Strangest ‘interview’ ever
Discussion
I’m just putting this out there for a sense check, because I am really scratching my head. I’m sure some of you could top this bizarre encounter with other examples though!
A smaller competitor has been trying to poach some of my team (I’m a middle manager in a large corporate) and the CEO started messaging me directly. I thought I would agree to have a conversation if only to try to understand what they are up to. I already know they are burning through very experienced tech staff but they are also offering massive salaries in comparison to the roles they are trying to fill.
So I get sent an invitation for a virtual ‘chat’. After nearly 20 minutes waiting in the virtual lobby I emailed them to ask if the meeting is going ahead. A couple of minutes later the CEO appears, or rather, his left eye and part of his nose does. He spends a while telling me he’s also an owner of the company and complaining of back to back meetings.
He asks if I am interested in opportunities at the firm as, if I am not, it’s going to be a short meeting. So, I ask what they are. He asks me to describe my current job and when pushed for an answer he says the opportunity is to ‘do what I do’.
I know their current department manager has only been in the job a few weeks, has no management experience and was promoted when the previous manager left after being at the firm a couple of months. As of two weeks ago he was the entire department.
So I ask if he really needs two managers right now. He makes some comment about how I must currently report to a ‘head of’ and obviously don’t have what it takes to move to the next level. At this point I am out. To be frank I was already out due to the wait but just kept going out of morbid curiosity.
Was it just a dream or does this kind of stuff actually happen?
A smaller competitor has been trying to poach some of my team (I’m a middle manager in a large corporate) and the CEO started messaging me directly. I thought I would agree to have a conversation if only to try to understand what they are up to. I already know they are burning through very experienced tech staff but they are also offering massive salaries in comparison to the roles they are trying to fill.
So I get sent an invitation for a virtual ‘chat’. After nearly 20 minutes waiting in the virtual lobby I emailed them to ask if the meeting is going ahead. A couple of minutes later the CEO appears, or rather, his left eye and part of his nose does. He spends a while telling me he’s also an owner of the company and complaining of back to back meetings.
He asks if I am interested in opportunities at the firm as, if I am not, it’s going to be a short meeting. So, I ask what they are. He asks me to describe my current job and when pushed for an answer he says the opportunity is to ‘do what I do’.
I know their current department manager has only been in the job a few weeks, has no management experience and was promoted when the previous manager left after being at the firm a couple of months. As of two weeks ago he was the entire department.
So I ask if he really needs two managers right now. He makes some comment about how I must currently report to a ‘head of’ and obviously don’t have what it takes to move to the next level. At this point I am out. To be frank I was already out due to the wait but just kept going out of morbid curiosity.
Was it just a dream or does this kind of stuff actually happen?
Believe me I have sat in and been involved in a few bizarre interview processes over the years.
One was when I turned up for a design job right out of uni and this creative director in loud shirt and funky glasses said
"We don't really know what role we're recruiting for" I said "well hopefully it's the one I applied for". He took it as an insult and spent half an hour moaning about his life, like her was on the verge of a breakdown. Couldn't wait to get out of the place, I went for a interview and came out feeling like a Samartians councillor.
Another one was for a manager, the guy asking the questions had already given the job to his mate who turned up and sat on the interview panel. One guy had clearly dressed up and prepped all night and I felt like walking in and telling him they were waiting his time.
One was when I turned up for a design job right out of uni and this creative director in loud shirt and funky glasses said
"We don't really know what role we're recruiting for" I said "well hopefully it's the one I applied for". He took it as an insult and spent half an hour moaning about his life, like her was on the verge of a breakdown. Couldn't wait to get out of the place, I went for a interview and came out feeling like a Samartians councillor.
Another one was for a manager, the guy asking the questions had already given the job to his mate who turned up and sat on the interview panel. One guy had clearly dressed up and prepped all night and I felt like walking in and telling him they were waiting his time.
What you've described, to me, sounds like a company that's panicking. They've no doubt got investors breathing down their necks, lack the management wherewithal to address it properly so are buying their way out of whatever problem they're in. Unlikely to end well.
