfully had completed a highly competitive internship that parlayed him into a 3.5 year job with a world class retailer.  In person, he was even better:  fresh-faced, articulate, eager but not irritating, and witty.  I was sure he was the candidate who would win this manager's overly selective heart.

The afternoon of Dan's interview, I sat at my desk literally counting down the seconds until he would walk out the client's building, get in his car, and call me with great news.  Well, that didn't quite happen.  A few days later when I finally was able to get my client on the phone, our conversation went something like this:

Photo Credit:  Raed Al-Jawad "Public Phone #3"

ME:  "So, what did you think of Dan!?
CLIENT:  Awkward silence...  "Well, I'm not sure..."
ME:  Caught off guard, "Okay, tell me more..."
CLIENT:  Awkward silence followed by a loud sigh, "While we were having a great conversation, he did the strangest thing..."
ME:  Trying to remain calm, "Oh, what was that?"
CLIENT:  More awkward silence...  "He opened a bag of M&Ms and started eating like it was the most natural thing to do during an interview."
ME:  WHAT!?!?!?!? "Oh my, that it strange… Did he mention why he did that?"
CLIENT:  Even more awkward silence...  "He said something about having to eat every few hours, so I asked him if he was diabetic."
ME:  Please let that be the reason, please let that be the reason...  "What did he say?"
CLIENT:  More awkward silence and another loud sigh, "He laughed and assured me that he wasn't diabetic.  He said that he'd been working out with a trainer and was supposed to eat every few hours to keep up his metabolism."
ME:  WHAT?????  "Oh."
CLIENT:  "Yeah."

Needless to say, Dan did not get the job. 








Find out what Dan said in his own defense (yes, he had one) when I called and told him why he didn't get the job in my next post:  "The Interview:  Mom and the Millennial."