Name Dropping

Quite a few people drop names in interviews, hoping to get an "in" because they know a member of the family that owns the company. And when that family is relatively large and has inhabited the area for over a hundred years, you get quite a few nephews of the founder's best friend or second-cousins on the mother's side hoping to cash in on their obscure relation to score some points with the HR guy.

But I just had by far the most random, obscure, entertaining one yet.

"My stepson's sister-in-law is the daughter of the sister of the CEO's wife."

I'm pretty sure that's what the connection was, anyways. It was kind of hard to follow. At any rate, it was the first time I've had someone try to make a claim to the company through their child, let alone a stepchild.

The best part was that he followed it with:

"So I don't know if that helps me out or not," and just left it hanging...

The whole name dropping thing is ridiculous, really. The best way to get a job, believe it or not, is to actually be qualified for it. Which this guy wasn't. Amazing how many people seem to miss that.