Note: This was written when my blog was called “Recovering Procrastinator” and was part of the impetus for me changing to the format and name the blog has now.
I got an interview for a job I was really interested in. It sounded like a really interesting position that fit my skills well. The pay was good, benefits were great and it was in St. Paul. Pretty much everything I could ask for.
Twenty minutes after receiving the information about who I’d be interviewing with, I got a call. I couldn’t get to the phone, and I listened to the voicemail a few minutes later. It left me in shock.
Someone checked me out online in preparation for my interview and “found” my blog. I say that in quotes because I put the url right on my resume. I think it’s a good blog with a decent following and shows off my writing and social media skills. So I figured it could only help my case for the types of jobs I’m seeking.
But someone had a problem with the title.
The voicemail was from the HR person I’d been talking with. I bear no ill will toward as she had the courtesy to tell me the truth. She said, in a nutshell, that the position requires someone very detail-oriented so it probably wouldn’t be a good fit for me as a procrastinator and they didn’t want to interview me.
After about an hour of shock, I consulted with a couple of people and called the HR person back. She said it was very hard for her to call to cancel the interview but the position I was applying for is very public and requires a lot of project management. She said “perceptions matter” and that is why “the decision was made.” She said this perception problem wouldn’t keep me from being the right fit for other jobs in the organization, just this one. She encouraged me to apply should another position of interest to me open. But let’s be real, this was their first position fitting my skills in nine months so I doubt another is going to be popping up any time soon.
I’m still not sure how I feel about all this. Yes, I am a procrastinator. At home. I’ve always been very focused, organized and hard-working at work. I told her this and told her she could ask any former employers/coworkers. But it was clearly out of her hands. I don’t know whether it was just one person or more who thought the perception of me as a procrastinator would be a problem.
The part the bothers me most is that whoever it was that has the problem didn’t even read my blog. This is clear by the short time between confirming and canceling the interview, but I also know from my blog stats that nobody at that point had gone beyond the home page, which has posts about finding grocery deals, creating a proactive morning routine, organizing a closet, making mac and cheese from scratch. Clearly problematic, right?
well, if the *title* is the problem…isn’t it ‘recovering procrastinator’
not…’procatinator’
ugh. soo sorry…
I worry often about the online footprint I’m leaving…but like you, don’t feel I have reason to really think twice about it…
hang in there – the right job will pop up…
Wow Jen I don’t even know what to say. I can’t believe that they didn’t want to even interview you. It’s not like you have a blog full of illegal things or crazy pictures or anything like that. And it says RECOVERING procrastinator. That means that you’re not really a procrastinator anymore, right?
I’m so sorry though. Are you sure that’s a place that you want to work?
Jen I’m sorry that’s ridiculous!
I’m sorry. I’m like you; I have all the energy in the world when it comes to stuff I’m interested in, but it’s hard to have that sort of enthusiasm for housework. I also think there is a difference between who I am and who I capture myself to be on paper.
dumb. Clearly they didn’t look at your content or even the complete title of your blog.
Besides, I know a lot of us who may procrastinate at home in a way they’d never do at work.
This is really ridiculous to me and I honestly think that they should spend more time looking into YOUR online persona before making the decision. I would suggest a nicely, yet powerful worded letter and perhaps the opportunity for them to explain better their decision in writing.
Sorry!
Wow, really? I’m glad your blog isn’t called something like Recovering Serial Killer.
Geesh–way to really check out her blog, HR peeps.
Wow. I saw this through a twitter link. I can’t believe you were judged on your title alone!!
Oh man, this stinks. I am sure the right company will come along, but it is awful this had to happen!
Wow – I can’t believe that. And if you were a good candidate why not talk to you about your blog and find out more. That is just so uninformed about social media in the first place. Maybe not a place you would want to work anyway – or at least a person you want to work for.
I’m sorry Jen! If they were “checking you out online” they should have looked at your most recent facebook status! They should be looking at the fact you are trying to get better about procrastinating at home. Bettering yourself and your family while you are “jobless” is much better than sitting around on the couch eating pringles!
It’s too bad they didn’t have the time to dig a little more to find out what kind of a person you really are. I would think they would at least take the time to interview you and see if the perception they got of you from half your blog title is really how you are in a work environment.
I’m really shocked that the HR person would so easily deny you an interview based on such a closed minded assertion. Sounds a lot like the hiring manager already has someone in mind. Regardless, not someone you would want to work for if they expect detailed work but are not capable of completing a comprehensive review of your blog!
Wow. That’s all I can say – wow. I’m just trying to get over the incredible irony that the people looking for the “detail oriented” person would make such a snap judgment. I agree with the previous peeps – this may be more indicative of the working environment you’d be able to expect.
