He sent naked pix to HR manager: Is that a red flag?

Gotta admit, it’s a novel way to introduce yourself to your new co-workers.  

An Illinois man sent naked pictures of himself to the HR manager of a company that had recently made him a job offer, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune.

The HR manager, a woman, reported the incidents to police. A police spokesperson said, “There was a conditional offer of employment made to this particular applicant. … He texted the HR director and sent a nude photo of himself.” The man later sent a second stripped-down selfie.

We’re guessing sending the naked photos was not one of the conditions of the “conditional offer.”

Astonishing as it may seem, the job offer was withdrawn, according the the Tribune.

The texter told police it was all a big mistake. Ya think?

Companies screw up hiring process, too

Alas, job seekers aren’t the only ones who sabotage the hiring process.

In a post on LinkedIn’s Talent Blog, Lou Adler outlined the ways companies shoot themselves in the foot in their efforts to hire good people.

A sampling:

They filter candidates on skills and expertise. The net effect of this technique is to weed out potentially great candidates simply because their experience doesn’t match up exactly with the open position. Smart, motivated people learn new skills quickly; it’s silly to take them out of the running without even talking to them.

They target the wrong talent pool in the wrong places. The best candidates probably aren’t actively looking for jobs — they’re too busy doing their present jobs. Yet many companies just post ads on Internet job boards and wait for the resumes to arrive. Adler suggests a better idea: actively promote rreferrals from trusted employees and network contacts.

They’re stuck in the “hire in our own image” rut. Of course we all have a bias toward people like ourselves. But that attitude limits your workforce to, well, just people like ourselves. And although we’re no doubt paragons of any number of sterling qualities, companies need employees with a wide range of personalities and life experiences to keep ideas fresh.

They use “gladiator voting” or simply say “no.” Always safe to take a vote; and the vote almost always elects the most vanilla candidate. And taking a flyer on an applicant that’s a little offbeat, but could turn out to be a world-beater? The prudent thing is to just say no. That way you can’t be blamed if something goes awry.