There's an article in the DF about being nice to the receptionist at a job interview

[fancyginglass]

Some rubbish article in the DF today but it reminded me of a conversation I had with a summer student who came in to work. He was at Uni and had massive plans to be a high flyer but he told me his mum had told him that you have to be nice to everyone at an interview including the receptionist. I said to him why would you treat the receptionist any different - no one is any better than anyone else. What a self entitled little prat who actually gave up Uni a year later. Does someone actually need to be told this stuff?

[KarmaNoMore]

@Gwenhwyfar, I’m not a doctor but a manager who doesn’t have the word “manager” in her job title business efforts trying to make us look less “hierarchical”... I get at least 2 of those calls a day.

I remember going to a course for new business owners years ago, one of the lessons in networking was “Always be nice to the receptionist... because she has the power to forget you called”

[Gwenhwyfar]

"When I pick up the phone it’s astonishing how rude many people are when they think I’m the ward clerk....and the massive turn around when they realise I’m the doctor is nauseating."

It's upsetting the other way around as well. When people think you're 'somebody' and then lose interest when they get your job title. Yes, it's a good social filter in a way, but still hurts.

[Gwenhwyfar]

[quote Redcrayons]@Gwenhwyfar he was in sales, he could be out visiting customers for a week. No phone so no way to contact him, no laptop so he didn’t do any ‘admin’ except when he was in the office . Nobody ever knew what he was doing.
Fair point on emergency contact details though.[/quote]
Oh I see. I thought you meant that he refused to take his work home with him. Yes, if you're mobile during working hours, a phone and laptop are a good idea!

I do remember someone telling me that in the 70s if you had a job with lots of meetings, nobody could know where you at any given point or when the meeting finished, and they often went to the pub in work time!

One of my colleagues did once try to 'force' me to give a contact person, but relented when I explained. It's not obvious for singles.

[Redcrayons]

@Gwenhwyfar he was in sales, he could be out visiting customers for a week. No phone so no way to contact him, no laptop so he didn’t do any ‘admin’ except when he was in the office . Nobody ever knew what he was doing.
Fair point on emergency contact details though.

[Allergictoironing]

I also won't have a work phone and leave the computer at the office - there is no work life balance either and you shouldn't be forcing people to do overtime.
(I'm presuming he was a manager though).

In this case he was an Account Manager, often travelling away from work. In that job you DO need to have a work mobile even if you switch it off at the end of each working day, and the laptop again is necessary when visiting clients. In this day and age, it's seen as VERY unprofessional for an account manager to not be contactable by phone and/or email.

[trixiebelden77]

Of course some people need to be told.

When I pick up the phone it’s astonishing how rude many people are when they think I’m the ward clerk....and the massive turn around when they realise I’m the doctor is nauseating.

I’m really surprised you haven’t observed this before.

[Gwenhwyfar]

"I always ask them how each candidate was. If they say 'very quiet' 'seemed nervous' no worries, introverts welcome. Like the example of a PP - the guy in the lift if they are rude or dismissive it's a red flag that could cost them the job.

Once in the job, managers who are dismissive of or rude to junior staff get a black mark in my book. I often say in team meetings that there is a big pipeline of work that comes, we all do our bit and everyone's bit is important. So in my book everyone should have equal respect."

Finally a good recruiter on MN!

[Gwenhwyfar]

[quote Redcrayons]@Warpdrive that just reminded me of an account manager we hired who wouldn’t fill in some of the HR forms because it was private information. Stuff like his home address, emergency contact information etc. He just gave them his full name and national insurance number. It was so bizarre, and was indeed and indicator of how awkward he would be. He refused to have a company phone and left his laptop in the office every night even when he was going away with work. He didn’t last long.
He was nice as pie to all the support staff though.[/quote]
You shouldn't be forced to give an emergency contact. I don't have one and no way do I want my old parents who live in another country being bothered because I've got a concussion or something.
I also won't have a work phone and leave the computer at the office - there is no work life balance either and you shouldn't be forcing people to do overtime.
(I'm presuming he was a manager though).

[Gwenhwyfar]

"A bit nervous is normal for some, but such an over-reaction is not! It doesn't stop you from being polite."

You think feeling sick at an interview is abnormal? Why then do interview books advise you not to eat if offered a biscuit because your stomach is probably suffering. Bad nerves are pretty common at interviews even if they don't affect everyone.
My response about feeling sick was not about 'being polite' but a response to the person who said you should be 'chatty' with the receptionist. I disagree with this.

[sashh]

@Al1langdownthecleghole

They have no idea how much help or hinderance non docs can be, or how much we know.

[ThePinkGuitar]

So I did. Every. Time. And I worked a lot of nights
😂😂

[Al1langdownthecleghole]

@sashh

She realises now what I meant as some of her colleagues are so rude and entitled so naturally the nurses don’t go out of their way to be helpful to them .

Ah the 4.00am call to write up a paracetamol vs the 9.00 am, "Here's a coffee, I know you had a rough on call".

I worked in Oxford for a couple of years, a lot of Oxford grad junior Dr are just not used to not being 'the best'.

One junior Dr refused to attend a test until he was ready. Not a problem, I called the secretary to ask if another junior Dr could help, The patient had an appointment time and I wasn't going to have him wait. The consultant answered the phone and decided to come and supervise himself.

The junior doctor's face when he walked in was a picture, and the consultant told him to go carry on with whatever was so important.

I said something to a class about them being dirty leaving chewing gum under desks for X to clean.

Who's X miss?
She's the cleaner
Sneary face, You know the cleaner's name?

Yes I do and there is nothing wrong with being a cleaner and it doesn't matter who is cleaning it they shouldn't be leaving it for someone else.

