The Talent Market Team
In the spirit of Halloween, our team wanted to share our most hair-raising hiring horror stories with you. Names and identities have been changed to protect the innocent (and the ghoulishly guilty!).
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The Candidate from the Crypt
I once received an application that was riddled with typos and grammatical errors. The candidate’s cover letter read like a spellbook of strange demands. Her first decree? She refused to do any phone or video interviews. She would only accept an invitation for an in-person interview! (Oh, and because she was located 2,784 miles away from the organization’s office, the plane ticket wouldn’t be cheap!)
It got better. She insisted on participating only in “paid interviews” (which, she let us know, would be determined by a fraction of the target annual salary range for the role). And even more bizarrely, she made it clear that she preferred to receive a job offer without interviewing at all! After all, she was such a strong candidate that “engaging in interviews would be an unnecessary step.”
Not surprisingly, the hiring manager decided to avoid this specter of a candidate. If her ghastly demands were any indication, working with her would be a true fright!
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Ghosted at the DMV
As soon as the candidate answered the phone, I knew I was in for a treat…or maybe a few tricks?
She was in a very loud environment not well-suited for a phone interview and she sounded very distracted. Since we had planned the interview days in advance, I thought it was a bit unprofessional for her not to have secured a better location for our call. Trick #1.
Within the first few minutes, I learned that her current job was not a full-time, paid position as her resume implied. Rather, it was a part-time, volunteer role. Trick #2.
When I got to my last question, she started to answer and then, just like when the line goes dead in a horror movie, she abruptly hung up. Trick #3.
Hours later, I got a contrite email from her saying she was sorry about the hang-up, but that she had taken the call while….wait for it…. waiting in line at the DMV. And, naturally, a DMV staffer had let her know that she couldn’t use the phone whilst in line. Trick #4.
(My trick-or-treat score: +10 points for attempting to multi-task, -100 points for lack of professionalism, and -1,000 points for choosing a questionably run government department over a phone interview for a job in the liberty movement.)
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The Citation Slasher
Picture this: you’re a hiring manager combing through the latest batch of applications, looking for that perfect candidate. You spot one that immediately catches your eye. But as you start reading the writing sample, an unsettling feeling creeps in. You notice the candidate included two sharp-looking charts. They seem familiar… a little too familiar. And then it hits you: these aren’t just any charts—they’re your charts.
But something is horribly wrong. The branding and citations are missing, intentionally slashed away as though someone had taken a knife to your intellectual property, deliberately removing your organization’s identity from the work. And, just like the killer who returns to the scene of the crime, the candidate boldly submitted the altered charts right back to you as a writing sample.
In the end, you let it slide without a confrontation, but the damage was done. Like a classic horror movie twist, the candidate revealed themselves as the killer, and their only victim: their own chance of ever being hired.
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Disappeared
Once upon a time, I was managing a search that was going smoothly. We had several strong candidates moving into the final interview stage. It seemed like we were well on our way to helping someone find his/her dream job.
That was until the hiring manager disappeared like a ghost.
I emailed for news. One week passed. I emailed again. Two weeks passed. I called. Three weeks passed. I called again and texted. Four weeks passed. I sent smoke signals and then a carrier pigeon. Five weeks passed.
The candidates and I stayed in close communication the entire time, growing more confused and concerned by the day.
And then, just as I was about to pull out the Ouija board to ask, “Are you there?” the hiring manager reappeared like an apparition, wanting to pick up right where he left off as if nothing had happened. It turns out he had taken an extended beach vacation without telling the finalists or yours truly.
Unfortunately, by this point, two of the three finalists were spooked by the silence and had backed out. It goes to show that while ghosts are fun on Halloween, they can be a real nightmare in the hiring process.
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The Terrifying Typo
A while back a candidate applied for a role with a client of ours. Everything seemed fine until she accidentally entered her current boss’ email in the “contact information” field instead of her own. Naturally, after hitting submit, the system immediately sent a confirmation email—directly to her boss. Imagine the candidate’s horror when her boss called her into the office the next day, holding the email with the subject line: “Thank you for applying!”
The boss, now well-aware that his employee was job hunting, wasn’t too thrilled. Safe to say, double-checking contact info is now at the top of her list when applying for jobs!
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The Magic 8 Ball
A couple of years ago one of our candidates phone interviewed for a role and then received an invitation to fly across the country to interview in person. Now, one never knows how the interview process will go, but the Magic 8 Ball can be a helpful guide, especially during the Halloween season.
Does this opportunity seem promising?
Magic 8 Ball response: Yes definitely.
Given the nature of the candidate’s current job, he had to pull every trick in the book to secure days off work. Just as the candidate prepared to board the flight, he received an email from the organization telling him the interview was canceled.
Is the candidate upset?
Magic 8 Ball response: It is certain.
Shortly thereafter, the organization requested a time-consuming assignment in lieu of the in-person interview. While the candidate was upset, he understood that things happen. The candidate worked multiple hours over the course of multiple evenings and submitted the assignment early.
A couple of weeks passed with no word. Then, like a phantom appearing out of the mist, a non-personalized, form email materialized: “Dear candidate, thanks but no thanks.”
At this point, is the candidate really $%*^)#@ upset?
Magic 8 Ball response: You may rely on it.
The organization’s careless treatment left the candidate feeling like a forgotten spirit, wandering the haunted halls of the hiring process. And it’s a lesson that sometimes the most haunting experiences come from the interviews that never were and the promises that vanish like mist in the night!
But there is also a lesson for hiring managers:
Will the candidate share his negative experience with his friends and encourage them not to apply for jobs with this organization?
Magic 8 Ball response: Outlook good.
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Candy Can’t Buy My Love
Looking back on my childhood, one of the Halloween highlights was the haunted house in my neighborhood. Every year, one particular neighbor turned their home into a spooky masterpiece. Their efforts were so elaborate, we wouldn’t have cared if they handed out boxes of raisins instead of candy—just walking through that spooky setup was an unforgettable experience.
It was a far contrast from the houses with nary a pumpkin in sight that tried to win us over by giving out full-sized candy bars: they were clearly trying to overcompensate for their lack of effort.
Fast-forward to today. A hiring manager recently told me about an applicant who had submitted a very low-effort application with a generic cover letter. But get this….the candidate then made a small donation to the organization within minutes of applying for the job.
The hiring manager chuckled as he relayed the story. “Was that supposed to be a $5 bribe to get me to hire him?”
It took me right back to the candy bar houses from my childhood. Instead of putting in the effort with a strong application (amazing haunted house), this candidate went the pumpkin-less route. And, to make matters worse, he only gave out a fun-sized candy bar!
