This was a test wasn't it?

[LadyIrisBarclay]

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

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 - 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

You did the right thing. If they are prepared to mess with your mind so much at interview just imagine working there

I hope you're feeling better about things this morning.
Regardless of their intention, if they manage to alienate people within the first few seconds of meeting, then the successful candidate is going to be in for a miserable time. Makes me wonder the reason they were looking to fill the position in the first place, maybe the last manager had had enough of their shit.

The posters saying op should have just sat in the soaked chair and that she didn't means she didn't want the job- do you work for the DWP? That's the kind of bollocks I expect from people doing all they can to sanction someone on out of work benefits.

Possibly they were testing whether you could think on the spot. I think I would have continued the interview standing up

the clients are not members of the public. So day to day dealings would tend to be more professional.

Ah, a genuine misunderstanding, I was thinking of multi-billion, corporate clients, where especially in (my field) technology contracts can go very, very badly wrong. I'm not suggesting that it's right, even usual, but you do sometimes get the sort of tantrumming more usually associated with toddlers.

I know I tend to react quite aggressively (I'm not prepared to sit in a wet chair) but I have seen colleagues (who i greatly admire) who can manage that type of behaviour with grace and ease. In doing so, they establish themselves on some kind of high ground, the client sees that their tactic has been sidestepped with grace and ease, and there is no reason to not get back round the negotiating table again as equal partners, no matter how badly things have gone.

If you are known as someone who refuses to 'stay in the room', unless you are provided with a comfortable chair, it might be easy for them to throw you off your stride. You might then find it to be quite the challenge, getting them to an agreement which everyone can sign up to, which is what client management is about,

This is one of the reasons I am not in client management, even though it would seem to be a good match with my skills and experience. I am still interested in how you would handle difficult situations with clients.

How bloody frustrating and angering for you OP. As if preparing for job interviews isn't stressful enough, to then be left with not much choice but to leave the room...!?

Are they looking for extra assertive people I wonder i.e. "Well I'm not going to sit in a puddle, and you say there are no other chairs so what shall we do here? I'm not standing throughout this whole interview."

Not that that justifies any of this. Fools. It's their loss, if this is a 'trick' of theirs it's very sad indeed.

I think I would have continued the interview standing up

I wouldn't.

If they indulge in this kind of non evidence based wankery for interviewing I'd assume their performance and appraisal processes are rubbish too. Not to mention discriminatory.

I was in an interview when one of the member of the interviewing panel’s chair collapsed. It certainly broke the ice. The entire school’s governing body was there and it was only a HOD teaching job.

Fortunately I didn’t get the job - but that was for other reasons.

I’ve been in some odd interview situations* on both sides of the table - but a pissed on chair. That takes the biscuit.

• the oddness, when on the panel, was not of my choosing.

Cp

I am guessing this might have been a certain major American investment bank, which used to be known (back when I was in the industry, anyway) for using bizarre and hostile interview practices to 'test' candidates.

Or maybe it was an unfortunate misunderstanding, though it's difficult to see how from your description.

I’ve never had a ‘test’ quite like that, but I did have one interview where (having been there for 24 hours of interviews and tests with an overnight stay) the HR lady finally told me we were done. The boss just wanted to see me one last time to wrap things up, but it should only take a few minutes and then I’d be on my way home.

The boss then proceeded to give me a ludicrously complicated maths/logic problem and kept me there for an HOUR grilling me on my answers and my reasoning. I was beyond exhausted, hadn’t slept a wink and had the beginnings of a migraine and it was hell.

Afterwards I was telling my dad about it and he said they had probably done that on purpose to try to ‘break’ me and see if they could make me cry. He said if I hadn’t cried then I’d probably got the job (and I did). I never forgave them for that though, I thought it was so cruel!

I was thinking of multi-billion, corporate clients, where especially in (my field) technology contracts can go very, very badly wrong. I'm not suggesting that it's right, even usual, but you do sometimes get the sort of tantrumming more usually associated with toddlers

Whilst this is true, I interview people who will have to handle exactly that situation. I don't offer people wet chairs to sit on as it doesn't tell me anything about someone's ability to handle an unhappy CEO or how they would handle a complex situation.

so weird.... so so weird.... did you email them OP

I bet performance reviews in that company involve fart cushions and fake vomit. Such fun!

I wouldn't have walked out. I would have asked for something to clean it

Absolutely, C8H1ON402, which is why I'm suggesting that the OP turns what was a pretty pointless interview into a more useful experience by reflecting on how difficult situations and behaviours could be handled. So far, the only answer has been that the clients are not members of the public. So day to day dealings would tend to be more professional which does not really address the point that people in client management roles are expected and required to handle difficult behaviours.

Frieda What type of time were you interviewed over twenty four hours? It sounds like MI5! I never knew stuff like that went on I the real world. Fascinating. I imagine it’s a huge role with a huge salary?

Time = Job.

I once went to an interview where they handed me a pack of Smarties and asked me to do something with them. I put them down on the table, stood up and said "Any organisation that thinks this is an acceptable way of recruiting staff is not going to fit with my ethos" and walked out. Laughably they offered me the job a week later but I turned them down. Life really is too short.....

Shocking behaviour. I am in recruitment and that is completely unacceptable. You have had a lucky escape OP.

I'm sorry but whomever that company was they're not worth working for - disgusting way to treat a potential new employee

I hope this gets to the daily mail!

I am guessing this might have been a certain major American investment bank,

I was interviewed by a major American investment bank, which gave me unbelievably cruel and personal feedback on what had seemed like a really successful interview at the time (although I felt after the interview that I had presented myself very well, but did not want to work for them). It didn't break my heart when they collapsed in the banking crisis.

Theshipsong it was a graduate training scheme thing, my first ever ‘proper’ job interview! I was only 22 and it was pretty intense.

It was a second interview. The first one was about five hours of interviews and tests at a local office, and then if you got through to the second round you had to travel to their head office. You did a couple of tests and interviews in the afternoon on the first day, then you had to go for dinner with the panel before staying in a hotel for the night. Then you did a full day of more tests and interviews the next day. It was exhausting!

The salary was around £30k which definitely felt absolutely huge at the time, being a poor student just about to graduate!

Who needs it?
Absolutely give feedback.
And be glad you don't have to work for such a shitty organisation.

Ah I read it that you were interviewed for twenty four hours straight.

I work in corporate client management and although things can sometimes get heated, I expect to be treated with professionalism and respect at all times. And I reciprocate that, obviously.

On the rare occasions that clients of mine have thrown tantrums or got out of hand, my line managers have happily stepped in to get them back in line and make sure everyone’s clear on the understanding that that sort of behaviour won’t be tolerated. In either direction. That’s our company policy and clients and employees must abide by that standard.

I certainly would never accept that being humiliated or verbally abused or bullied is an aspect of my job that my employers expect me to just have to put up with.

So in a ‘test’ situation to see how you’d handle that sort of thing, I think the only thing you can do is take a zero tolerance approach.