No Weapons Allowed!
My clients and I were interviewing a man who arrived prepared with several sealed 8×11 envelopes. When he sat down, he asked if we needed a copy of his resume. I said “no thank you” because I already had one sitting on the table in front of me he’d already provided. He mentioned that he also brought some additional documents like references. He began describing his last manager with such anger and venom, I was concerned and actually did want to see the references he brought. When he opened the envelope to hand them over, he struggled with the envelope’s seal. While I was curiously wondering why the envelopes were sealed to begin with, he whipped out a huge serrated edge knife to slice one open. Wide eyed in amazement, we unfortunately did not hear what he said because we were so focused on that knife. We ended the interview really quickly, realizing that the candidate was probably not a great fit.
While this individual had some really amazing experience, my client actually felt somewhat threatened in the interview process. Be careful how you present yourself to future employers. While opening a letter with an appropriate tool is certainly understandable, carrying a weapon into the interview is probably not the best way to secure your chances for employment.