rudeness of job applicant

[goldilocks]

I can understand her answering as she wouldn't have known it was you calling about the job.... But I can't understand her response.

Surely she could have said something like: "I'm so sorry, I'm in a really crowded area at the moment and can't hear you too well - let me move somewhere quieter" and concluded the conversation more professionally, even if it was to ask if she could call you back later?

I know this is a sweeping statement - especially as I have no idea how old this applicant was - but it does seem that there's a great sense of entitlement these days, particularly among the younger generations.  ::

The last part of your post is completely irrelevant. Even if the applicant is 19, her behavior hardly speaks to the attitude of "generations" of people.

I don't think it's entitlement, I think it's just cluelessness.  There are so many people of all ages who are compelled to answer their phones, even when they can't or shouldn't take a call (movie theater, restaurant, dinner table.)  As someone else pointed out, just let it go to voicemail.  I think there's a compulsiveness that has developed and people just answer all calls no matter what.  Which is also ironic when you think about caller ID and how everyone now screens every call and usually won't answer if they don't recognize the caller.  When did we develop a fear of just picking up the phone and seeing who it is?

I think you hit the nail on the head.  I get so irritated when I call someone, they answer and say they can't talk as they are in important meeting.  This always leaves me with the undeserved feeling that I've done something wrong by calling!

A few years ago, I had a brand-new boss.  He was visiting the corporate office.  I tried to call his cell one day.  I got voice mail and left a message.  Later on, he told me that I had called while he was in the middle of a presentation and it disturbed him.  I just asked - then why on earth did you have the phone turned on?

My phone has a great feature that allows me to respond to a phone call with an immediate "canned" text message.  I only use it for family and close friends, but it basically says "in a meeting - long" or "in a meeting - short" so they have some idea of when I'll call back.

[CakeBeret]

I think you hit the nail on the head.  I get so irritated when I call someone, they answer and say they can't talk as they are in important meeting.  This always leaves me with the undeserved feeling that I've done something wrong by calling!

A few years ago, I had a brand-new boss.  He was visiting the corporate office.  I tried to call his cell one day.  I got voice mail and left a message.  Later on, he told me that I had called while he was in the middle of a presentation and it disturbed him.  I just asked - then why on earth did you have the phone turned on?

My phone has a great feature that allows me to respond to a phone call with an immediate "canned" text message.  I only use it for family and close friends, but it basically says "in a meeting - long" or "in a meeting - short" so they have some idea of when I'll call back.

Ugh, this happens to me too. I'll try to call my mother and she'll answer the phone "I'm in a meeting, I'll call you back." and then hangs up. Just let it go to voicemail! I find it really quite unprofessional on her part, to be honest.

I think the candidate was incredibly rude, and her resume should be notated with the details of the interaction and filed under "Do Not Hire".

[Luci45]

I don't think you need to call her back to explain why she blew the chance at the position, but I do hope you made note of her name in case she calls you so that you can gently explain why her resume was discarded. It just sounds like inexperience and bad judgement on her part - assumptions and giving her the benefit of the doubt possibly undeservedly.

My husband is one of those that can't leave the phone unanswered, even if it is a telemarketer or political call, or if we are having a private moment, so it's not really generational.

[Diane AKA Traska]

Which is also ironic when you think about caller ID and how everyone now screens every call and usually won't answer if they don't recognize the caller.  When did we develop a fear of just picking up the phone and seeing who it is?

Personally, I've *always* had that fear.  I actually get a tiny (very tiny, but it's still there) anxiety attack when the phone rings if I'm not expecting a call.  I procrastinate with phone calls, I let anything I don't recognize go to voicemail if I'm not expecting.  The phone out and out disturbs me.

[RegionMom]

I know when a phone goes off during a meeting, the three or four choruses of rings is annoying, so letting it go to voice mail seems to take forever.

However, there is a cure for that!
Set your phone to silence.

Afraid you might forget to turn it back on? 
Set an alarm an hour later at the same time you turn it to silence and you will look at your phone and see if you missed anything.  (keep it on vibrate)

If you are truly that attached to your phone, you check it anyway, and would not need the reminder.

