This one goes out to the job seekers out there.
For some strange reason I have noticed more and more candidates “clinging on” to their cell phones during interviews, lunch/dinner meetings, video interviews like some sort of adult pacifier, and I don’t get it. Really. I don’t. It’s as if they are expecting a call from the White House or Publisher’s Clearinghouse with some long awaited good news. Nobody cares that you have a new phone or are expecting a call, so you can close a sale while you are in the middle of an interview. They don’t care.
Cell phones actually have NO place in a job interview. Period. End of story. It’s inappropriate, un-necessary and down-right rude. Help me here folks. Last week I did several video interviews and during the middle of the interview I could not help notice that the candidate I was interviewing periodically cut his eyes to the left as if he had seen a large insect crawling on the desk near him. Nope that would be incorrect. He was trying to see if he could make out the phone number when his cell phone lit up in the middle of our interview. He did have the cell on “silent mode” which I somewhat appreciated, but it was still on. He apparently positioned the phone to make sure he had a good visual just in case someone called. C’mon. What is the most important thing a candidate should do during an interview? I can think of 3-4 critical items on that list and guess what? It’s not checking out your phone.
Then there is the less than subtle technique of using the “Vibrate Only” setting during an interview. I’m not sure which is worse. Whether the phone is in their pocket, on the desk, or strapped to their belt buckle like a loaded 44 Magnum – it does not matter to me. Stay focused people. There is NO PLACE for a cell phone while on a job interview under any circumstances. OK… if you are waiting on a critical call (maybe if your wife is expecting) and you inform the person conducting the interview in advance – that’s different, and you should get a pass. However, nobody else deserves a break.
Finally, is it really necessary to conduct a business phone call from a public restroom? I heard someone not long ago discussing his background while in the men’s restroom. I wonder how that turned out for him? It was hard to hear exactly what he was saying with all of the flushing and other bathroom noise going on. Pleeeeeease.
Just leave your cell in the car or turn it off during an interview. No exceptions.
This topic fascinates me – not just in the context of an interview but as it relates to society in general. I figure it’s something connected to a primal validation desire in all of us. Out in public I can’t help but to notice people checking their phones/blackberry/treo every twenty seconds to see if some mission-critical message has unexpectedly arrived – “drop everything, we need a gallon of milk!!!” or something equally as urgent. I bet if I asked a neurologist or psychiatrist, I would get an answer that includes terms such as dopamine, adrenaline, and addiction.
Years ago, when paper applications had to be filled out prior to an interview, I would bring my cell with me so I had phone numbers for my references. Now, with the application process being done electronically, I agree with Tim. Except for the expecting wife or something along those lines, what else is more important for someone on an interview? There’s a reason you’re on an interview; show how serious you are.
I’ve been waiting for a post like this. I have always felt like the majority of people have no cell phone etiquette what so ever. Even outside the business world I will see people on dates then bam! Start talking or texting on their phone. I think what this does it make other people around you feel less important regardless of the situation. I don’t even keep mine on silent anymore, I just turn it off. I think people have this unexplainable obligation to be constantly available at every moment of the day. If there is an emergency then that is completely acceptable. It isn’t hard to turn off your phone. In my eyes it is a kind of an addiction, society has excepted as normal. Great post as usual Tim!
I can’t even imagine doing it– though I’m glad to hear there are people dumb enough to do it in interviews, because it means the competition is LAME. (Though it’s surely a tiny minority. So far, I’m guessing none of my competitors has done this, as I haven’t had many offers despite leaving my phone behind…)
It is amazing that we are talking about this given where we are – it’s 2010 RIGHT? I read something a few years ago that with the adoption of “smart phones” our stress level would increase while our work/life balance would decrease (because of our inability to manage the technology). I think they were right.
I know people that leave their cell phones on all night just in case they receive a call or a text message. WHAT??? SICK. Just SICK!!!
Thanks so much for everyone that posted a comment. -Tim
I have hated the way people will just answer a phone call anywhere and anytime. And I hate how the people calling EXPECT you to answer the phone at all times just because you have one with you. My ex would wear his headset all the time. We’d be out to dinner he’d have that thing on his head with the light flashing and he’d start talking. Most of the time I couldn’t tell if he was talking to me or the person on the phone. I couldn’t even get half an hour of his time focused on me. It makes me wonder how good it really is to be connected 24-7.
