Interview Nightmares 13

[BJCooperIT]

I once worked for a software vendor (read: sweat shop) that I will call XYZ. Years later I interviewed for a position at one of their clients in a different state. This client had bitter feelings regarding their contract with XYZ. I was asked several questions by a panel of three hostile people who wanted to know how XYZ functioned internally and why they did not get the service to which they felt entitled.

Had I known how strained the relationship between these companies was, I would never have applied for the position. I had never even worked on their contract and was now between a rock and a hard place. If I defended XYZ, then I knew I was sunk. If I complained about XYZ, then I would not appear to have been a dedicated employee. I told the tale of dedicated developers who did their best in an environment where deadlines and contracts were in the hands of sales people. I did not get the job. Afterwards I had the distinct impression that I had only been interviewed so they could play their cat-and-mouse game with me as some sort of revenge.

Anyone else had an interview or interview question from hell? Hopefully by sharing we can avoid making the same mistakes.

[sup]Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.[/sup][sup] ~George Bernard Shaw[/sup]
Consultant/Custom Forms & PL/SQL - Oracle 8.1.7 - Windows 2000

 

[tgr430]

Hi,

I had a manager yell at me when I wanted to follow up on my interview. She was so nasty. All she had to say was "I'm sorry but all of the positions have been filled" or something along those lines, but she yelled at me and then she even had the nerve to hang up on my face.

This was at Best Buy by the way.

Terry

 

[sleipnir214]

Sounds to me that by not getting the job, you got the better end of the deal.

Want the best answers? Ask the best questions:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[rtrek]

Best Buy is like that.

check out

http://www.bestbuysux.org

for a lot more info.

 

[JeanNiBee]

I wouldn't blame Best Buy.

The HR department isn't there to train you in the way of interviews and give you progress reports.

I work at a fairly large company and we get soo many requests for jobs and interviews, if people phoned us back for feedback and such we'd never get any work done.

Once you leave the interview, expect you did'nt get it until you know better.

You'll be less disappointed that way.


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
For ease of reading, any posted CODE should be wrapped by [ignore][COLOR][/COLOR] and

[/ignore] tags.

Ex:

SELECT 1 from sysobjects

 

[tgr430]

Yeah but she didn't have to be so rude on the phone. If she had just been a little more patient and explained to me in a sincere way I would have just moved on.

Now, I don't even shop there anymore.

 

[BJCooperIT]

HOW TO SCREW UP AN INTERVIEW
(True interview stories, as told by a Manager of Human Resources)

"A balding candidate abruptly excused himself. Returned to office a few minutes later, wearing a hairpiece."

"The job candidate stretched out on the floor to fill out the job application."

"She wore a Walkman and said she could listen to me and the music at the same time."

"... asked to see interviewer's resume to see if the personnel executive was qualified to judge the candidate."

"... announced she hadn't had lunch and proceeded to eat a hamburger and french fries in the interviewer's office - wiping the ketchup on her sleeve"

"Stated that, if he were hired, he would demonstrate his loyalty by having the corporate logo tattooed on his forearm."

"Interrupted to phone his therapist for advice on answering specific interview questions."

"When I asked him about his hobbies, he stood up and started tap dancing around my office."

"At the end of the interview, while I stood there dumbstruck, went through my purse, took out a brush, brushed his hair, and left."

"... pulled out a Polaroid camera and snapped a flash picture of me. Said he collected photos of everyone who interviewed him."

"Said he wasn't interested because the position paid too much."

"While I was on a long-distance phone call, the applicant took out a copy of Penthouse, and looked through the photos only, stopping longest at the centerfold."

"During the interview, an alarm clock went off from the candidate's brief case. He took it out, shut it off, apologized and said he had to leave for another interview."

"A telephone call came in for the job applicant. It was from his wife. His side of the conversation went like this: "Which company? When do I start? What's the salary?" I said, "I assume you're not interested in conducting the interview any further." He promptly responded, "I am as long as you'll pay me more. "I didn't hire him, but later found out there was no other job offer. It was a scam to get a higher offer."

"Candidate said he really didn't want to get a job, but the
unemployment office needed proof that he was looking for one."


[sup]Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.[/sup][sup] ~George Bernard Shaw[/sup]
Consultant/Custom Forms & PL/SQL - Oracle 8.1.7 - Windows 2000

 

[GoDawgs]

Not to be rude JeanNiBee, but that's the most ridiculous thing I've heard. Hiring is a two-way street...people that come in for an interview are taking time out of their lives too, the least that a company can do is call or send a letter/email to that person to let them know they went with someone else. I've never understood that, you ask people to take an hour out of their lives to come in and then can't even spend two minutes to give them some kind of response.

This is especially important for someone like Best Buy...99% of the people being interviewed are customers, why would you want to piss them off? Anyway, that's my rant for the day...common courtesy can go a long way...and opens doors that you would never have even seen sometimes.

Kevin

 

[ANFPS26]

I had an HR person call me once to say that I did NOT get the job. When I asked her if she could tell me why they weren't hiring me, she said, "Sorry, that is against our company policy to divulge that." Go figure.

Jim

 

[MasterRacker]

I would agree with GoDawgs. The counselors at my local Workforce center claim the many hiring managers use the follow-up call as a screening tool. If you don't call back, they figure you're not really interested, so unless your resume really stands out they dump it on the discard pile without the return call.

