Worst interview experiences

[Flybhoy]

1 minute ago, throbber said:

 

You might want to check that one over with your mother.

 

 

[Gaz]

Two bad ones stand out for me.

The first, I was about 18/19 and going for a job at Standard Life. Up until then my only job had been part-time at Burger King whilst I was at college.

The day's going well, I did well in the aptitude test / team exercise then it came to the interview. It was one of those "tell us about a situation where" type interviews.

The main interviewer asks me "tell me about a situation where you had to upsell something to someone who wasn't looking for it originally".

Now, I hadn't sold anything to anyone in my life. I was good in the kitchen in BK so at that point hadn't even been till trained. I thought for a while and then said to them "sorry, but I don't think I have the experience to answer that question, I haven't done sales before". I thought that would be the end of it, but the other panel members kept badgering me for an answer, and started going on about selling fries, milkshakes and onion rings. At the point the main interviewer said "onion rings" one of her colleagues gave out a visible snigger.

I was going redder and redder with embarrassment - I was a 19 year-old kid who had had an honest job and worked hard at it, and here I was being made to feel like a fucking arsehole for doing it. At that point I knew I hadn't got it, and I stopped the interview and said they should be ashamed of themselves for making me feel like that, and walked out the interview. The main interviewer apologised profusely whilst drawing daggers at her sniggering colleague, but the damage was done. So that was that.

The second one, I applied for a part-time job at Dunfermline library when I was at Uni. The job advert said the hours were flexible and negotiable. When I got to the interview, one of the first things they told me was the hours they were needing me for, and it was when I was due to be in classes. I said that the job advert had said the hours were negotiable and they said they just put that in so people would apply. I said to them they'd just wasted mine and their time, and cost me petrol money. They gave me a tenner petrol money, and I left.

I also registered with a couple of agencies while at Uni and each time I registered with each one the folk there seemed genuinely astonished that I could type more than 10 words a minute, perform simple arithmetic and spell words correctly.

Edited January 13, 2020 by Gaz

[Sergeant Wilson]

3 hours ago, throbber said:

 feeling like a twat

That bit would've been easy.

[BFTD]

No idea if it's the same now, or in other industries, but agencies for IT professionals used to be ridiculous for sending people along to companies who didn't have experience even remotely in the same area as the job they were applying for. I took myself off the books of a couple that were constantly trying to talk me into pretending to have experience or qualifications that I didn't have, or was even interested in having. No idea what they thought they'd gain from that - surely an employer would blacklist an agency who kept sending them the equivalent of jannies for their vacancy in brain surgery?

[Big Chief Toffee Teeth]

In the early 80s, I went for an interview for a part-time bar job in (then) Royal Exchange Square in Glasgow. It was going fairly well until the interviewer and soon to be fairly notorious Glasgow club entrepreneur asked, " So, Big Chief. Tell us why you have Pzazz." ( Yup, no prizes for guessing the name of his shitehole of a club. )
I am still proud that, at such a young age, I simply said nothing, stood up and left.

[RH33]

11 hours ago, throbber said:

 

Why would they automatically assume you would put that information on a cv? Strange thing for you to get angry about.

 

When I was applying to temp agencies as a student and just after uni I akways included that had driving license and access to car. Opened up some of the less accessible sites and a split post between two hospitals.

[Fullerene]

8 hours ago, Aim Here said:

So what is electricity?

The first single by OMD.

[Fullerene]

11 hours ago, dee_62 said:

Thought everyone put their driving status on a CV?  

Only if it is positive.

"Banned for ten years" should not be included on a CV.

HTH

[Aim Here]

5 minutes ago, Fullerene said:

Only if it is positive.

"Banned for ten years" should not be included on a CV.

HTH

Depends whether you actually want the job or just fulfilling this fortnight's job application quota so that the dole gestapo won't cut your giro.

[throbber]

When I was applying to temp agencies as a student and just after uni I akways included that had driving license and access to car. Opened up some of the less accessible sites and a split post between two hospitals.

I know it’s a good thing to put on it, I always included it on mine. Just don’t think it’s that outrageous a question for someone to ask if you hadn’t included it on your cv.

[RH33]

Sorry misread your original post.

[oneteaminglasgow]

No idea if it's the same now, or in other industries, but agencies for IT professionals used to be ridiculous for sending people along to companies who didn't have experience even remotely in the same area as the job they were applying for. I took myself off the books of a couple that were constantly trying to talk me into pretending to have experience or qualifications that I didn't have, or was even interested in having. No idea what they thought they'd gain from that - surely an employer would blacklist an agency who kept sending them the equivalent of jannies for their vacancy in brain surgery?

I did IT recruitment for a short while, and it’s all about targets. Recruitment agents have targets for absolutely everything, so sending a ridiculous CV in or someone along to an interview counts towards those targets even if they’ve got absolutely no chance of getting it and it’s a waste of everyone else’s time.

The bigger agencies are especially bad for that kind of nonsense.

