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I was wondering if you guys can share some of the worst job interviews you've had and what you learned from it.
I once had an interview in downtown with the Hiring Manager who said that he will give me a voucher for parking. I went to the interview 10 minutes earlier, and he had me waiting for 47 minutes. Receptionist apologized and said HM was in a meeting.
HM came out of the conference room and escorted a lady to the elevator and said "You are just what we are looking for! See you in two weeks!" Guess what just happened...he hired her for the position I was interviewing for. He looked at me and said "Thanks for coming in but I want to be upfront with you. I just hired someone for this position. Good luck". I asked about my parking voucher and he denied ever saying that the company was going to pay for it. I paid $15 parking (downtown SF) for nothing.
Lesson learned: unexpected things can happen any time during your job interview.
I answered a newspaper ad asking for a secretary who was "versatile." I'd had experience in different fields, so I thought I should apply. The first warning sign was that the interview was at the man's apartment. Then turned out that what he wanted was a bisexual woman who was into threesomes. I had no idea that the word "versatile" had a sexual connotation. That's what I learned from it.
1.). Called into the "big city" for the "perfect" job. Meet with company who ask about my college degrees, hm......didn't have one at the the time....but apparently was a mandatory requirement. My experience with architecture? hm......I'm 21, I don't have experience and esp have no interest in architecture. Head back to agency to "check out" with my recruiter but....they are close since it's after 5pm. Mthe real kicker was the bldg garage was closed too so ....my car is now locked in the bldg garage!!! My Dad was a cop so he had to come and force the parking people to let my car out. I was too naive and should went and socked that recruiter in the mouth!
2.). Most recently, recruiter assures me the job is work from home, occasionally go to office for a meeting. Hm, ok since it's about 1 hr each way on a good traffic day, 1.5+ on bad days. I had a phone screen, personality test, blah and was told I made the cut and would be called to meet with principals in office. 2 people. Get there, wait forever in room alone, office mgr comes in with a #2 pencil and tells me I have to take timed 12 minute test on grammar and geometry!! Not to worry, no one ever finishes. WTH? I should have just walked out. Owner comes in and wants to know what questions I have for him (he didn't want to ask any). So awkward, I really wanted to run screaming! I did ask why they brought me in since the position isn't really in my wheelhouse, he said I sounded like I didn't want to work there, etc. duh! Plus, it wasn't work from home at all! He said no one else wanted to meet with me. Good! Back to my miserable, seething 1.5 hr ride home!
I've spent up to $17 in parking fees to interview with recruiting agencies located in expensive parts of town. None of them have paid for parking. So you are unemployed, and they expect you to dish out for expensive parking fees for jobs that will never materialize. Crazy. I won't do that again. Only for real job interviews. With hiring companies.
A few months back, I was sent by the employment agency to interview for a job that sounded wonderful! (of course, lol!) I knew early on in the interview process that the owner and I were NOT going to get along! It all went terribly wrong after I asked why the position was vacant, lol! Apparently it was a revolving door. Apparently he is a mean beast. By his own acknowledgement. Apparently, and despite the recruiter saying it was a permanent placement, it was not, it was temp as he was thinking of moving the office to the West Coast in a few months. I am East Coast. Not that I was interested anymore, ha!
Afterwards when I talked to the recruiter, she fessed up and told me that he had really liked one of the prior candidates but that candidate wanted nothing to do with him or the job! It was quite funny, I couldn't stop laughing! Nobody wanted to work with him! He was a rude unprofessional entitled man. The payscale was good. But rude behavior is not acceptable no matter how much they pay me. My suggestion to the recruiter was to send someone with extremely thick skin to interview for that job.
In my entire professional life (20+ years) I have never found such rude unprofessional behavior like I'm finding these days.
I had an interview in NYC (New Jersey Transit train and PATH taken to get there) for a job. I call the recruiter when I got to the city (app. 3 PM ) to confirm I was en route to the interview. He tells me that the interview had been cancelled-He NEVER called me to inform me of the cancellation-and tells me "Hey, at least you don't have to worry about the rush hour crowds on the way home!". Not one word of apology.
I think part of the fear comes from not knowing the other candidates; not knowing what you're up against. You entered the marathon but what if Mo Farah's in the race? I think there's only one way to approach a job interview. You must go with the attitude that if there IS a better candidate than you, he/she is going to have to be pretty darned good to beat someone as good as you. The preparation you do should instil that belief. Most candidates don't prepare at all. You can succeed in your job interviews, you need only a bit of preparation!
Fear of the unknown can cause interview anxiety. What is unknown is the questions you will be asked. Here is an article that describes how to accurately predict the questions you will be asked during each interview.
My best tip would be to really prepare well for that 5 minute presentation. Rehearse it well. If you can do a high energy 4 minutes without notes you will stand out as one of their most memorable candidates, simply because most people will probably be reading from notes and be unrehearsed. 23 Important Interview Tips | The Career Hero
I had been long-term unemployed during the Recession in a rural area. I had done a cold call to several dialysis units to see if they were looking for permanent or temporary help in my medical profession and met a nurse manager over the phone who assured me that yes indeed, she definitely wanted to interview me along with the clinic owner, a physician.
