Upon arrival, the air was thick. I’m not sure if its was because I was scheduled to interview on a Monday (apparently, the busiest day of the week). I presented in a small, stuffy office with no technology to bring up my presentation. As any prepared trainer, I was prepared with handouts and other resources. After my presentation, I was asked a series of very basic questions. Toward the end of the interview, one of the interviewer looked down at a word document of interview prompt questions, looks in the air as if trying to figure out how to present the question and proceeds to describe their personal life: The interviewer and spouse “make great money” and come from a “well educated background”, their son is a sophomore in college. Following that description, a detailed verbal picture of a single parent, poor, uneducated family and some other descriptive that I found repulsive when referring to the very demographic that the organization services. I was asked, “Do you think these people learn differently” the interviewer tossed her hair over her shoulder. My response, “Absolutely not…We all learn differently and it’s the Facilitators job to teach to everyone’s level of understanding” Apparently, my response struck a nerve. The interviewers response was, “Well, I have a Master’s degree, 45 units that says otherwise-it’s a proven fact”. In the entirety of my Human Resources career, I have never met anyone who was more unprofessional. I will take MY Master’s degree, experience and passion for this demographic described with disgust elsewhere.
