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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be disappointed in the response to my questions at interview?

52 replies

MinimumPayment · 20/05/2015 10:05

I was interviewed for the most senior non-teaching position in a secondary school.

TBH by the time we got to my turn to ask questions I'd already decided I wasn't that bothered about the job. There was no attempt to sell the job or the school to me, the chair of governors was positively frosty and the head gave me the creeps! They've also had a rash of adverts for office jobs in recent weeks and this post was first advertised, then re-advertised months ago, so they obviously have some issues.

So, my first question was an attempt to find out about those issues. I asked about the structure of the finance and admin staff (which I'd be leading). They either didn't know or didn't want to tell me and really didn't answer the question. Doesn't really matter what the issues are, it would be my job to resolve them and I love a challenge, but I didn't think it was unreasonable to ask.

Then I asked what the key objectives are for the next 12 months. There was silence (panel of 4) everyone looked at the head who eventually said, to continue to get good results. Now, it's OFSTED "good" and gets results close to the national average with an intake with higher than average SEN and very high FSM, so it does well, but it's not like there's no room for improvement. AIBU to think they could have come up with something strategic to talk about? Planning for next year should be done or well underway, they must have some interesting objectives, surely?

Or did I get what I deserved for trying to be clever and putting them on the spot?

What would have been better questions?

OP posts:

worldgonecrazy · 20/05/2015 10:09

Sounds like you probably scared them shitless by being better prepared and a slightly more engaging candidate than they were expecting. There is no point dumbing yourself down just to get the job because it would make you miserable.

You've had a lucky escape.

fascicle · 20/05/2015 10:13

Your questions were very valid. Nothing wrong with them at all. Sounds like the (lack of) proper responses told you everything you needed to know.

discophile · 20/05/2015 10:14

Alternatively, and this has happened to me on several occasions, the reason they hadn't actually prepared properly for the interview is because they already have someone internal lined up for the job.

The interviewing of you and other external candidates is to fulfil some HR requirements to advertise the job and interview any suitable candidates.

Someone already has the job. IMHO. It's very annoying. It's happened to me quite a few times. Timewasters.

thatstoast · 20/05/2015 10:16

I had a job interview like that. I asked questions about specific challenges of the company and aspects of the role. The interviewers just said they didn't know the answers and clearly weren't interested in thinking it through. No engagement whatsoever. The sad thing is it was an internal interview and I continued to work for the organisation for another 3 years as the rot set in.

You were not wrong to ask the questions. Lucky Escape!

passthecheese · 20/05/2015 10:16

I think that they forgot that it was an interview for you too. And it sounds like they failed. You have probably had a lucky escape.

blueshoes · 20/05/2015 10:23

To add to what discophile said, sometimes it is an HR requirement that someone outside the department that the candidate will be reporting into must interview, to ensure objectivity. The interviewers in this case will not have much of an idea of the role. It is a silly requirement IMO and can put off the candidate.

However, I would expect that for a subsequent interview rather than the first. I think discophile's reason is more likely to be the one. Or they have f__ked up management and it is a lucky escape for you. Seems others have come to the same conclusion.

Original poster

MinimumPayment · 20/05/2015 11:18

Thanks all.

I don't really mind if I screwed this one up. When I got the no call, my main feeling was one of relief that I wouldn't have to decide whether to accept, but I have another interview coming up. This time at a school I've visited and loved.

I need to do well at that one.

I don't think the post had already gone, they had a representative from the LA on the panel to ask the finance questions (the only pleasant person there!) . There's no requirement for them to do that and they have to pay for her time, so I don't think they would have bothered if they weren't real interviews. I Googled one of the other candidates who came across very well on the day and she has much more relevant experience than me, so good luck to her!

OP posts:

RhiWrites · 20/05/2015 11:33

A lot of interview panels don't like 'show off' questions from candidates who don't want or aren't the right fit for the post. They want to get on to the next candidate. Sounds as though they'd decided against you just as you'd decided against them and felt pretending otherwise was a waste of time.

blueshoes · 20/05/2015 11:43

What are "show off" questions?

Original poster

MinimumPayment · 20/05/2015 11:51

I think you may be right Rhi, but how do I ask intelligent, interesting, but not show off questions next time?

OP posts:

fascicle · 20/05/2015 13:06

They were reasonable questions, RhiWrites, and it would be unprofessional and shortsighted for an interviewing panel to dismiss a candidate part way through an interview. On the plus side, poorly conducted interviews at least give candidates an insight into what it might be like to work for that organisation.

blueshoes · 20/05/2015 13:09

I agree with fascicle. OP's questions were perfectly reasonable and one which serious interviewers would welcome.