Before I actually went to the clinic, which was an hour's drive from where I lived, she and I had several phone conversations. She flat out told me that I was her choice and that she was talking me up to the doctor.
It all sounded like what I wanted: small clinic, full-time, flexible hours, full benefits, country drive to work, awesome clinic/nurse manager.
She and I had hit it off and by our last phone call she was ''prepping me'', as she put it, to meet with the doctor. I wanted the job, she wanted to hire me asap.
So on the appointed date I arrived at the clinic and she and I sat in the clinic conference room awaiting the doctor's arrival. Ten minutes went by, then twenty, and no doctor. She apologized and tried to call the doctor, who did not answer her cell.
So we waited another half hour while she showed me around the clinic which was really a ten minute tour.
Finally the phone rang. The nurse talked for a few minutes out of hearing range, then returned to the room where I sat. She rolled her eyes, very embarrassed, and said that the doctor was out shopping and would not be interviewing me today.
I went home and never heard from her again. No response to my calls or emails. This after several weeks of dialoguing with the clinic manager who told me that she definitely planned to hire me.
A year later I ran into this nurse at a health fair. She recognized me and ran over and apologized. She told me that she had left the position as clinic manager due to the apathy of the owner. She also told me that the clinic closed because the owners ''ran it into the ground'' financially. Wow.
I interviewed for a project manager and estimator position for a plumbing contractor. The guy that interviewed me was cocky. Every answer I gave him he batted down as though I was lying to him. He would nod his head as I would give further details to make him understand my answer. Very strange. When I was answering his questions about my education he told me to shut up. Then there was a long pause as he just stared at me. The HR girl next to him just looked at him and was stunned. I got up from my chair and told him to - - - - off and then told the HR girl thanks and walked out. As I went to my car and sat down here comes the guy running towards me yelling "sorry, sorry." I told him to please shred my paperwork (resume, cover letter and application) and drove away. He continued yelling that he was sorry.
Bad interview #2
I interviewed for a construction company that specialized in constructing cellular towers for the major carriers. They needed someone in the field to help with labor and assist the foreman with paperwork. Anyways, the interview was scheduled for 9am. I arrived at 8:45am and waited in the conference room until 9:35am or so. During this whole time no one came in to tell me that the interviewer would be late or for me to hang tight or whatever. Around 9:35am the interviewer finally walked in while speaking to someone on his iphone and closed the door. He told the person he was speaking to to hold up for a second and then he introduced himself and shook my hand. Then he told me to hang on for a second and he continued talking on the phone for about 15 minutes. He finally hang up. Just as he was about to ask me his first question the office manager walked in (found out it was his wife) and she gave him some documents to read. Another 10 minutes went by. When he finished reading the documents he gave them to the lady and she walked out and closed the door. He was about to finally ask me his first question when the phone rang. He said he had to take the call. Another 15 minutes went by. When he finished talking on the phone he started reading my resume. While reading my resume his phone rang again. This time it was his wife asking him something to do with the docs she just presented to him. After, I finally was able to answer his first questions. He said that it appeared that I was too experienced for the position. He asked a few more questions and then he said thanks for coming and that he would contact me later. As I walked towards my car I was thinking what in the ---- just happened. What a complete waste of time. There are some employers out there that have no clue and it amazes me how they can remain in business.
Last edited by MountainBiking; 08-11-2015 at 05:43 PM..
This is not my experience but that of my older sister.
She, for some goofy reason, went to an interview at the local university for an ''exterminator'' position.
She had no experience ''exterminating'' anything, having worked most of her life in finance, but saw it as a possible foot in the door at the university where she was hoping for free tution.
So she comes into this conference room and there are about 10 people seated around this table. The way she described it, the lead guy was a real azzhole, making smart cracks and giving mocking, nasty glares when questioning her.
He started asking her questions that seemingly were meant to trip her up. Stuff like the habits of cockroaches, ants, centipedes, mice, and the like.
She said it just got ridiculous to the point where it was seemed to her that he was just ''messing with her mind'' and trying to trip her up and show her that she had no clue about the job and these elusive critters and so ''put her in her place''.
She fielded these questions as best as she could and then at one point he asked her, ''Do you think mice can see in the dark?''
She responded, ''I guess they can, they're nocturnal!''
With that she stood up and told them she didn't want the job as she quickly left the room.
This was 30 years ago and we still laugh about that story now and wonder how we were so bold and uninhibited in our youth.
Last edited by HappyDogToday; 08-11-2015 at 06:32 PM..
I had an interview yesterday where they spent the entire interview selling ME on their business (it's a startup that is in dealings to offer a service to another country.) Not once did they ask me about my skills and experience, etc. Instead, after the owner spent 20 or so minutes telling me (selling me!) about their business, etc., he asked if I had any questions for them. I started to ask some questions and the owner kept chiming in. He's definitely the entrepreneur/sales type. His only question to me: he asked how I felt about travelling to the country they deal with, in some cases alone, to conduct some business. The position I was interviewing for was a $15/hour, 3 days a week bilingual admin. assistant temp to hire position.
I'm learning to quickly run in the other direction!
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I had no idea that the word "versatile" had a sexual connotation. That's what I learned from it.