The best compliment I got was from a work colleague who is now a good friend, but as colleagues she said, "You ask me to do things in a way that makes me want to do it"

You’ve just reminded me of a very arsey reg. Was doing the morning drugs round and patient was written up for IV and oral meds and I needed to check the prescription. As the ward round was in progress, instead of bleeping the HO I waited for the team to reach the patient.

Arsey reg, made a big deal of telling me off in front of the consultant for delaying treatment (by 20 mins) due to not querying immediately. He finished by telling my that if I ever needed to check a prescription again I must call him straight away.

So I did. Every. Time. And I worked a lot of nights.

[nowishtofly]

I recruit and always arrange for one of my team to pick people up from reception and take the to the interview. Normally they would also set up a timed test/work related exercise.

I always ask them how each candidate was. If they say 'very quiet' 'seemed nervous' no worries, introverts welcome. Like the example of a PP - the guy in the lift if they are rude or dismissive it's a red flag that could cost them the job.

Once in the job, managers who are dismissive of or rude to junior staff get a black mark in my book. I often say in team meetings that there is a big pipeline of work that comes, we all do our bit and everyone's bit is important. So in my book everyone should have equal respect.

[BrightYellowDaffodil]

People shouldn’t have to be told, but it’s amazing just how many do. I suspect it stems either from insecurity or a false sense of superiority but I’ve seen it time and time again. In my last job you had to show a security pass to get into the building. I sometimes had left mine on my desk but security used to say “Oh, go on then” and wave me through - I always said hello and smiled, maybe a bit of small talk if we were in the coffee shop queue together. The “Don’t You Know That I’m A Senior Person” types had to sign in as visitors and made to wait in reception while a representative of their company came to collect them

You can tell a lot about someone by how they treat those who they perceive to be junior or inferior to them (especially waiting staff) which is why it forms part of the interview process. Our old receptionist was always asked her opinion on candidates!

[Sewsosew]

I worked in a school where they had interviews for Vice Principal. One of the candidates basically shoved me out of the way and was very rude to an admin member of staff. I told the Principal. She didn’t get it.
Another time I was waking a candidate through the school and whilst waiting outside a classroom he was chatting to a cleaner and picked something up for her. I also told the Principal that too. How you behave when no one ‘important’ is about can be very telling.

[DdraigGoch]

And I don't believe the lift story, surely they couldn't sack him over a throwaway remark.
If you are the Head of the bank, you can dispense with whichever contractors you like.

Also sushi lady who also gave a massage,pics it it didn't happen.
You realise that post was satire?

[BorderlineHappy]

I think there's some Walter Mitty types on this thread.

And I don't believe the lift story, surely they couldn't sack him over a throwaway remark.

Also sushi lady who also gave a massage,pics it it didn't happen.

[Petitmum]

A few years ago I was driving my son to his special school and there was a stranger trying to find a parking space in the busy car park and blocking the way for parents drpping of pupils. Trying to be helpful I suggested where she might park and she was very rude. We met again later as I was also chair of governors and iwe were nterviewing for a new teacher. You should have seen her face when she walking in and saw I was on the panel.

[NoddyWithAVoddy]

Many, many years ago, I took an evening cleaning job at the HQ of a bank while studying at university.
The manager was absolutely lovely, very humble and always spoke to me nicely, even including me with a Christmas box.
One particular evening one of the office workers, a young man asked me if I had seen his colleague and said ' oh, she's another scrubber ' while looking down his nose at me.
I complained to the lovely manager about being called a scrubber.
Suffice to say that the man left the manager's office with a very red face and an apology to me.
It costs nothing to be polite.

[Redcrayons]

@Warpdrive that just reminded me of an account manager we hired who wouldn’t fill in some of the HR forms because it was private information. Stuff like his home address, emergency contact information etc. He just gave them his full name and national insurance number. It was so bizarre, and was indeed and indicator of how awkward he would be. He refused to have a company phone and left his laptop in the office every night even when he was going away with work. He didn’t last long.
He was nice as pie to all the support staff though.

[wendywoopywoo222]

Years ago I went to work in a buying office. My job was to jeep the system updated so the buyers knew when their parts would arrive and chase them up and update the system if they didn't arrive on time.
I was the only woman in the office and all the arrogant buffoons who also expected me to make them coffee worked in confusion but the polite freindly buyers who treated me with respect had their information updated and knew how efficient I was.

[Warpdrive]

Funnily enough I've just had to withdraw a job offer from someone who was rude and uncooperative to several of my team who were just trying to get them through our complex onboarding process.
If the candidate couldn't cope with that, they'd never have managed to do the job.

[FirewomanSam]

I used to go to uni recruitment fairs on behalf of my company and I couldn’t believe the number of students who would be rude to me thinking I was ‘just’ from HR (I wasn’t, I was a member of the teams they were hoping to join, not that it should make a difference). I swore that if I ever saw any of them come into the office for an interview I’d tell the hiring manager as soon as they left.

My friend was once asked to show candidates out after their interviews. The interviews were to join the team she was in, at the same level as her. With one candidate she made a friendly comment about hoping it had gone well, and he snorted and said of course it had, the role was sooo basic and easy and he’d be able to do it standing on his head. The hiring managers asked her afterwards if she had any thoughts and of course her response was ‘anyone but him!’

[PeggyPorschen]

You should also bear in mind that many people are feeling pretty awful just before an interview.They might be concentrating on not throwing up when they first walk into the building.

A bit nervous is normal for some, but such an over-reaction is not! It doesn't stop you from being polite.

[pigsDOfly]

A lot of people on this thread seem to be confusing being polite with being chatty.

It isn't necessary to make a lot of meaningless chatter with someone in order to come across as polite. Normal courtesy is all that's required.

Be pleasant when speaking to people and don't forget to say please and thank you, is more than enough.