Not sure what level of exposure your average worker has to design and web development, but there is a particular breed of folks therein that just tickles my funny bone...The Programmers! I swear these people have made it through the evolutionary chain untouched, and their purity is awe inspiring!
Flash back and imagine my delight when we find ourselves recruiting for a programming position, and I unearth and interview this guy who is just the living embodiment of Adrian Monk!!
Some people are put off by quirky, I say pop some popcorn and enjoy the show! In this case it was summertime, so we had fresh fruit around the office and I had fresh grapes in a bowl on the table. Courtesy dictates I offer programmer some grapes, thinking it would break the ice a bit too. Small talk and now we are a few questions into the interview, programmer has not taken his eyes off of the grapes. Now asking more pointed questions, programmer is talking to the grapes, now asking for examples and programmer is giving examples to the grapes....no eye contact at all!!
Thinking this can't be as funny as I think it is, and still conducting the interview, I decide to see how far we can go with this, so I move the grapes ever so slightly, without hesitation programmer reaches out and moves them back!! Hilarious!! Trying not to laugh out loud, I now reach for the grape he was going to take, and am met with an awkward stare and for a brief moment all conversation stops!!
Their is a brief interruption and I see the end in sight, programmer has actually pulled off the interview on many levels, no eye contact and grape obsession aside, and will be meeting with the design team next for a panel interview.
As I push back from the table and reach forward to shake hands with programmer, I knock the bowl of grapes off the table into the trash can...programmer lunged sideways trying to save the grapes from certain inedible destruction, but was too late. Certain this moment hurt programmer more than myself, the only think left to do was share a moment of silence and walk out the door.
And we're off...
