We’ll Resumé This Later

(Shortly after college, I got a job as a receptionist at a small, local company. My desk was right inside the front door, in an area completely walled-off from the rest of the building, and separated by one door with a key-card lock. Walk-in appointments were never allowed, so I would take all the messages and deliveries for every employee in the main office behind me. One afternoon, less than a half hour before closing, a college student comes in, dressed professionally, and carrying a folder.)

Student: “I saw your company was hiring interns, and I’d like to drop off my resume.”

Me: “Sure, I can take that and pass it on to HR.”

Student: “I’d like to speak to someone about it before I drop it off.”

Me: “Well, since it’s so late in the afternoon, our HR staff has actually already left for the day. But they’ll get your paperwork first thing in the morning.”

Student: “Can I see someone in charge of the position I’m applying for?”

Me: “He’s actually out of the office, too, I’m afraid.”

Student: “I need to speak to someone I can leave my resume with.”

Me: “You can leave it with me, and I’ll personally set it on our HR head’s desk, and double-check tomorrow morning to make sure she reviews it.”

Student: “Can I speak to someone in charge of hiring?”

(At this point, I can tell he’s not going to leave, even though I can’t give him a walk-in appointment, and even if I could, there is no one currently in the building who would have anything to do with hiring interns. To appease him, I message a coworker in the back to see if anyone from HR stayed late, even though I can see by their IM statuses that they’re all offline. The reply I receive confirms that the entire department is gone already.)

Me: “I’m sorry, everyone in HR has definitely already left for the day. But I go right by their desks on my way out, so I can leave your resume there with a note and your contact information. They’ll get it first thing in the morning.”

Student: “Can I talk to someone that I can leave my resume with?”

Me: “No one’s available right now. It’s the end of the day, and no one’s still here from HR. But I take all their messages and deliveries and I can promise you I’ll have it on the HR head’s desk before I leave tonight.”

Student: “Can I see someone in charge of hiring so I can leave my resume?”

(This continues for several minutes. Finally, in sheer desperation, I let myself into the main office, and grab the first person I see and quickly fill him in on the situation. I drag my poor, bewildered coworker out to the front, where he (finally!) successfully takes the student’s resume. The student, finally satisfied, says a quick “thank you” and hurries out of the office.)

Me: “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know what to do! He wouldn’t leave the building until he’d personally handed that to someone besides me!”

Coworker: “No problem. I’ll give this to HR in the morning, but it’s safe to say they’re not going to hire him after they hear about how he dropped this off!”

(We never did hire him. I hope he eventually learned that it’s possible to be TOO persistent when trying to impress a potential employer!)