To ask if anyone’s ever gone to an interview where the panel were absolute nightmares?

I had a job interview when I was in my early 20s for a symphony orchestra. One of the interviewers openly scoffed at the name of the school I had gone to (a Catholic state school). Then obviously read down my CV and noticed that I had gone to the same university as him. What a twat. I don't think you can get away with classest behaviour these days.

The last interview I went to was ridiculous. 4 hours, much of which was spent in a tiny glass office with 3 interviewers, one of whom kept getting distracted by what was going on the other side of the glass while I was talking.

I had one donkey's years back that was really intimidating. It was for the Home Office.

The interview was in a giant, old-fashioned, hotel function room. The panel sat behind a big table with crystal decanters, think there were about six of them. They were in front of a massive bay window. My chair was in front right in the middle of the room, really far away from them. I was probably squinting at them because the window was really bright behind them. It was like in a film when you go to be interviewed for military intelligence! And no it was not to be a spy!!!

Didn't want the job after that.

One particularly bad one for a contract role where it was an hrs drive and the main interviewer dialled in. I was given a seat speaking into the speaker phone and sideways on to the other interviewers in a cramped space not set up for a panel where one member was dialling in. I started by confirmed what they were looking for and answered their questions with my experience in that space. They later turned me down because they said wanted experience in something else (that they hadn’t mentioned in the spec or on the day and I had plenty of experience in that as well but since it wasn’t what they were looking for I didn’t cover it, it was on my cv).

it was a tech job I applied for with my gender neutral short name, they won’t have realised I was female when they agreed the interview but will have realised between offering me an interview and me turning up so not sure the panel was the problem.

I've had all the interviews from hell due to being a consultant / contractor.

The plastic surgeon that massaged his face with oil whilst he asked questions. His sidekick was an orange (fake tan) gnome like creature.

The management consultancy with a hidden camera and calapsing chair. Luckily I wore trousers.

The brand founder who called me a :big girl'.

The frequent men who wanted to know my father's rank in the army.

The women who wanted to know my husbands job (I say neurosurgeon now!)

The HR director who didn't like my handbag and apparently woujdnt buy that brand. I wasn't there selling bags!

The CEO who wanted to know how much I paid for my house.

I've now given up. Retirement is next year, hoo bloody rah.

Yes me at a big accountancy practice in London in early 2000's. I was kept waiting for over an hour , they asked me what role was I interviewing for as looked so young. I had 8 years of experience. Then one mocked my accent interupting me while I was speaking. I stared at him until he looked away , picked up my bag and left without saying a word.
They rang me while I was leaving the building, I didn't answer the phone.
They then offered me the job presumably so I wouldn't take it further. I declined. Got another job where I stayed happily for over 10 years until I returned home.
So maybe it was a blessing.

Not in person, but a couple of years ago I applied for a senior position in an international firm and got to the 3rd and final interview. There were 6 people in the online meeting and all but one had their cameras turned off. I made an official complaint to the recruiter and he was genuinely shocked by their rudeness.

Yeah, but that gets you someone who needs the role, not a great candidate.

I'd hate to put off a great candidate with a shitty interview.

I had one who deliberately started an argument with me. I thought they were testing how well I would handle a challenging situation (which was part of the role), but then I realised they had taken umbrage at my perfectly reasonable solution to a problem they presented.

They wouldn't let it go either; every time the rest of the panel moved us away from the line of questioning, they diverted it right back. They also got visibly more red-faced and angry throughout.

I didnt get that job, but I was contacted by one of the panel members and offered a role in their department (which was a really good place to work)

Yep! I interviewed for a role at a start up once and all the ‘senior’ members of staff and directors were in their early 20s but acted like teenagers. During my video interview they were laughing to something off camera and not listening to what I was saying and had to keep asking me to repeat as they were clearly distracted. It gave vibes of someone off camera mocking me or something and them trying not to laugh at it but failing miserably.

in all honesty I just felt embarassed for them; as a PP mentioned, I went on Glassdoor and left a review immediately!

Yes had one where the interviewer said “it’s very much a man’s world here” so I ended that one quickly.

@Bundleflower

"I stood up, told her I’d rather live in a tent than spend another minute in her company and left."

