Company uses 'late night text' method to test unsuspecting candidates

Recently, unique hiring methods have been exposed across social media, including the coffee cup trick and now the 'late-night text.'

Just as you thought interview prep and rounds of questions, presentations, and group role-play weren't enough to ask for, one company has added another little-known trick to the mix.

William Vanderbloemen runs an executive search firm in Houston, Texas. He explained to Business Insider that he drops potential candidates a text at night to judge how they respond.

The text generally goes along the lines of: "Hey, Tim. This is Ben. I work at Vanderbloemen. I was out of the office today. I heard you were there. Heard that everyone was really impressed with you. I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you. I would love to connect with you sometime. Hope that can work."

Vanderbloemen's company uses the method to test how responsive candidates are, given it is a company that expects employees to be efficient in responding.

Responding quickly is said to help the chances of getting the role. That said, if the interviewee takes a while or doesn't reply, it doesn't prevent them from getting the job.

However, if the candidate replies within a minute, he said: "Then we're like, 'Yeah, no, he might be the same kind of crazy that we are. Is that normal for every job? No. Would it work for every company? No."

His methods aren't just restricted to texting, either.

The founder and CEO of Vanderbloemen Search Group sometimes changes the location of an interview half an hour before it's scheduled to start. While Vanderbloemen disclaimed that it is not usually him carrying out the interviews, he believes the methods help gauge how flexible a worker may be.

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