Career Corner: What Salad Dressing Best Emulates Your Life Philosophy?

Are you zesty like Italian dressing? Reliable like Ranch dressing? – Courtesy photo

By Angela Copeland

When it comes to job interviews, I’ve seen it all. Most interviews come in a fairly straight forward format. You do a phone screen with human resources and then a phone interview with the hiring manager. Afterward, you come in person for meetings with the hiring manager and other folks on the team.

But, not every interview is so simple. Some companies ask job seekers to do a presentation about themselves. Others ask you to complete an IQ test. Some ask you to create a proposal of how you would spend your first ninety days if you were hired. And, then every once in a while, a company will ask you “What kind of salad dressing best emulates your life philosophy?”

I know this must sound like a joke but no, I’m not kidding. Companies will ask questions such as, “If you were a sandwich, what kind of sandwich would you be?” and, “What font best describes your personality?”

These types of questions can serve a few purposes. First, they can test how you react under pressure. Are you able to roll with the punches, even when you’re asked something outside of the box? They can also test you from a culture fit perspective. Do you answer in a way that is in line with the company culture? And, they can test your creativity. How interesting, thoughtful, and unique is your answer?

Although questions like this really make no sense to many people, I can get behind them under one condition. That condition is that the interview process is a two-way street.

If the job seeker is going to go along with your crazy line of questions, then you in turn (the hiring manager) should treat the candidate with an equal amount of respect. If they’ve put in a lot of time doing homework as part of your process, take the time to follow through with them – even if it’s a little more work. Interview them when you say you will. Respond to their emails. And, if you don’t select them let them know quickly and in a respectful manner.

The part about this type of process that I do not like is when the entire thing is a one-way street. If a candidate is going to play along with this sort of line of questioning, the company should be prepared to be respectful in return. This is especially true if the candidate has put in a significant amount of time into the application process.

Ghosting a job seeker or taking weeks and weeks to follow up on email communications is not acceptable. It’s no way to treat any potential employee or future representative of your company. When you treat the job search like a joke, you’re treating the candidate as if they are disposable and they will likely feel the same about you in return. Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Angela Copeland, a career coach and founder of Copeland Coaching, can be reached at copelandcoaching.com.

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