a few minutes ago, candidate #4* just walked out on the skills test.
i'd gotten through the one-on-one portion of the interview, when i asked the candidate if the HR person had mentioned that there'd be a skills test, she said, 'oh god.' she then recovered and said, 'yes, they'd said there would be a computer skills test.'
'okay,' i said. 'here's how the test works,' and explained it to her, being careful to emphasize that she was not to use any outside resources or look the answers up on the web. she looked at me with an odd expression. 'i want to see what you know, not how well you can use a search engine,' i said. 'i'll be back in 45 minutes.'
i went downstairs to have some coffee and write up my evaluation. i'm sitting there, having my coffee, and i get poked on my shoulder by one of my coworkers. 'your candidate doesn't want to take her test,' he says.
'you're kidding.'
'no. i walked into your office, looking for you, asked where you were, and she said she thought you were out and around, and that she'd decided she was done with the test.'
i gather my things and go upstairs, wondering what the hell i'm getting into. the candidate's standing by the elevator, waiting for me.
'what's the problem?'
'i'm not a good fit for the job,' she said. 'i'm not into print.'
'that was only one section of the test,' i said. 'there were four other areas besides print.'
'well, if that's what you want, i'm just not it,' she said.
i extended my hand. 'good luck in your job search,' i said, and waited for her to walk into the elevator. i went back to my office and looked at the test -- she'd only answered one question.
am i just insane?
*this particular candidate had been referring to me as 'mr.,' before she got called for the interview. i decided to try to overlook my irritation at this failure to check facts. next time, i'm going with my gut. oh, and in further support of my rule that people always tell you what kind of person they are: she'd said her greatest weakness was impatience.
[EDIT] a couple of minutes ago, the payroll director down the hall came to me to let me know that this same candidate had been snarky to her, and to someone else down the hall -- the candidate snapped at them while she was looking for me. that would've been enough to kill her chances even if she'd done well in the interview and done well on the test. there is absolutely no reason to be rude to my coworkers.