Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

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:
Deshasafraisy · 21/02/2018 21:07

Wtf?! They tried to humiliate you and your response was the best one. Well done op

ShapelyBingoWing · 21/02/2018 21:07

Very much doubt that was a test. What kind of job was the interview for? Could you have proven anything in particular by sitting on a wet chair that would show you were a suitable candidate? Or by somehow solving the problem? Or by standing during the interview?

Chances are they were just arseholes who'd already found their candidate and had no desire to be decent human beings because niceties take time.

WorriedAndTired · 21/02/2018 21:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DalekDalekDalek · 21/02/2018 21:08

Ridiculous behaviour. Well done for walking out, you don't want to work for a company that plays silly games like that. I definitely think you should find some way to give feedback about it. I don't think that is fair practice at all!

healthyheart · 21/02/2018 21:08

What devilsdoorbell said
I am sooooo cross, on your behalf.

isittimetogotobed · 21/02/2018 21:08

That is so randomly bizarre. I wonder what they were playing at.

Sarsparella · 21/02/2018 21:08

How utterly ridiculous! I’d complain to their HR dept, humiliating potential new employees isn’t acceptable, I wouldn’t want to work for them after that anyway

Avasarala · 21/02/2018 21:08

If there a large company, call them out on social media as well as emailing their HE department.
You are talented enough to have got to the interview stage, you're a professional, accomplished woman and they wanted you to walk home looking like you'd wrt yourself. That's not on - don't take it quietly.

sundayfeeling · 21/02/2018 21:09

What a bunch of twats.
You've handled it with dignity so you should be proud of yourself.
You will find your dream job, don't worry. But these twats will always be twats.

SomeRandomBird · 21/02/2018 21:09

Could it have been sweat? If the last interviewee was sweating and wearing tights it could make the chair seem wet.
Very bizarre in any case that nobody even offered to get a tissue.

FaFoutis · 21/02/2018 21:10

I once got shut in a room and told to fill in a meaningless form at an interview. Nobody came to get me. The test was how long I would sit In the room. Wankers.
You were right to walk out OP.

Dontknowwhattodoknowok · 21/02/2018 21:10

When the dust has settled go on Glassdoor and do a review on the interview etc.

I work for a very well known internet startup and we have a high recruitment turnover etc, and I’ve done a lot of interviews. I’d bend over backwards to get someone a new fresh chair. People don’t realise you get MORE from people when you’re not a complete dick to them. You’ll never get the best from someone if you panic them into submission.

MistyMinge · 21/02/2018 21:10

How odd. If that was a test, well fuck them. And if it wasn't, fuck them again for being so rude. Look at it as a lucky escape.

gingergenius · 21/02/2018 21:10

How utterly bizarre!! You did the right thing op. Will you get any feedback do you think?

Avasarala · 21/02/2018 21:10

*they're

Itscurtainsforyou · 21/02/2018 21:10

Well done op - I'd like to think I'd have done the same.

As pps have said, either it's a test and they're wankers, or they're rude enough to not want to make you comfortable in the interview - also wankers.

Send factual feedback to hr then forget about them (or you could name and shame them here Wink)

Heliophilous · 21/02/2018 21:10

This is awful. Well done for walking out and not taking any more of their bullshit. I agree that it does not sound like a nice place to work. Good luck in finding a role with a company that actually values people who want to work for them.

C0untDucku1a · 21/02/2018 21:10

You did the right thing. What a bunch of nobs

Bluntness100 · 21/02/2018 21:11

That's terrible, I work for a large corporation and there would be trouble if any of our staff behaved as they did, it's so unprofessional. Of course you should not sit on thr wet seat or a notepad on the wet seat.

SweetMoon · 21/02/2018 21:11

What utter arseholes. Of course they could have found another chair. Not the sort of company you want to work for op. Consider it a lucky escape!

satnc · 21/02/2018 21:12

How ridiculous, I'm so sorry that you missed out on your dream role but if the role is within that company, then you've done right to steer well clear.

How fucking stupid!? Thanks

Original poster
LadyIrisBarclay · 21/02/2018 21:12

ShapelyBingoWing - it was for a Client Manager role.

It would have been a promotion for me but in terms of qualifications and experience, I know I was a great candidate.

It was the first interview I have had in about 15 years and the first time I had worn a skirt in about 10 years Grin

OP posts:
GreenFingersWouldBeHandy · 21/02/2018 21:13

So sorry but that's just so weird!!! I think you were right to walk out too.

Surely on a human level one of them would have offered to get a cushion or something to cover the chair?

As said above, whether a test or not, they are wankers!

HairyBallTheorem · 21/02/2018 21:13

Just remember OP that while it may have looked like your dream job on paper, in reality your interview experience shows that company would have been a complete nightmare to work for - because they were twats whatever the truth of the matter (dreamt up test to humiliate you into sitting on wet chair = twats; expected you in all seriousness to sit on wet chair = twats).

Keep saying to yourself "this was not my dream job, even if it looked good on paper."

Pengggwn · 21/02/2018 21:14

I'd email all of them, ccing their CEO/MD and HR Director and explain exactly how it made you feel.

"Dear X, Y, Z,

I arrived for my interview with you today for the position of X. I was looking forward to a stimulating discussion about the challenges of the role and how I might fit the profile you are looking for.

I noticed a large patch of something wet on my chair (it might have been tea, water or urine).

I was genuinely taken aback when my request for a chair without a wet patch was refused on the grounds that you didn't have any other chairs available. I wasn't sure whether your expectation was that I would stand for the interview or that I would sit on the mysterious wet patch. Naturally, when my request was refused for the second time, I declined to carry on with the meeting. I feel happy with this decision; my skirt wasn't cheap.

Obviously given that this was an interview, I expect I have not been successful in the process. However, it occurs to me that this is possibly a blessing in disguise, as, if the chair and the attitude I was offered today are anything to go by, your organisation isn't the right fit for me, particularly as chairs and manners appear to be at critically low levels.

I hope you found a candidate who was happy to be disrespected and, in the worst case, covered in someone else's urine.

Regards,

Not-covered-in-piss"

Swipe left for the next trending thread