Strange interviews... strangest one was one I gave. Recruiting for a team of public advisors on an 8-month contract. Had one young lady apply. Had done the work previously, impressive CV, good references.... Turned up and said not a single word. Not a hello, goodbye, didn't answer or even respond to any question.... just stared at me and my colleague like we were about to shoot her. I was concerned for her welfare thinking she'd had some sort of seizure but no. I closed off the interview and off she went. Very, very strange.
Strange interviews... strangest one was one I gave. Recruiting for a team of public advisors on an 8-month contract. Had one young lady apply. Had done the work previously, impressive CV, good references.... Turned up and said not a single word. Not a hello, goodbye, didn't answer or even respond to any question.... just stared at me and my colleague like we were about to shoot her. I was concerned for her welfare thinking she'd had some sort of seizure but no. I closed off the interview and off she went. Very, very strange.
I've had a couple of bad ones.
One was when I was quite young and had just qualified as an accountant. The interviewers we just a couple of years older than me and were quite aggressive, quite surreal.
The other was for a large motor manufacturer based in Luton more recently. I did the first interview, I didn't warmly connect with the hiring manager but I was deemed suitable to meet the CFO who was a nice chap.
I wasn't too keen on the job due to the money being lower than I was currently on (my role was facing redundancy) and the location. I was called back for a second interview on a Friday. I was lead through the office, all the lights were off and the place was deserted, small groups of people were huddled on desks, it was bleak. I arrived into a meeting room and was given a printed list of instructions to build a financial model with prescribed output including print margins etc. I took one look and thought to myself that I really didn't have the motivation to do it. HR lady was a little taken aback when I asked to leave.
One was when I was quite young and had just qualified as an accountant. The interviewers we just a couple of years older than me and were quite aggressive, quite surreal.
The other was for a large motor manufacturer based in Luton more recently. I did the first interview, I didn't warmly connect with the hiring manager but I was deemed suitable to meet the CFO who was a nice chap.
I wasn't too keen on the job due to the money being lower than I was currently on (my role was facing redundancy) and the location. I was called back for a second interview on a Friday. I was lead through the office, all the lights were off and the place was deserted, small groups of people were huddled on desks, it was bleak. I arrived into a meeting room and was given a printed list of instructions to build a financial model with prescribed output including print margins etc. I took one look and thought to myself that I really didn't have the motivation to do it. HR lady was a little taken aback when I asked to leave.
It sounds like a few I've had over the years, I learned early there are plenty of charlatans out there who will try to get people to join their company in the hope they will sort an issue out, but with no real care if it turns in to a job for those people long term. A lot of sales type and low level management positions are like this. I put it down to them wanting a freelance contractor but not wanting the fee they would generally charge. And thinking (it's not by the way) it's cheaper to pay a succession of gullible, well meaning people on salary to try and fail to sort the issue out, fire and repeat.
My most recent one was a chat with the guy who's role i'm taking over (he's retiring in his early 70s), then the company owner asked if i wanted a brew and made me one whilst chatting, in the background 2 office staff were just carrying on as normal, then the bosses dad came in with the dog to say hello and nudge elbows.
Been there 2 months now and loving it.
Unlike the previous constant bullpoo for the 'gov' with a panel of three who struggled to even recruit anyone and the role was still unadvertised 10 weeks after me handing my notice in as HR and everyone else are still arguing about the role profile because they can't get anyone to fill it for the peanuts they paid and the knowledge they expected.
There's a reason i walked back into a completely different role back in the private sector.
Been there 2 months now and loving it.
Unlike the previous constant bullpoo for the 'gov' with a panel of three who struggled to even recruit anyone and the role was still unadvertised 10 weeks after me handing my notice in as HR and everyone else are still arguing about the role profile because they can't get anyone to fill it for the peanuts they paid and the knowledge they expected.
There's a reason i walked back into a completely different role back in the private sector.
Cliffe60 said:
My wife is in a senior for a large bank and frequently has to be on interview panels for jobs she has no connection with or any idea of the requirements , purely so female candidates cannot complain they have been discriminated against by an all male panel.