I try to leave my phone in the car on an interview, or I turn it off before even walking in the building.
Pattie: I can’t imagine that. Dinner with blinking blue lights… Being connected 24-7 is not “all that”. Sometimes I wonder if always being wired gives some people “an inflated sense of self-importance”.
I’m just saying…Thanks for your post!
Thanks for saying what I’ve thought many times. My own policy is no cell phone during any business meeting – period. That’s for my phone – clients can use theirs all they want.
On the personal side, I’ve taken a stand against the increasing frequency of social cell use while trying to spend time with friends. My sense of self respect doesn’t allow for being repeatedly ignored while someone talks on their phone.
First, I carefully explain the problem and ask if they want to reschedule to another time when they aren’t so busy. I’ve never had to go to the next step of cutting out time with anyone. We’ve all agreed that actually being together is nicer than sitting at the same table talking on the phone.
I have been disappointed by others’ cell phone etiquette for years. My husband won’t think twice about answering a call in the middle of dinner…in a restaurant… My mother routinely gets annoyed with me because I don’t answer her calls – even after I explain that I am not always in a position to have a conversation; she also thinks nothing of talking in a restaurant. The most disheartening part is that they act as if I am being unreasonable and rude when I say something about it.
I wouldn’t hire anyone who checked a cell phone during an interview (with the exception of the aforementioned maternity/health/family issues). How unprofessional! It’s completely rude, and it says “you’re not as important as this piece of plastic next to me.”
I came across these in a local store one day on my lunch break. I was running late and there was a line, so I didn’t buy them. I think I need to stop on my way home… http://www.knockknock.biz/catalog/categories/pads/nifty-notes/cell-citation-nifty-note/
And M. Satterfield – really? You’re okay with your clients using cell phones during business meetings? Actually okay with it? Or you just keep your mouth shut while you silently fume inside?
Great post Tim. I do think, though, the same courtesy should also be applied to the candidate. Interviewers should also bury their cell phone during a interview. I typically find that they are more at fault than the candidates themselves.
Cheers.
Great post. My sympathies are with Pattie. I agree most with my husband’s approach: “I have a cell phone for my own convenience, no one else’s.”
I was in a townhall meeting the other day.
Someone’s phone rang loudly (gaffe one).
She answered it (gaffe 2).
She answered it even though she didn’t recognize the number, as evidenced by her telling the caller it was a wrong number! (gaffe 3).
She went on to argue with the caller as to whether or not she had/had not been reached in error! (gaffe 4).
Obviously, our manners are not evolving as rapidly as our technology!
The first time someone came into an interview with a Bluetooth headset on, I was nonplussed. Very disconcerting. It won’t happen again because I will tell them I won’t interview them with their headset in place.
Thanks for your comment Lynette.
Krista – great story and the exact message I was trying to convey. Love the play by play on how you describe each gaffe! Good stuff!
really we should mix the cell phones and our work…
Tim,
I just want to stress the importance of these interviews, and how the person on the hiring end is looking for reasons to weed candidates out from the competition.
It is imperative that candidates execute proper manners and leave their phones in the car. I certainly agree with you that to a hiring manager, having cell phone turned on and present deters from a candidate’s professionalism and maturity level.
Thank you raising awareness about this (unfortunately now common) problem to your readers and job seekers.
Leaving the cell phone in the car is truly the only answer. It tells a story when the phone goes off in an interview and a whole different story when they answer it!
Dad-
I just read your article for the first time….and you are right. It relates to my life so much. As a “twenty-something” woman in the workforce, I can say that cell phones are more of a security blanket than a beneficial device. I am one of those millions of people that do leave their cell on during the night. I would argue it is not to receive that “late night call or text”, but more that it is shutting the world we have created off. I am not saying this to justify that it is right or wrong. It is just a fact!
My father will sometimes call me late at night just to if I will answer…and when I do, he writes an article on it!
I DO NOT think it is okay in an interview of any kind. I just had to say my piece on the topic because I know a few parts were directed at me.
Cheers!
I took my first loans when I was very young and this helped my family very much. But, I require the short term loan as well.
However, I think, the same courtesy should be applied to candidates. Investigators must also bury their mobile phone during the interview. I usually find that they are more to blame than the candidates themselves.