Sorry this happened to you and we’ll keep sending the positive job-search karma your way!
I’m so sorry Jen. The struggles with job hunting are very well known to me, and I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been told that I’m not considered a candidate for a job, despite perfect qualifications. All I do is remind myself that when one door closes, another should open. Keep your chin up girl.
Wow oh wow. This is pretty shocking to read. I’m so sorry, hon’. Clearly they couldn’t look past the blog to how you are as a professional.
Wow, this is really interesting. This is the first time someone I know was aware of being denied an interview b/c of their online presence. Although Dooce is famous for getting fired for blogging about work… this is pretty serious.
So… as a person who interviews/hires employees occasionally AND a social media wannabe guru, I must say I have a little different insight than the other folks who responded.
First, I can see why their first reaction to your title was that they were concerned. They only want the best project manager – and here’s someone who says they struggle with procrastinating…
OR maybe they didn’t like that they saw that you had three little kids and knew you’d be one of “THOSE” moms who need special accommodations to be a MOM like pumping and leaving at 5 p.m. Of course they would never admit to that…. the title is a much easier thing to tackle. But it could have been more of a cultural-fit thing. (not legal, but possible) Hmmmm.
As a social media person, I totally get how online depictions of our personalities are often self-effacing or self-depreciative… it’s not like I walk around work going “HEY, I’m the MARKETING MAMA!!!” (obviously, my title is not self-effacing in any way)
Here’s what I think Jen – the job market is really frickin tight right now. They probably have 50 qualified applicants. They had a gut reaction and decided it was worthy of crossing you off the list. It sucks, but I can see why they would do it.
That said, a social-media-savvy person may be more willing to take a deeper dive into your blog — keep the interview and ASK you about the title and give you a chance to explain how it doesn’t apply to work.
But right now they aren’t hurting for good people and they don’t really have time to extend courtesies to people who they think already have a strike against them.
After this experience, are you going to reconsider how public you are with your blog? Will you consider changing the name?
Wow, thanks for sharing this with us.
Missy
I have to say, this really doesn’t surprise me at all. I’ve worked with too many managers and HR personnel to know that, if anything doesn’t fit with the “image” of what they’re looking for in a candidate, they’ll drop them like a hot potato. Thinking and looking at your blog and analyzing it is beyond their scope.
There are many companies who will not hire anyone they know has a blog. Period. They don’t want to risk “exposure” for their company. If you write for the public, you are a risk.
I’ve had managers tell me they will not hire mothers because kids get in the way of work. You’ve got pictures of two beautiful children on your blog. Couple that with the word “procrastinator” and you’ve got a potential recipe for discrimination.
There’s a county (I forgot where, but I blogged about it, so I should remember) that has on it’s job application form a place for you to list your Facebook, twitter, blog, Photobucket, and other accounts **with your passwords** so they can investigate you. They will not hire you unless you provide this information. Companies are afraid of people using social media because of how quickly negative info can get out there…plus they have a stereotype image of people who blog. Sigh.
The company HR rep and hiring manager is definitely short-sighted. The fact that you know they didn’t explore your blog and made an off-the-cuff decision tells you what type of people run this company. Do you really want to work for people who look at something quickly and make a quick, inaccurate decision? Do you want to work for people who do not listen? This is how these people will behave in meetings, in assigning work, in addressing problems…it may just be that you avoided a big problem.
If we judged everything just by a title and not the content then we are clearly in a world of trouble.
I’m sure there are plenty of Best Selling books out there with “iffy” titles and we should never judge books by that or their covers.
Sorry to hear about this and I’m sure you’ll find a new opportunity that better suits you.
There is simply no validation for a move like this by an employer. It’s short-sited and ignorant.
As a social media nut (ain’t we all?) you know there is risk and reward in every aspect of what we do in public and how we brand ourselves.
Consider this a good thing – that you did not make the jump to this employer only to discover this type of thought/culture after it was too late is a blessing.
You’ve been in and around my Reader since you blogged about a dead squirrel, I think. LOL
Keep doing what you do, Jen.
Ch
Wow, the dead squirrel was a long time ago. Good to know I have some male readers even if it takes a work-related post to get them to delurk.
It sucks that this happened to you. I’m sorry that you did not get to interview. I think you would have probably impressed them, but that perception thing gets in way.
I have to say, that perceptions are what most people make their judgment and opinions from… NOT CONTENT. The fact that you present with a negative professional term (Procrastinator) means that people are going to automatically have a perception that way towards you.
It’s why I killed my “cultured Posuer” byline – it was hurting the overall content and presentation.