[Newbornbairn]

Used to manage a theatre and we hired schoolgirls as usherettes. One lassie came in for interview - 15 and dressed like a $5 hooker. Short skirt, low cut top, caked-on makeup etc etc. She sat down and immediately crossed her legs and tugged her top down a bit more at which point I stopped her and told her to go home and get changed into something more suitable.  When she came back dressed more appropriately she came across well and was hired but she later told me that she thought dressing like that was what was expected for a girl going for a job - something I found quite depressing. 

[Newbornbairn]

On 12/01/2020 at 18:52, welshbairn said:

On 12/01/2020 at 18:31, Miguel Sanchez said:

I got a call from an agency once with a job in Stirling. "Can you drive?" Well, if I could drive I would have mentioned this on my CV which you say you're looking at, wouldn't I?

I got offered a job in Norway when I was living in Aberdeen on condition I had a driving licence. Booked a cancellation test the next morning in Buckie, hitched up, couldn't find anywhere to stay and tried to sleep in the park with it pissing down all night, turned up at the test centre looking a right state, to be asked where my car was. What, don't you provide them? I was 17 or 18 I hasten to add.

 

My first proper theatre job, the boss phoned me up after the interview and said "Just to confirm, you can drive can't you?" I assured her I could and she says great, you start in 3 weeks.

Problem is, I couldn't drive. I'd had one half-arsed driving lesson with my mum and I'd thrashed my mate's work pick up on waste ground once or twice. 

So I phoned all the driving schools who all laughed at me and said forget it until finally one lot said to try and get a Saturday appointment for a driving test as they'd just been introduced. To their surprise, I managed to get one for the Saturday morning before I started the new job on the Monday. They managed to fit in a double lesson on the Friday then half a lesson before the test on the Saturday and they gave me their car for the test. The instructor said he couldn't teach me to drive so quickly but he could show me what was in the test.

 

You've guessed it - I passed, much to the astonishment of the instructor. Sunday was spent buying a wee Renault 5 then when I turned up for work on the Monday morning I was told to go up to the Mercedes garage and collect the new van - one of those giant long wheelbase Mercedes panel vans! Bit of a shock but it worked out fine. 

[Priti priti priti Patel]

20 minutes ago, NewBornBairn said:

Used to manage a theatre and we hired schoolgirls as usherettes. One lassie came in for interview - 15 and dressed like a $5 hooker. Short skirt, low cut top, caked-on makeup etc etc. She sat down and immediately crossed her legs and tugged her top down a bit more at which point I stopped her and told her to go home and get changed into something more suitable.  When she came back dressed more appropriately she came across well and was hired but she later told me that she thought dressing like that was what was expected for a girl going for a job - something I found quite depressing. 

I've seen that film. It's okay, she's not actually 15, she's a 28 year old with two kids and chlamydia.

[throbber]

Gaz - the guys are dicks if they were laughing at you during your interview but not answering a question looks bad for you. Either completely blag a story or try and relate something you have done back to the question asked in some sort of roundabout way and they’ll appreciate the effort, if you say you can’t answer you will score a bit fat 0 for that question.

[sugna]

53 minutes ago, NewBornBairn said:

Used to manage a theatre and we hired schoolgirls as usherettes. One lassie came in for interview - 15 and dressed like a $5 hooker. Short skirt, low cut top, caked-on makeup etc etc. She sat down and immediately crossed her legs and tugged her top down a bit more at which point I stopped her and told her to go home and get changed into something more suitable.  When she came back dressed more appropriately she came across well and was hired but she later told me that she thought dressing like that was what was expected for a girl going for a job - something I found quite depressing. 

I never thought I'd say this, but can we hear more from Gareth?

[throbber]

I know this is how the world works but I actually disagree. For lots of jobs, being honest about when you can competently deal with something or not is quite important. I say 'I don't know' at work all the time. Of course I follow it up with I'll find out or so and so would know, but I don't think it should be a bad word in an interview context. Saying anything to fill dead air comes from moves to introduce scoring in interviews.

I think it’s nonsense as well but it’s what they want to hear in that sort of interview. I think the entire recruitment process for big companies is ridiculous like my experience that I spoke about a couple pages back. I got asked at the end of the gruelling day “In what way would you show empathy towards co workers who are struggling at work and in life?” I felt like slamming my head down on the desk.

[OSP]

I've interviewed lots of folk, and now as part of my job train others on how to do it.

It amazes me how many folk think that making an interview a horrible, stressful, difficult experience for all the candidates is the best way to find the ideal candidate for the role. Pure ego trip for the arseholes doing the recruitment, and nothing more.

As for my personal experiences, when I was just 17 went for a job where the Managing Director told me my first mistake at the interview was the crucifix I was wearing, as he gets most of his clients through the lodge. Cringe to think I just accepted that as honest feedback at the time, but I was just a young lad...

[Ross.]

47 minutes ago, MixuFixit said:

I know this is how the world works but I actually disagree. For lots of jobs, being honest about when you can competently deal with something or not is quite important. I say 'I don't know' at work all the time. Of course I follow it up with I'll find out or so and so would know, but I don't think it should be a bad word in an interview context. Saying anything to fill dead air comes from moves to introduce scoring in interviews.

I agree to an extent, but a lot of places also want to see how well you can bullshit your way through a pressurised situation as you work towards the desired outcome.