Aibu to be furious at having my time wasted and wonder why they do it? Job interviews.

[Whydothatthough]

I'm qualified in administration and customer services but not very experienced (a couple short fixed term contracts), I'm trying to get my foot in the door somewhere and I'm applying for both permanent and temporary roles.
I don't have much money as obviously, I haven't got a job!

I applied for a job last week, got invited to interview today. I was really pleased and he sounded reasonably keen on the phone. So figuring I had decent enough chances I used my last £5 to get there, only to be humiliated.
He took a quick glance at my CV, spent a minute asking me questions my CV answered (exactly what NVQ's I had) which I answered. Then said, I don't know why you even bothered applying. I said that I felt I met x y and z criteria and as it was only a fixed contract (6 months) it would be a great way to boost my experience. At this point I was a bit confused. He then said that I've wasted both of our time, his time was precious and I should come back when I'm good for more than stacking shelves. I didn't say a word and got up and left.

I had a similar experience a few weeks ago; manager initially seemed positive but at interview I was told that he wouldn't have interviewed me if he knew I didn't have 2 years of experience. This was a requirement that wasn't stated and my CV would've told him I didn't meet!

Aibu to be furious that my time is wasted in this manner? I have had better interviews too, it's not all awful. But it just seems really cruel to call someone in to interview and waste their money and time for something that could be done over the phone (a quick 2 min call to say, sorry, not experienced enough).

You don’t want to work for people who are so incompetent. You are inyerviewing them too, and they didn’t pass.

He sounds like an arsehole. You can honestly do better.

How bloody frustrating. They sound incompetent.

No idea why but how rude! It's def not you OP and I'm sorry your coming across such w*nkers.

I hope I can do better but it does knock my confidence a bit; I almost feel like there's no point if some employers are so nasty!
But I'll continue and hope I find something soon. It's so depressing.

I'd be furious at that too! He invited you for interview, but didn't have the decency to even read your CV, then accused you of wasting his time and was rude to you? Self important prick, dodged a bullet there.

You'll get something decent soon, don't worry.

Sounds awful. I would go to a temping agency and get temporary administrative/ office work in order to get a foot in the door.

They are arseholes and you are better off without them! I hire people and would never behave like that in an interview situation.

How on earth could he call you in for an interview and say that YOU’D wasted both of your time?

Sounds like he was spoiling for a fight with someone.

Honestly, if this is a major company I might consider putting in a complaint; he’s representing them and making a right fuck-up of it.

Your interviewer sounds like an absolute arsehole. If he was going to be your boss, looks like you dodged a bullet.

I'm in touch with a couple of agencies, one of which I did get a FTC from but it was only for 3 months with no potential to become permanent. I'm just hoping eventually I build up enough experience to land something permanent.

wow, he was PARTICULARLY vile.

I also found it very hard job-hunting. EMployers and recruitment agencies have such a narrow band of people that they look at and then they complain when they can't find anybody.

I have gone for jobs where I didn't have every single thing they said they wanted but 99 times out of a hundred if you had ALL the skills they require you wouldn't be working for that little money.

YANBU. He should have read your bloody CV shouldn't he! What a horrible man.

I would write to the HR department or his Manager and complain about how you were treated and request a refund of your travel costs due to the interviewer not reviewing your CV prior to setting up the interview and wasting your time.

Yes, an interview is a two way process. It is so frustrating when people are rude but I always think better to find out at the interview stage than once you've started working for them! Have you registered for temp work at local Uni's, NHS etc? These sorts of places are often looking for new temps to cover admin roles that often lead on to fixed term or permanent roles. It's a great way to get your foot in the door and suss out who are the decent bosses and who you want to avoid like the plague! Good luck!

I feel your pain. I'm a former administrator and have been through the same with this bullshit. I've gone home utterly baffled and crying thinking "why the fuck did they even invite me for an interview?!"

The interviewer you experienced sounds like a power-tripping self-important jumped-up arse who has only highlighted his own failings by inviting a candidate for an interview that he claims doesn't meet the job criteria. It is HIS job to screen CVs and shortlist those who meet the spec.

You have dodged bullet, pp's are right. Can you imagine how awful it would be to work underneath someone like that! Ugh, no thanks

You will get there. Try not to let this knock you.

Try to remember you're interviewing them as well as them interviewing you. You've now found out that these particular people are a) thick, b) terrible managers, and c) have a lot of time on their hands to waste (so their businesses are probably not doing very well). Bullets dodged.

(It is worth sticking at it and finding the good people/companies to temp for. I did, they took me on full time when they got busier, and now I'm doing a fairly senior role with lovely colleagues and good money.)

That's outrageous behaviour.

Can you go over him to an HR dept or to the MD ?

Might sound like a random question but how fast can you type? Is your CV chronological or skillset? What roles are you going for?

I have recruited many basic data entry clerks through to exec assistants (in the admin field I mean) and the only thing that would put me off someone with zero experience is stuff on their CV - it wouldn't ever get to interview.

I would be a little leery of agencies because if you're a good temp they've no impetus to move you into a perm role, try and sign up to a different one for perm than temp.

Sainsburys did this to my daughter when she was 17. She applied for a temporary Christmas job, was called for interview then told they would have to terminate the interview after 5 minutes because she was still at school (6th form). A fact which was clearly stated on her cv and in her application.

She left feeling upset, confused and humiliated. It was her first proper job interview and they weren't even kind about it, just made her feel like rubbish.

I would seriously make a complaint to the company that guy worked for. It’s unacceptable behaviour from him.

I wouldn't even know how to contact HR or anyone else there, I'll leave it anyway as to be honest I don't have the energy for it. I just want to secure an income asap.

Thank you for further advice though, guys. I have registered with a few local organisations, fairly regularly check NHS jobs and such. I know I'll get something eventually but I fucking hate being treated like this in the meantime. I understand that not all employers are like this, by the way. But even one feels like too many.

He then said that I've wasted both of our time, his time was precious and I should come back when I'm good for more than stacking shelves

Your answer:

'No, YOU'VE wasted both our time. Everything is there, on my CV. Here's a tip: if you actually read them, they can tell you the information you need to know, before you decide to interview someone. You should really try it.'

Bloody hell. What an arsehole.

Do you live near a university? They sometimes have their own temping agencies for admin staff. I found this useful when I was between jobs due a house move, and it’s an interesting environment to work in.