"Okay? Hahaha!": A Hypothetical

[Infected Mushroom]

Please consider the following hypothetical:

You are an interviewer at a medium sized company involved in consulting.

You are looking to hire a someone to do some mundane (but extremely time-consuming, tedious, and detail heavy) administrative tasks and who from time to time may have to interact with the clients.

You interview a bunch of people for the position. As instructed by your boss, you interview using standard interview questions, for example:

"Tell us about a challenge or conflict you've faced at work and how you dealt with it?"
"What are your greatest professional strengths?"
"Where do you see yourself in five years?"
Etc etc etc...

Your boss tells you to take a "wholistic approach" to hiring and that the important thing is that the person has patience, will take no issue with taking orders from demanding superiors, has prior experience, has a sense of "responsibility" and is good with details, will last long enough at this brutal company and overwork culture to be a reasonable investment, and isn't a complete moron.

You schedule a whole week's worth of interviews. Because your company is known to be a terrible place to work at and your compensation is an insult to human dignity, the applicants on the whole are of relatively poor quality (at least as measured by capitalism).

However, two candidates manage to stand out.

"Alex" and "Armin" stand out as the two most qualified candidates with the best resumes and the best performance/impressions from the interviews.

Once you compile everything that can be measured, "Armin" is a substantially more qualified candidate than "Alex (although "Alex" is pretty good as well)."

However, there is a catch...

...

During "Armin's" interview, he proved himself to be very good at answering the interview questions and he definitely got his point across (that he's organised, dedicated, patient, and likes overcoming challenges etc etc etc what the bosses want to hear) and he's definitely made it sound like he did a heck of a lot in his previous jobs. As far as you had the resources to check up on what he said, it all seems to check out and this "Armin" seems to be a good worker.

The only problem though, is that during his interview he would end every single third sentence or so with a very strange:

"Okay? Hahaha."

For example, he would give this absolutely A+ answer to how he overcame a workplace challenge, but for whatever reason he would interject here and there with... "Okay? Hahaha." You find the strange laugh at the end kind of irritating to be honest and you're not quite sure why there is a need to say "Okay?" at all.

You tell the boss about your concern but you're boss says, "It could be a problem because we don't want some of our clients to think that our company is staffed by idiots; he's going to have to interact with the clients for a fair amount. ITS UP TO YOU. Just hire whoever you think will do the better job. You've got this. And if you get it wrong, well, maybe I place too much trust in you."

"Alex" gave a perfectly "normal" if unremarkable interview but as previously stated, he's a less stellar candidate than "Armin" on paper.

...

The discussion question is this. Assuming you must hire either Armin or Alex, who do you hire and WHY? How much do you tell Armin if he's not hired?

Your options:

1. You do not hire Armin. You don't tell him why, just that someone else was hired okay? hahaha. (Alex is hired)

2. You do not hire Armin. You do tell him why but only to help him in the future (so he can improve). You tell him that it was a very close call but for whatever reason he kept saying "okay? hahaha" and that's what swung it against him. Sorry, but we're going to have to go with the other candidate because we're not sure you can play ball in time. Okay? hahaha (Alex is hired)

3. You hire Armin. He's the better candidate, and who cares if he has this strange quirk where he goes "okay? hahaha." There's no need to mention it at all, just let his manager correct him in the future if it becomes an issue. Okay? hahaha

4. You hire Armin, on the condition that he stops saying "okay? hahaha." You bring up the issue immediately and get him to promise that he will make a 100% effort to drop this stupid line in all interactions in the future. Okay? hahaha

I'm going to reluctantly go with Option 1 because this way I'm unlikely to lose my miserable hypothetical job. It doesn't matter if the boss doesn't get the best candidate possible, what matter is that I minimise the risk to myself. The boss clearly implied that I will in some way be held responsible for the hiring decision and since he himself said he didn't care, then I think Alex is fine. Okay? hahaha.

[Page]

Sounds like Armin might have Tourette's and if I don't hire him and tell him why, he might be able to launch a discrimination lawsuit.

But I say hire Alex regardless of Armin's problem, because if I choose the most qualified candidate for a shitty job with shitty pay, he's not going to stay long once he realizes how miserable the job will make him. Alex, being mediocre, is more likely to tolerate the job for longer.

[Socialist Workers Combine]

Just monitor Armin a little bit to start. He may just have been nervous anyway.
You could always give him an internship to start, and he’s the more qualified candidate.
Have a pretend caller call him on on the phone.

To be honest though, I’m just speaking from my meritocratic politics.

[Heloin]

Job for crazy people only attracts crazy people, who'd a guess.

Who would have noticed another madman around here anyways, hire Armin.

[Infected Mushroom]

Job for crazy people only attracts crazy people, who'd a guess.

Who would have noticed another madman around here, hire Armin.

[Socialist Workers Combine]

But I say hire Alex regardless of Armin's problem, because if I choose the most qualified candidate for a shitty job with shitty pay, he's not going to stay long once he realizes how miserable the job will make him. Alex, being mediocre, is more likely to tolerate the job for longer.

Armin could easily move up the ranks, if not discriminated against.

[The New California Republic]

I'd attribute it to nervousness and hire them. If they keep doing it during their trial period then they would get sacked, as it clearly isn't nervousness by that point.

[Socialist Workers Combine]

Besides, I’m gay and I like quirky gay guys.

(In feminine voice). Like okay? Ha ha ha

[Andsed]

It could have been simple nervousness so I would hire Armin but make sure to keep an eye on him.

