Read how this Hong Kong HR professional humiliated a candidate

Discussion groups are the most popular platforms for HR professionals to share their experience with terrible candidates. Vice versa, it's also a channel for candidates to complain about weird interview experiences.

Recently, a post on Hong Kong Discussion Group by a HR practitioner sharing her encounter with a bad candidate caught the attention of netizens. While she thought she was doing a good job teaching the incompetent candidate a lesson, most thought her behaviour was highly inappropriate.

The writer of the original post was in charge of hiring an IT manager. After looking through several CVs she invited a University of Melbourne graduate living in a luxury apartment in West Kowloon for an interview.

"I thought his background was great," she wrote.

But upon meeting the candidate in person, she described the candidate as “Densha Otoko” from the movie Train Man and had no intention to hire him.

Instead of ending the interview quickly, she made harsh comments about the candidate's qualifications and professionalism and ended up getting into a heated argument with him.

Here is a recap of the exchange between the HR professional and the candidate at the interview:

HR: You change jobs every two years. Why are you so jumpy?

Candidate: I want to try working for different companies to enhance my knowledge and abilities.

HR: But you are not able to get a promotion after the job changes. Do you think you have a problem?

Candidate: There has to be an opening for one to get promoted, it is beyond my control.

HR: Oh! You decided to change job often because you cannot score a promotion.

HR: Why did you study in Australia?

Candidate: I wanted to enhance my English and learn more about technology. The IT field in Australia is more advanced than Hong Kong.

HR: But I think you went to Australia because your A-level results are not good enough for you to apply for local (government-funded) universities.

Candidate: The results of my A-level examination are not necessarily related to whether I am a good fit for this job. I earned second upper class honours in my studies in Australia, I think this proves my ability.

HR: Your honour in university means nothing. I don’t think you are suitable for the position.

Candidate: Stop wasting my time, I have another appointment later, I will be on my way.

HR: You are leaving? You are so impolite. You should thank me for granting the opportunity to meet you and giving you guidance.

Candidate (losing his cool): You think you're a professional? How rich are you? I own several properties and you can't even to afford the cheapest one...

The conversation went on with the candidate boasting about his wealth and as expected did not end well.  The HR person mentioned that she had reported the candidate to her supervisor to blacklist the candidate from applying for other positions within the organisation.

While the candidate did not seem to be a very capable one, the HR practitioner is not getting the sympathy from netizens as she would have expected.

After reading the post, many netizens commented she was unprofessional, impolite and viciously attacked the candidate, despite having no intention to offer him the job.

While it is a tactic for interviewers to try to corner candidates with tough questions to see how they react under pressure, the HR person is certainly not trying to do so in this job interview. She said she had no intention to offer the candidate the job because he looks funny, but went onto humiliate him. Making fun of someone is absolutely unprofessional.

ALSO READ: Are you asking candidates the right things?

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