To ask for your cringeworthy interview experiences where you were the interviewer?

[AlternativePerspective]

A friend was just telling me about the interviews they were holding recently. One candidate was apparently awful. Kept interrupting, threw a pile of certificates down on the desk when asked about his qualification, referred to people with disabilities (it was in a disability focussed organisation) as “mentals” and he wanted to help them because he was sure they aren’t stupid.

Then when he had the rejection he has sent numerous emails insisting he should have been employed.

The story is so horrifying that I wonder whether he was deliberately that objectionable. From their end I do know it really happened, but could it be he was being like that deliberately? Or …?

So, as an interviewer, have you ever conducted any awful, cringeworthy interviews?

I'd just got back from a summer holiday and was a bit sunburnt. At the end of the interview (it was a formal interview, not a chat), the interviewee leant forward across the desk and peeled a flake of dry skin from my nose...

Yep- one where it was me and a male member of management interviewing a guy. Every question we asked (even when I asked the question) he directed his answer at my male colleague as if it was impossible for him to acknowledge he was being interviewed/addressed by a woman.

Another one was the interview question "how would your friends describe you?" - eg hard working, friendly, sociable, team player etc. He answered, "about 5'10" with dark hair?" 😂

Neither got the job.

Me: Do you have any questions before we start?
Interviewee: Yes. You must have been really impressed with my application. What was it in particular that you liked?

I can't remember what I said, but I was thinking 'you arrogant shit', especially because the pool was small and pretty terrible - best of a bad bunch rather than impressive.

He didn't get the job but continued to email examples of (irrelevant) work he'd done for weeks.

Dh had one.
They applied with a masters qualification that didn't seem to exist according to the university. So they phoned the university department up and had a chat. He said basically they awarded that qualification if the person was doing a PhD but didn't complete/failed but had achieved enough to get a masters.
They were very happy with that explanation, they don't require either a masters or PhD so not at all bothered. But in the (telephone) interview they asked about it, and what he'd done towards it. He promptly grew very defensive, and refused to talk about it. So trying to help, one of the interviewers said that they were aware that he'd started as a PhD, because they'd talked to the university. He shouted at them down the phone that he had entirely meant to get a masters and the university was stitching him up.

When they turned him down, he put in a claim for racial discrimination, despite the fact that they had absolutely no idea what race he was (including looking at name etc)... nor had he any idea the race of the interviewers who weren't the "white middle class males who only employed people like them" he accused them of being.

Why wouldn't you consider her? You've acknowledged that she was a hard worker who'd shown dedication in a previous position. Why would you reject a good candidate on the basis that nerves and possibly desperation got the better of them for a moment?

Not as an interviewer but someone interviewing me...

two women and one was very rude (in person). Constantly sighing, looking upwards, playing with her hair (not that young either too). Other woman was fine.

I messaged the HR dept straight after it to complain and they said she'd be spoken to, was offered job but turned it down!

I worked behind the bar at a small pub and had to interview for a weekend morning cleaner.
Usually this job goes to teens as its only an hour and a half twice a week so fits well around end of school/ college. So we dont mind about experience, just someone who is responsible and can follow instructions. It's a little pub that would be closed whilst they work and there is nothing compicated.

We had one come in and from the start she was openly rude about people who work in pubs, kept saying how it was a seedy job because we serve " gross drunk men" and that we probably only worked there because we couldnt get work at the strip club down the street.
And continued by making references to how this job was a last resort but was obviously beneath her and she would move on as soon as possible.
Seemed offended when I asked if she had worked as a cleaner before.

She didnt get the job, and sent two patronising emails about me not recognising potential and that she could have been running the place within a year

On an interview panel where clients were given a small scenario then had to talk us through their decision making. Rather than giving a full name it started with something like 'A is a 25 man who comes in saying .... and went on to give relevant details. One candidate had come in with a very superior air from the start, seemed surprised all the interviewers were women and sneered, 'well, I would want to know their actual name before I did anything else'. Was amazed to find out in his feedback that he had not come over well.

Because it's an interview and you're supposed to answer questions professionally in a way that doesn't have the interviewers wondering whether you have psychopathic tendencies or whether you're likely to be a good fit with valued colleagues.

I've had a few as an interviewer and an interviewee.

