On May 19th, I posted a simple question on LinkedIn, "What have job candidates done or said that blew their chances of getting hired?" and was amazed by the answers. To excerpt a few:

• "My favorite is one guy who went through a round of interviews, passing everything with flying colors, but I sensed something and decided to take him out of the office for coffee to get him away from the formal interview process. Within 20 minutes he began to explained his theory on how the world was being controlled by aliens and then proceeded to point a few out to me."
• "I once had a person cry in an interview as I was questioning them about their background and they admitted to falsifying their resume and they broke down when I started asking them about their responsibilities in their positions.
• "I once had a guy challenge me to an arm wrestling match for the job."
• I once had a person who answered my question of "what was the most significant thing you have accomplished in the last 5 years?" question with "Absolutely nothing...next question please".
• I interviewed a candidate for a Director-level position on an unusually cold day in January. I met him in our lobby and offered to hang-up his top coat in the closet. As he's removing his top coat he says, "(expletive) It's as cold as a witch's ___!" He read my "blank face" and quickly added, "Hey, lighten-up, all I said was (expletive)! Don't tell me you've never heard THAT word before."

I could not believe so many weird, inappropriate things had happened during job interviews. Clearly, this was something that the interviewers of candidates wanted to share. Also, it dawned on me that by providing a glimpse into how recruiters and executives make up their minds about candidates, we might actually help candidates do and say the right things that will lead to their getting hired.

Also, it dawned on me that if TJNTIY (they're just not that into you)anecdotes could inform and entertain, we thought the opposite (TIY - they're . . . into you) might also hold true. What if people shared anecdotes about what the candidates did or said that actually led to their being hired? What if hiring managers, recruiters, and candidates that landed the job shared their thoughts about why a candidate was selected over all the others. That could be really interesting, and really helpful.

So, my friends, come visit TJNTIY.com. Enjoy. Share. Tell your amazing stories and then tell your  friends.