To think I should have let him fail the interview?

[TheMessyCleaner]

I had an interview for a cleaning job this morning. There was one other candidate, a man in his forties; English wasn't his first language. He was late for the interview but as they weren't on time calling us in no one noticed.
We spoke for quite a while and I really hoped that he did alright as he needed the job. We were then left alone to do an English and maths exam. He looked really stressed and asked me what to do. I tried to help him by reading the questions, he still looked confused. Anyway I ended up helping him so much that he ended up passing me the pen and test. I refused to actually write the answers for him but I did tell him if he was wrong if he directly asked me.
When we were called in for the interview, the interviewer said 'messy, you first, sorry mr X I know you arrived first, but messys name is first on my list.' The other man didn't correct him, even though I was there ten minutes before him.
Now I just have a horrible feeling that I might have done myself out of a job. I was trying to be helpful but I basically gave the man a lot of insight into the job whilst we were waiting as I had researched where the job was and what we were doing and he hadn't. Then there was the test, and them thinking I was late.

I think you were probably too helpful no matter how nice someone is at an interview you should always remember they are your competition.

Nevertheless, if you don't get the job don't feel too disheartened as you did what you thought right at the time and sometimes its better to be kind and show compassion than to leave feeling like you could have helped but didn't.

That aside I find it baffling that you needed to do an English and maths test for a cleaning job interview??

Did you not need the job then? I think you've mugged yourself off here op

That aside I find it baffling that you needed to do an English and maths test for a cleaning job interview??

How else would you read the contents on the bottle and know whether a substance was corrosive, or caluclate how many capfuls go in a bucket of water?

He wanted you to do the test for him?

And why did they think he was there first?

I guess the worry is that if he can't understand labels on bottles or for example how to dilute cleaning products ( COSH) then he could potentially make a mistake. If he had been weeded out at interview stage as would have happened if you hadn't helped him to such an extent then that wouldn't be a problem !

Bizarre, why would you do that?

You wouldn't have been letting him fail, the responsibility for him passing wasn't with you.

I hope you get the job, OP, but if you don't let it be a lesson for next time.

I don’t think you should help other people in test situations for jobs OP. You were lucky not to be called out for cheating.

It was a test.

You failed.

How else would you read the contents on the bottle and know whether a substance was corrosive, or caluclate how many capfuls go in a bucket of water?

Surely a better system would be to have some of the products the cleaners would be using and to talk about them during the face to face interview. E.g which product would you use for X job? Have you ever used Y before and if so how do you safely dilute it?

As even though they have sat the test its now not clear to the employer that this man might not understand the products or how to use them safely.

Although I doubt the employers would have expected them to discuss the test whilst taking it and certainly not for another candidate to give them the answers. So maybe they thought the test would be enough evidence of knowledge.

Why on earth would you do that? There's such a thing as being too nice!

Well I guess this explains how some people get jobs they're woefully incapable of doing because they don't have the English skills to understand tasks or carry them out.

I get wanting to be kind, OP, but there's fine line between being kind and being a bit of a doormat. Why on earth didn't you (politely) correct the interviewer when he got the impression the other man had arrived first?
A job interview is very much an every man for himself scenario.

I think for reading there are a lot more issues than chemicals. When I worked for a large office cleaning company it was important cleaners could read as clients would leave notes on their desks etc with instructions. Not sure about the Maths though!

Why on earth would you tell someone all your research for a job you wanted?

And if you are the type who doesn’t think and whose mouth runs away with them, surely you wouldn’t actually do the test answers for them?

I don’t understand this at all. Yeah, you might have given him the edge over you. Learn from it!

You have a good heart and I hope you get the job

I think I just feel guilty that I've had every advantage in this life, I was born to a loving parent, well off family, in the U.K, never had to learn another language. I have another part time job and I could probably find another one quite easily if I don't get this one (although I really would like it as it's £18 per hour!)
Yet I guess I could be at a disadvantage in that I'm a woman the interviewer was a man. Maybe he'd give another man a job over a woman I don't know.

You did what?

You did his test. You shared your info with him. You remained quiet about the arrival, and of course, he's not going to say he was late.

Are your boundaries that skewed?

The only thing that might be on your side is the test. If he cannot understand/read English then he might not be able to write it. Hence him giving you the test to complete.

You sound really kind! I hope something good comes your way for helping other people.

How odd of you... why do you have such guilt about being a better candidate?

In my defence they did tell us that the test scores didn't count towards our overall interview score. He did read all the questions aloud, he did know what they were asking him, I just told him if he got the wording/grammar part wrong.

£18 per hour to clean? Is it the most dangerous cleaning job ever?

What kind of cleaning job pays £18 an hour?!

I think you did a good thing, but I learnt that you don't have to set yourself on fire to keep someone else warm.