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Top Three Worst Job Interviews
All in the Computer Science Field circa 1997
Third Place:
HR calls me and informs me the interview will be conducted by six people. I think great, I've done panel interviews before. I arrived and only one person conducts the interview. Before he leaves, he says, "Wait right here." I took this as a good sign, maybe they were going to hire me on the spot. After about five minutes a second person walks in and starts another interview. Four hours later and totally exhausted, I interviewed with six different persons from the janitor to the CEO.
Second Place:
I walked into the company wearing a suit. Everyone working there is in shorts and t-shirts. The interviewer walks in wearing flip-flops and sits down. The first question is: "So, what floats your boat?"
The questions went downhill from there. After about three more questions, I said, "It's obvious that this job is not going to be a good fit for either of us. How about we just end this now?"
First Place:
"I've already hired someone for the position, but called you in because I need practice interviewing people."
Top Three Worst Job Interviews
All in the Computer Science Field circa 1997
Third Place:
HR calls me and informs me the interview will be conducted by six people. I think great, I've done panel interviews before. I arrived and only one person conducts the interview. Before he leaves, he says, "Wait right here." I took this as a good sign, maybe they were going to hire me on the spot. After about five minutes a second person walks in and starts another interview. Four hours later and totally exhausted, I interviewed with six different persons from the janitor to the CEO.
Second Place:
I walked into the company wearing a suit. Everyone working there is in shorts and t-shirts. The interviewer walks in wearing flip-flops and sits down. The first question is: "So, what floats your boat?"
The questions went downhill from there. After about three more questions, I said, "It's obvious that this job is not going to be a good fit for either of us. How about we just end this now?"
First Place:
"I've already hired someone for the position, but called you in because I need practice interviewing people."
I once interviewed with a software company, shortly after grad school. I, too, showed up in a professional business suit as recommended by campus job placement. I was brought into a conference room with about 12 people most of whom were dressed like they were headed to the beach. While I appreciated the laid back atmosphere, I would have dressed down a little had I known that was what I was getting into.
I also once drove 6 hours to interview with a company. They paid all expenses, which was nice, but in the interview they told me that they didn't have any open positions but were hoping to in the future. Seven months later I got a call asking if I was still interested. I had already started another job.
Most interviews have been good, though. Some on-site interviews were at my request, as the employer was ready to extend an offer after a phone interview.
I've never had a bad interview personally when job searching. I'm sure I've done better at some than others, but I never felt like damn I messed that up afterwards.
In 2009 I had been unemployed for 7 months and was really starting to get worried as I had never been unemployed since I started working (16-28 at that point). I showed up to a Management Interview in nice dress pants, nice shirt, tie etc. but no jacket, I thought that might be overkill (This is still Retail Management). The other guy interviewing at the same time as me was 20 years older than me and all decked out in an Armani suit. I thought I was screwed. I still interviewed as normal and didn't let it affect me, but I thought that guy was going to blow me away.
Turned out he was crazy and interviewed terribly. I ended up getting the job.
I had an interview at Bank of America for a consulting position a couple of years ago. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the interview was a sham so the hiring manager could claim no qualified US citizens could be found and he could bring in an H-1B. It was a panel interview and each of the interviewers was ruder than the last. Finally, one of them asked me to whiteboard some SQL in response to a question she posed. She freaked out when she saw my response yelling "IT IS WRONG!!! IT IS WRONG!!!". My solution was dead on and I suggested we run it on their system to prove it was correct. More yelling. It was one of two things: she was either supremely confident in her ignorance or she was playing games. I put on my coat and walked out. Fast forward a year and I got a job at BofA in another area. I mentioned this to my manager who knew the area quite well. The first thing he said was "You didn't stand a chance because that manager only hires other Indians. preferably H-1Bs".
My worst interview was when they kept asking me about Skill A, which I clearly didn't have, I was there to promote Skill B. I figured out that the person who wrote the ad and phone screened me didn't understand what the job was really about. It felt like a bait and switch. Awkward for everyone there.
I did just have several great interviews -- I was very qualified for both jobs, and the interview was less of "question and answer" and more like "talking shop" with people who were really into their jobs. All of a sudden an hour's gone by! Still waiting to hear about those positions.
First Place:
"I've already hired someone for the position, but called you in because I need practice interviewing people."
WOW, it sucks that you had to come in just to hear that, but you're lucky you didn't get hired by someone as inconsiderate as that! how could you do that to someone who's looking for work? practice interviewing on your friends or something.
It was the summer of 1999. I'd left a good job at the city water treatment plant for an opportunity for my ex-wife and I to try to get back together or at least be able to live close to her and our daughter. They lived in Arkansas and I lived in south Louisiana. Job market in that area was very lacking. Was getting desperate and was even applying for near minimum wage jobs just to have an income while looking for work in my skill set. At one point I told my ex-wife I was going to the town of Cabot to apply for work. My ex-wife got afraid and told me to be careful what I say there. Didn't know what she meant. Went to the Walmart in Cabot to apply for work. Thought something was unusual there and I picked up on the fact that many of the customers were black, but none of the employees were black. It was also unusual that the manager saw me right after I turned in the application. He was a large, very overweight man with suspenders and a big wad of tobacco in his mouth. I mentioned that I noticed no blacks were working there. He pulled on his suspenders and said, "hrump, not if we can help it". He then gives me a look out the corner of his eyes and says, "you not from around these hear parts, are ya"? I swear I heard a banjo playing the opening notes of "Dueling Banjos". I thanked him and left. Never went back to that town again.
Did eventually get the job I wanted which was at the local town water plant. Not as much pay as the job is worth, but it was a start. The interview went great. The boss was from the area but had traveled across the country doing work in various places. We talked equally about our travels and about the water plant work. The day I was to start, he calls me and tells me not to show up. Seems someone in the town council had an 18 year old son who just graduated high school and needed a job. Told me it wasn't his decision. I had become a financial burden on my ex-wife so I left Arkansas to head back to my hometown in Louisiana and found my current job and have been here ever since.
My BEST interview was for a company that agreed to interview me on a Sunday. We were in the process of relocating cross state, and after I explained to the HR that we were only out here on weekends during the move, he interviewed me on a Sunday. When he found out my DH and father-in-law (who was helping us move) had accompanied me and were waiting downstairs in the lobby, he invited them to his office to meet them. He explained to me that the VP who I would be assisting wanted a secretary who could take shorthand, I agreed to an on the spot test, and I aced it. He hired me on the spot. I started two weeks later.
My worst interview was with a small consulting firm in which the "President" came in almost a half hour late, unpacked his lunch on the desk, and proceeded to eat a tuna fish sub (heavy on the onions) during the interview, which he conducted sometimes with his mouth full. Unprofessional. He said he wanted a "Gal Friday", but was fuzzy on what that title entailed exactly, and the pay was only a bit over minimum wage. No benefits and I'd be required to run errands with my own car. I didn't get the job, but the company wasn't there that long either.
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