Worst Interview You've Had

EANx

I've never really had a BAD interview but have had a couple of weird ones. Once had an interview with an organization, there was a panel of two people, one IT guy and a non-IT manager. Two parts of that interview stick out to this day.

IT guy asks "what's a modem" (this was back in the day when broadband was still fairly new). I explain how a modem works and he seems a little confused but he senses I maybe, sort of answered his question. "No, what is a modem?" I got the feeling he wanted something simpler "Modulator/demodulator?" He was happy with that.

Manager asks about contributions the US has made to world culture. I suggest various types of music that have gotten their start here and then mention Opera. She objects saying that America has never had a well known Opera writer. I asked if she had ever heard of Gilbert and Sullivan or the Pirates of Penzance?

I got the job and accepted their offer. Later, the IT guy said he wanted to make sure I could give just the right amount of information to answer the question. Had I tried to make things more and more technical, I wouldn't have been a good fit. The manager later she certainly had heard of Gilbert and Sullivan but she wanted to see if I could defend a statement in a disagreement without getting offensive or offended. My take from those two was that it was all about communication skills. That how you say it is often just as important as what was said.

techie2018

AvgITGeek wrote: »

Yeah. I went into a second interview (the first one with the dept leader went great!) with the CIO and he started asking me questions about the job I had on my resume from 15 years ago. He was persistent about contacting that person. I don't have that person's contact info. They left the company! I was told that I didn't fit and they have yet to fill the position. A blessing in disguise.

Some people are really stupid with that. It's 2018 not 1985. Most people aren't going to be at the same company 5 years later. So no you can't called a company I worked at 7 years and "speak to my manager", he is long gone and no I don't have his contract info.

UnixGuy

josephandre wrote: »

....

"So you had your company pay to move you out here with the express intent of leaving them?"

...
"so... yes. got it"


..

his response "except learning linux right? had no problem bailing on that'


...
.."NEVER HEARD OF IT"

lol. recanting the story, it really makes me laugh now, but in the moment it was very surreal and unbelievable.

....

Mate no offense but this wasn't a bad interview, this was flat out disrespectful. This man was bullying you. it can be shocking to respond to him in that situation because no one expects this kind of treatment in an interview, but the least I would've done in that situation is walk away right then and there. Don't let anyone talk to you like this.

NavyMooseCCNA

EANx wrote: »

I
Manager asks about contributions the US has made to world culture. I suggest various types of music that have gotten their start here and then mention Opera. She objects saying that America has never had a well known Opera writer. I asked if she had ever heard of Gilbert and Sullivan or the Pirates of Penzance?

I got the job and accepted their offer. Later, the IT guy said he wanted to make sure I could give just the right amount of information to answer the question. Had I tried to make things more and more technical, I wouldn't have been a good fit. The manager later she certainly had heard of Gilbert and Sullivan but she wanted to see if I could defend a statement in a disagreement without getting offensive or offended. My take from those two was that it was all about communication skills. That how you say it is often just as important as what was said.

I would have said something along the lines "I'm here for an IT Security position; you have obviously mistaken this for the Music department faculty lounge at UNH". I have little tolerance for idiotic questions that have no basis for the position I'm interviewing for.

shochan

scaredoftests wrote: »

That is my policy now. No personality tests. though, I have been asked during an interview 'if I was a tree, what kind of tree I would be and why?' ugh

LMFAO!

A tree? you got to be kidding me...8^D

That's some phunny $hit!

deadjoe

scaredoftests wrote: »

if i was a tree, what kind of tree i would be and why?

I am Groot!!

EANx

NavyMooseCCNA wrote: »

I would have said something along the lines "I'm here for an IT Security position; you have obviously mistaken this for the Music department faculty lounge at UNH". I have little tolerance for idiotic questions that have no basis for the position I'm interviewing for.

You would have missed out on what I found to be a great job with a lot of challenges and learning opportunities. Heck, I took more good classes there than I did anywhere else.

Now that I'm in that hiring role, I add off-the-wall questions to see how people react. I don't want someone who has this in-the-box idea of what their job is. It would probably never come up but if everyone in the section needed to start cleaning and scrubbing for some sort of VIP customer visit, darned-well no one better say "that's not my job".

the_Grinch

I once got a phone call from a company in NYC (a 2 plus hour drive for me one way). They liked my resume and said they wanted me to come in. Interviewer noticed where I lived and asked "is that far?" I stated yes it was 2 hours one way. Get there on the appointed day, go in, 8 minutes later I was done. It was an initial interview, something that could have been done over the phone, and they asked me nothing technical. Let's just say it was a really phone 2 hours drive home...

yoba222

josephandre wrote: »

. . . The leader of the 2nd panel advised me to take a bathroom break, and I did and was gone maybe 90 seconds, as it was literally next door to the conference room. When I walked back in, the last panel was there, and already seated. . . .

I speculate that maybe they never heard the sink run, which is a normal thing given how close the bathroom is to that room, and they took offense to that. This doesn't excuse his behavior but might explain where the attitude came from.