Bad interveiw experience
Discussion
Following on from the Pareto Law thread where I was reminded of my interview performance I thought i would see how others have suffered at the hands of interviewers,
To recap the Pareto Law interview I ended up getting several people to dance to the staying alive music while singing about a product called "pissed and Drive". The others in my group go the job I did not.
I had one where they had a room of around 50 people in a portacabin and asked us all to dance. It was 8am and I was entirely sober. Not a chance. I stood at the side of the room while the rest jerked around like idiots. One of the interviewers told me "I really should join in". by the end of the first song 90% of people were stood by me so I asked the interviewer "do you want idiots that follow every command or a person that has the ability to influence 90% of the people in a room that he has never met, with out talking?" I didn't get the job. I accept I wasn't suited to the environment.
There are many more, including failing a Maths test because I was using their broken calculator. (I'm a Chemical Engineer by education so when I retook the test I didn't use a calculator and got 100%) and an interview I stopped when they started explaining how a telephone worked in language suitable for a 2 year old. I went to a scaffolding company who expected an hour long presentation on their company with out giving notice. The job was for 10K pounds a year. I went to a company for a position I was very experienced at and they offered me 50% below market level pay and said "expect to be in this position for at least 10 years before being eligible for pay rise or promotion".
If I'm honest, I don't think I have ever had an external interview that I could count as good. When I went to the one for my present job I was called "Loud, Laddish and Arrogant as well as a cheat". I don't think I am any of these and most of this came from a misunderstanding as a result of me having very bad hearing. I got the job and the company fired the recruiters due to the poor quality of candidates. When I was given feedback on the interview process I was told I interviewed very well which came as a surprise and hopefully means I wasn't one of the poor candidates.
I think an issue interviewers face is lack of training and a lack of understanding of what is the ultimate goal. I interview people all the time now and I have yet to make anyone dance. My colleagues see it as an opportunity to
get people to make mistakes and trip them up. My approach is to ensure the position is right for both company and candidate. It's a 2 way process and doesn't give a person an excuse to be an arse.
To recap the Pareto Law interview I ended up getting several people to dance to the staying alive music while singing about a product called "pissed and Drive". The others in my group go the job I did not.
I had one where they had a room of around 50 people in a portacabin and asked us all to dance. It was 8am and I was entirely sober. Not a chance. I stood at the side of the room while the rest jerked around like idiots. One of the interviewers told me "I really should join in". by the end of the first song 90% of people were stood by me so I asked the interviewer "do you want idiots that follow every command or a person that has the ability to influence 90% of the people in a room that he has never met, with out talking?" I didn't get the job. I accept I wasn't suited to the environment.
There are many more, including failing a Maths test because I was using their broken calculator. (I'm a Chemical Engineer by education so when I retook the test I didn't use a calculator and got 100%) and an interview I stopped when they started explaining how a telephone worked in language suitable for a 2 year old. I went to a scaffolding company who expected an hour long presentation on their company with out giving notice. The job was for 10K pounds a year. I went to a company for a position I was very experienced at and they offered me 50% below market level pay and said "expect to be in this position for at least 10 years before being eligible for pay rise or promotion".
If I'm honest, I don't think I have ever had an external interview that I could count as good. When I went to the one for my present job I was called "Loud, Laddish and Arrogant as well as a cheat". I don't think I am any of these and most of this came from a misunderstanding as a result of me having very bad hearing. I got the job and the company fired the recruiters due to the poor quality of candidates. When I was given feedback on the interview process I was told I interviewed very well which came as a surprise and hopefully means I wasn't one of the poor candidates.
I think an issue interviewers face is lack of training and a lack of understanding of what is the ultimate goal. I interview people all the time now and I have yet to make anyone dance. My colleagues see it as an opportunity to
get people to make mistakes and trip them up. My approach is to ensure the position is right for both company and candidate. It's a 2 way process and doesn't give a person an excuse to be an arse.
Most interviewers seem quite surprised when I start asking questions about the role and the company before they've had a chance to ask me anything. On more than one occasion I've left before they've asked me anything as the job has turned out to be nothing like the advertisement.
When I left Uni I went for a job at an Apple store and I was asked to do a number of embarrassing tasks, both individually and as a group. I think I signed a NDA so can't tell you what they were, but as they got progressively more humiliating I stopped participating. One of the recruiters agreed when I said "I think it's a good idea to know where to draw the line. I'm not jumping through for anyone, even Apple." The others didn't agree and I didn't get the job. Probably a good thing in the end as it was paying a pittance!
When I left Uni I went for a job at an Apple store and I was asked to do a number of embarrassing tasks, both individually and as a group. I think I signed a NDA so can't tell you what they were, but as they got progressively more humiliating I stopped participating. One of the recruiters agreed when I said "I think it's a good idea to know where to draw the line. I'm not jumping through for anyone, even Apple." The others didn't agree and I didn't get the job. Probably a good thing in the end as it was paying a pittance!
I consider myself to be good at interviewing people but am astonished by the lack of technique shown by other people in my business. My pet hate is when people ask a question and then immediately suggest the answer. The thing I train my guys to do is to ask the question and then stop talking.
I agree an interview is a two way process and always open with the line "what have you been told about this opportunity?" This allows the interviewee to ask questions about the role and can tell me a lot about them.
I don't go in for making people feel uncomfortable, it's an opportunity for me to sell the role as well as them to sell themselves (good people with direct experience are hard top come by).
I agree an interview is a two way process and always open with the line "what have you been told about this opportunity?" This allows the interviewee to ask questions about the role and can tell me a lot about them.
