Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

This was a test wasn't it?

542 replies

LadyIrisBarclay · 21/02/2018 20:55

And I obviously failed?

Had an interview for a job today. Really, really wanted it as it's my dream role and I so desperately need to get away from current organisation and arse of a boss

It was interview panel of 3 which I had kind of expected but I know my nerves got the better of me.

Anyway, I walked into the boardroom and the 3 interviewers were sat on opposite side of boardroom table. It was quite formal and I was trying not to hyperventilate Grin

On my side of the table there was just one chair plus a notepad and pencil and carafe and glass of water. So this was obviously where I was supposed to sit.

I walked in and we all shook hands and then the lady (possibly a PA?) invited me to take a seat - but here's where it all went tit's up!

My chair had a very large and noticeable wet patch on it. I have no idea what it was, possibly water or a spilt cup of tea? I touched it with my fingers and it was very damp.

So I pointed it out to the panel in a casual way, didn't want to make a fuss but just said 'oh dear, something has been spilt on this chair and it's still very damp'. I was assuming someone would offer to go and get another for me as there were no other chairs in the room other than the three they were sitting on.

But no-one offered so I asked whether a replacement could be found. I was told that none were available and the Manager then just asked whether I was ready to get started with the interview??????

I said that yes I was but I couldn't sit in the chair provided, I was really trying to keep it light and breezy, the manager just said that no other chairs were available. This is the UK HQ of a large global organisation in a state of the art building covering 5 floors. Of course there were other fucking chairs available??

I could feel tears building up at this point as there was no way I was going to humiliate myself by having a wet patch on my skirt after the interview.

So I walked out Sad - I can't remember now what I said but managed to keep it fairly polite still.

What the actual fuck was I supposed to do? Was this a test?

I have read about organisations such as Apple and Google asking really wanky questions at interviews that I just think is a pile of shite. This was a large organisation in the Financial Services sector though.

It did occur to me afterwards that maybe it was a test and I was supposed to show my initiative by using the notepad they'd provided to cover up the wet patch?

I can't be doing with such arsery though - so very fucking upset this evening Sad

OP posts:
confusednotcom2 · 22/02/2018 06:16

I think it was a test & at least you kept your self respect which is always to be admired. Laughing at the posters who think you should of just sat down & got on with it. I’m
unsure how I would’ve reacted but sitting in the wet patch wouldn’t of been an option.

The test is a little odd though as a pp made a good point that they could be accused of discrimination which you could potentially highlight when asking for feedback.

rocketgirl22 · 22/02/2018 06:19

You really don't want to work with people like that anyway.

Esp if they are expecting you to sit on pee, it is disrespectful.

I would make a formal complaint, and be happy you had a lucky escape.

Violetrose123 · 22/02/2018 06:26

What a load of bellends.

I’m amazed that someone actually wasted their time coming up with this idea, and then wasted another 4 people’s time (presumably) going through the rigmarole with each candidate

retainertrainer · 22/02/2018 06:29

I’m so intrigued to find out if this was a test or not! Well done OP,I think you handled the situation well, it’s great that you stood your ground.

Fosterdog123 · 22/02/2018 06:30

You may not have to contact them to complain - this could well end up in the Mail anyway!!

Whatever you do next, do not send that email. It is not well written and you would look a right plonker. I'd be more likely to phone and try to speak to someone more senior in hr or client management.

Fengshui · 22/02/2018 06:35

To be honest- if the OP HAD sat down dutifully on the wet chair, what message is she sending to the panel? That she is willing to quite literally roll over and take any old shit or piss they throw at her.

That's not a good precedent to be setting.

emmyrose2000 · 22/02/2018 06:51

I think it was a test too, and well done for walking away with your dignity intact.

Had I been one of the interviewers, I certainly wouldn't have hired someone who was so ready to sit in what could've been someone else's wee.

On the very (very!) off chance it wasn't a test, then the panelists seem as thick as two planks for not being able to solve this very simple problem of getting a new chair! Another reason not to want to work there.

steff13 · 22/02/2018 06:56

On the one hand, I can't fathom that this was a test. It's just too weird. But, it's also weird that three people would deny there were any other chairs available of their own volition. It's an office building; of course there were other chairs available. Even if no one was on vacation or out sick, there was a breakroom, a conference room, a waiting room; lots of places they could snag a chair for an hour or so.

That said, I probably would have done the interview standing. I may have been a bit soured on the company, but I'd have gone forward.

steff13 · 22/02/2018 06:58

theyre not american are they

souonds like some wanky shit they do over there

Delightful

Nanna50 · 22/02/2018 07:02

I would have asked to swap chairs with one of them. However well done for walking out they sound ridiculous.

KateGrey · 22/02/2018 07:03

This isn’t wacky or crazy OP. It’s nasty! Despite it being your dream job it doesn’t sound like a dream company if there interview technique is anything to go by. Personally I would write to HR or a director and complain. You shouldn’t have been made to feel so uncomfortable.

