A story of how an applicant was turned away from their job interview after failing a "test" has emerged on social media.
The anecdote in question was shared earlier this year on the Reddit subforum r/LifeProTips - a page where users discuss "Tips that improve your life in one way or another."
In a thread entitled: "LPT: Interview Starts Immediately" a Redditor with the handle u/sawta2112 reminded us all that a job interview starts from the moment you enter the office.
Check out this video of a Walmart employee quitting their job in the best possible way:
They wrote: "Today, a candidate blew his interview in the first 5 minutes after he entered the building. He was dismissive to the receptionist. She greeted him and he barely made eye contact.
"She tried to engage him in conversation. Again, no eye contact, no interest in speaking with her. What the candidate did not realize was that the 'receptionist' was actually the hiring manager.
"She called him back to the conference room and explained how every single person on our team is valuable and worthy of respect."
The Redditor continued: "Due to his interaction with the 'receptionist,' the hiring manager did not feel he was a good fit. Thank you for your time but the interview is over. Be nice to everyone in the building."
Suffice it to say that this illustration of the importance of politeness and respect clearly resonated with a lot of people, accruing over 45,000 upvotes and a further 2,400 comments as of the time of writing.
For example, one person wrote: "I'll add as someone who's been on every step of the hiring ladder, even if the receptionist wasn't the hiring manager, that receptionist will still get her two cents in at the water cooler while decisions are being made.
"In a few fields I've worked in, it wasn't just the people in the conference room that were consulted before making an offer. Be on point at all times, every employee is a potential team mate and they're all assessing you."
A second person then wrote: "And add to that. A good receptionist holds some weight and usually is in good standing with many employees. Everywhere I worked, you didn't do well if you treated the receptionist or secretaries badly."
Meanwhile, another person agreed, stating: "Yep. Used to work as a receptionist.
"My boss would specifically pull me in after every interview and ask how the potential employee acted toward me/conducted themselves in the waiting area."
Finally, someone else chimed in: "Goes both ways. I once turned down a job because of the way the HR guy spoke to the receptionist."
The original poster then returned to their own thread to post a follow-up, writing: "We definitely include the whole team in some capacity of the interview process.
"Small team so it's pretty easy to do that. More importantly, because it is a small team, we all need to get along."
So there you have it. If you've got a job interview of your own coming up in the near future, then please don't forget that manners cost nothing and that rudeness can cost you a higher salary.