I don't go in for making people feel uncomfortable, it's an opportunity for me to sell the role as well as them to sell themselves (good people with direct experience are hard top come by).
Stevenj214 said:
h0b0 said:
Lots of stuff about interviews not going well
You do realise there is only one common denominator throughout all of these poor interviews?
I am sure the OP is not an idiot and assumptions like that in this forum are not helpful.
I have had a few bad interviews, nothing like those described though.
Fat Audi 80 said:
Stevenj214 said:
h0b0 said:
Lots of stuff about interviews not going well
You do realise there is only one common denominator throughout all of these poor interviews?I am sure the OP is not an idiot and assumptions like that in this forum are not helpful.
I have had a few bad interviews, nothing like those described though.
Christ! Those interviews sound like hell.
My last three positions (including the one I'm due to start in a few weeks) were either sat on sofas in cool offices, or in the pub, or a combination of the two.
I work in advertising though, so maybe it's due to the culture of the industry...?
Dance in an interview? WTF? f
k that. I'd laugh at someone if they asked me to do that.
My last three positions (including the one I'm due to start in a few weeks) were either sat on sofas in cool offices, or in the pub, or a combination of the two.
I work in advertising though, so maybe it's due to the culture of the industry...?
Dance in an interview? WTF? f
k that. I'd laugh at someone if they asked me to do that.
Kermit power said:
Fat Audi 80 said:
Stevenj214 said:
h0b0 said:
Lots of stuff about interviews not going well
You do realise there is only one common denominator throughout all of these poor interviews?I am sure the OP is not an idiot and assumptions like that in this forum are not helpful.
I have had a few bad interviews, nothing like those described though.
The worst experience for me though was going from Manchester to London for an interview in a field I had a great deal of experience and in honesty the technology would have been a step down from what I was doing already but the role had potential. I turned up at the hotel expecting a conference room and the guy asked me to sit in the lobby. During the interview he asked one question and didn't listen to the answer and just stared outside. He then tried to finish with in 5 minutes. I was very concerned that I had come across as a lunatic but when speaking to my recruiter she found out that I was just being interviewed for the process and they had already selected an internal candidate. that's the worst but not as funny as others.
Dancing though, never a good thing in an interview.
I am very lucky as I usually get the job when I go to an interview, and all the interviews that I have been to have been conducted in a professional way.
However... one I remember very clearly.
I was 24 and looking to move out of hardware field engineering. Job came up for a VoIP helpdesk analyst at a company nearby. Agent sold it as a small company (about 30 people). I told the agency that I only had user and a little bit of knowledge on VoIP, and got them to confirm this with the hiring manager, he came back to them saying that was fine, as they would rather train somebody for the role rather than have an expert come in and have to change everything.
So, interview day comes along. I turn up at a small office and got buzzed in to reception. Hiring manager comes up to me, Indian guy. Looks me up and down, makes a "hummmpt" noise. I hold out my hand and say "Nice to meet you", he just stares and says "Come this way"
Get into the interview room (just him and me). On the way through the office, I notice ALL the staff are of Indian origin. You will see why I mention this in a moment. Interview starts, he asks me questions, I start to answer, he cuts me off halfway through each time. Hmmm. Then he asks "What do you know about VoIP?", so I start to answer about the technical side of it, he cuts me off and says "I don't think you know anything at all, I think you read all that off the back of a magazine".
He then gives me a 15 question "technical" quiz. All easy, lot of questions are about Linux which I know well. Gave it back, he marked it and said "13 out of 15 correct. Absolute rubbish"
He then said "Waste of time, you might as well leave now" I get the feeling I was his token white interview that he had to do so he did not appear racist...
Really bizarre thing is, I called the agency an hour after I left and told them everything about what happened. He called them before and gave them feedback of "excellent candidate, will certainly get consideration for the role" !!!!!
I learnt two things that day -
1) Some people should never be allowed to interview. Ever.
2) I should have broken off the interview from the start, very obvious what he was doing.
However... one I remember very clearly.
I was 24 and looking to move out of hardware field engineering. Job came up for a VoIP helpdesk analyst at a company nearby. Agent sold it as a small company (about 30 people). I told the agency that I only had user and a little bit of knowledge on VoIP, and got them to confirm this with the hiring manager, he came back to them saying that was fine, as they would rather train somebody for the role rather than have an expert come in and have to change everything.
So, interview day comes along. I turn up at a small office and got buzzed in to reception. Hiring manager comes up to me, Indian guy. Looks me up and down, makes a "hummmpt" noise. I hold out my hand and say "Nice to meet you", he just stares and says "Come this way"
Get into the interview room (just him and me). On the way through the office, I notice ALL the staff are of Indian origin. You will see why I mention this in a moment. Interview starts, he asks me questions, I start to answer, he cuts me off halfway through each time. Hmmm. Then he asks "What do you know about VoIP?", so I start to answer about the technical side of it, he cuts me off and says "I don't think you know anything at all, I think you read all that off the back of a magazine".
He then gives me a 15 question "technical" quiz. All easy, lot of questions are about Linux which I know well. Gave it back, he marked it and said "13 out of 15 correct. Absolute rubbish"
He then said "Waste of time, you might as well leave now" I get the feeling I was his token white interview that he had to do so he did not appear racist...
Really bizarre thing is, I called the agency an hour after I left and told them everything about what happened. He called them before and gave them feedback of "excellent candidate, will certainly get consideration for the role" !!!!!
I learnt two things that day -
1) Some people should never be allowed to interview. Ever.
2) I should have broken off the interview from the start, very obvious what he was doing.
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