About 10 AM this morning I received a call regarding an online job application for Enterprise Rent-a-Car that I filled out last night. The interview started fine. They asked how I heard about the company and things like that. Then, they began to ask what I knew about the position and the company itself. And they asked if I had done any research about the company before applying for the position.
When I answered the phone, all I expected was for them to schedule a time for an in person interview, so I was thrown off by the questions. The questions also started to feel more like I was answering questions for a poll about how much the public knew about this company because they asked me nothing about myself or my experience.
So I asked them why they were asking these questions, and Instead of giving me an answer the woman replied, “Wow, are you refusing to answer?” She sounded very coercive like she was trying to guilt me into answering the questions without her having to answer my question. So this was the morning after I had filled out an online job application and I had never received such a prompt response to any job application ever, the lady was asking me questions that I had never been asked to me in a job interview before, and now, she is trying to coerce me. But what really made me suspicious was when she asked me what other jobs I had applied for. I thought that this was none of her business what other jobs I applied for, so I assumed that she was referring only to what other Enterprise jobs I applied for. I told her that this was the only Enterprise location that I had applied for. She told me that she did not care about what other Enterprise locations I had applied for she only wanted to know what other jobs I had applied for, what competitors I had applied for, and what other industries I had applied for. So I thought that I might be getting scammed by someone that is hired by Enterprise Rent-a-Car to conduct polls for them. If I knew that I was participating in a poll, I would not have been so irritated, but I thought I was applying for a job.
So I told her that if she tells me why she is asking unusual questions, I will answer them. She told me that the questions were to make sure that I really was interested in working for this company. Her answer irritated me more because the simple fact that I filled out a job application for this job shows that I have a real interest in working at the job. So I told her, “I live in Mississippi where jobs are scarce, so research all the jobs that are available near where I live. I cast a wide net and hopefully I will find a job.” And she said, “Have a nice day goodbye.”
If this was an honest to goodness job interview, I really screwed it up. But if it was a polling company making fooling people into believing that they are applying for a real job I feel that I was not mean enough. If someone is getting my hopes up and wasting my time when I need work, I hope that they realize how rude and dishonest they are and mend their ways. If this is really how Enterprise conducts job interviews then they really ought to warn the interviewees that they will be asking unusual questions and why they will be doing it.
therichardbraxton 