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I need to hire 2-3 developers, quickly (large company and budgets shift quickly, so spend it or lose it). They will be hired in town and work out of our main offices - we have 4 buildings on our campus.

Problem - I sustained an injury this past weekend, will need surgery, and probably will not be able to put pants on for 4-5 weeks, maybe longer. I definitely will not be able to be in the office the next week, possibly 2-3.

So can I get away with shorts during an interview where normal dress code is strict business casual? Could I conduct interview off campus? Also is taking a large amount of pain killers good for interview :)?

Addition: I hire a lot of tech jobs globally. The board is giving me clearance to start a team in my area, with these being the first few hires (just one person under me in my area now). I am trying to prove to them that they will get a great bang for their buck as my area is relatively cheap for tech in the US and by me vetting the people out in person I feel I can hire superior people. [fully aware this could backfire but I have enough clout that if it fails they will just laugh it off]

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    Imho, with a cast/bandage/... visible, I definitly wouldn't worry what applicants will think. If someone has a problem with pants then, I doubt you want to hire such a person at all (well, maybe depends a bit on the kind of work)
    – deviantfan
    Jun 21, 2016 at 4:14
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    Shorts are probably better than interviewing without anything... anyways how strong of painkillers are you talking about? Big difference between advil or morphine or somewhere in between.
    – enderland
    Jun 21, 2016 at 11:37
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    Are the effects of the injury visible (cast, brace, etc) or invisible?
    – Monica Cellio
    Jun 21, 2016 at 14:46
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    @MonicaCellio - Large boot. Don't think I own any pants that could fit over it.
    – blankip
    Jun 21, 2016 at 15:13

2 Answers 2

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You don't have much choice in the way of clothing so I wouldn't worry about that part of it. Pretty much the same with location. Pain killers are another issue, if you would have trouble concentrating without them, then no.

Realistically you should get someone else to do the interviews and avoid dress/location/painkiller issues altogether.

If you don't have anyone in-house qualified to do the tech end of things you can always bring a person in. Alternatively if it's not an in depth tech interview that's required you could coach someone else to do it. I'm often called in to help do interviews for my clients who don't have technical people. Normally I'll sit in with a HR and cover the tech end, take a few notes and make my recommendations after all the interviews.

What will happen if you take the interviews is that half of it becomes about you and your issue of the moment, rather than a clear focus on filtering applicants for jobs. While I'm sure everyone will sympathise, it's neither the professional nor the optimal way to handle this situation.

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    I am for sure the only one qualified to hire these guys on campus. Our campus is admin/sales focused.
    – blankip
    Jun 21, 2016 at 4:51
  • Edited answer to account for that eventuality.
    – Kilisi ♦
    Jun 21, 2016 at 5:03
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This is a situation where Skype is perfect. You working from home due to pain and the inability to dress properly makes sense. So do the interviews while you stay home.

The fact that you may live only a mile from the normal interview location doesn't matter, if going to that location is logistically difficult or painfully.

Now if the pain meds while resting at home make you too loopy to work, you may have to postpone the interviews or find somebody else.

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  • You can also wear a polo/dress shirt and no one will even know, regardless of what you are wearing below -- if anything at all...
    – enderland
    Jun 21, 2016 at 11:40
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    Skype is actually the last thing I want to do. I hire people from around the globe and do Skype all the time. The board is giving me a chance to hire people local to me - and my promise is more bang for the buck as my area isn't super expensive and I figure to vet out people better in person. I really should have included that in the question as your answer is good without that info.
    – blankip
    Jun 21, 2016 at 16:03

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