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It was back in December. I had a phone interview with the company's recruiter for an internship position as a recruiter. We agreed in an e-mail a few days earlier about the time. "Will 3PM work?," she wrote. "Absolutely, I'm looking forward to our conversation," I replied.
I awaited patiently for the phone interview call at 3PM. I'm as ready as can be. Remember, NO phone calls -- only receive a call from the company. 15 minutes pass, I'm still waiting. I become pretty frustrated and feeling let-down, so at 3:40, I e-mailed her. She responds like 10 seconds later, saying "I’m so sorry! I had you down for 4:00 PM. My apologies! Can I call you right now?" I was P----ED! Talk about a negative first impression, and even the audacity to want to speak to me 45 minutes later. I told her that wouldn't work and we eventually set on another time for the interview. The next phone interview and we discussed my qualifications. I met the criteria but I never heard anything back from them. Looking back, I think I dodged a bullet with them!
Employers believe that first impressions are everything. Well, it works both ways. When you can't get an interview time right, I'm guessing the company is pretty dysfunctional.
I applied for a counseling position a few years ago with a for-profit company. I had never heard of the company so I tried to research it on-line and found only vague information. I conclude that it must be some sort of private counseling service. I asked around in professional circles in my area and no one has ever heard of it either. Ok.
So I decide to go to the interview to find out more, obviously. I gps the address and turn onto the drive back onto the property. As I come around the curve I see towers and 1000s of feet of fencing topped by razor wire! There are signs bordering the parking lot...''Leave your cell phone in your car''...''no weapons permitted inside the building''...
It's a freakin' prison!
I just kept on driving... right off the property...
I was sent by a temp agency to interview for a long-term temp position at a very small company.
While he was interviewing me the manager said "we do make sexist jokes around here, but that's all right!" and laughed at his joke.
I was so stunned that someone said that during an interview that I became very quiet after that and hardly answered his questions. I could hardly wait to get out of there.
Of course, I did not get the job. I also didn't tell the temp agency although I know now that I should have.
Status:
"Do not pass GO, do not collect $300 (used to be $200)"
(set 10 days ago)
Location: TN
600 posts, read 274,325 times
Reputation: 386
I can look back and laugh now, but on one interview I was asked to mention a recent case I disagreed with + reasoning. I gloriously bombed it - paused a while, picked the worst possible case, and bungled my rationale. My best interview was actually the sixth one that day, because I was confident... that I wouldn't be getting anything (nor should I have, I was way too green). Good experience at least.
On the other hand, I went to one of those insurance/pyramid-ish scheme interviews (to be fair, I was applying to a lot of jobs and was hardly paying attention when I agreed to show up). Turned out to be a group interview, and eventually the "regional star" comes in to do his spiel. So I needed to decide: do I walk out, keep quiet, or cause trouble?
Well, I mostly kept quiet, but at one point I asked if some chart he showed was adjusted for inflation or not. At least he answered that it wasn't. I decided not to point out that the real numbers would be much less impressive, if the numbers were believable at all. I couldn't run out the door fast enough at the end (but I did stay to the end - even if it's a sham, I don't want to be rude).
I recently had an interview for an HR position with one of the casinos here in Vegas. I knew it was going to be a complete waste of time when:
a) They emailed me and told me it would be a group interview.
b) I researched the employee reviews and there was a common opinion that management was inept
c) I had zero enthusiasm the day of my "audition"
d) the receptionist at the Employment Center ignored me for a full five minutes while he talked on his phone
e) the other interviewees were applying for service positions, so none of the questions asked in the group interview were relevant to the job I was applying for
The only reason I event went is because I figured "practice makes perfect" but I really just wanted to walk out the whole time I was there.
i went to an interview at a retail store that i had been to about six or seven times. yes, six or seven times. the hiring manager was on his iphone when i said hello, seemed completely impatient with me, did not let me get a word in edgewise when i was being spoken to, and kept asking me about a seasonal job that i had years ago (it was on my resume because the experience was great). he said, 'but why didn't they keep you?!?!'--several times.
if he had stopped talking long enough to listen, he would have heard me say that it was post-sandy and they just couldn't afford to keep the vast majority of us, and the commute was too far. he seemed more interested in what was going on around him and his phone and when he said that i didn't have enough 'personality', it took everything in me to not scream.
i knew i wasn't getting a call back after i said 'this outfit has personality'.
I knew as soon as I walked into the office for one job. They had a totally open concept environment where each person was about a foot away from the next on a long table. No thanks. During the interview it also became clear that my potential manager was a total workaholic. Working under someone like that in that environment would have been hell.
When the interviews I got were in sales; specifically telemarketing. I am the worst saleswoman on the planet. I have a lot of difficulty selling things to people I think they either don't want or don't need. It makes me feel like I'm deceiving them, taking hard earned money from them, and that doesn't square with my code of ethics. Nevertheless, I accepted both positions, and both involved outbound sales calling. The jobs were way outside my professional field and I applied out of desperation. I got fired from both after one week because I didn't sell even one of the items required in my job description. I had no regrets about losing both jobs.
One time I made up my mind immediately after I met the "team lead". Sent an email promptly to the hiring manager as soon as I got home and told her I was no longer interested.
The interview is always a two-way street. I once was offered the job cold over the phone, and I insisted that I wanted to come in for a meeting first.
I knew as soon as I walked into the office for one job. They had a totally open concept environment where each person was about a foot away from the next on a long table. No thanks. During the interview it also became clear that my potential manager was a total workaholic. Working under someone like that in that environment would have been hell.
Oh my gosh, that kind of office set-up would drive me bonkers. I don't blame you for not wanting to work there.
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