His Work Ethic Is Not Broken

(We have someone coming in for a job interview, which I’m preparing for. I get a call from one of the employees, who is freaking out and telling me to come down right away. When I get there, I see our interviewee leaning against the counter, covered in blood and with a clearly broken arm.)

Me: “Oh my gosh, sir! Are you okay? I’ll call you an ambulance right away!” *I notice that one of my employees is already on the phone with 911.*

Interviewee: *clearly in pain* “Oh, it’s okay, I’ll go to the hospital after the interview.”

Me: “What happened?”

Interviewee: “I tried to pull my cat from a tree branch outside and fell out of a second story window onto cement. Don’t worry about it. So, the interview?”

Me: “Sir, I know you want this job, but if you had called us and told us what had happened, I would have understood completely why you couldn’t make it in today and rescheduled!”

Interviewee: “Hey, while we’re waiting for the ambulance, do you think we can maybe quickly have that interview? I get the feeling I’ll be preoccupied the next couple of weeks.”

Me: “Uh… okay, sir.”

(Since the idea of the interview seemed to keep him calm, I agreed and gave him one on the spot while we waited, which he aced despite the fact that he was clearly in a lot of pain. When I told my boss what had happened, he told me to hire him, saying anyone who insisted on coming in despite a broken arm was clearly dedicated to getting that job. He’s been one of our best and most dedicated employees, to the point where we actually have to beg him not to come into work whenever he gets sick, because he refuses to call off.)

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