it's not about N.I.M.B.Y.

I'm holing up in my room this weekend. The entire week was a blurry of faces of applicants and résumés. My disorders can't deal with anymore people for now. 

But seriously, I don't know which I can't swallow more: 

1. the fact that I am forced, by position and title, to ask them personal questions which makes me get to know them more even if I don't want to; OR

1.    2. the fact that some of the applicants me and my boss talked to do not know how to answer interview questions and show proper decorum to the interviewer.

I suppose it is the latter. Nothing bothers me more than applicants who clearly are in desperate need of a job but are not qualified because they don't know how to sell themselves effectively to their prospective employer. 

Today an applicant, itago na lang natin sya sa pangalang Maria, was scheduled for an interview. She came an hour early because she came from Danao which is like an hour away from the city. I explained to her that I could not interview her then and there as she was an hour early and we had to go to lunch. Maria smiled and said "I'm so sorry" she put her palms together like in a prayer and then bowed to me over and over. That bothered me because I don't like being bowed to unless you're Japanese and she clearly wasn't. She looked up to me explaining she came from Danao just for this interview. Now she made me feel guilty. Gah!!! DON'T MAKE ME FEEL GUILTY!!! I smiled politely and fought the urge to raise my eyebrow and suggested she wait in the canteen across our office. She was so sweet and polite and obedient and then I felt more guilty for being a bitch.

1 PM and interview time. Me and my boss are a tag team on this and the truth is, if we don't like you even if your IQ is 100% we won't recommend you. My boss did most of the asking while I did the observing and typing. We asked her how she heard about our company and she said her sister works in a library and found our ad. Not a bad start. We asked if she knows what our company does and she replied "I reli don't know but I red in your website that you help other companies by giving dem leds." ................Errrhmmmm...............ooooookaaaaayyyyyyy. I looked at my boss and his edges of his eyes crinkled she smiled at her and he asked Maria to tell more of herself. She smiled sweetly and I moved to the edge of my seat so I can hear her.

"I'm Maria and I live in Danao. I am hardworking, patient, can work under pressure..." I started checking my nails while she kept at it and I remembered that I need to call my dad and tell him about developments in my VISA requirements and I wonder what time I can leave  "...I believe I am capable of working for your company because it needs accuracy and I believe I have that and that I am patient, I love surfing the internet, I love reading books, I love also listening to music, yes I love music..." I started tapping my foot "...I am also hardworking..." yes you said that already "...I am patient..." I'm NOT, stop!!! "...and I love reading books." Mr. G asked what books she love reading and she replied "I don't know the author but it was living and loving" I looked at my boss and said "Leo Buscaglia's Living Loving, Learning" and with this Maria nodded enthusiastically and started crooning how much she enjoyed it at the same time gushing as she started sharing quotes that inspired her ................Errrhmmmm...............ooooookaaaaayyyyyyy.

Mr. G started explaining to her what our company does and there Maria started breaking apart. I thought she would literally faint because her face reflected convolution to what my boss said. I gave her points for being inquisitive but minus points when her questions became redundant. This is getting to be really sad.

We had another employee demonstrate what they do so she can grasp the scope of support better but she looked overwhelmed after. Uh-oh. This is not good. She approached me and I gave her the standard spiel that if she is accepted we will contact her two weeks, Maria nodded and smiled and thanked me sweetly as she left the office. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawww! Now I felt the guiltiest because mentally I did not put her in my shortlist of applicants who passed.

I sighed as I sat on my chair and started thinking how much I wanted to hold her hand during the interview and give her a quick do's and dont's in an interview. I wanted her to have the job for the sake of having a job and I wished she was better. Mentally I was trying to figure out how I was going to give a positive synopsis of her interview and I started typing on my Journler.

"D" Mr. G called my name softly, "you know that last girl..." I replied "Maria? Yeah, what about her?" He moved his head closer to me and whispered "I tried so hard not to laugh during the interview"

Crap. There it is. She ain't gonna make it. Not here. Not now.