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?

[WitchQueenofDarkness]

By the time I've whittled down my 1000s of applicants for an admin role (thanks Job Centre for making claimants apply for everything whether suited or not) and got down to the final 3 or 4, I've often found myself in the position that any one of those interviewed could do the job perfectly well and it's rare that any one candidate is a stand out.

Being offhand or rude to the receptionist might well be the deciding factor as then we'll be looking at how well the candidates will fit into the team and their softer skills

[DrDavidBanner]

I think it is basic manners to at least be polite to all members of staff even if you aren't overly friendly or chatty, I agree that doesn't come natural with everyone.
I think as PP have said if you have a child starting their first job it can be a little intimidating for them and they are used to defering to authority, you have completely different interactions in the workplace than you do as a school student. I did warn my son when he started working in an office to always be good to the cleaner and receptionist as they know everything and everyone and have more power than you think.

Years ago I used to work in an office block with one main reception, I was always friendly with the receptionists and got on very well with them, unfortunately my job was made reduntant, but they knew there were vacancies coming up at another company in the block and put in a word for me. I ended up back in a new job a week later!

[CakeRequired]

@lalafafa

Wonder if this is why I've usually managed to get things other people have wanted, simply by being polite. Similar things have happened with renting etc. Although never been told that so might just be coincidence.

If I need something done quickly at work too, I usually get it done even if someone else says it won't happen. But again I'm politer and generally get it done, unless it's really not possible. Politeness costs nothing, it makes the other person feel happy that you're actually grateful for their help, what's the issue? Better than being a grumpy git and pissing off your colleagues.

[MintyCedric]

I work in a school. Anyone who comes for interview is introduced to the office and support staff who are canvassed for feedback.

Pre Covid, part of the interview process would involve candidates having coffee and/or lunch in the staff room to see how well they slotted in.

You can teach practical skills...you can't teach someone to be the right fit for a particular workplace culture

[Missteebeee]

I work in childcare......I see that a lot

People assume that because I work in childcare, I couldn’t get a “better” job. Or they think I’m stupid

I do the job I do because I make a difference. I work as a maternity nurse supporting new parents with their babies. I support mums with reflux babies and those suffering with PND.

I love my job

[PucePanther]

The Mail article says “A Reddit user shared how a candidate recently came in for a job interview and was rude to the woman he believed was the receptionist”.

The actual post on Reddit says:
“Today, a candidate blew his interview in the first 5 minutes after he entered the building. He was dismissive to the receptionist. She greeted him and he barely made eye contact. She tried to engage him in conversation. Again, no eye contact, no interest in speaking with her. What the candidate did not realize was that the "receptionist" was actually the hiring manager.”

That doesn’t sound rude to me. Perhaps extroverts might find it rude. But for anyone who’s introverted or has social difficulties, anxiety or ASD, that’s just normal behaviour. Just another example of the gatekeepers blocking non-extroverts from employment and progression. If you’re not “bubbly” you’re out.

[TheCatsWhisker]

I'm a manager in our office. If the receptionist is off, and there is no other cover, we all will take turns answering the door to visitors.

Visitors will often talk down to me, not say please or thank you to drink offers.

Strangely, they never treat the my male colleagues in the same manner.

I have to say that it is always male visitors and not women who act like this. Not a scientific study but my experience for 10+ years. Sometimes graduates can be the worst, they act like entitled idiots.

This is all fed back to whoever is carrying out the interviews.

[Gwenhwyfar]

"That doesn’t sound rude to me. Perhaps extroverts might find it rude. But for anyone who’s introverted or has social difficulties, anxiety or ASD, that’s just normal behaviour. Just another example of the gatekeepers blocking non-extroverts from employment and progression. If you’re not “bubbly” you’re out."

I agree. Rude is not saying please and thank yo, not responding to a hello, that kind of thing. Not making conversation or not being bubbly is not the same thing at all. 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.

[SpaceOp]

For people concerned that not being good at small talk means they won't get a job, I disagree. There's a huge difference between not doing small talk and being polite. As a rule, I don't chit chat to receptionists, not least because I know their job is to look open and available for people coming in. But there's a huge difference between coming in, waiting until you're acknowledge, saying good morning and then explaining politely who you are and who you are meeting and then thanking the person when they ask you to take a seat vs storming in, demanding attention immediately and saying something like, "jack Smith for Peter Jones" only.

[SpaceOp]

Similarly to the lift example above. If he'd just got in the lift, said his floor, perhaps thanked the lift guy. All would have been fine. He didn't need to chat. But instead, he was rude, patronising and dismissive.

[Gwenhwyfar]

"Pre Covid, part of the interview process would involve candidates having coffee and/or lunch in the staff room to see how well they slotted in.

You can teach practical skills...you can't teach someone to be the right fit for a particular workplace culture"

I think that's unfair. You can't tell how someone is going to fit in by how they are on the very first day. Talking to strangers is totally different to talking to colleagues you know and that 'test' unfairly favours the extremely confident or extroverts.

[Icequeen01]

I work in a tiny special school as school secretary/office manager. I have been there for a good few years and candidates for all posts sit in my office whilst waiting to go in to their interview. I will chat with them to try and put them at ease. I can usually tell who will fit in with the team and who won't. Following interviews I am always called in for the post interview de-brief. If someone was rude they would not get a second interview. I remember one candidate who had to bring in her qualifications for me to photocopy brought her degree certificate in with her in a bloody great picture frame whichI had to then try and photocopy. Idiotic and she didn't get passed the first hurdle.

[MrsSchadenfreude]

@TheCatsWhisker absolutely, it is always men and usually younger men. We always ask the receptionist what they think of a candidate, whether they were polite, nervous etc.

