ripvanwinkle
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All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing - Edmund Burke 1729 -1797
Joined: Jan 9, 2011 22:36:42 GMT -5
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Post by ripvanwinkle on Oct 10, 2017 22:56:56 GMT -5
Were we wrong? We are interviewing some people for a job. We had candidate who's resume looked real good. We had just communicated by email prior to today. When he showed up for the interview, none of us could barely understand him. It was laborious. He had a very thick Asian accent. Vietnamese or Laotian or Cambodian. We couldn't hire him. Kind of felt bad. Looked great on paper. Anyone else been in a similar situation?
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Oct 10, 2017 23:05:23 GMT -5
What was the job and what did the job entail?
On his resume, did job skills and abilities match the needs of the position you were looking to fill? What percentage of the job required good communication skills, both written and oral.
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ripvanwinkle
Well-Known Member
All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing - Edmund Burke 1729 -1797
Joined: Jan 9, 2011 22:36:42 GMT -5
Posts: 1,360
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Post by ripvanwinkle on Oct 10, 2017 23:28:53 GMT -5
What was the job and what did the job entail? On his resume, did job skills and abilities match the needs of the position you were looking to fill? What percentage of the job required good communication skills, both written and oral. Obviously his resume did because we asked him to come in. 100% communication skills needed.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Oct 11, 2017 1:58:25 GMT -5
Were we wrong? We are interviewing some people for a job. We had candidate who's resume looked real good. We had just communicated by email prior to today. When he showed up for the interview, none of us could barely understand him. It was laborious. He had a very thick Asian accent. Vietnamese or Laotian or Cambodian. We couldn't hire him. Kind of felt bad. Looked great on paper. Anyone else been in a similar situation? How is YOUR English?
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weltschmerz
Community Leader
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Post by weltschmerz on Oct 11, 2017 2:08:32 GMT -5
Who's is a contraction and stands for "who is", or "who has". It's two words mashed together. Always.
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Oct 11, 2017 5:21:08 GMT -5
I would be very careful about whom you voice your reason for not hiring him too. That could get you in hot water. But, yes, if you can't communicate, with employees, clients, etc. then that is an issue.
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mroped
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Post by mroped on Oct 11, 2017 5:55:50 GMT -5
I am all against any kind of discrimination of any kind but there are limits to what one can or cannot do.
If it was just an interview it's just fine. On paper you can make yourself look all kinds of good because you write it down and nowadays anybody can get a degree and what not in pretty much anything you can think of. Using that degree or showing the skills you have according to your papers, that's a different story.
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Oct 11, 2017 6:28:51 GMT -5
What is the job and how much are oral communications really necessary. Everyone says that they need good skills, but many people can get by in many jobs with limited skills.
I work for an international company based I Germany that uses English as primary communication language. We work through communication issues on a daily basis. One of my coworkers is an older gentleman from India and is very difficult to understand his English. In course if conversation I have to ask for clarification constantly. However he is a technical expert in his field and very effective. He was leader in a group that went to Europe with some Alabama natives (with their own version of English) to work on a highly successful innovative technical project.
I have also posted in the past about my DS who has communication issues. English is his only language. He is on the quiet side and nervous around new people. He interviewed for many jobs and got rejected. He was not interviewing for sales jobs, but for financial analyst and underwriting jobs. One job gave him a competency test and said he scored highest of all applicants, but they could tell he was nervous during the interview. He did not get the job. He is now working as a real estate appraiser and is doing great.
So consider how much oral communication is truly needed. If it is phone support, that is one story. In today's environment, written/email communication may be more important.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Oct 11, 2017 7:17:45 GMT -5
You can hire someone to make you look good on paper. I'm sure a former coworker did just that. He looked great on paper. In reality he was awful. No critical thinking skills, no initiative, inability to follow directions through and the simplest task took forever and a day.
A friend of mine who'd also worked with him in the past had a job opening. This guy's resume showed up and all the other people on the hiring committee wanted to interview him. My friend said no way. That's how I know his resume is great.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Oct 11, 2017 8:19:05 GMT -5
I've interviewed candidates who looked great on paper and bombed the interview. The first time it happened was definitely shocking. The recruiter sent me a hundred good ones and this one really stood out. I figured the interview would just be a check in the box exercise because in my mind she was a perfect fit of education (PhD) and over 10 years direct experience. Well it turns out she was way too academic and could barely articulate how she applied the skills from her experience. Plus when asking her basic stuff from her resume she couldn't tell me what it meant. After an hour, I wasn't at all convinced she could do the job and crossed her off my list. Pretty disappointing.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Oct 11, 2017 10:32:34 GMT -5
I hate when I can't understand someone when I really need to understand them.
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Bluerobin
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Post by Bluerobin on Oct 11, 2017 13:18:42 GMT -5
Next time, call to set up the interview. That will tell you volumes!
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Oct 11, 2017 14:52:46 GMT -5
What is the job and how much are oral communications really necessary. Everyone says that they need good skills, but many people can get by in many jobs with limited skills. I work for an international company based I Germany that uses English as primary communication language. We work through communication issues on a daily basis. One of my coworkers is an older gentleman from India and is very difficult to understand his English. In course if conversation I have to ask for clarification constantly. However he is a technical expert in his field and very effective. He was leader in a group that went to Europe with some Alabama natives (with their own version of English) to work on a highly successful innovative technical project. I have also posted in the past about my DS who has communication issues. English is his only language. He is on the quiet side and nervous around new people. He interviewed for many jobs and got rejected. He was not interviewing for sales jobs, but for financial analyst and underwriting jobs. One job gave him a competency test and said he scored highest of all applicants, but they could tell he was nervous during the interview. He did not get the job. He is now working as a real estate appraiser and is doing great. So consider how much oral communication is truly needed. If it is phone support, that is one story. In today's environment, written/email communication may be more important. I bet that was fun to watch That deep Alabama accent might be harder than the Indian one.
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kittensaver
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We cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love. - Mother Teresa
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Post by kittensaver on Oct 11, 2017 14:55:29 GMT -5
Next time, call to set up the interview. That will tell you volumes! I agree with this 300%. When I was working in HR, we *always* conducted phone interviews first. Even if they are brief and introductory, it will give you a good feel for which direction to go with the candidate.
If the person seems promising on the phone, then go ahead right then and set up an in-person interview. If the phone call does not go particularly well, say "thanks for your time, we are conducting phone interviews with several candidates and will get back to you if you are selected for another interview." [and then put their resume in the 'no' pile]
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phil5185
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Post by phil5185 on Nov 24, 2017 19:29:19 GMT -5
lol - eg, that '300' provides an indicator of math skills.
(kinda like a basketball coach that always asks everyone to give 110%)
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dannylion
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Gravity is a harsh mistress
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Post by dannylion on Nov 24, 2017 21:39:30 GMT -5
The thing about ESL spoken communication is that it gets better with practice if the person wants it to get better. If the person with the heavily accented English makes an effort to speak English with native English speakers as much as possible and aims to emulate what s/he hears, it will get better. If the person confines his/her English communication only to what is required in the work environment and then communicates exclusively in his/her native language in social and home environments, it might improve slightly, but it will likely not improve sufficiently to cease being a problem.
Whether the person has the desire or the intention to improve his/her spoken English is unknowable. All you can go on is how much progress they have made at the point they present themselves to you for consideration.
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wyouser
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Post by wyouser on Nov 25, 2017 7:01:11 GMT -5
lol - eg, that '300' provides an indicator of math skills. (kinda like a basketball coach that always asks everyone to give 110%) Government, do not leave out government. In spending it is eternally 110% or 300% or some unknown multiple of income............
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