[Purgatio]

"Because your company is known to be a terrible place to work at and your compensation is an insult to human dignity, the applicants on the whole are of relatively poor quality (at least as measured by capitalism)."

Wow...why am I working for this company then? The correct answer is you leave the job and find another employer who recognises your value. Sorry, my talent and value doesn't come cheap, why would I even work for a company that all the talented individuals are avoiding like the plague? Clearly not good for my career if I stick around.

Correct answer is I leave the company and find work elsewhere.

[Grinning Dragon]

"Because your company is known to be a terrible place to work at and your compensation is an insult to human dignity, the applicants on the whole are of relatively poor quality (at least as measured by capitalism)."

Wow...why am I working for this company then? The correct answer is you leave the job and find another employer who recognises your value. Sorry, my talent and value doesn't come cheap, why would I even work for a company that all the talented individuals are avoiding like the plague? Clearly not good for my career if I stick around.

Correct answer is I leave the company and find work elsewhere.

You do that after you hire Armin.
Also, perhaps it's a nervous tick that Armin has? Interviews can be somewhat stressful and being put on the spot was perhaps his tick.

[Purgatio]

"Because your company is known to be a terrible place to work at and your compensation is an insult to human dignity, the applicants on the whole are of relatively poor quality (at least as measured by capitalism)."

Wow...why am I working for this company then? The correct answer is you leave the job and find another employer who recognises your value. Sorry, my talent and value doesn't come cheap, why would I even work for a company that all the talented individuals are avoiding like the plague? Clearly not good for my career if I stick around.

Correct answer is I leave the company and find work elsewhere.

You do that after you hire Armin.
Also, perhaps it's a nervous tick that Armin has? Interviews can be somewhat stressful and being put on the spot was perhaps his tick.

If this company is really such a terrible career option, I feel like I'm under a moral duty to hire no one, so they can save themselves.

[New Udonia]

Just discuss the matter with Armin, aka if he wants the job to knock off the catchphrase. If he refuses or tries to debate, simply hire Alex.

[Grinning Dragon]

You do that after you hire Armin.
Also, perhaps it's a nervous tick that Armin has? Interviews can be somewhat stressful and being put on the spot was perhaps his tick.

If this company is really such a terrible career option, I feel like I'm under a moral duty to hire no one, so they can save themselves.

I've worked at places like that, but doesn't seem to come into focus until you are hired on, in the revelation that said place is a soul draining black hole. I've walked off jobs like that.

[Purgatio]

If this company is really such a terrible career option, I feel like I'm under a moral duty to hire no one, so they can save themselves.

I've worked at places like that, but doesn't seem to come into focus until you are hired on, in the revelation that said place is a soul draining black hole. I've walked off jobs like that.

Exactly, we all suffer from behavioural inertia and a tendency to under-value our own worth on the labour market. We don't leave shitty jobs fast enough, if I hire either candidate I'm subjecting them to that psychological trap. They are better off getting rejected and finding a better employer out there. So I reject both and quit myself. Simple.

[Dumb Ideologies]

Hire Alex. I'd rather work with people who don't have habits that get on my tits (and the clients, if I'm pretending to care about them).

[Purpelia]

Hire Alex. I'd rather work with people who don't have habits that get on my tits (and the clients, if I'm pretending to care about them).

Same here. Just hire the normal person and don't even call the other one back. Don't call us we won't call you sort of thing.

And if he does reach out to get information have him talk to some menial administrator like a secretary or spin him in circles between such characters all telling him that they don't know and can't contact me until he gives up. And if he does somehow reach me just tell him he is overqualified for the position. That's a nice little buzzword to keep his ego pumped and shut him up by doing so.

[Decu Caine]

Hire Armin, but tell him to work on the "Okay? Hahaha" thing if it becomes an issue. It's possible he was just nervous, or it's just a quirk(for lack of a better word) that he developed. Either way, it's not a reason to dismiss him for a worse candidate.

[Castelia]

I'd hire Armin, but I'll also make him drop the weird catchphrase. Like others said, he may actually just be nervous. Or if he's still saying that after he gets hired, I'll at least try to have him drop it when speaking to clients. It doesn't matter to me if he says it in casual conversation.

[Socialist Workers Combine]

Same here. Just hire the normal person and don't even call the other one back.

“Normal” okay ha ha ha

[Heloin]

Hire Alex. I'd rather work with people who don't have habits that get on my tits (and the clients, if I'm pretending to care about them).

Just hire Armin and leave the company afterwards. Think of him as leaving a giant middle finger to the company.

[Dumb Ideologies]

Hire Alex. I'd rather work with people who don't have habits that get on my tits (and the clients, if I'm pretending to care about them).

Just hire Armin and leave the company afterwards. Think of him as leaving a giant middle finger to the company.

Perfect. And then I hire you as my "evil plot" consultant.

[Caracasus]

Eh, the guy is nervous. I'd probably hire him though. Verbal tics quickly become background noise after a while.

[San Lumen]

I much preferred your older hypotheticals like the video games and voting or the computer that killed criminals. Your newest ones are very difficult to follow and to long winded.

[Caracasus]

Honestly though, a verbal tic is really not a big deal. Fuck, at least he doesn't steal other people's stuff, decide for unknown reasons that someone in the office is their worst enemy ever and act really passive agressive towards them, spend the entire time there utterly and unreasonably happy and cheerful to the point you actually want to drown them, spend the entire lunchbreak rambling on about conspiracy theories and how they'd survive the upcoming race war, try and hit on anything remotely female constantly, insist on cycling 3 miles to work in the middle of summer without apparently ever bathing or constantly bitch about everything ever.

Slight verbal tics are easy to live with.