Also, my state's unemployment agency periodically audits the job finding efforts of people collecting checks. One of the things they ask about is whether or not you are making follow-up calls. They consider it a poor job hunting effort if you're not making those calls.

I'm sorry, but taking follow-up calls is part of HR's job. Handling all calls professionally is part of anyone's job. Anything else is a cop-out.


Jeff
If your mind is too open your brains will fall out...

 

[tgr430]

I agree with you 100% GoDawgs. I know that it was my fault to, I must have done something wrong in the interview, but for them to treat me like that on the phone was a very ugly thing to do. I was so upset with them I wrote a complaint letter.

By the way, I also learned that complaint letters don't help. If you ever get cheated in some way at a store, don't write complaint letters JUST DON'T GO BACK THERE EVER AGAIN!

Anyway, I just wanted to mention that I agree with you. Thanks!

Terry

 

[tgr430]

Yeah, thats an excellent point Jeff! However, (like I learned the hard way) you have to have the courage to give them a call and then you have to know when to back off. Thanks!

Terry

 

[JeanNiBee]

Just so you all understand.

I don't condone being rude, (and I don't work in HR), I just see how many people come in. Now, maybe the Company I work for needs an overhaul on HR management, but they couldn't feasibly call back EVERYONE and get into an explanation of why they didn't hire you. PLus, it's not realistic to call and say "Well, your personality isn't a match with our style, and we thought you smelled".

Don't get me wrong they do tell people they weren't hired, they just don't get into the reasons nor to they entertain people calling to get feedback on the interview process.

I do agree however that politeness goes a long way.



-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
For ease of reading, any posted CODE should be wrapped by [ignore][COLOR][/COLOR] and

[/ignore] tags.

Ex:

SELECT 1 from sysobjects

 

[SF0751]

I agree, call-backs to everyone who interviewed could get insane. In my opinion, however, if the company was interested enough in you to select you for an interview, then you're owed an update. I think that the interviewee should follow up with the company, first with just a followup letter ("Thank you for the interview, blah blah blah&quot and later (if necessary) with letters or phone calls, asking if a decision has been made. And the company, once a decision has been made, should follow up with everyone who interview. This can be a simple letter, stating that the position has been filled, but thanks for applying.

Susan
[sup]Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live. - Mark Twain[/sup]

 

[MasterRacker]

We're talking about two different things.

My point was referring to companies taking follow-up calls from applicants. Even, if someone is being a pain and calling every other day, they they need to be professional about it.

Going the other way, no company has the time to call every applicant. I do think it's a courtesy to call actual interviewees back to let them know the position was filled with someone else. Sadly, not many companies even do this anymore.

As far as giving reasons for not hiring someone, I don't think a company can legally give specifics, nor should they due to possible legal problems. "We found another candidate, we felt was better suited to the position." is about all they should say.


Jeff
If your mind is too open your brains will fall out...

 

[lespaul]

But occasionally an applicant has a valid reason for checking. I applied for a position in June and if I hadn't called back to check on the status, I wouldn't have found out that the position has been "put on hold". They don't know if they are actually going to fill this position at all.

Glad I wasn't holding my breath to hear back from them.



Leslie

 

[willir]

While on the subject of a follow up call, this is a perfectly legitmate question to ask during the interview.

Can I call back to find out...{/i]

or
When can I call back...

 

[Chance1234]

about two years ago i had a interview come up at rather short notice, it was late friday and the interview was first thing that monday, normally wouldnt of been a problem but that weekend i was away working on a film shoot, now film shoots are notorious for long hours, in the end i ended up getting about 6 hours sleep over the whole weekend, worst i also got in a fight and ended up with a black eye,

undetered i went to the interview sleep drained and black eye'd, , as i was walking along the corridor with the interviewer, the heel on my shoe started to fall off, giving us a strange limp as i tried to hide the fact.

Ironically i got the job!



Filmmaker, gentlemen and proffesional drinker

http://public.fotki.com/chance1234/

 

[jrbarnett]

Hi,

I once had an interview at which before the interview started, I was asked to fill in an application form - fair enough. 95%+ of the information requested was on my CV, but part of the CV requested major medical problems, which wasn't.
I completed the form honestly and accurately, and then when I finally got into the interview, the interviewers looked at my form and proceeded to ask me all about my medical problems, rather than my ability to do the job, technical skills, relevant experience etc. There was not one single technical question.
I left the interview with a very bad feeling in my stomach.

When I got home afterwards I found a message on my answering machine from the agent that arranged this interview telling me they had been in touch and didn't want to pursue the application.
I phoned the agent to tell them what happened at the interview and they seemed very upset by the way I was treated.

John

 

[Sashanan]

My (limited) experience with forms asking about medical conditions is that it's best to downplay anything and everything, so that *you* are the one who decides if you're fit to work, not them. I don't consider this entirely dishonest either, because on paper everybody looks seriously ill.


"Much that I bound, I could not free. Much that I freed returned to me."
(Lee Wilson Dodd)

 

[KenCunningham]

I must admit that in all the applications I've submitted (not too many, I'll grant you) I've never mentioned any medical condition (in my case a stammer/stutter), my aim being to let the interviewer find out for themselves - if they have a problem with that, then I'm afraid it's not the kind of organisation I would be happy working for anyway!