Delivering Bad News During a Job Interview

Cowards ghost. In other words, they disappear in order not to deliver bad news. Well, in a job interview, a candidate cannot disappear. They are sitting right there in front of the interviewers. So, what do you do if you, the candidate, have bad news to deliver? You deliver it.

In this regard, I have dealt with two types of individuals. The first wait until I call them to tell them that they have the interview or to relay a job offer, and then they tell me what the problem is. The second immediately tell me about the issue.

I give my recruiting clients (employers) a six-month guarantee that if for any reason a placement does not work out, I will conduct a replacement search for free. Needless to say, I do not want to have to honor that guarantee. So, in the case of the former type of individual, I advise my client not to hire them. They cannot be trusted. If they are going to wait until the last minute to provide material information which an honest person would have shared at the beginning, that pretty much tells the employer, and me, everything we need to know about the candidate’s character. They will not last six months, so why bother?

In the case of the latter, no problem. They were honest and upfront from the very beginning. We found a solution to the problem meaning, in essence, there was no problem. They showed themselves to be of good character.

There are two types of issues/problems that candidates have. The first, which they think is a big deal but usually isn’t (except in cases where the individual is being hired to finish a project within a certain amount of time) is of a personal nature, such as if the candidate has scheduled a vacation. Again, unless there’s a time factor connected to the job (which should be clearly stated in the job description), I have never had a client/employer reject a candidate because of a planned vacation. They always say the same thing, “Of course they can take their vacation; it just won’t be paid time off.” No problem. (Truth be told, I can’t think of any other example.)

The second issue, which is serious, concerns a medical problem. I have dealt with many:

The first two candidates I ever submitted for a job when I started my own firm, were homosexuals. They were both in their mid-forties. When they were children, 10- 11-years-old, which would have been some 50 years prior to my meeting them, psychiatrists actually treated homosexuality as a mental health disorder (see below). In both cases, the gentlemen were married and had children. By then, their “treatment” was anxiety medication and an occasional phone consultation with their doctor if they were having a bad day. They both asked me to explain their situation to my clients. I refused. I told them that when, in the interview, they were given the opportunity, “Tell us about yourself,” or were asked a question such as “How do you cope with anxiety?” to simply tell their story of how they conquered what was, as I just noted, a recognized disorder. I could not do justice to their success; only they could. And when the employers heard their stories, they hired them.

In the case of other mental health disorders, autism, dyslexia, genius IQ (meaning a lack of social skills), stuttering, and PTSD, I had the candidates deal with it in the same way as someone with a physical issue.

First, in the case of military veterans, the so-called 800-pound gorilla in the room is, “Do they have a health issue?” So, I tell them, after the normal exchange of pleasantries, to say, “Before we begin, I know you can’t ask me so let me tell you, I have no health issue. Now the employer knows the candidate is honest, upfront, and understands their concerns. No problem. No issue. And they are off on the right track.

Now, in the case of persons with a mental health disorder or physical issue, they do exactly what the veterans I just mentioned do, with an obvious exception of their being a visible issue. They say, “I know you can’t ask, but I will tell you. I do have a health issue. This is what it is. This is what it means. And this is the ‘reasonable accommodation’ I will require.” (In the case of an obvious physical issue, they begin by saying, “As you can see..” and proceed to explain the issue and what “reasonable accommodation” they need.

Of course, the candidate’s definition of “reasonable” may differ significantly from the employer’s but, in my experience, the issue has always been solved amicably. There was only one exception:

I was doing a search for a company out-of-state, meaning that I never met with candidates in-person. One of the candidate I submitted, who got an interview, was confined to a wheelchair. I did not know that and he did not tell me. The employer was located on the second floor of a landmark building. There was a ramp leading to the ground floor (retail space), but no elevator. In case you do not know this, and I am not exaggerating, you literally cannot change a door knob in a landmark building without getting government approval. It would take a miracle to get the government to agree to the installation of an elevator. No elevator; no job.

All other requests were gladly met. In fact, in some cases employers were a bit offended that I would even ask if the candidate could call a therapist from a private office, or sit facing the door (in the case of a veteran). From their tone of voice, they always sounded like, “Bruce, don’t ask stupid questions! Just have them here Monday morning!!”

The key is to be open and honest. If you deliver the “bad news” at the beginning of the process, and not surprise them with it at the end, you should have nothing to worry about. And if you present your condition as an example of an adversity that you have overcome, greater, I hasten to add, than anything they would encounter on the job, you will make yourself an even more desirable candidate. Remember: Employers do not like surprises, especially when hiring.

NOTE TO THE HATERS: Before you accuse me of being a homophobe, please note that homosexuality was only removed from the American Psychiatry Association DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) in 1974 (as you can see from the below screenshot taken from their website. That said, you will also note that they changed the name over the years). As I understand it, the reason was apparently political, in response to activists, and not medical. That would explain why it remained on the DSM just under different names. Under DSM-V, which was published in 2013, it is called “gender dysphoria” and is thus a medical condition which may be treated.

While I usually preempt the insults by quoting Churchill, this time I shall quote DIckens, The truth is the truth; and neither childish absurdities, nor unscrupulous contradictions, can make it otherwise. (From American Notes: The Young Man from the Country.)

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Delivering Bad News During a Job Interview | Employment Edification

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