Anybody feels like discussing bad job interviews?

oLahav said – Wed, 21 May 2008 20:21:20 -0000 ( Edit Link )

We’ve all been there- a job interview that went so bad you wished you haven’t even applied for the job. Well, maybe not all of us, but I know I have.

I had a really bad one. It was a fifteen minutes coop interview with a small tax company. The interviewer was more than an hour late (!) and didn’t even apologize when he showed up. He spent 10 minutes of the interview time reading my resume while I just sat there doing nothing. Then he asked me 2 questions, and then all of a sudden he popped up a tax test. I wasn’t aware of there being a test in the interview since he never specified this, but I took it anyway (I didn’t know anything and without a calculator I couldn’t do much either way). I waited outside in a hallway for another 15 minutes while he was interviewing the next person. Afterwards I thanked him, told him I guessed the entire thing and said that even though I don’t know some of the stuff I’m eager to learn. He waived me out of there because he had more people to interview… needless to say I didn’t even get a call back saying I didn’t get the job, they treated me like I didn’t exist.

That’s my bad story… I think you can learn something from it. Most times you hear employers and people joking about the crazy applicants who came to the interview with a striped purple suit, and so everyone prepares you to be a good interviewee. But you have to remember that sometimes it’s the interviewer who’s awful at what he’s doing. I guess you shouldn’t feel bad if this happens to you, there are some stupid guys out there.

So what’s your interview-horror story? Feel free to share them right here.

Actions

Respond

Author: oLahav; Authority 711

Vote

Current Rating: 0; Rate Up; Rate Down

No Votes

MayMay said – Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:23:31 -0000 ( Flag Edit Mark / Unmark Best Link )

Wow! That is an intense story. Nonetheless, thanks for being open and sharing it with us.

Here’s my horror story:

The night before a co-op interview, I stayed up all night to teach myself PowerPoint, and to create a winning presentation for a group project. As proud as I was for the final piece, I felt like a zombie and could not reason why I would forgo a night’s sleep. As the following day progressed, I began to feel utterly cranky and drowsy. Nearing the interview meeting time, I was sitting in class, only to find myself dozing off and missing the interview! When I awoke with symptoms of what appeared to be a minor heart attack, I called the reception at our Co-op building to apologize, and thankfully the interviewer was able to accommodate and arranged a phone interview later in the day.

15 minutes into the hour of the purposed phone interview, I realized that I have left my phone on silent and missed the call! Needless to say, I was kicking myself for my behaviour. To cope with my actions, a two-scoop of cookies and cream ice-cream did the trick, along with telling myself that if I had really wanted the job, I would have been on top of my game. Oh, the stories you tell yourself to convince otherwise!

How’s that for a horror story?! Can anyone else top that?

Actions