“STRUGGLES WITH PRAYER”

This month, the online rental software company I work with has been looking to bring on a new person to our support team.  We’ve been fortunate to interview several quality people who have great experience working as site managers, property managers and landlords themselves. I actually have enjoyed this hiring phase!  When helping our team evaluate the stack of applicants and the interviewees, it was helpful to me to keep in mind some of my past experiences when I was in the market for a new position.

First, it’s a tough market out there today!  The competition is fierce! It takes moxy to put your best foot forward when you know there are dozens of other qualified people applying for the same position and you only stand a small chance of being the one who lands the job.  As the person hiring, it’s important to keep in mind a clear vision of what your company needs before you begin the interview process less you get distracted.  It’s easy to come up with great questions to send your applicants into tongue-tied diatribes, but what is it you truly want from an employee?  Being very honest about those absolutes with those applying is crucial to avoid wasting your time and those who are searching to be gainfully employed.

Before I began my career in property management software, I had decided I would try venturing out into a new arena, that being community service.  With the recession in full-swing, our community saw unemployment rates pushing 20%, and many who had never faced homelessness or lack of means to eat, were lining up in droves at food banks. A local non-profit was hiring for the position of director of one of the most successful food banks in my community.  I loved the work they were doing to really reach the community in need.

I was one among 30 that were called in for a group interview.  I made the cut and moved to phase two and phase three of interviews.   Going into the fourth interview,  I realized they were down to picking the final candidate.   

The final interview was the most challenging interview I’ve ever had.  I was before five board members who asked me pretty personal questions about myself, my specific fundraising plans, budgetary goals and my management strategies.  Near the end, I felt very confident – like it was going to happen – I was going to get this job!  Then, the pastor who founded the non-profit asked me “Janell, we’d like it if you could bow your head and lead us in prayer…”  Um… what??  It’s not like I’ve never prayed before, but at an interview?!?!  In all my years of hiring and firing, I knew that religion was one of the no-no’s that you just didn’t touch on with employees.   I was caught so off guard, I must have sounded like a kid kneeling by her bedside reciting her memorized prayer from bible school.  I felt weird.  Like I was in my underwear and wasn’t sure if God, the board or I was more disappointed with my hesitation.  I ended with “Amen,” stood, shook everyone hands and then was out the door.

A few days later I got a voice mail message from board director and he tells me “Janell, we really loved you and the only thing that made us hesitate in offering you the job was that you seemed challenged in prayer….”  I was mad.  Mad because it seemed so inappropriate.  After a day of considering how I wanted to address what I felt was a grievance, I decided to let it go, because what good would come from it?  And, maybe the most important thing to them was how well the director would handle prayer.  Maybe I missed the obvious somewhere along the way.

They ended up hiring an amazing woman (who could pray quite well… her husband was a minister…) and I continued on the board for a while, and offered the help my conscious wanted to give. But it taught me a lesson, and one apparently I needed.  And that is, know what you’re getting into and in turn, be clear about your expectations of others.