This is why I always have someone present, when I do interviews. Because, sometimes it is too good to be true. Sometimes you need some to tell you, "yes, that really did happen".
Me: Tell me a little about your last position.
Him: I work at s..a..r.....(trail off)
Me: I'm sorry, could you repeat that.
Him: Yes, I work in s...y..r....(trail off)
Me: Ok...Where are they located?
Him: It is by Iraq..(trail off)
Me: Oh, did you say Syria?
Him: Yes, I worked there.
Me: What did you do in Syria?
Him: I cleaned homes..floors...(trail off)
Me: Where else did you work?
Him: Stores, mostly.
Me: What store?
Him: Stores, where they sell things.
This is not going anywhere. He speaks perfect English, with no accent. It is not a communication problem. He is just not specific. So I switch tactics, and decide to talk about education.
Me: Are you currently going to school?
Him: I will be going to college.
Me: That's great, where will you be attending?
Him: City College
Me: When are you starting?
Him: Next month...or in a year.
OK, there is a huge difference with "next month...or a year". Maybe it is just nervous energy. Maybe if we talk about something that they have a passion for, I can get a read on him.
Me: What will you major in?
Him: You mean, what I want to go to school for? What I want to be?
Me: Yes, what do you want to be?
Him: I want to be a SPY!!
There are a couple of things that race through my head. The first and foremost is, if you just told a complete stranger, that you want to be a spy, then that automatically eliminates you from being a spy. The second, the chances are slim to none that the local community college has a spy program, and I don't think I want to be the one to break it to him. Also, if the community college did have said program, he is disqualified for announcing that he wants to be a SPY!!!
Me: Excuse me?
Him: I want to be a spy.
Me: a spy?
Him: You know a spy, kind of like the FBI
Kind of like the FBI????? Let's just look at this for a minute. You know about the FBI, so I imagine that you know what the FBI does. So it is definitely not the FBI, but still "kind of like the FBI". Yet, there is no mention of the CIA. It seems unfathomable to me, that you would withhold mentioning the CIA, because you wanted to keep THAT a secret. When you just announced that you want to be a spy. I can only conclude there there is some other covert spy program that he wants to be a part of. One that he does not feel comfortable explaining to this layman.
Me: Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us. You are the first of many interviews for this position.....
I was officially done with the interview and gave him the brush off. I don't need these sort of problems. I don't mind his aspirations of being a spy. I mind that he will be the dumbest spy in the world. I do not need a staff member working on his spy skills on my dime. I can just imagine him sitting in the corner with a newspaper in front of him, hole cut out for observation purposes. Or finding a poorly hidden reel to reel in my office.
I know that he would have been a virtual cavalcade of blog posts. I just can't chance it.