To be fair you can assess a candidate's response to non-role questions and get a sense if they will "fit" without knowing the detail of the job.We don't do panel but rather multi-round interviews 1:1 (partly to avoid panels as they are hateful and partly to allow each round to form their own view) and I regularly interview candidates (senior experienced hires) outside of my domain. We strongly see them as a 2 way process as people are making big career decisions.
vaud said:
Yes.
I interviewed at Sage many years ago for a marketing/bus dev role.
Opening question from the hiring manager (head of product development)
"So tell me what motivates you to write great code?"
I hate questions like that. My answer is usually "Money".I interviewed at Sage many years ago for a marketing/bus dev role.
Opening question from the hiring manager (head of product development)
"So tell me what motivates you to write great code?"
Had an interview a few years ago for a developer position at a big pharmacy group for their internal systems. Confirmed with their HR people the salary range before agreeing an interview.
The bloke doing the interview spent 5 minutes glancing at my stuff, and then the next 30 talking about himself and his background/history and how he's been friends with the CEO for 30 years. Then another 10 minutes on how it's a corporate environment and things like headphones were a no go (Big problem for me! Can't code without blocking out the general office noise)
Then asked about salary, and I just said the range HR had said - He laughed, said no chance, where did you get that from? Showed him the email from HR and still didn't believe me
Then gave me the usual s
t about "more people to interview"Offered the job for £10k less than I was asking about 2 hours after the interview. Turned it down, which offended him a little!
I had one where I turned up and the recruiter's lies about the role had been even more blatant than they normally are, it was completely outside what I was told, my experience, or my skillset.
Spent the entire conversation like I was auditioning to play Scotty. No cap'n, I cannae do that cap'n, I havnae the power, cap'n...
Spent the entire conversation like I was auditioning to play Scotty. No cap'n, I cannae do that cap'n, I havnae the power, cap'n...
First job out of uni.....I drove from Swansea (where I was studying) to Cambridge for a grad role at an engineering consultancy by the station.....interview was around 11:30, fine. I was a bit knackered, but did a bit of last minute prep in the car, sorted my hair, tie and popped my suit jacket on and went in with confidence, all ready to try and impress.....
Went in....receptionist didn't know where the regional and office managers were, but finally got hold of them and we sat in a little meeting room.....all a bit unorganised and all over the place, noise from the station, buses and passers by flooding in.......anyway 10mins of the usual pleasantries, introductions and a couple of vaguely engineering based questions, then the main man asked are you a lager or ale drinker (knowing perfectly well there was only one correct answer for that neck of the woods), and said ale (which is true) - he said, great, we're all off to the local pub in a minute and they do a great selection......do you want to come and meet your new team?
4hrs and a very boozy lunch, it appeared as though I had the job and had met pretty much the whole office in that one sitting. None of them went back to the office after that and I soon found out that was the norm for a Friday......and the firm even booked and paid for a local hotel room for me, as I (like many of the others) were in not fit state to drive......
Its fair to say I spent the next 5 years at that firm, 2 in the Cambridge office, and to be fair, it was a great shout.....
The most interesting part I suppose is that moving forwards, I soon learnt that 11:30am interviews on a Friday were pretty much standard offering for the company and if you could hold your own in the pub with a team of engineers (who fed back to the boss on the DL), you were in.....
Went in....receptionist didn't know where the regional and office managers were, but finally got hold of them and we sat in a little meeting room.....all a bit unorganised and all over the place, noise from the station, buses and passers by flooding in.......anyway 10mins of the usual pleasantries, introductions and a couple of vaguely engineering based questions, then the main man asked are you a lager or ale drinker (knowing perfectly well there was only one correct answer for that neck of the woods), and said ale (which is true) - he said, great, we're all off to the local pub in a minute and they do a great selection......do you want to come and meet your new team?
4hrs and a very boozy lunch, it appeared as though I had the job and had met pretty much the whole office in that one sitting. None of them went back to the office after that and I soon found out that was the norm for a Friday......and the firm even booked and paid for a local hotel room for me, as I (like many of the others) were in not fit state to drive......