Or, airplane mode keeps alarms on and loud, but no calls or texts allowed in.  Airplane mode is even on most "dumb" phones.

The blow-off answer to your call for the interview was your answer.  The job deals with lots of customer service?  She told you how she would treat customers. 

Hope you found a good next candidate!

[Luci45]

Which is also ironic when you think about caller ID and how everyone now screens every call and usually won't answer if they don't recognize the caller.  When did we develop a fear of just picking up the phone and seeing who it is?

Personally, I've *always* had that fear.  I actually get a tiny (very tiny, but it's still there) anxiety attack when the phone rings if I'm not expecting a call.  I procrastinate with phone calls, I let anything I don't recognize go to voicemail if I'm not expecting.  The phone out and out disturbs me.

Kaypeep, I think you have it backwards. Caller ID is a fairly new thing, as is voice mail and all that have followed.

We always answered the phone because it might be an emergency. As I got older and had babies, if I was busy, I assumed that if it was important, the caller would call back later.

Our married daughter got us our first answering machine after we had our first bag phone and it gave us a certain freedom of choice of answering the phone or not.

I take advantage of call screening, but some who are lonely or stuck in the '80's don't, or those who are just afraid to miss anything. Like the band student who answered her phone during a concert dress rehearsal! (She caught holy heck for that!) or anyone of any age who answers the phone in church.

Like Traska, I hate answering cold calls, although I don't quite have the anxiety he seems to.

Also, sometimes it is just very inconvenient to talk, no matter what - at the store checkout, when signing papers to buy a new car, in a bar when the caller isn't someone I am expecting to meet, in heavy traffic, having lunch with friends. To me it sounds as if the prospective employee was in one of those situations and should never have answered the phone.

[Docslady21]

I can understand her answering as she wouldn't have known it was you calling about the job.... But I can't understand her response.

Surely she could have said something like: "I'm so sorry, I'm in a really crowded area at the moment and can't hear you too well - let me move somewhere quieter" and concluded the conversation more professionally, even if it was to ask if she could call you back later?

I know this is a sweeping statement - especially as I have no idea how old this applicant was - but it does seem that there's a great sense of entitlement these days, particularly among the younger generations. 

I don't think we need to malign an entire age group based on one person's poor manners. Generalizations hurt.

[Kaypeep]

Which is also ironic when you think about caller ID and how everyone now screens every call and usually won't answer if they don't recognize the caller.  When did we develop a fear of just picking up the phone and seeing who it is?

Personally, I've *always* had that fear.  I actually get a tiny (very tiny, but it's still there) anxiety attack when the phone rings if I'm not expecting a call.  I procrastinate with phone calls, I let anything I don't recognize go to voicemail if I'm not expecting.  The phone out and out disturbs me.

Kaypeep, I think you have it backwards. Caller ID is a fairly new thing, as is voice mail and all that have followed.

We always answered the phone because it might be an emergency. As I got older and had babies, if I was busy, I assumed that if it was important, the caller would call back later.

Our married daughter got us our first answering machine after we had our first bag phone and it gave us a certain freedom of choice of answering the phone or not.

I take advantage of call screening, but some who are lonely or stuck in the '80's don't, or those who are just afraid to miss anything. Like the band student who answered her phone during a concert dress rehearsal! (She caught holy heck for that!) or anyone of any age who answers the phone in church.

Like Traska, I hate answering cold calls, although I don't quite have the anxiety he seems to.

Also, sometimes it is just very inconvenient to talk, no matter what - at the store checkout, when signing papers to buy a new car, in a bar when the caller isn't someone I am expecting to meet, in heavy traffic, having lunch with friends. To me it sounds as if the prospective employee was in one of those situations and should never have answered the phone.

Perhaps my post was not expressed clearly.  What I was trying to say is that you have some people who answer the phone only to say that they can't talk, which is what the original post was commenting on. But ironically, on the subject of phone issues, with the advent of caller ID almost everyone screens their calls now and usually don't even answer calls that they don't recognize. I'd assume the OP's # was unrecognized by the lunching lady, but LL answered the call anyway.

