Dropping the F-Bomb…

It’s been forever since I last wrote. No excuses. Just got busy. Maybe that is an excuse in itself- but I’m really working on getting back into the blogging game, and sharing a bit of my small corner in Insomniac Games with the rest of you. This one should be exciting- especially for my first post in over a year (ouch!).

When I say to people that working in HR in the entertainment industry, let alone in games, is always entertaining, it’s ALWAYS entertaining. There is never a dull moment, and there is never a day that is the same. When one works with creative souls, there are always interesting events. But, let’s set the stage for this nugget of information. We had a candidate come in for an on-site interview. This person had passed a test, and had already phone screened with a member of the team. We had high hopes for this candidate! I met with said candidate, thought they were lovely, and very excited (maybe a bit nervous) about the interview. Not bad things in the least. As a footnote – being a bit nervous about an interview is a good thing… it keeps you on your toes. What you want to avoid is the paralyzing nerves that give you sweaty palms and make you stutter when you try to talk. But, back to the candidate. He interviewed well with the next group of interviewers. Then things started to go south…. There was an off color comment. Then a few f-bombs, followed by a few more inappropriate comments about the previous set of interviewers (ie now potential new coworkers). And just to add a cherry on top- a few more f-bombs – just for fun. What happened? Where was this going? What happened to the pulled together candidate that was presented at the beginning? MAYDAY! We are going down in flames. BIG TIME.

Needless to say – the candidate took himself out of the running, due to his complete lack of professionalism in an interview setting, and for his unprofessional comments. If he felt THAT comfortable in an interview – what was he going to be doing or saying if hired? I’ll be the first to admit- and if you have worked with me- I have dropped a few f-bombs in my time, but I would never do that in an interview. And neither should you. There is still such a thing as interview etiquette and it has its place. We work in a creative space, and with that comes a certain amount of latitude. I would jump out of a window if I worked in a corporate environment, as would many of my co-workers, but there are still a few boundaries. Treating your interview and your interviewers with respect is one of them.

Until next time…