Around 2004-2005 I travelled to Charlottesville to interview some of their MBA students for positions at the firm I was working at. One of the jobs was working directly for me. It was my first trip to UVA and I took great pride that as a Hokie I was in charge of choosing Hoos for employment.

One candidate had a fantastic resume and I was the first person to interview him amongst our team of six folks. He was a little nervous in the beginning. We had some small talk. I mention I was a Hokie and ask about the UVA outlook for the season. Two things were clear: he didn’t know much about football and he didn’t seem too thrilled I was a Hokie with no MBA interviewing him as a direct report.

Regardless the interview went well. He was a smart guy and seemed to have a lot going for him. I thanked him and as he turned to leave I noticed is suit pants still had a JC Penney tag sewn onto the rear pocket. In an effort to spare him any embarrassment I called him back and said something like “hey just letting you know your suit still has a tag on the pants”. Rather than responding favorably, he gets really pissed. Says something to the effect of “you are just trying to embarrass me since you couldn’t go here” and storms out skipping the remaining interviews with the rest of my team. I would have recommended him for the job but thankfully got to see his true makeup before we gave him an offer.

I often wonder what that guy is doing these days and if he returned his suit to JC Penney’s after the interview.