I collected one young man from reception and he was appallingly rude to me - treated me as if I was a bit thick, patronised me and told me the “silly test” he had just done was a waste of time. I then took my place at the table as panel chair, and his face was a picture...

[MsTSwift]

When I worked in the office on a few occasions I e we told comment how nice mr and Mrs x were to be met with 🙄 from my secretary ans receptionists - nice as pie to me the solicitor but rude to them. Depressing. It was usually the same demographic not the grander clients who were either nice to everyone or mean to everyone generally.

[SchrodingersImmigrant]

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.
It has been well known fact for decades that your interview usually starts the moment you walk into the building. So being netvous in a waiting room, is bit late already.

We don't know the tone the person used either. Often the difference is the tone used.

[PapsofJura]

At a place I used to work we used to take in a large number of graduates and whilst most were lovely there were some who only shone when the senior leadership were around. Their faces were always a picture when they were told later that some of their assessors were the support staff!

In my current role we always use a member of team who is a real people person to go and meet candidates and bring them to and from the interview and their opinion counts. But they will be fair and say if the candidate was quiet/appeared nervous which is hugely different from being rude.

[june2007]

I wonder if the story is true. It comes in many guises. How about the tramp in the church/ A tramp comes inot a church which is awaiting the new vicar/priest. Some treat him well, some jusge but yes you guessed it. He is the new vicar.

[LondonStone]

The headteacher at my previous job was one of those super heads who turns inadequate/needing improvement schools into outstanding in a few years. He used to ask receptionists, teaching assistants, and lunch time staff about candidates after every interview. It’s very interesting to see a teacher being sweet as pie to SLT and talking to a midday supervisor like shit. He was the best head I’ve ever met!

[minnie465]

I've worked in various jobs over the years. Shop assistant, fast food, home care worker. A LOT of people treated me like dirt. Talking to me like I'm stupid or just generally talking down to me. Little things too like telling you how much change you had to give them if they gave you extra change so that they'd get a note back.
When I did care work I would have one family (able bodied family members of the person I was caring for) demanding I stop at the shop on my way and bring the paper etc.
I didn't think anything of it at the time. Until I qualified as a health professional. The difference in how people treat me is astounding. I often feel like royalty when doing a home visit! And no one treats me like I'm completely thick. I often have care workers reporting back about how rude clients are to them. Yet they aren't like that with me!

I have a chronic health condition. I've also noticed that as a patient I am treated differently by medical staff and not brushed off in the same way since I became qualified. Especially the local GPs. I hate to say that but it's true.

I honestly don't think I treat anyone differently. It just doesn't cross my mind. Some of the loveliest most intelligent people I know are in lower paid jobs and aren't particularly well presented!

In one of my first jobs post qualifying I worked on a busy hospital ward. The assistants would go out of their way to do things for me without me even asking. They made life a lot more difficult for colleagues who talked to them like something they stepped in and would avoid helping them as much as possible.
To me the assistants had a hell of a lot more knowledge and experience than I had anyway! All I had was a piece of paper (degree)!

[Allergictoironing]

Back when I was in the Civil Service, if I moved buildings the first thing I would do would be to visit reception, the messengers and reprographics (photocopying) to introduce myself. Between these 3 groups I would find out anything and everything that was going on in the building (and often Department wide), as well as them going over & above if I really needed something. Right after those people would come building services and the cleaners. In return, they were always first on my list for a box of chocolates (or bottles of wine or spirits ) at Christmas & eggs at Easter.

As far as I was concerned, all these people were experts in their own fields and deserved to be treated as such. In particular, in reprographics they had some seriously high spec machines that you really needed to know what you were doing to operate. I was just about the only person in a building of around 1000 people who was allowed to go behind the counter & use the high speed copier .

[Twizbe]

People really do need to be told sometimes.

I was a recruiter for one of the big 3 management consultants and I had numerous (mostly MBA grads) who'd totally talk down to me. Those people never got the job as the partners valued my opinion.

[lljkk]

I'm finding thread funny because who gets an in-person interview nowadays. It's all telecon.

[mbosnz]

I worked at a very highly prestigious law firm as the senior receptionist.

I also had the job of doing the first vetting of CV's that came in - anything with poor spelling and/or grammar went straight in the bin for example. I was always asked my opinion of potential employees.

I had previously been working at the council with the mother of a young woman who thought very highly of herself as she was studying law. Her mother, who was getting on a bit, and really should have retired, was working herself to the bone to pay this little madam's fees, and for the extremely expensive corporate wardrobe she deemed it right and proper she should have. She was extremely rude to her mother and offhand with me if she ever deigned come in to her mother's place of work. Her face when she came to drop her CV in to the Law Firm and saw me there, was an absolute picture.

I think she got a far better education at that moment, than she acquired in the whole of her university career. . .

[Twigaletta]

I was pursuing a trader in a small claims capacity. I'd instructed an organisation to chase him for payment after the CCJ was issued. I had a missed call and called back. I realised it was the bailiff's organisation and the person on the phone was incredibly rude and genuinely hung up on me because I couldn't provide the number he was asking for (turns out there's a different case number for pursuers vs pursuees). I checked my emails and called the number on the footer of the case worker. She was incredibly helpful and couldn't have been more polite. I did mention to her how I'd been spoken to 'on the other line' for what good it did.

So yes some people need to be told that no matter who they are speaking to they need to show respect and manners.

I've worked in 5 organisations and been friends/friendly with all of the front facing staff/receptionists just because it's nice to be nice. It's only down the line they have ended up going out of their way to help me when I needed it. So it also pays to be nice.

[chomalungma]

@lljkk

I'm finding thread funny because who gets an in-person interview nowadays. It's all telecon.

That's true nowadays.

Maybe there should be a receptionist who sees that you've arrived online and talks to you before the video screen changes to the interviewers