Squirrels, unicorns, and the world of recruiting

I've written before about purple squirrels. At my current job, I've determined that even this elusive creature will not satisfy some of our hiring managers. They are seeking rainbow unicorns. Let me explain.

We have been in drastic need of trade X at my employer since before I was hired. At the time I started working to staff these openings in January, Dept. A needed 4, Dept. B 3, and Dept. C 1. Since these are all the same positions, just in different areas, when we interview candidates at least one person from each department attends. If multiple departments want the same candidate, we prioritize based on need. As of last week, I have filled Dept. C's 1 spot and Dept. B's 3 spots plus 1 additional opening that was created. You'll notice I left out Dept. A. That's because they have not liked a single candidate. Meanwhile, I am getting feedback from departments B&C about how well their new hires, aka the people not good enough for Dept. A, are doing. After one interview in my frustration I told my boss "They aren't looking for purple squirrels. Squirrels are at least real. They are looking for purple unicorns." One of my coworkers laughed. I was talking about the situation with two members from Dept. B., aka the department that has hired 4 of trade x in 5 month, and one of them told me "they aren't looking for a purple unicorn, they're looking for a rainbow unicorn." Another person from the department contributed how you catch a rainbow unicorn- with a golden lasso!

This week the unthinkable happened- Dept. A interviewed a candidate and liked him enough to offer him a job. When I got back to the HR department I told my boss "we used our golden lasso and caught a rainbow unicorn." She did not need a translation. She was, however, as shocked as I was. And even better, the candidate accepted our offer. If I was a gambler, I would have bought a lottery ticket.

Interview tip: Don't touch the recruiter

A public service announcement for all job seekers: to improve the chances of your interview going well, don't touch the recruiter.

By now you're probably wondering what led to this tip. First, some backstory about me. I am not the touchy feely type at all (that breeze you just felt was all my friends and family nodding strongly in agreement). Not once but twice this week, candidates violated my personal space. Yesterday we were interviewing an external candidate,and he touched my arm while answering a question. It was quite on purpose, not an accident brush. I quickly but as unobtrusively slid myself and my stuff down the table so I was out of range. After the candidate left, I mentioned this. My teammate didn't notice, but the other interview team member saw the whole thing.

Today we were getting ready to begin the interview of an internal candidate. Once everyone was in the room, he tried to hug me! I immediately put up my arms and said "I'm not a hugger". I barely know this person. Who does that? And he hadn't tried to hug anyone else on the team. Just me.

In summary: a handshake at the beginning and end of the interview is fine. Other than that, hands off the recruiter, especially if she's me.