Interview: My most memorable job interview

Sion: Some job interviewVorstellungs-, Bewerbungsgesprächjob interviews are memorableunvergesslichmemorable for the wrong reasons. Remember that interviews aren’t a one-way street; they are also an opportunity for candidates to assess sth.etw. beurteilenassess whether a company is a good fit for them. Although HR (human resources) managerPersonalleiter(in)HR managers are typically seen as the ones in positions of power in job interviews, they could actually lose out on sb.bei jmdm. den Kürzeren ziehenlose out on great candidates if they make applicantBewerber(in)applicants feel undervalued or disrespected. Business Spotlight Audio editorRedakteur(in)editor Melita Cameron-Wood spoke to Rolf Eckert, the founderGründer(in)founder and CEO of REimagine hospitalityGastgewerbeHospitality Group, about a learning experience he had as a result of a job interview.

Melita:  So, Rolf, thanks so much for joining me. 

Rolf:  Hello, Melita. Thank you for having me on the show.

Melita:  My pleasure. Now, you’ve got a background in hospitality, a sector where first impressions are so important. But it’s not just candidates that are being checked for their compatibility with an employer. The the reversedas Umgekehrtereverse is also true.  

These days you run your own hospitality group and regularly interview people. But it was actually a bad interview for a job that you apply for sth.sich für etw. bewerbenapplied for that taught you what not to do. I’d love to hear more about this memorable interview and what you learned from it. 

Rolf: My most memorable interview in my career was with the general manager of a private high-endluxuriöshigh-end country club. And I was interviewing for the position of assistant general manager with him, and we agreed on a date and time and I was very flexible on that. So, it was his choosing [non-standard] of the date and time. And we set up a Zoom call.

Once the Zoom call started, I realized this gentleman is driving his car while his phone was on Zoom with the camera on, on his dashboardArmaturenbrettdashboard, so I could see him and see the landscape fly by in the background. And I was a little irritatedverärgertirritated at that point, but I was interested in the position, so I just went on with the interview as if it was just normal and he was sitting in his office. 

The interview lasted approximately one hour and 15 minutes, something like that. And the entire time his camera was on, he was looking at me more than the road, probably. And sometimes, I got a little get distractedabgelenkt werdendistracted by that. But as I said, I continued the interview. 

When the interview was finished, I reflected on what just happened and I noticed how much time this general manager did not spend on either me and focusing on me and what I said or not focusing on traffic and road laws or anything like that. 

So, at the end of the day, I had a very bad feeling about this interview, just the way it was conducted — not giving me the full attention I should have had or giving the road the full attention it should have had. 

So, I replied back to him and thanked him for the interview and said I will not further pursue sth.etw. (weiter)verfolgenpursue this possibility [non-standard] because I’m looking at other options. Internally, I knew I’m not pursuing that — because I knew this person will never give me the attention I need, will never support me fully. And I will probably not gain from that experience. 

So, what did I take away from that? If I ever interview anybody, and I have interviewed hundreds of people in my life, I make an effort to ensure sth.etw. sicherstellenensure that there is absolutely no distraction. I turn off my phone. I turn off everything. I close every window that’s open on my computer except for the Zoom, if it is a Zoom meeting or anything else that involves the camera. I even stage sth.hier: etw. gestaltenstage the background or blur sth. outetw. unkenntlich machen, verpixelnblur out the background so the person who I’m interviewing online is not distracted by something in the background or anything like that. 

So, the most important thing I learned from that is everybody deserves my undivided attention and that will also set the tone [for] how I will always be there for my team. So, that was my most memorable interview and what I learned from it.

Sion: Now, think about what the general manager interviewing Rolf could have done differently. What advice would you give him for future interviews? Write a best-practice list for interviewers speaking to job candidates for the first time.