I heard those words this week.
"It's just a casual chat."
Except... it wasn't.
It was our very first meeting. Our first impression of one another. The first opportunity for me to decide whether I could confidently introduce this person to one of my clients. When the Teams call connected, the candidate was lying in bed. His wife was lying beside him, and his microphone wasn't working because he hadn't tested it beforehand.
I sat there for a few moments and realised something: The interview hadn't gone wrong. It had never really started.
Before anyone thinks this is about judging someone for interviewing from home, it isn't. We all work from home at times and technology allows us to interview candidates from all over New Zealand, Australia and the world.
This was about something much deeper.
The candidate was intelligent, well educated and experienced. On paper, he was someone I genuinely wanted to meet. But before I had asked a single interview question, I found myself asking different questions.
- How seriously is he taking this opportunity?
- If this is his preparation for an interview, what does his preparation look like at work?
- Can I confidently put KoruTalent's reputation behind introducing him to one of my clients?
Those are uncomfortable questions, but they're real questions.
One thing I wish every candidate understood is that there is no such thing as "just a casual chat" with a recruiter. Every email you send, every phone call, every Teams meeting and every interaction forms part of the screening process. You're telling us who you are long before you start answering interview questions.
Sadly, I chose not to continue the interview. Not because of one mistake, but because everything together told me that this opportunity simply wasn't being taken seriously.
I couldn't stop wondering what might have happened if he had spent just fifteen minutes preparing. One conversation can change a career. One opportunity can change a family's future. Surely that's worth getting out of bed for.
Maybe I'm old-fashioned...
But I don't believe professionalism has changed just because interviews have moved online. What do you think?
Would you have continued the interview?
