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I've had candidates do their phone interviews by walking out of the office they're working at currently. It was awesome trying to understand their answers as a

I've had candidates do their phone interviews by walking out of the office they're working at currently. It was awesome trying to understand their answers as a motorcycle rips past on the street. I think its just a lack of respect and self effort awareness on all sides. Just think about what you are going to be doing ahead of time is all it takes.

ryanbrunner 5y ago
This is a tricky one, and I can't really fault an interviewee if it's a 30 minute phone screen. Cafes can be just as bad as out on the street for noise, most candidates won't be comfortable getting a meeting room in their office, and finding space to have a quiet call for just 30 minutes can be really difficult.
HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago
That can be difficult. When I worked in an industrial office park, I could go out to my car to do a phone interview. When I was working downtown, where I didn't drive to work, there was pretty much nowhere to go that wouldn't involve some kind of background noise.
szszrk 5y ago
I did that myself. Actually did like 4-5 hours of calls in total like that with one company. I have zero bad feelings and the interviewers were cool about it. I just can't afford to take 4-5 days off each time someone thinks we might be a good match and needs a 30 minutes (which is always more). When I'm motivated to switch jobs I might talk to a few companies and all interactions are kind of short and in the middle of day. They seldom want to meet at 7 am or at 6 pm. Middle of the day? Sure, but we both understand it means finding a middle ground.
codegeek 5y ago
It is tough for people who have to take 30 mins out of their day job for an interview. I get that and respect that. However, I look for an explanation right at the beginning which shows that they have humility and understand that this it not ideal but this is the best they can do considering they are at work. However, if they expect me to "get it" without them even mentioning at beginning, I take that as a sign of "I am so good so I couldn't care less about telling you why I cannot do the interview in an ideal setting".

ryanbrunner 5y ago

This is a tricky one, and I can't really fault an interviewee if it's a 30 minute phone screen. Cafes can be just as bad as out on the street for noise, most candidates won't be comfortable getting a meeting room in their office, and finding space to have a quiet call for just 30 minutes can be really difficult.

HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago

That can be difficult. When I worked in an industrial office park, I could go out to my car to do a phone interview. When I was working downtown, where I didn't drive to work, there was pretty much nowhere to go that wouldn't involve some kind of background noise.

szszrk 5y ago

I did that myself. Actually did like 4-5 hours of calls in total like that with one company. I have zero bad feelings and the interviewers were cool about it. I just can't afford to take 4-5 days off each time someone thinks we might be a good match and needs a 30 minutes (which is always more). When I'm motivated to switch jobs I might talk to a few companies and all interactions are kind of short and in the middle of day. They seldom want to meet at 7 am or at 6 pm. Middle of the day? Sure, but we both understand it means finding a middle ground.

codegeek 5y ago

It is tough for people who have to take 30 mins out of their day job for an interview. I get that and respect that. However, I look for an explanation right at the beginning which shows that they have humility and understand that this it not ideal but this is the best they can do considering they are at work. However, if they expect me to "get it" without them even mentioning at beginning, I take that as a sign of "I am so good so I couldn't care less about telling you why I cannot do the interview in an ideal setting".