They sound like amateurs who don't know their stuff and who dismiss their employees' concerns. It is bad enough this is coming out at the interview stage. Think of what it will be working for them. Sounds toxic.

OnlyLovers · 20/05/2015 13:18

What on earth are 'show off' questions'?

Frankly OP I think you're too good for them. Good luck in the next interview though!

OnIlkelyMoorBahtat · 20/05/2015 14:07

If I was being interviewed and asked simple question like "What are your objectives?" and the people interviewing me were unable to tell me what it is they - and potentially I - are actually being employed to do it would tell me that the set up is disorganized, there is no effective communication between management and staff, no way of measuring staff performance effectively and that there is no leadership either - I think you've had a lucky escape!

Original poster

MinimumPayment · 20/05/2015 14:28

Great, so most of you think they were good questions that I can use next time? Unless anyone has some better ideas?

OP posts:

iammargesimpson · 20/05/2015 15:08

Sound like reasonable questions to me. I think most interview panels are stumped when they say 'have you any questions for us' and you say 'yes', they really aren't expecting it.

I was at a job interview last week for a part time baker's role and at the end of the interview I asked what the hours of work would be, the three on the interview panel looked at each other and then admitted that they hadn't thought about it and didn't know what hours I would be working if I were to be offered the job!!

Strangely enough I haven't heard back from them!

Gubbins · 20/05/2015 15:26

I think your questions were excellent, and you had a lucky escape. Good luck next time!

TedAndLola · 20/05/2015 16:11

I think your questions were really good and not "show off" at all. I would continue to use them. Good luck at the next one, it sounds like a much better fit for you!

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 20/05/2015 16:24

I'd expect a HT to be able to answer those questions off the cuff no matter who was asking.

I interview a lot for organisations I don't even work in. I still would be able to answer those sorts of questions because it is my business to know so I find out. On the odd occasion I get a technical question I can't answer I make a note and ask somebody who can to call the candidate or to pass the info on to whomever makes the feedback calls.

RhiWrites · 20/05/2015 16:56

I interview a lot of people and some of them seem to have been taught that they have to ask questions and then produce ones which aren't actually things they'd like to know but are intended to make them look clever.

The OPs questions are borderline, to me. If they came with a vibe of showing off or showing up the panel they wouldn't have gone down well. And given that she didn't want the job that's what I suspect happened.

Good questions are things that will genuinely affect your decision about taking the role. In my experience honest ones tend to be about the amount of notice you get for working on a weekend or how trading is provided.

At the OP's level strategic questions may be just as honest but that's not the impression I got from her post.

TremoloGreen · 20/05/2015 17:06

Total nonsense. OP was basically just asking what her job would entail, ie, how her team was structured and what she would be working towards for the next 12 months. They should have explained that to her anyway.

OnlyLovers · 20/05/2015 17:08

Yeah, I agree, that's rubbish Rhi. In a senior job like that you'd need to know how the teams were structured and what some of the objectives were that you'd be working towards.

I really dislike these implications that to ask an engaged question is to show off or try to make yourself look clever.

Original poster

MinimumPayment · 20/05/2015 17:14

I'm (obviously) no expert but I would avoid questions like how much notice for trips away - means that might be a problem or training, unless it has been specifically promised/advertised - it's a what's in it for me question and suggests you might be nervous that you don't already have the skills required.

OP posts:

thatstoast · 20/05/2015 17:24

My standard questions are:

How would you describe the company culture?

What will be my main challenges/objectives in the first six months?

Company specific question based on research of company. At my last interview it was a question about the impact of a recent merger.

The last thing I'd ask about is what kind of notice I'd get for working outside core business hours. I think that would be really unprofessional.

APlaceOnTheCouch · 20/05/2015 17:26

tbh it's impossible to tell if they are both good questions or not without knowing the context of the interview.

I'd find it odd that I had reached the end of an interview and didn't already know the structure of the team especially for a senior post where it's usual to receive an organisational chart in the interview pack. Perhaps that's why they thought it was an odd question? They might have assumed that earlier answers had already provided the relevant information about the staff structure.

I do think the strategy question was a good one, and unless it was a highly competitive market or they were about to implement some revolutionary new strategy that they only want to share with staff, then I'd think it was an easy question for them to answer.

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