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Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

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Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#251

Post by shaftway »

jstarfish wrote: post #221
rwmj wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may be a way of filtering out older workers without having a policy as such.

That is totally possible, but I recognize this as an interrogation tactic. Your resume is a showcase of your best accomplishments. Short of clearance-level interviews with your family and friends, people in C-level positions ask for transcripts from 20 years ago because it's the only intelligence concerning your failures they can get their hands on (your previous employers won't ever attest on-record that you sucked)…

I like to assume that people have the best (if sometimes misguided) intentions, and I have an alternate theory.

This firm clearly put a huge amount of stock in education. They were 4 blocks from a major CS university, and a significant number of staff were recent grads. I suspect the CEO had a masters which only adds credence to their belief in the education system.

On top of that, they knew how much I was making ($x), how much I was asking for ($x + $50,000), and ended up offering me more ($x + $150,000). That's not the kind of thing you do when you're trying to dissuade someone from taking a job with you. Especially when the offer is 100% cash (company was private and they offered no equity).

I strongly suspect that this person came from a bubble of education, and just didn't understand how you could be a poor student and then successful outside of academia.

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#252

Post by jjice »

fuy wrote: post #250
jjice wrote: post #249

When I was in my last semester of college and looking for jobs, I just needed to find something but it was so hard to get someone to an interview phase. I always had good luck once I at least got an interview but it was an odd job market at the time. I was desperate to find _something_ so that I could start paying my loans and then looking for something better if need be afterwards. I ended up interviewing with a com…

> low because I didn't care of philosophy or other non CS classes For all people saying that philosophy is not important for engineering/cs grads - here's the proof it is!

That gave me a laugh, but in all seriousness it was an interesting class looking back. In reality I should've put more effort into it, but c'est la vie.

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#253

Post by taurath »

nvm0n2 wrote: post #246
nameless912 wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So the story here is that the CEO's brother is Autistic, and was one of the major inspirations for the company. Being "out" about my disability, I thought it was really cool at the time and mentioned that I'm Autistic, and seeing her embrace her brother as part of the core mission of the company was inspiring.

Like in your other story, the response you got is actually pretty reasonable and you seem to be slightly out of step with what other people are thinking here. The fashion for high functioning, highly articulate individuals calling themselves "autistic" is relatively new. To the vast majority of people the word autistic means severe disability that requires constant care, involves repetitive stimming motions and often…

> The fashion for high functioning, highly articulate individuals calling themselves "autistic" is relatively new

It’s a spectrum, and you don’t know the struggles of the person you’re replying to. Just because someone can mask or play off as high functioning doesn’t mean it’s not a struggle, especially with people making flippant remarks like this - in fact one of the struggles that keep people from being continually employed is that accommodations aren’t taken seriously because people assume that a working mask means they’re trying to make up excuses. Your statement that the “vast majority of people” only equate it with only the most severe disability is based on… what? Almost everyone I know especially in tech have worked with someone on the spectrum.

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#254

Post by nameless912 »

nvm0n2 wrote: post #246
nameless912 wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So the story here is that the CEO's brother is Autistic, and was one of the major inspirations for the company. Being "out" about my disability, I thought it was really cool at the time and mentioned that I'm Autistic, and seeing her embrace her brother as part of the core mission of the company was inspiring.

Like in your other story, the response you got is actually pretty reasonable and you seem to be slightly out of step with what other people are thinking here. The fashion for high functioning, highly articulate individuals calling themselves "autistic" is relatively new. To the vast majority of people the word autistic means severe disability that requires constant care, involves repetitive stimming motions and often…

So the specific framing, since it seems like this matters to you, was that she asked why I was interested in the healthcare space, and I said that I am autistic and have to interact with the American healthcare system, which is doubly hard for me specifically because I'm autistic: the myriad confusing systems you have to interact with just to get your basic healthcare needs in the US are difficult for me because of the number of interpersonal interactions required, and because I am "high functioning" (which, to your point, is a "relatively new label" [it's actually not, but that's not an argument I feel like having right now]) I'm very often not taken seriously when, for example, I have a sensory need during an MRI.

I said that I was appreciative that she wanted to make healthcare better for her brother, because it would help people like me too. And her response, after hearing my story about struggling to navigate the system she claims to want to improve on account of my very real, and sometimes very debilitating, disability, was "but you don't seem disabled." I don't think I'm in the wrong for being offended here. In my mind, It'd be very similar to if I had said that I struggled with the healthcare system due to losing a leg in an accident, and her response was "oh, but I can't see that your leg is missing because this is a zoom call."