Brilliant!! More people should do this.

I've never had anything that bad but mentally preparing for if I have an interview in the future - that if they become hostile/ don't like my CV then I'll just cut it short as it's a waste of everyone's time... Though as a pp said, some people get off on a power trip.

I think the problem really is that there are so many applicants for so few jobs now, for most roles, that the company/interviewers know that actually you need them far more than they need you. It’s not an excuse for rudeness but I do think there is far less of a “you sell yourself and we’ll try to sell you the role” back & forth now, they aren’t particularly bothered about selling you the role because they know if you don’t want it then there are potentially 100 other people who will gladly take it.

Not nightmare but

one where I was shown into the hiring managers office by the would have been my line manager, who proceeded to sit at the end ( not behind ) the laaarrge desk of the HM.

The HM then did that power play thing of continuing to work on his laptop for a minute or two before looking up and saying ‘let’s get on with this then?’

A bit casual I thought.

HM then says ‘ so you’ve known LM a while then? Worked with him before?’
The LM quickly mutters some words , looking embarrassed.
The HM puts down the CV and picks up the only other one on his desk.
’Ah, Tans, ….’

I didn’t get the job.

Yeah. I generally see it as a sign I don't want to work there.

Yeah I hate that STAR shit, so infantile.
In an interview a couple of years ago I was asked how I would apply DEI to the role. I had to say sorry what does DEI mean (I'm well up on current affairs but hadn't heard that acronym then), and they all looked shocked and appalled! It wasn't even relevant to the role really, just DEI virtue signalling. Bore off. Left not wanting job (wasn't offered it either lol).

Yes. I was young and there for an interview for a minimum wage job in a care home. I’d rang up and pushed my interview back the day earlier. Only by 20 minutes and they were fine about it.
When I turned up at the new time the following day, this god awful woman shouted at me for ‘being late’ and ‘wasting her time’ in reception in front of some other staff who all just scuttled off. That should have told me everything.
I stupidly sat down with her and another lady, who was actually lovely, and had everything I had to say for the next 10 minutes tutted at. In the end, I stood up, told her I’d rather live in a tent than spend another minute in her company and left.

Not so much a nightmare, but one prospective employer asked me if I planned to have kids, which is an absolute no-no. I should have left immediately but I was desperate to get out of my then-existing job. Didn't get it anyway.

Urgh, how annoying. Did you ask him that? I think I would have done.

Might have been noting at all to do with how well you interviewed.

I had to interview for roughly my own job after departments merged - there were two of the management bitches on the panel, plus a kindly woman and a token man who I knew to be a complete idiot. The questions were very biased towards the bitches friends but i didn't actually want the job (had my eye on a default job as they had spent all the redundancy money). I continued to be a thorn in the side of the bitches for a good while.

Yes, horrid experience thankfully just once! No need for it. Manners cost nothing.

I had an interviewer wait until the second interviewer was out of the room photocopying my passport, then casually say “we aren’t meant to ask if you are planning to get pregnant anymore but I guess it’s on the cards for you at some point?” (mid 20s). Then give me a hard stare and awkward silence until the other interviewer returned.

I was offered and accepted the job. Boy was that a mistake.

I must admit, I've always found interviews to be so formulaic and tedious, but the worst are the ones who fit religiously to the STAR format.

The worst panel told me strictly after an admittedly rambling answer that they wanted me to answer again in the STAR format.

Since I'm not a performing monkey and the job itself wasn't to answer questions in a STAR format, I declined and asked that we moved on.

Lots of interviewers seem to forget that they're looking for the best person for the role, not the best interviewee.

My last hire was dreadful at her interview skills, but clearly absolutely brilliant at the actual work. I could have given her role to the supposedly better woman who interviewed well, but if have been down an excellent employee.

Oh I could write a book…. I think some people get the tiniest sniff of power over another human and turn into total monsters. It always makes me think of that famous experiment where half the control group were told they were administering electric shocks to the other half. Some of them got really into it… well, those are the same type of people.
I always take comfort in the knowledge that I’m not one of them.

Indeed. Coughing Lady can't possibly have known if I was suitable.