Recruiter Uses Late Night Text Test to Find Out If Candidates Are Right for Job

Sometimes the little things can help you land a job, but how about a late night text message that helps you determine if you get a position?

Simple things like a polite greeting, a good joke or a flirty smile can help seal the deal when it comes to landing the job you want.

We all have to play the game, at least a little, overcome a few obstacles and pass a few tests.

But William Vanderbloemen, who runs an executive search firm in Houston, has his own test, which is a little unusual to say the least.

Explaining the process, he said he would text potential candidates late at night after their interview to judge whether or not they would be a good fit for the company and its culture.

Speaking to Business Insider, he said that around 10 p.m., you get this text message: “Hey, (candidate’s name), this is Ben. I work at Vanderbloemen. I was out of the office today. I heard you were here. I heard everyone was really impressed with you. I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet you. I’d love to meet you someday. I hope this can work out.”

Vanderbloemen said he invented the test to see how quickly they would react, because the roles the test is used for expect workers to be extremely responsive.

You react quickly and this could help increase your chances of getting the job.

While this test may seem pretty weird, Vanderbloemen said that how you answer or not will not prevent you from getting a job, so I guess that’s something.

He added that even by responding within 24 hours, most candidates would have a head start on their competitors.

But he added that responding quickly doesn’t hurt and can help show that you’re the “same kind of crazy.” That’s one way of putting it.

Vanderbloemen, founder and CEO of Vanderbloemen Search Group, decided that text message testing might be a good measure of whether a job candidate would be a good fit for a client that has a fast-moving culture.

He explained that many roles require candidates to always be on track and hoped candidates would take the opportunity to show their enthusiasm.

Evening Slack messages are rare but should be answered that evening “because it’s like Defcon 3. Defcon 2 is like if I message you after hours, I need a response like now,” he said. “And if I call you after hours, pick up.”

If that doesn’t suit you, I guess you might not be the ideal candidate for the rule they’re looking for.