The fact that I wasn't, at _that moment_, having a visible need, doesn't negate the existence of a disability that occasionally renders me mute, or makes me so overwhelmed I lash out at the people around me, or causes me actual physical pain. And mind you, I _was_ stimming; out of necessity many autistic folks who work in professional environments find stims that are relatively invisible on camera or in person in order to help us get through social interactions without losing our minds. It wasn't visible to her, but that doesn't change the reality of my story and my situation.

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#255

Post by nameless912 »

yieldcrv wrote: post #172
nameless912 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My last CEO (healthcare startup) told me during my interview with them "but you don't look autistic!" and that should have been the end of the conversation there. When people show you who they are, believe them and all that.

why aren't their positive traits that you see 99% of the time “who they really are” just a question about the phrase, not this particular person how does this give any predictive insight aside from you thinking they're hiding the rest of the time

In my experience, people who are dicks once in an environment where it was totally uncalled for are often hiding much more under the surface. It's like the old adage - one cockroach on the floor equals a hundred in the wall.

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#256

Post by nameless912 »

sophyphreak wrote: post #239
nameless912 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My last CEO (healthcare startup) told me during my interview with them "but you don't look autistic!" and that should have been the end of the conversation there. When people show you who they are, believe them and all that.

More people should do this! One time I advised people to out themselves in interviews--there are literal empirical reasons to do this--and I cannot describe how chewed out I got. Normalize neurodivergence!

THANK YOU. I make it a priority to introduce myself, and my disability, during my first 1:1 with every manager I have; it makes a huge difference. The conversation usually goes like:

- I am autistic

- I don't need any particular accommodations

- I will attempt to overcommunicate what I'm doing so that I can get your help if I rabbit hole on something (one of my common tendencies)

- I tend to need mental health days slightly more often than usual

- I will tell people I work with when I'm comfortable doing so, but this isn't a secret and don't feel bad if you accidentally out me.

I've never had a manager be anything but extremely appreciative to receive this context. Normalize talking about your needs, even if you don't have a diagnosed neurodivergence!

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#258

Post by scott-smith_us »

Tomte wrote: post #23

"You need to send us a handwritten page that we'll send to a graphologer in Switzerland. Nobody is hired without a graphological report." I did that, got hired, and wouldn't comply again. First job after university. Nothing bad happened. Years later I could read the report, and it was nothing remarkable.

I interviewed at a very small company in Santa Monica in the late 80s, and they also had all of their applicants submit a handwriting sample for analysis. They claimed that it was a very reliable indication of something-or-other.

I went ahead and filled it out while I was there, but I'd already decided not to move forward by the time the interview was over.

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#259

Post by scott-smith_us »

harrisoned wrote: post #129

Nine years ago, during the interview with the manager of a textile company, he asked what my religion was. I said i didn't had any, and then he said "You know what happens with people who don't follow any religion, right?" and pointed down, indicating that i was 'going to hell'. That made me want to quit right there, but i was so much in need of a job. I wasn't hired in the end, despite doing well on the tests. But i…

Isn't that ILLEGAL pretty much everywhere?

Re: Ask HN: What's the biggest red flag you've encountered during a hiring process?

#260

Post by scott-smith_us »

jrflowers wrote: post #14

I was once asked “why do you want to work here?” while interviewing at a Hardee’s as a teenager.

"I am truly ecstatic about the unparalleled opportunity to become a part of the Hardee's family, a prospect that aligns seamlessly with my life's passion and professional aspirations.

From the moment I first savored the delectable aroma of your signature charbroiled burgers, I knew that my destiny was intertwined with your esteemed establishment. The synergistic blend of your brand's values and my personal ethos is a match made in culinary heaven, a union that promises to revolutionize the gastronomic landscape.

The prospect of contributing to Hardee's renowned legacy of taste innovation and unparalleled customer satisfaction resonates deeply with my quest for self-actualization in the fast-food industry.

Each meal served, every customer smile elicited—these are the very keystones that embolden my commitment to fulfilling my dream of championing a new era of succulent satisfaction. With utmost fervor, I implore you to consider my application, for it is not just a role I seek, but a calling I am destined to embrace with zest and zeal."

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