As I write this, it is 2:00 p.m. and I am sitting in the now closed section of a steakhouse restaurant eating a late lunch. And, right up my alley, I just got to watch the manager conduct an interview with an applicant for a serving job. After he finished the interview, he stopped by my table to ask if everything was okay. That gave me a chance to ask him if he was going to hire the applicant. He said most likely he would and I told him what struck me most about her was her very casual dress considering that she came in to apply for work. He said he just accepts that as the norm these days, “People just don’t dress properly to apply for jobs any more.”
I suggested that he try my “hire tough, manage easy” philosophy and give her a test before she’s hired: “Tell her that if she’s interested, you’ll set up a time for her to come back when she is dressed more appropriately.” (This is two tests in one actually because he’ll find out if she’s dependable/punctual and also what she thinks “appropriate dress” is.)
Remember, everything you do in the hiring process is a test (and a lot of tests don’t cost a thing).
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