Still a mystery
Interviews are notoriously stressful – not just for the job candidate, but for the interviewer as well. A lot goes into choosing the right questions, asking them at the right time and not giving away any nerves. The candidate likely won’t notice, though, as they are nervous themselves, overthinking their answers and wondering when their hands will stop sweating. But sometimes, interviews can be downright weird.
"I worked in radio and TV news for 25 years before moving to the dark side (PR). In the early 1990s, I interviewed for either a reporter or news director job (I can’t remember) at a small but very successful radio station in west-central Ohio. In fact, I believe I drove there for three separate interviews.
The mentor at my college radio station, WMUB Radio, in Oxford, Ohio (Miami University), later told me that the station owner called him a second time to ask about me. My mentor raved about me, my news judgment, writing, work ethic, etc. Before hanging up, the station owner said, ‘Well, this sounds great. I think I’ve made my decision.’
But I didn’t get the job. Fast-forward approximately a year later and the station owner called me, saying he had an opening and asked me to interview for the job. I did so – and again did not get the job. So, I called him and said, ‘Hey, I understand that you’re under no obligation to tell me, but I’ve interviewed for a job at your station four times now and yet you won’t hire me. What do I need to improve on so I can perform better in future job interviews?’
His reply: ‘You know why you didn’t get the job, Tim.’
Me: ‘No, I don’t. Please explain.’
His reply: ‘You know why you didn’t get the job.’
And that was that. I crossed paths with him approximately 20 years later when I was in TV, and I was tempted to ask him again, 20 years later, why he didn’t hire me. But I didn’t."