Do most professionals in DC/NoVA act snotty? (Fairfax: fit in, college)

[Cardiff Kook]

yes, there is an extreme sense of entitlement around here.

cockiness and arrogance runs rampant

[poloi3eai2]

I should have scheduled a time that day that allowed me more time to research the company instead of immediately jumping at the opportunity.

Usually with phone interviews HR usually starts off by telling me about the position, the company, and what they do. Then I sell myself on how I am the best fit for the position. Sometimes I get phone interviews unexpectedly so HR usually never has a problem with explaining the position and company.

When researching some companies I also notice many DC/NoVA companies market themselves as "the worldwide leader in ______ solutions" using words like "synergy, maximizing revenue, and optimization" all over their websites. They use alot of fancy words but I'm like "what the hell do you do?" I find that typical of small Gov't contractors or consultants that are just vying to be the middle man.

[bonnielisabeth]

Originally Posted by poloi3eai2

I should have scheduled a time that day that allowed me more time to research the company instead of immediately jumping at the opportunity.

Usually with phone interviews HR usually starts off by telling me about the position, the company, and what they do. Then I sell myself on how I am the best fit for the position. Sometimes I get phone interviews unexpectedly so HR usually never has a problem with explaining the position and company.

I have had a couple in-person interviews in the area, and have found that, even for government positions, the interviewers have launched right into the interview without telling me about the position or introducing the supervisor (who was on the interview committee)--I have lived in several other states and this has never happened before.

At the end of the interviews, I have tried to ask questions about the job which would have been covered in other places I have worked (typical schedule? supervisor? work location?) and the interviewers seemed hostile to the questions. Very weird.

[Nancy in Nokomis]

It is a little odd around here - my husband has been interviewing for jobs and even when he is offered the job they dont even take him out for lunch.

Years ago people were actually taken out to lunch on interviews. Is it just this area or is it like that everywhere these days?

[robbobobbo]

If anecdotes are evidence, I'll pipe up to say that in interviews that I've had, both as interviewee and interviewer, I haven't encountered this (arrogance, interviewer not supplying company and position information). Maybe because I'm in IT and not marketing or sales - I don't know if those professions are typified by self-aggrandizement and one-upmanship or not. Maybe IT people are more laid-back and therefore I have a myopic view. I also don't run into arrogance very often in the general public here, and I interact with IT professionals in business settings, and a wide variety of professionals in personal settings. If anything, I encounter rudeness or brusqueness more from public-facing employees like store clerks and Metro employees.

As for the first interview, I see things the opposite of OP. It sounds like you stressed how you could improve things, and you got irritated because the owner didn't respond appreciatively. Speaking as an interviewer, it can be a turn-off for an applicant to come in with visions of "fixing" things or making sweeping changes. Companies are usually looking for a team member, not a hero. But considering you got an offer, you must have impressed them, so was it just that the owner didn't show interest or enthusiasm for your ideas at the time?

Also, depending on where you are in your career, if you're looking for work and a sucessful business person is offering not just a job, but what sounds like a mentoring opportunity ("I'll teach you the whole business"), I wouldn't be so quick to view that as arrogant or paternalistic. Of course, if the person, business, or position didn't "click" with you, it didn't, but I thought I'd mention that.

Also, I find marketing-speak to be rampant, and not confined to this area. Popular culture ridicules the three-letter-acronym, the synergies, the paradigms, and all that fluff.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by Fairfax Mom

It is a little odd around here - my husband has been interviewing for jobs and even when he is offered the job they dont even take him out for lunch.

Years ago people were actually taken out to lunch on interviews. Is it just this area or is it like that everywhere these days?

A few days after starting my first job here, my supervisor and manager took me out for lunch. But, beyond meeting some headhunters, I've never been taken out for lunch as part of the interviewing process, whether here or elsewhere. Don't know if that's an "East Coast thing" or a "your position isn't high/important enough to merit a schmoozing lunch" thing.

Closer to the OP's comments, I definitely think there are a considerable number of people here who are proud of their position of where they are in the pecking order of the Feds and contractors...but it hasn't really affected me, particularly not in the interview process.

[poloi3eai2]

I could only see companies taking potential hires out to lunch if the person is a top dog salesmen at another company or if you're a one of kind ultratalented person like Mark Zuckerburg.

[vermonter16]

In my office building I have folks that won't even respond when I greet them. Or who I will be following into the bathroom, they'll turn their head around to see that I am there and not hold the door. Now, this is one person in particular but I've seen her do it to others - and people like her! Now, I don't know who she is and I work completely by myself which is why I don't get the respect that others might. They simply have no reason to respect me. I think it is just the nature of the area. There are lots of folks who are just plain rude but not everyone mind you.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Fairfax Mom

IYears ago people were actually taken out to lunch on interviews. Is it just this area or is it like that everywhere these days?

This is consistent with what's going on everywhere. Companies have cut way back on this type of expenditure along with travel. Only what's absolutely necessary to get the job done. In many larger companies nowadays you won't get a scrap of free food unless on expenses, meaning overnight travel. The days of catered lunch meetings and expensing lunches out are pretty much over. I can understand it. One more reason to work virtually instead of at an office.

[bmwguydc]

HR people tend to be iron-fisted and velvet-gloved, meaning that they are the company's watchdogs, and they have their own ways of getting to the heart of the matter to find out if you are a good candidate. Yes, they will tend to be arrogant when you indicate that you do not know about the company, especially if it is esteemed or has a reputation within its own sphere of business. I can say as someone who has had to hire people that when the HR people, be they generalists or the VP herself, has gone on the hunt for candidates, it would not end well for them if someone got through them to me and wasted an hour or two of my day to interview a prospective candidate, only to find that they are not the proper fit.

It's not a function of the area per se, rather a function of corporate HR. HR people can be friendly and welcoming, but they are also administrators, and as such have their own jobs to do. Every company thinks that it is the most important at what they do, so you absolutely must know who they are and what they do. While I may not condone the curt manner, she had every right to be angry because you were not treating a potential employer as the superstar in the industry that they think they are, regardless as to how flawed their current practices may be, and what you can add to the team. Few people can have the arrogance to have people pursue them for positions, especially in this employment climate.

The other aspect that may have set her off is that you didn't know who they are, which gives the impression that you are applying for multiple jobs. It's fine to do that, but a prospective employer doesn't care, and wants you to be committed to them, even at a preliminary stage. If you know about the company, as others have said, you are a serious candidate, and focused on your search, not giving the impression of dabbling with multiple applications. Remember, you have one interaction with an HR person, but she had dozens a day, most likely, especially when conducting a candidate search, so wasting time on phone calls is not going to elicit a positive response.

Good luck in your search. While there may be some in this area who are arrogant, remember that it's a different set of rules when you are dealing with HR.