I recently heard about a CEO who likes to interview potential employees at early hours of the morning. According to him, these interviews are good in multiple ways. First: it lets him test the potential employee’s mettle, allowing to see how well this person handles uncomfortable situations. Second, it helps accustom the man to the environment in the workplace. Third, it lets him see just how much commitment this employee would be bringing to this job.

Needless to say, not all share this view. There are those that argue that companies are trying purchase talent and should therefore cater to the employee. They say that early morning interviews are just a way of finding like-minded individuals and yes-men, rather than critical thinkers and high value employees, who know their own worth and value it.

Which side is correct?

After due consideration, I have come to the inescapable conclusion that the side that calls early morning interviews arrogance are living in a bubble.

The simple fact is that there is a surplus of professionals available for almost any position.And if an employer can’t good workers here, he will simply import from Mexico or some country in Asia, like Vietnam, using an H1B Visa.

Accordingly, potential employees do not hold any advantage over their potential employers. They are the ones who must sell, but companies do not have to buy.

It’s called consumerism.

So, while it may be good policy to arrange early morning interviews for, well, basically every job out there, it wouldn’t be such a good idea if you are trying to attract specialized workers.

But in that case you are fine, because specialized workers respect themselves and have no problem coming in for an early morning interview, because such people are up and active at that time at any rate. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but there is a reason no one caters to exceptions: they don’t come often. In conclusion, if you make the argument that early morning interviews drive away potentially good employees, you do not belong in the HR industry, as you are clearly tone deaf when comes to hiring concerns.