Posted on 07/18/2014 10:49:41 AM PDT by MNDude
Recently I was involved with a business meeting with another officer of our company with a woman seeking a contracting job with our company.
We went out to lunch for a long meeting to discuss what we were looking for and what she had to offer. After our meeting, she said something like "I'm sure you guys would like to discuss this with one another if I'm a match or not. I would like to excuse myself to the restroom." She then took her purse, put it in the middle of the table and left for the restroom.
We then started discussing our initial thoughts and concerns about our meeting with her. A while later she came back to rejoin us, and later on in the week, she sent us an email discussing possible objections we might have to hiring her.
The guy that I met with is convinced that she left a recorder inside her purse and and then put the purse in front of us to capture our conversation. He says "a woman would never leave her purse on the table with some guys she just met! She was recording us!"
I don't know what is normal for carrying and leaving a purse, so my question is for the women here. How odd is it that she left purse on the table with us while she went to the restroom? Odd enough to have suspicions about being recorded?
I've participated in a lot of interviews over the past 35 years.
I would have moved to a different table, y’all should have known what she was doing.
NO women I have ever met left her purse at the table. She recorded them.
Sandbox.
I’ve participated in a lot of interviews over the past 35 years.
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I can see why.
I have participated in many interviews as the evaluator, in hiring capacity. I have been out to business lunches, dinners, drinks, and happy hours with many men. If I carried a purse, I took it with me. Never would I leave a purse in the center of things. .
Thanks for proving my point.
A woman would only leave her purse if she were with family or someone she trusted. Even then it is rare. As for recording, if she did and I believe she did...I suspect she wanted to know what everyone thought of her good and bad for her own use. There is no doubt she has done this before. A recording is not enough to prove anything as it could be anyone who sounds like you on the recording. There must be video. I live in Florida and had some loud neighbors I taped on cassettes. The police said only a video would prove who they are in a court of law. I talked to a police officer friend of mine who told me that since they were screaming outside there was no expectation of privacy so I could safely tape that. In your case, there was an expectation of privacy. Nevertheless, you can only surmise she recorded you. I do not believe it was done to get anyone legally for anything. I believe she wanted to know what you really thought of her. Knowledge is power.
Thanks for proving my point.
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What are you talking about, whiz-bang?
Since she was being considered as a contractor rather than an actual employee, employer discrimination lawswouldn’t apply. Under employment non-discrimination laws, an employer can’t discriminate when hiring based on gender. I just hired a company to put in a deck. If I hire a male run company over a female run company, I haven’t broken the law.
As a general rule, if you’re not normally the paranoid type and something causes you to raise your antennae, pay attention. Something was going there for sure, and none of the possibilities bode well for hiring this potential truckload of trouble.
Seems like a good guess about the recording, especially if she did as you said and placed it in the middle of the table. I’ve had women say “watch my purse” while they run to the bathroom, but only women that know me very well, never someone I’ve just met.
Well, here’s the rest of the story anyhow.
This woman came from a competitor (located in California) that started out the same time as we did 10 years ago. Our company grew from 2 employees to 20 employees in 10 years. Her company grew from 5 employees to 500 employees in 10 years (and then got a $100 million IPO). We’ve had our eye on this company for a while, and always wondered what the secret for such growth would be.
This woman was one of the original 5 start up staff, but she grew very discontent with the company she was with and she wanted to become the COO of our company, and she came with the promise of having the knowledge of knowing how to grow our company the same way.
She flew up from California to meet with us, so it wasn’t your typical mailroom interview.
I don’t remember what we said while she went away, but I remember, I thought it was fishy she would want to leave a company that had grown so much to work with a small company of ours. What did she really want? We kind of agreed that we would make an offer to have her on a two month contract to see what she really had to hire instead of hiring her on as an employee.
I am SOO glad that we hired her on contract for only 2 months. I learned very quickly that was was VERY VERY VERY liberal. My first webcam meeting with her, I saw her uncovered arms for the first time, covered with tattoos from top to bottom.
First thing she did was she edited our employee handbook. I got it back with all this crap about not discriminating on people regardless of gender identification, a bunch of California laws that had to do with paid time off.
She was very angry and bitter at her former company. (I suspect they got a $100 million IPO, and then cut her out of the picture). She was also very paranoid and controlling. She would start telling employees to stop projects they were working on until they heard from her.
Once I asked her about that and she went crazy (on web cam). She started crying and screaming about how she got screwed at her last company, and she would never let that happen again.
To say the least, we didn’t rehire her after the two months, and she was very bitter about this !
It was just afterwards that I was talking about this woman with this employee and I was mentioning “Wow, she seemed to like Bob (president of our company) but she never seemed to like me from the beginning. It was almost as if she knew I had reservations about her” Then suddenly I remembered the purse on the table, and just started to wonder. Most everyone thinks she was spying. Guess I should have thought of that, but that’s so much something you’re not thinking about at the time.
That is just how it is and has been in this declining, post-American job market. I don't blame her a bit for recording the scumbags.
Wow. I thought you were trying to be funny, but I see now you are serious.
Seek professional help for goodness sake. You are exhibiting signs of sociopathy:
Grandiose sense of self, lack of empathy for others, poor behavioral controls, lack of guilt, etc...
You may just be angry that you're not getting hired. But then again, you may not be getting hired because of the attitude you are displaying here. I certainly wouldn't hire you.
Unfortunately, my previous dealings with sociopaths show me that you'll tell me to go **** off because there's nothing at all wrong with you.
If you're hiring a bouncer for your brothel, then perhaps dinner and drinks might be appropriate.
For a legitimate corporate position or contract, for a legitimate business, no.
Thanks so much for your concern. Are you a licensed psychiatrist, or just a quack?
I don't wonder why.
I have participated in a few interviews as well, from both sides of the table. First as a Technician, then as an Engineer. When I was tasked with making a recommendation for hiring someone, I considered not only if the individual could contribute to the organization, but if their addition would be an asset or a liability.
If I went in with an attitude like that, I would not be surprised that I did not get hired.
If I interviewed you with you coming in with such an attitude, the interview would be very short indeed and with an assurance that we would let you know.
If I was working alongside you with you having such an attitude, I would make every effort to stay away from you and would know that you would not last long.
I suggest you start your own business instead, and then you will never have to worry about having to work for anyone you considered your inferior in any way.
Have a nice day.
If you’re hiring a bouncer for your brothel, then perhaps dinner and drinks might be appropriate.
For a legitimate corporate position or contract, for a legitimate business, no.
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Did I say that these were all hiring contacts? No I didn’t. Pay attention Buttercup.
Although in many many positions, being able to manage oneself socially is part of the hiring decision, and we put those folks through their paces.
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