Getting the Job
References matter
My 2 cents regarding a decision we’ll make on 11/5/2024.
Being retired I don’t see myself having any upcoming interviews. I’m not relieved in any way just resigned that I won’t have that opportunity. For the most part, I enjoyed the interview process. It was a chance to show what I was capable of and to sell myself to my prospective employer.
If it was truly a job I wanted my goal was to make myself a memorable, capable candidate. Besides being on time and well dressed one of my first actions upon entering the room where my interviewers were was to move the chair to a position that suited me. This accomplished 2 things, it made it more comfortable for my long legs and more importantly, subtly established a self-assured ownership of the space. After that, my goal was to present confidence and inject humor when I could while having a pleasant, productive conversation.
During one interview for a job as an outdoor educator, I felt I bombed. One of my interviewers, a stern, no-nonsense woman didn’t crack a smile the entire time. When she asked the classic question what my strengths and weaknesses were, I easily answered the strengths but then instead of saying my weakness was I expected too much of myself or some sort of nonsense like that, I responded my weakness was invertebrates. It made sense to me, I never studied invertebrate zoology. I got the job anyway and worked there for over 30 years.
I have also been on the other side of the process, interviewing candidates for hire. I’ve seen potentially good people blow it by being too reserved or soft-spoken during their interviews. I’ve seen others, that I knew had amazing talents forget to weave those attributes into any of their responses. Even when asked if they had anything else they’d like to share with the interview panel.
Yet despite the impressions one receives during the application and interview process, one of the more valuable sources of information you can get on a candidate for hire are their references from previous employers, supervisors, and co-workers. People who have worked alongside the candidate, talking with them, observing their decision-making skills and, their thought processes. That’s why when looking at the candidates we are choosing to hire this November 5th we should take a careful look at their references.
While one can find positive and negative things (like how poorly she treats her staff) said about Kamala Harris all over the internet, one way to gauge her character or suitability for the job is how often her name was dropped positively or negatively by her co-workers. Lindsey Cormack examined Senate communications between 2017 and 2020 to see what fellow legislators thought about Harris. She focused on who talked about her in official constituent communications and what they said.
“Her first year in the Senate had people from both sides of the aisle dropping her name in a positive manner…In 2018 and 2019 there were more negative references from Republicans; both Senators from Utah, Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee criticized her treatment of Justice Kavanaugh during his appointment hearings. While democrats continued to tout her work in areas of rent relief, college loans, and social programs. In 2020 Democrats and one Republican came out to support her legislative efforts to reform policing, voting, and responses to COVID-19.”
Altogether, 45 legislators sent 80 messages with positive things to say about Harris, and 10 members sent 11 messages with negative notes.
Now, on to our other potential candidate for the job. The man who held the position for 4 years before a majority of his employers fired him. What do the people who worked closely with him at the most senior levels of his administration have to say about the man and his decision-making skills and thought processes? Here’s a sampling of just a few:
James Mattis, former Secretary of Defense, said Trump is “the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people.”
Bill Barr, Trump’s former attorney general called Trump “a consummate narcissist” who “constantly engages in reckless conduct that puts his political followers at risk and the conservative and Republican agenda at risk.”
Mike Pompeo, Trump’s Secretary of State, “We need more seriousness, less noise, and leaders who are looking forward, not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood.”
John Kelly, Trump’s former chief of staff, described Trump as “a person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators” and “has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.”
Mark Esper, Trump’s Secretary of Defense: Trump is “a threat to democracy”, “I think there’s a lot to be concerned about.”
Rex Tillerson, Trump’s first Secretary of State: Trump is “…a man who is pretty undisciplined, doesn’t like to read, doesn’t read briefing reports, doesn’t like to get into the details of a lot of things … a “Moron”.
Betsy DeVos, Trump’s Secretary of Education: His behavior had grown increasingly erratic and unnerving.
Mike Pence, his former VP: said he “cannot in good conscience” endorse Trump.
John Bolton, former national security adviser declared he was “he was not fit to be president. … I think it is a danger for the United States if he gets a second term.”
Dan Coats, Trump’s former dierctor of National Intelligence: … “To him, a lie is not a lie. It’s just what he thinks. He doesn’t know the difference between the truth and a lie.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin, former Trump White House communications director wrote “Fundamentally, a second Trump term could mean the end of American democracy as we know it, and I don’t say that lightly,”
Of 44 members of former President Donald Trump's cabinet, less than 10% have publicly endorsed him in his 2024 presidential run. Seriously, would you hire someone for your business or company who has a 10% approval rating from previous coworkers not to mention who also is guilty of fraud, sexual abuse, and is a convicted felon?
I don’t know if this will change anyone's opinion or decision about who to vote for, but it’s information that must be available to voters. We have a big decision in November and must be aware of all the facts before hiring our next president. Once a candidate gets the job, it becomes much harder to fire them when we realize we made a serious error, jeopardized our company or business, and hired the wrong person. Choose wisely.