An essential part of the hiring process is the interview. Potential new hires are usually aware of the importance of the interview, the significance of making a good first impression, and the need to come into an interview completely prepared. However, the interview is a two-way street, and unfortunately some managers/supervisors do not come into interviews with the same degree of preparedness and professionalism as the interviewee. "The One That Got Away" is about Dennis, the dining-room manager of a coffee shop within a large hotel. Dennis receives a drop-in application from Donna, a potential candidate for a waitress position. Instead of scheduling an interview for a more convenient time or asking Donna to please come back during the posted interview times,
Dennis decides to interview Donna in the dining room on the spot. This case study fills the reader in on Dennis's biases against hiring married women with children prior to his interview with Donna. After Dennis gets one of his employees to temporarily take over his hosting duties he sits down with Donna at a table close to the door so he can keep an eye on things while he interviews her. He begins by looking over her application, but is interrupted numerous times by other employees and leaves the interview to attend to the problems. Although he is impressed by Donna's resume, he is never able to have a complete uninterrupted conversation with her. Dennis also asks inappropriate questions to Donna regarding her personal life (if she is married, does she have children, etc.).
When Dennis gets up again to address another issue Donna gets up as well and ends the interview. When Dennis calls the next day to offer her the job, she informs him that she has taken another position with a hotel.
Dennis made multiple mistakes during this interview. He conducts the interview in the middle of a busy