To think you don’t take your child to a job interview?

[Caulk]

I was leading some interviews this afternoon. One candidate arrived with her 13yr old son. She said she’d brought him so he could get an idea of what an interview was like.

I said he couldn’t be part of the interview, needed to wait in reception or she could arrange childcare and we would interview her at the end of the day.

She said no one had said she couldn’t bring him, it’s good life experience etc. I said no and she agreed (eventually) for him to wait in reception.

When I called her to say she hadn’t got the job, she said we were discriminating against her because she had a child.

I don’t think I was unreasonable but no one ever does. What would you have done?

Surely at 13 years old he ought to be in school today?

Follow up question: was the child kitted out for an interview in a suit?

Was she anywhere close for the job? It does sound like a scheme someone has worked out.

It was my first time taking a lead on the interviews, and my colleagues all said how straightforward appointing for this role would be. I did not imagine a situation like this!

My best friend was interviewing applicants for a teachers role. This guy turned up t shirt and jeans and trainers, 15 mins late, carrying a Costa coffee and pastry. "Hi guys, sorry I'm a bit late, I didn't have time to have my breakfast so stopped at Costa"

He didn't get the job.

phlewf no, jeans and tshirt.
She was close on paper, but was clearly pissed off during the interview so didn’t do herself justice I think.

To think I have attended one interview and management didn't show up. So I had to go back home.

To think that I was offered another interview somewhere else today but no one got back to me with a time.

I think those are definitely unreasonable

YANBU What an odd woman!

Wow, is this a reverse on “helicopter parenting” 😂

Well sounds more like a childcare failure or she’d had to pick him up from school and couldn’t admit that.

To think I’m worrying about black or natural tights for interviews.

I once interviewed someone who brought her Dad with her.

bali noooo, it’s total helicopter parenting by setting them up to jane the best chance at interviewing well!

Stupid woman!! Lucky escape to have not given her the job, she’s be a nightmare!

That is brilliant. I wonder if this is going to become a thing? Taking your teen to an interview

She sounds like an ex-friend of mine! Completely oblivious to the outside world and things are always someone else's fault. Op, I think you all dodged a bullet with this one as imagine if she'd not brought her son with her, you'd hired her, and then she'd unleashed the crazy!! 😁

Neutral. Smarter @phlewf

I thought this was going to be an emergency child care situation with a young child or some poor woman with a baby who needed a job and no where to leave it.

But a thirteen year old?! YANBU

Sounds like she did you a favour by demonstrating how batshit crazy she was straight away. You could have ended up giving her the job and spent the next 2 years trying to get rid of her and then fighting the subsequent unfair or constructive dismissal claim that she would have inevitably brought against you!

The role is pretty flexible and low stress so I think we would have agreed to him bringing him to work occasionally. Surely no teens want to do that though?!

breakfast

Thanks anne but I need tights approx an inch thick to stop me laddering them, which is why I swither to black. I long to be a person than can wear grey tights.

Although I have had an applicant bring in a teenage boy (early teens), she had called ahead to say that her usual childminder had called in sick and could she leave the boy in reception please?

Hired her too, she was the best for the job and we had the boy on visits later when he'd come to pick up his mum from work.

But into the interview itself? Never, highly unprofessional!

YANBU!
As an aside, my dad was once interviewing for a secretary, one woman (40s) turned up wearing a ratty fur coat with her Mum in tow. Mum did at least stay out of the interview room. The candidate was visibly very nervous and dad recognising the signs, asked her if she wanted a cigarette, so they both lit up and smoked for rest of the interview.
She got the job! Her skills were amazing, proper old school, fast touch typist and brilliant shorthand. Dad loved her, he could be quite a curmudgeon but they just got each other. 20 years later she became my secretary. She was wonderful. Shortly after she retired she died unexpectedly. So sad, her close family were devastated. I still think of her a lot.
I found out later she had exited an abusive marriage and her confidence was shot before the interview. Happily she went on to a successful second marriage and her children (1st marriage) were terrific.
Your woman was just a CF. Sounds like a nightmare.

Follow up question: was the child kitted out for an interview in a suit?

Oh this has made me giggle - am picturing some kind of mini me all suited up having a go at answering each question from his 13 year old perspective, after his mother has finished given her response

That's ... odd. I'd understand if she'd said she'd had a total childcare emergency and could he wait outside, but just saying she wanted to bring him in was strange. I wonder if it was a childcare emergency but she thought for some reason it would sound more 'professional' if she said she wanted him to sit in on the interview and act as if she'd planned it all along.

I did once take young child in buggy to I interview. It was for night care job so of course I had no child care. Partner was going to do at night care when kids where sleeping
I did get the job .