Dear Mrs. Newton,
I gave what I thought was a first class presentation on our company's new hiring policies to our R & D management yesterday. Toward the end of my talk, I made a little joke about the silly habit scientist candidates have of mentioning with whom they studied while at university during job interviews. This morning my inbox is full of snide e-mails. What's the big deal?
Lars in Human Resources
Dear Lars,
Scientists know who the stars are in their field of concentration. When a candidate mentions in passing that he studied with Dr. Maximus Jones at Northwestern University, you might not get it, but the head of your R & D division will know that Dr. Jones is a genius in nanotechnology, and weigh in his hiring decision that this young scientist was mentored by a giant. Students compete mightily for spots in the laboratories of leading researchers. Your joke wasn't funny because it trivialized something the people listening to you value on their co-worker's CVs ( the scientific version of resumes), and worked hard to accomplish themselves. Swallow your pride, thank the people who e-mailed you and tell them you have learned a valuable lesson you will put to good use in technical recruiting.
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