The Insomnia Blog
Donuts for interviews?
Who doesn’t love donuts? I mean really, I wouldn’t have a problem eating a whole dozen except for the little voice in the back of my head reminding me “it’s probably not the best idea”. So this brings me to the point at hand. Is it a good idea to bring a box of donuts to an interview, or even before you’ve even gotten the call for said interview? This may seem strange, but more and more its been happening. Back in Feb 2009, a guy walked in off the street, asking to be an intern at my company. The next morning there was a box of donuts and a note left at the front door…. Whats better than free donuts? Free Labor! The guy of course got the internship, and while development didn’t pan out for him, he’s working for me as a sales guy, so in his case everything was great.
But what if we had posted a job, and he tried bringing donuts to get the interview? The office consensus is that doing so would be a lame attempt at bribery. Now this lame attempt doesn’t affect the speed at which the donuts are inhaled, but it does put the potential candidate in a different light with his future coworkers. It also sets some expectations that job seeker might need to live up to weekly, at least in my office it would… So whats the best way to get your foot in the door with a fun company that obviously looks at the world differently? Well for one, most people don’t read, and I don’t mean just reading the job posting. Take the time to review the company’s website. Try to figure out what makes this a place you really want to work, more than just a check at the end of the week. When I ask why you want to work at an office like mine, an answer of “It looks like a cool place to work” just doesn’t cut it. We go to the extra step to make sure everyone knows who they’re getting involved with when they work with or for us. Seriously, paying attention to details will get you much further than a slew of skills in a laundry list on a resume. Sure, creativity is a major plus with us, everyone here has it in their own way, well everyone except or Aaron, but he’s his own kind of special.
Things that have been offered up at Twine Interactive for Meetings / Interviews:
* 1 Dozen Donuts (twice, by 2 different people)
* 1 Halloween Size bag of Toblerone
* Milk and Cookies (good idea, lost points for 1 or 2% milk)
* An Apple for one of the developers
Things we’re looking forward to:
* A winning lottery ticket
* A bottle of Cabo Wabo (we’ll provide the shot glasses)
* A sense of humor
* A case of Quilmes for Juan
* Nerf Toys (or any other stupid 15 minute toy)