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Original poster

To think this was a weird interview

10 replies

registerme · 23/01/2013 22:14

I had a job interview today. One of the questions I got asked was "How would you like competing with your colleagues?" This was just after I had talked about how much I liked working in teams, and how collaboration was very important in this field (and they agreed).

Next I was told that "I'm going to be provocative now, because sometimes it reveals interesting things. It looks like your dissertation was a bit crap [paraphrasing here], but overall you have an excellent academic record. So why did you decide to work in your current boring technician role?"

Just weird all over. Why insult my current job (which I happen to think is great, not boring, and I am definitely not a technician)? If he thought I was crap, then why bother to call me for interview in the first place?

OP posts:
zumo · 23/01/2013 22:23

Often its to prevoke some sort of reaction.
I once had an interview and they asked me allsorts of technical stuff I didnt know so I asked why as it was all stuff you wouldnt bother to remember but would look up, they offered me the job, I said no!
I just feel some of the people are strange, try to put you off etc and just want to see how you react

Original poster
registerme · 23/01/2013 22:54

Well they did seem really happy with my answers to all the weird questions, and they were obviously trying to impress me later on in the interview. But I don't like people trying to intimidate me (which is what I think they were trying to do with the weird questions and the general tone of the interview), so I don't think it's the place for me!

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deleted203 · 23/01/2013 23:05

The thing about many interviewers I have found is that they don't really know what the fuck they're doing to be honest. The ask stupid questions designed to provoke a reaction, or tell them something about you, and it is pointless in most cases as they are not highly trained enough to draw a conclusion on what is dubious science anyway. It generally just tells me that they are shit at interviewing if they don't do a straightforward job.

nancy75 · 23/01/2013 23:06

I went for an interview years ago, the guy taking the interview must have had one of those ' you don't have to be mad to work here...but it helps' signs on his desk, he asked me to stand up and sing a song ( singing was not part of the job), I politely refused, he insisted , I said no, it ended up getting quite heated so I told him the job wasn't for me and walked out.

CalamityJ · 23/01/2013 23:10

I did personality tests and to test me the interviewer said the complete opposite of what I really was i.e. he said you like to take a back seat whereas I like to lead stuff like that. I politely asked him if he'd got the correct results in front of him as it didn't sound like me at all. Apparently that meant I 'passed' the test. Sometimes they like to make you uncomfortable to see how you react when panicked or faced with conflict. It's not nice but if you got good vibes from the rest of it I'd not worry. If other things made you uneasy I'd trust your instinct.

Limnoria · 23/01/2013 23:11

Is it a research post? Sounds similar to an interview I had; I got shown around the lab and chatted to a few of the phd students, and the interview was quite a good indicator of what working there would have been like...

exexpat · 23/01/2013 23:14

DH went to an interview once (city job, early 90s), and the main guy interviewing him put his feet up on the desk, chucked his folder down, and said, "Well, this is a fucking awful CV, what have you got to say for yourself?" Shock.

DH got the job, and became very friendly with his new boss, who liked provoking people to see how they reacted.

Original poster
registerme · 23/01/2013 23:20

It is a research post, not in academia though. Yep, definitely got a feel of the type of people they want there. It's a shame as they sound like they do really interesting research, but I did not get any good vibes about the environment at all. I'm not really bothered that it's not for me, as I have other applications in the works. I just thought it was weird, and I really do not take kindly to people trying to insult me or intimidate me.

I think it is true that they don't have any/much interviewing or management experience either (based on what they told me about their backgrounds).

OP posts:
BadLad · 23/01/2013 23:56

Those questions are not that unusual.

I was once asked "If you were a piece of furniture, what would you be, and why?".

It felt more like being on Blind Date than having a job interview.

Original poster
registerme · 24/01/2013 18:30

They have phoned me 7 times today. I was at work and phone was on silent, so didn't answer. They didn't leave any voicemails.

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