This recruiter wants to know if you can do the job. It's fine if your toddler comes to the interview.

Jalonni Weaver is an in-house recruiter at a life insurance company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. She's worked in the field since 2021. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.

I was interviewing a candidate for an early-career role. We got on the call, and she introduced herself, then moved the camera. She was like, "My toddler's sitting right here eating. Is it OK? He's not going to be a problem."

She explained that she couldn't afford childcare because she was unemployed.

Her toddler wasn't a problem. I have a one-year-old, and she's a problem. Most of the time, her toddler was just eating. He would make noises every now and then, but we were able to get through the full interview.

I've been unemployed with a kid. Thankfully, I could still provide because I had a significant other, but I understood where she was coming from.

People face challenges. Not every applicant may have a strong WiFi signal. Not every applicant may have a super quiet environment. I've had several times when people have been interviewing from their cars or from closets. I don't really look at where you are because I try to put myself in everybody's shoes.

I'm like, "In this market, if you're doing this, you need a job." I try to look at the bigger picture and not flag people just because they're not in a suit sitting at a desk.

I try to look at it from a human lens rather than, "You'll get docked because you had to reschedule your interview because you're in the hospital."

That doesn't mean there are no red flags. If someone reschedules and reschedules, I'm sending an email asking, "Hey, is there something going on? Are you still interested?"

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If somebody doesn't show up, I'll send one email and say, "If you would like to reschedule, here's the link."

It's all about communication. The people who show up with their kids or interview in their cars are making an effort.