Its fair to say I spent the next 5 years at that firm, 2 in the Cambridge office, and to be fair, it was a great shout.....
The most interesting part I suppose is that moving forwards, I soon learnt that 11:30am interviews on a Friday were pretty much standard offering for the company and if you could hold your own in the pub with a team of engineers (who fed back to the boss on the DL), you were in.....
vaud said:
Yes.
I interviewed at Sage many years ago for a marketing/bus dev role.
Opening question from the hiring manager (head of product development)
"So tell me what motivates you to write great code?"
The money I get from.it to fund the coke and hookers.I interviewed at Sage many years ago for a marketing/bus dev role.
Opening question from the hiring manager (head of product development)
"So tell me what motivates you to write great code?"
I had a frustrating interview, yesterday on Teams.
I was contacted a couple of weeks ago by am ex boss. We've both moved about a bit. Him in the same industry, for higher paying more senior positions including going over to the USA with his family for a few years.
He's been back.in the UK 6 years and has been promoted recently to the MD of the UK operations of a competitor of the company we both worked for 13 years ago.
Ive just let my career aspirations go in that time and have contracted via my own LTD company.
But he describes a permie job and salary to me that fits all my plus points. Sends me a job spec which really is not the same as he's described, but we discuss this, and the he tells me I can make it my own. Pay and package and car woukd make it attractive to jump out of the ir35 ballocks, and give me a purpose.
Discussed it with my wife. Her attitude was either retire or commit to it for 5 years and give it your all. I will back you etc.
Anyway I also worked out that someone I used to sit next to 25 years ago, had his job, up to 2 months ago and was pushed out. Tried to get in contact with him, for a bit of background, but he's not responded.
Anyway had a teams interview.
Given that I get the impression he wants me to have the job, the interview went badly. HR manager was okay, but his boss, phoned in from Florida, and I really got the impression that he's looking for the person that meets the 5 page job spec.
I just found it a little farcical that the UK MD doesn't seem to be able to make his own decisions. I expect to be told no.
Which is okay. Because I never actually applied. But it just seems odd to me.
Either head hunt me. Give me the job because I worked for you for 6 years and you know all my strengths and weaknesses, but don't piss around with a job spec that I wouldn't be arsed to do.
Not much compared to some. I've had one interview that was borderline car crash and I didnt hear anything from, couldn't be bothered to chase up for feedback.
The most bizarre one though was for a rail job with a competitor to my current job. The interview portion took the form of pre determined questions, stuff along the lines of describe a time you took control of a situation, tell me about a time you achieved something etc etc. The interviewer wanted the answers in the form of STAR, Situation, Task, Action, Result.
I've never had less rapport with an interviewer. We were there over 2hrs and she didn't learn a single thing about me. At one point in response to the something you've achieved I talked about a solo expedition to Aconcagua (highest mountain outside the Himalayas in the Andes), thought it would be more interesting for her than the usual boring crap. Explained everything it took to organise an undertake, she asked did you get to the top? "No l suffered sever mountain sickness at 6650m, about 300m from the summit." "Well you didn't achieve anything then".
At that point she stopped the interview and said if I didn't come up with another situation I'd fail. Think I talked about passing my degree or some bullst like that. If I'd said I set out and drove half an hour to Mam Tor and climbed it in 20 minutes she would have no doubt accepted that.
Several other scenarios played out along the same lines. It really was like pulling teeth.
The most bizarre one though was for a rail job with a competitor to my current job. The interview portion took the form of pre determined questions, stuff along the lines of describe a time you took control of a situation, tell me about a time you achieved something etc etc. The interviewer wanted the answers in the form of STAR, Situation, Task, Action, Result.
I've never had less rapport with an interviewer. We were there over 2hrs and she didn't learn a single thing about me. At one point in response to the something you've achieved I talked about a solo expedition to Aconcagua (highest mountain outside the Himalayas in the Andes), thought it would be more interesting for her than the usual boring crap. Explained everything it took to organise an undertake, she asked did you get to the top? "No l suffered sever mountain sickness at 6650m, about 300m from the summit." "Well you didn't achieve anything then".
