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Original poster

ds just ruined my telephone interview

253 replies

stuckinthewrongbody · 12/08/2019 11:40

Just had a telephone interview with a job i wanted so badly DS has just ruined it! i put dd in her cot to have her nap and i gave ds some snacks and his ipad.

I go sit in the back and close the door he follows me starts screaming hitting his toy gun up the door i tell her i would call her back which i did and she just didnt seem interested after.

Feeling very crap about myself dont think i will ever get back in to work at this rate.

OP posts:
Croquembou · 12/08/2019 19:34

Children pop up on our conference calls all the time. It's cute, conference calls are boring, I like them being broken up by tiny peering faces. It also means people who have had to take a day off for a childcare emergency don't hold anything up as we can still get calls done and decisions made. Not everyone works in extremely corporate environments, some of us have family-friendly policies.

Bad luck, OP. That's a really shitty start to a Monday.

DecomposingComposers · 12/08/2019 19:36

Why? My husband would do this for me. It's hardly a common occurance. There was a period you were not available for childcare. He should have stepped up. Did you ask him?

These type of comments give me the rage. Can you not understand that lots of people don't have flexibility at work? It might not be that the dh doesn't want to help, it might well be that he risks his job for doing so.

My husband has a tracker in his van. He has to account for every journey that he makes. He can't even just go to the shops on his way home, let alone drive an hour home and then another hour back again during his working day.

If the op and her family are reliant on her husband's wage to live it is likely that they can't afford to risk his job for him to do this.

Mrsfrumble · 12/08/2019 20:07

But it was a sign of normal family life carrying on in the background, which is to be expected if people are expected to take part in conference calls outside office hours. Which is not really much different to a child wandering into a frame and plonking itself in a parent’s lap for a few minutes, as long as the parent wasn’t too distracted.

Pamplemousecat · 12/08/2019 20:17

There’s just no way I would let my kids do this. It’s just too unprofessional. I’m cringing just thinking about it.

Superlooper · 12/08/2019 20:49

The BBC presenter on the clip posted said he had forgotten to lock his office door as he normally would.

Sorry OP, if you had no childcare I would prefer you to request to reschedule (or at least say why you need to so the recruiter could chose to go ahead with the phone interview knowing it may be interrupted).

I had someone bring a toddler to a face-to-face interview before! Not easy to do an interview with Peppa Pig on Confused

Lovemymunchkins100 · 12/08/2019 21:03

Sorry that must have been difficult. I think some of the responses here are a bit harsh. Its not that easy being a mum especially if one has a baby and probably a toddler. We mums need to constructively offer tips. Dont worry another opportunity will come.

Bluntness100 · 12/08/2019 21:35

Can you not understand that lots of people don't have flexibility at work?

You can sit and rage all you want, but no, I've never met anyone who can't take a morning or a couple of hours off if required.

And I'm guessing your husband can also do so.

PurpleDaisies · 12/08/2019 21:37

You can sit and rage all you want, but no, I've never met anyone who can't take a morning or a couple of hours off if required.

Never met any teachers? Or doctors? Or pharmacists? Or opticians? Or pretty much any shift worker? Hmm

movingontosomethingnew · 12/08/2019 21:42

@Bluntness100 no, the ops husband is a scaffolder. He could be working anywhere in the UK so not easy to say he needs x hours off.

Nicknacky · 12/08/2019 21:44

super Did she get the job?

wtffgs · 12/08/2019 21:45

NO idea what the OP's situation is but if nursery shut down, I wouldn't have been able to pay for and arrange child care at the drop of a hat. Just wasn't a possibility. Not everyone has a safety net.. It's disappointing so few people see this and assume people don't "care" as much as they do because their lives aren't as easy.

☝🏼

LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD · 12/08/2019 21:49

I had two calls at work today from people with kids yelling and shrieking in the background and one from someone obviously in a cafe or restaurant.

DecomposingComposers · 12/08/2019 22:01

You can sit and rage all you want, but no, I've never met anyone who can't take a morning or a couple of hours off if required.

And I'm guessing your husband can also do so.

You'd be guessing wrong then. Neither of us can take a couple of hours, or part days, off work. We can book whole days annual leave BUT only, in my case, with 4 weeks notice and in both cases only if there aren't too many other people already on holiday which is difficult in the school holidays.

Honestly, many people in this country do not have flexibility at work. It doesn't mean that they don't care about their families.

Superlooper · 12/08/2019 22:48

Nicknacky, what do you think? She even mentioned her toddler was in creche in the afternoon...why oh why didn't she say she wasn't available until the afternoon.

BenWillbondsPants · 12/08/2019 23:04

@Bluntness100 I can't take a morning or afternoon or even an hour off during term time as I'm a teacher.

Nicknacky · 12/08/2019 23:12

super I suspected that was the answer!

DrPeppersPhD · 12/08/2019 23:31

That sucks, OP. Yeah, maybe you should have organised childcare but that doesn't change the fact that it sucks and you have every right to be sad about potentially missing out on a dream job.

DarlingNikita · 13/08/2019 11:46

You can sit and rage all you want, but no, I've never met anyone who can't take a morning or a couple of hours off if required.

What a howlingly stupid and ill-informed thing to say.

Please tell us you said that just to be provocative and not because you actually believe it?

Dungeondragon15 · 13/08/2019 12:53

Never met any teachers? Or doctors? Or pharmacists? Or opticians? Or pretty much any shift worker?

Doctors, pharmacist, optician etc can take a morning or day off. They just have to request annual leave like everyone else. Obviously they would have to give notice there would be notice in this situation. What makes you think they can't take time off?

HeadintheiClouds · 13/08/2019 13:04

Nobody is, or should be, so vital to an organisation that they can’t take a couple of hours off. What if they’re in a car crash on the way to work? What if they have a heart attack?
It may cause a bit of inconvenience but the world will continue to turn.

Passthecherrycoke · 13/08/2019 13:11

Who would teach 30 children whilst the teacher took a few hours off then? Confused

Passthecherrycoke · 13/08/2019 13:14

There are a lot of drs etc who wouldn’t be able to take time off in the short notice period given for a telephone interview, because their patients would be book in a number of weeks in advance. Doesn’t mean they can’t take annual leave, just that they couldn't take it with a weeks notice

HeadintheiClouds · 13/08/2019 13:18

A supply teacher? What’s the Confused? It happens all the time!

HeadintheiClouds · 13/08/2019 13:19

And doctors lists are rejigged all the time, or locums are used, don’t kid yourself.

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 13/08/2019 13:19

I’m afraid it was bound to happen, really. You can’t expect a 2 year old to be considerate even if you’re on the phone to the Queen.
Easy for me to say, but It obviously not meant to be.