I mention it because I think it's funny.  Jerry Seinfeld does a great bit on the obsession with cell phones AND using Caller ID that is very funny.

http://youtu.be/a8We0DUQghU

[kareng57]

If I was hiring, I'd actually be surprised if a still-employed applicant answered her phone right away.

Presumably, she doesn't want her current employer to know that she's looking, so she'd let the calls go to her cellphone voicemail, and then return them discreetly during her break time, or before/after working hours.  IMO you can pretty much right off this candidate - she really expects you to keep trying to reach her, multiple times?

Re PPs - I too am puzzled at some peoples' reluctance to use voicemail - isn't that what it's there for?  When I was employed, I never put one customer on hold in order to take a call from another customer, then put him/her on hold.........I figured that was discourteous to both of them.  I let the second call go to voicemail, and then called back right away once I was finished with the first customer.

[iridaceae]

Re PPs - I too am puzzled at some peoples' reluctance to use voicemail - isn't that what it's there for?  When I was employed, I never put one customer on hold in order to take a call from another customer, then put him/her on hold.........I figured that was discourteous to both of them.  I let the second call go to voicemail, and then called back right away once I was finished with the first customer.

I hate it when I get voicemail on my cellphone for a very practical reason : the playback is terrible and I often can't hear the message and I have good hearing. Of course since I make 1 call a week and receive even fewer I have a cheap pay as you go phone.

But I too often find answering calls- even from friends- stressful.

[Venus193]

My late mother refused to leave messages on my answering machine back in the day.  She also hated caller ID because she had the idea that I wouldn't answer if I saw her number.  I never used either to screen her out.

I do use Caller ID to screen out anonymous calls.

[DavidH]

It seems to me that even if you want to answer the phone and let someone know it's a bad time, you can do so politely.  For example, the applicant could have said something along the line of I'm glad you called, but I'm not in a good place to talk right now. Can we set up a better time for a call?  It has the same effect, but rather than keep playing phone tag with voice mail, it makes it very likely that the next call will be at a good time and place.

I don't understand either the extreme of the the telephone is a summons that cannot be ignored, since with caller ID you can look and decide whether now it a good time to talk to the person or whether you should answer and arrange a better time to talk or just let it go to voicemail.

[Flibbertigibbet]

The flip side of allowing calls to go to voicemail when you aren't in a position to answer is that sometimes (in my experience) the person trying to call you then tries all of your phones to get you (I have a personal mobile phone, a work mobile phone and office and home landlines), or as on one occasion, actually turned up at my house! That may have more to do with that person rather than the letting calls go to voicemail, but I just thought I'd mention that it can backfire...

[Winterlight]

Evildog would be tempted to call her back at a later date, just to let her know you are no longer considering her application, just to hear her response.

I too, am astounded that someone who was looking for a job would respond so rudely when called by a potential employer.

I wouldn't do this.  You know nothing about this person, they could be vindictive or who knows what.  I'd simply leave it be.  If she calls you to follow up I'd just reply that you needed candidates immediately and since she said she couldn't talk when you called, you moved on to the next resume.

Agreed. Take the high road and move on- their rudeness is not your problem to fix.

[Piratelvr1121]

The flip side of allowing calls to go to voicemail when you aren't in a position to answer is that sometimes (in my experience) the person trying to call you then tries all of your phones to get you (I have a personal mobile phone, a work mobile phone and office and home landlines), or as on one occasion, actually turned up at my house! That may have more to do with that person rather than the letting calls go to voicemail, but I just thought I'd mention that it can backfire...

I know people who try this even with non-issues.  One guy DH and I were friends with only worked 1/2 time so most of the time he was home and bored. He'd call DH while he was working, and if DH didn't answer his phone, he'd call our landline (when we had one) to ask me why DH wasn't answering his phone. Was he avoiding him?     When I got a new line I wouldn't give him my cell because he would call at the worst times, want to talk for HOURS about nothing and the only time he'd get off the phone is when it was convenient for him.

This, among other things, is one reason he's an ex friend.

Anyway, as for the applicant? Yeah, I'd toss the resume too.   There were far less rude ways to address it.