UNVOICED PERSPECTIVE: THE SILENT DISQUALIFIER
The recruitment process was tough for Wale and his hiring team. Being the Human Resources Manager for his company, there was no way he could escape the draining process of selecting the best candidate from the pool of applicants. Having passed the most challenging stages which had to do with going through tons of cover letters and CVs and the aptitude test screening, he felt a bit relieved. Still it wasn’t over yet and he hoped this final one-on-one interview session would go smoothly with less stress.
From the moment the third candidate walked through the door, Wale’s senses signalled red alert. He wasn’t quite sure if it was the way the young lady was dressed or the grace in her steps but there was an unexplainable aura that hovered around her. For a minute he could have sworn she had cast a spell on him. Her confidence, her smile and her body language was all too charming.
While Wale motioned for her to sit, he quickly checked her score in the aptitude test and was surprised to see that her score was one of the highest. He allowed his colleagues to keep her engaged as he continued to painstakingly observe and search for a concrete reason to disqualify her. He would never take the risk to employ someone like her because he couldn’t stand the temptation her presence brought. He would never be able to resist her flawless beauty and the last thing he wanted was to complicate business with pleasure.
As she spoke, he felt tension rising up fast all over his body. His emotional and logical sides were in total chaos. Wale knew the problem wasn’t about her but his inability to control his desires. He asked her the hardest questions and was pleased when she stuttered. This would be the conceiving factor he would present to his team to disqualify her. He watched her leave with the same confidence she had walked in with, hoping that she would be called but he knew better. They would never call her.
This is the case of some job seekers who never get called after an interview not because they are not qualified for the role. Sometimes it could be because the hiring manager doesn’t like something about them. They could be disqualified for mundane reasons like the way they talk or smile, their height, their confidence or even their appealing body structure like the scenario above. There is a long list of silent disqualifiers most hiring managers never dare to mention because they may not make sense to normal professional reasoning.
Nevertheless, every now and then potential team members are faced with this unfortunate turn of event and keep wondering why they never got the position they were qualified and worked hard for.
This is one of the many issues that most brands and organizations are silent about, but is there something that can be done about it? Imagine losing a great talent that a brand can derive a lot of value from, should it be a cause for concern?
We would love to know what you think. Please leave a comment.
Written by Jennifer Chioma Amadi