At that point she stopped the interview and said if I didn't come up with another situation I'd fail. Think I talked about passing my degree or some bulls
t like that. If I'd said I set out and drove half an hour to Mam Tor and climbed it in 20 minutes she would have no doubt accepted that. Several other scenarios played out along the same lines. It really was like pulling teeth.
Edited by ChocolateFrog on Wednesday 23 June 11:40
Looking for a grad role post uni, Toyota in Derbyshire.
I'd driven three hours to get there, quite a big journey for a 21 yo, in the days before sat nav. I was ushered straight in to the interview without an offer of a glass of water or pee!
The room was bright white, with no furniture other than three chairs and very brightly lit. Two interviewers, good cop bad cop routine. Lady and a gent who shook my hand so strongly I am surprised I didn't hit the ceiling. The questions weren't too demanding.
I don't think I did too badly but didn't get the job I really wasn't sure I wanted.
I'd driven three hours to get there, quite a big journey for a 21 yo, in the days before sat nav. I was ushered straight in to the interview without an offer of a glass of water or pee!
The room was bright white, with no furniture other than three chairs and very brightly lit. Two interviewers, good cop bad cop routine. Lady and a gent who shook my hand so strongly I am surprised I didn't hit the ceiling. The questions weren't too demanding.
I don't think I did too badly but didn't get the job I really wasn't sure I wanted.
Try meeting some of the people who come for interviews. I had one bloke in his 50's apply for a job as CNC machinist. Met him in reception as you do.
I said "nice to meet you, would you like a coffee?"
Him "yes please and can I also have one for my Mum, she's in the car"
me "yes, i suppose so"
Got him 2 coffees and he went out to give his Mum the coffee, 10 minuets later he returns.
Within 10 minuets of talking to him it becomes apparent he doesn't even now what a CNC machine is. He did have a lot of experience as a brick layer though, but really wanted an indoor job as he was getting older.
I said "nice to meet you, would you like a coffee?"
Him "yes please and can I also have one for my Mum, she's in the car"
me "yes, i suppose so"
Got him 2 coffees and he went out to give his Mum the coffee, 10 minuets later he returns.
Within 10 minuets of talking to him it becomes apparent he doesn't even now what a CNC machine is. He did have a lot of experience as a brick layer though, but really wanted an indoor job as he was getting older.
ChocolateFrog said:
If I'd said I set out and drove half an hour to Mam Tor and climbed it in 20 minutes she would have no doubt accepted that.
TBH if you'd managed to drive the 'old road' up to it I'd be quite impressed 
I remember going down that on a coach in the old days in the last century
StevieBee said:
What you've described, to me, sounds like a company that's panicking. They've no doubt got investors breathing down their necks, lack the management wherewithal to address it properly so are buying their way out of whatever problem they're in. Unlikely to end well.
They opened a new location a couple of weeks before lockdown and it’s that office that they are now aggressively trying to fill, so I would agree that things are probably pretty tight for them at the moment ARHarh said:
Try meeting some of the people who come for interviews. I had one bloke in his 50's apply for a job as CNC machinist. Met him in reception as you do.
I said "nice to meet you, would you like a coffee?"
Him "yes please and can I also have one for my Mum, she's in the car"
me "yes, i suppose so"
Got him 2 coffees and he went out to give his Mum the coffee, 10 minuets later he returns.
Within 10 minuets of talking to him it becomes apparent he doesn't even now what a CNC machine is. He did have a lot of experience as a brick layer though, but really wanted an indoor job as he was getting older.
Why was he chosen for an interview?! I said "nice to meet you, would you like a coffee?"
Him "yes please and can I also have one for my Mum, she's in the car"
me "yes, i suppose so"
Got him 2 coffees and he went out to give his Mum the coffee, 10 minuets later he returns.
Within 10 minuets of talking to him it becomes apparent he doesn't even now what a CNC machine is. He did have a lot of experience as a brick layer though, but really wanted an indoor job as he was getting older.
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