Things you better not ask

DURING A JOB INTERVIEW

My colleague editor from RTL Boulevard once sent the applicant home during a job interview. The lady hadn't watched any episodes of Boulevard in the past weeks and immediately showed herself incapable of the job.

I thought it was a bit harsh at the time, but he was right. We had better things to do than politely listen to someone who didn't have the courtesy to prepare a little. And over the years, we've experienced more interview blunders.

“How do I get here by public transport?”

We immediately knew we were dealing with a nice independent and decisive type. Really a go-getter who knows a solution for every problem. “What about typing 9292 travel information into Google?” Josselin asked. Next.

“What do you actually do?”

Asked a quite nice candidate after a brief conversation with Jet and Liesbeth. Well... Uh... We are the editors of the site you are currently applying to. Think of us as the faces of the site. You know: Amayzine, the site you want to work for so badly.

“What is my internship allowance and what kind of contract do I actually get?”

I get that one more often than I would like from internship applicants. Uh, sweetheart. How about making your trial assignment first? If that's a bit okay, we'll calmly discuss whether you can do your internship here and if so, at what price.

“Do I not have to get coffee then?”

The Big Fear among interns: getting coffee. Because no, you wouldn't wish that on your worst enemy; having to press the green button on the Nespresso machine every now and then. We get coffee, well actually tea, for each other all day long. So you will too. And shall I teach you something? You won't get closer to someone than with a cup of coffee. I would have paid money if I could have brought coffee to John de Mol during my internship. And then of course stick around and secretly peek at what’s on his desk and entice him to tell everything about the profession.