FinallyHere · 22/02/2018 07:03

It seemed unbelievable that people would be so unwelcoming to an interviewee, but Qvar 's explanation makes sense test of what you would do to solve the problem in the face of truculence, given that the role was client management.

Maybe they are looking for people who go and get their own chairs...but then they might accuse you of wasting their time for your comfort. Whatever it turns out, I think you can chalk it up as a lucky escape, but perhaps reflect on what you might have done if the 'meeting' had been with a client organisation, after your team had made a major error and you were there to 'take the flack'.

How might you have handled that situation, as a client or account manager? You will then have learned something really useful from attending that interview and will be really well prepared in the face of any examples of client truculence you face, when you get the role (in an even better organisation).

S0ph1a · 22/02/2018 07:04

I think it was a test. But a stupid wanky one.

Otherwise, when you pointed out the wet patch they would have apologised and got you another chair.

It’s their job to make the room comfortable for the inetrviewee and not yours. It’s shows you how they will treat their staff and you are better off not working there .

BiscuitsWithEverythingPlease · 22/02/2018 07:04

Shoddy behaviour on their part, and if it was a test, surely it was ill judged and inappropriate. Please let us know if you hear anything from them. Good luck finding the right role, in the right organisation 😁

Fengshui · 22/02/2018 07:06

I was interviewed once for a job that when I arrived the (lone) interviewer said to me that actually, they were planning to recruit internally, and he only brought me in because he wanted tips on how to get a job with one of the last companies I had worked for.

Considering I lived in Bournemouth at the time, was unemployed and living off savings and the job was in London (I would have relocated if I'd got it) i was mighty pissed off at wasting the money on the train fare.

Pengggwn · 22/02/2018 07:06

Fengshui

Shock

Hope you told him where to shove his meeting!

Fengshui · 22/02/2018 07:08

I told him that I had just cold called them with my cv (true).

It was 10 years ago.... nowadays I would have given him what for and invoiced them.

RoryAndLogan · 22/02/2018 07:10

YANBU for walking out.

YABU for assuming the one woman on the panel was the PA Hmm

icelollycraving · 22/02/2018 07:20

Don’t send the pp email or go on social media aside from glass door.
I don’t think it was a test. I think they possibly didn’t believe you.
Also if it’s a fairly close knit industry don’t put anything on fb etc.

christmaswreaths · 22/02/2018 07:20

I was also shocked by the comment about the woman on the panel being a PA...especially as large corporates have very few PAs these days and certainly don't sit at interviews - not any I have ever attended anyway....

RingFence · 22/02/2018 07:27

I think it's a test. Years ago I was presented with the same scenario, only I was too shy to point out the chair was wet so I dried it with tissues and sat on it.
I think they're judging your resourcefulness/problem solving under pressure or something. Either that or the previous candidate had wet themself and the panel hadn't noticed!

S0ph1a · 22/02/2018 07:29

I once chaired an interview panel when another interview was jane smith, the head of the Manchester office where the suceesdup applicant would be working. This is how I introduced her to each Candidate.

It was also on the company website.

One candidate went through the interview addressing every answer to the one man on the panel of three. At the end he asked if he could get a relocation allowance. When told he could not, he then asked

“ What about the bloke who will be moving from the London office to head up manchester, will he be getting a relocation allowance ? “

mumonashoestring · 22/02/2018 07:37

Sounds like a lucky escape to me - and if it was a test it was a stupid one. Either they're wanting to see if you're biddable enough to sit on a wet chair, in which case you leave not wanting the job anyway because the panel were twats, or they're wanting to see you refuse in which case you walk out of the interview because the panel were twats. In fact I wonder if the chair-wee was a bit of petty revenge by the previous candidate who'd also realised they were twats...

I had an interview with a London marketing firm once - the MD had obviously glanced at my CV, realised I didn't live in London and spent the whole interview wanging on about how different it was working in London (more challenging, faster paced, harder and more impressive in every way) - I'd been working in London day in day out for 6 years by that point. Oh, and was very proud of the fact that he bought lunch for the team every day - from KFC, Subway or McDonalds Hmm Doesn't matter how bad your existing job is, newer isn't necessarily better ...

Espress0Patronum · 22/02/2018 07:39

LeslieKnopefan I think we might have interviewed at the same place, the exact same thing happened to me (minus the hair comment - very rude!)

Definitely did the right thing OP! I’d like to think I would have done the same thing.

Nomad86 · 22/02/2018 07:44

If it was a test (and it's a terrible way to treat a candidate), I'd say you passed it. You acted more professionally than anyone else in the room and you left with your dignity. Interviews should be a two way process to find out if the position would be a good fit for you, not something designed to see how much humiliation you're prepared to withstand. I'd say you've dodged a bullet there.

Swipe left for the next trending thread