my candidate’s wife’s grandmother died…rather suddenly..he and his wife have to explain to their small children ..4 and 5 years old about death, etc.
our client had scheduled a dinner with the candidate and the president of his company …a semi-final interview…and, wouldn’t you know, the evening right after the funeral…
so my candidate leaves his wife and kids at the family gathering after the funeral and goes to the dinner interview..
needless to say he was distracted and unfocused just enough to screw up the interview…
his mistake was that he should have explained that he had just come from a family funeral and he was a bit unfocused and emotionally depleted…
most people would have empathy for that kind of thing and take it into account …soooo, the lesson: if you are experiencing an emotionally stressful personal issue that is going to impact your being able to interview well…tell the interviewing authority at the beginning of the interview
he did not