I work in the recruiting space. I would also suggest to all the folks here who are shocked by this…. This wouldn’t shock a single recruiter I work with. As a candidate you are just one of many out there. The brief moment you have when the company/recruiter glimpses at you is the only thing they will really see. Good luck with that if your blog is called recoveringprocrastinator or your email address is sexsipartygirl69s@clubdungeon.com
It’s a difficult world we live in. From someone who speaks nationally and tells people to live out loud, this is troubling. Missy brings an excellent point- it’s very much a buyer’s market for job seekers. Companies, (more than ever before,) have an incredible lake of applicants to fish from. One thing I know is certain: Your writing, ability to be open and multi-task with your beautiful family, home-life and impending work-life makes you an incredible candidate for someone whose eyes are open to your true worth. I’m proud of you.
Jen, I will echo many of the sentiments expressed here in that I feel bad that you were denied an interview. However, you should be thankful that you did not waste your time with a company that would judge candidates on such shallow surface-y items. As a blogger myself, I understand dealing with distorted perceptions because it’s true -most people judge based on outward appearance and not content. My blog is called “Research Goddess” and there are several people out there who think I’m full of myself because of that. They’ve obviously never gone beyond the first page
If this truly disturbs you, you might consider re-naming your blog to avoid a similar occurrence in the future. But you have to make that choice. If “Recovering Procrastinator” truly defines the message you’re putting forth in your writing, I say stick with it, and I say ‘screw em’ to those who would judge you based on that. However, it’s always a consideration to re-name and re-brand yourself.
To Michele – I don’t even think it’s legal to gather people’s PASSWORDS for their social presence! Good Lord… talk about Big Brother.
Best of luck to you on your job search!
Chris & Amy – Ya’ll obviously are not the “typical” in terms of reviewing candidates. I would classify you as EXCEPTIONS and not the rule in the industry. Most people in the world RELY on perception to make judgment, not content. It’s how our brains work.
Also, we are not talking about the recruiter/HR… we are talking about the Hiring Manager. In MOST companies I have seen, Hiring Managers have no real hiring skills or motivation to research candidates. It is a Like/Don’t Like. Rare is a hiring manager who gives clear business reasons for a candidate being rejected. Hiring Managers are not recruiters.
Correct Nik, and hence the need for discrimination laws.
OMG!!! I can not get over this! Wouldn’t you think they’d be embarassed to go back on the interview invitation after asking you and setting up the interview. What a lovely crew of folks. oye, I just don’t know what to say. Sure the title of the blog could leat to any sort of assumptions or conclusions but is everyones blog supposed to be titled I am the greatest person ever, what’s the perfect page title. I certianly wouldn’t know, but seriously w/o even looking at it going back on everything else that made them call you??? I don’t get it and would be inclined to agree with whomever it was that suggested a strongly worded letter.
I had a tough time biting my tongue and not responding to these posts, because I did not know if it would help our hurt the feelings and attitudes of my wife and others. With that said, I guess you can imagine how I feel about the whole ordeal.
So, here is an uplifting note. Maybe you didn’t get this interview, because you knew your wonderful husband would find a possible job for you with the Minnesota Free Market Institute. They are searching for a webmaster, and I think they definitely could use one!
http://mnfmi.org/about/staff-and-fellows-of-the-minnesota-free-market-institute/
Jen, I had to read through all your comments.
Sorry that you were denied the interview but thank you for sharing the experience, it makes me think about making my blog less public come the time for looking for a new career.
Keep your positive attitude and yes, be happy that you didn’t end up working for such a difficult company.
[...] make a judgment after looking at a blog homepage for five minutes. They should also understand, as Missy said, that “online depictions of our personalities are often self-effacing” or focus on just [...]
This is pretty unbelievable.
On the other hand, this is something I really worry about. I haven’t looked for a job since years before I started my blog. I don’t think that there’s anything super-controversial on my blog, just as there isn’t on yours. But would it make me less attractive to a potential employer who found it? I’m not entirely sure. I’m sorry your blog did that for you.
I procrastinate at home all the time. It is part of the skills required to be a working parent. You have to make choices and sometimes giving more at work means procrastinating about the dishes/laundry/etc. If anything, they should be happy you procrastinate at home. Of course, they didn’t read anything to figure that out, so their loss. The right thing will come along.
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I very much appreciate the comments. My full response is in post form: http://recoveringprocrastinator.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/fair-vs-realistic-in-jobseeking/
[...] At some point, I decided this was confusing and dropped the “One Step Forward” part. Being denied a job interview recently got me thinking more about the image I was presenting and whether it accurately reflected [...]
*snort* That was my first choice but it was taken by the time I got around to setting up my blog.