One job I went for, I knew the three women panel had all been out the night before, but they didn't know I knew that ( I was an internal candidate )

They were totally disinterested, and had already decided who to employ , and couldn't get me out of there fast enough.

I complained to the HR department, but apparently there wasn't a process for candidates to raise concerns about interview panels. It turns out they should have had an independent none departmental member on the panel, not just three mates who worked together, but there wasn't anything HR was prepared to do about it.

This was at a major university as well.

Can I share one about being the bad interviewee?

When asked the question "what's one of your weaknesses"

I lead with a joke (chocolate) and finished with "when I make a mistake I commit to it, even when I know it's wrong, I'll see it through and then resolve it after"

Obviously they asked "what if you could change it whilst you were doing it"

My reply "I'd still stick to it"

I got the job. Apparently my honesty was refreshing.

My mom who happened to be sat in the other room (was a first stage teams interview, and she'd gotten to mine early) was gobsmacked, understandably.

What you, or one of your colleagues, should have said @ItWillBeOkHonestly was ‘Thank you for letting us know. Should you need a break, please don’t hesitate to ask’. Then moved on with the interview. Still, at least you all showed yourselves up as poor disability employers.

Some people on here really showing themselves up as shitty interviewers and most likely shitty employers/colleagues.

I’ve had some truly awful interviews! One springs to mind where the interviewer sneered at my choice of top and told me I would be “too fluffy to join this organisation” (it was a smart, coral-coloured blouse with a subtle pattern) and looked completely disinterested throughout the interview, I walked out in the end and got an earful from the recruiter.

I am utterly shocked I was offered my current job as I was so unwell during my online interview, I had flu and could barely concentrate, kept losing my voice and my dog started barking downstairs. When the interviewer rang the next day, I think I actually said “are you joking?!” 😂

We have some if the info , I found people rarely put reference contact details on cvs anymore and also don't often put addresses on we don't use an application forms ( I wish we did ! )
The packs are also used to update information later on if we give them the job bank details, DBS information, on going training , when training needs renewing etc.
We obviously keep a lot of this information electronically but particularly with the training certificates it has to be kept on site to prove quickly and easily to the client that we are all up to date.

( its a two part pack so clients only get to see certs, not bank/ address info )

Questions like this always make me think of Spud from Trainspotting.

I interviewed a lady the other day who would not stop talking about her ex husband.
I try and keep my interviews light and casual as I find that it makes candidates more realistic, rather than putting on a show - but it's still professional.

This lady talked ENDLESSLY about how awful her ex was, and about numerous health concerns etc. And I couldn't get her to stop. It was awful.

@EmilyBolton I feel really sorry for him

We have loads of people cry during an interview....why is that a bar to employment? If they've had a tricky work experience, or life experience, then crying doesn't show weakness, just the rawness of it all.

It wasn't about the kids. The person said that they wouldn't like the 'likes of parents like that' - it shows a judgemental attitude to parents who are not in the luxurious position of having either money, life opportunities or both. I wouldn't have employed her either, no mattter how good the interview was. Values matter just as much as skill in education.

A general point about interviews, where I last worked it was a smallish organisation of 250-300 people. I hated going for internal jobs as I knew I would know the panel. I would rather be interviewed by strangers who don’t have any preconceptions about me.

First time I was interviewing candidates for a position line managed by me. One of the candidates kept asking me & the other panellists questions during the interview. To the extent that it felt like he was interviewing us. I'm all for candidates being engaged, but this was a bit much. I have sometimes wondered if the company he was working for sent him to spy on us.

One of my jobs there was a panel of 3. One of them started being really aggressive asking me to explain why they should employ me over a native English person (I have dual citizenship, was born abroad and spent formative years abroad). I thought it was a joke at first, but the embarrassed silence of the other panel members told me it was not eventually. Anyway, I got the job, the aggressive one was my line manager and she proceeded to sabotage me at every turn and also have screaming hissy fits at me in my office about me being a migrant.

The kicker- it was a firm specialising in employment law . i lasted 4 years.

Not me, but I was talking to a recruitment agent recently who told me of a candidate that he'd put forward to a company for a training position on the basis of their CV and emails back and forth.

Trainee candidate turns up at their interview with their mum! Mum insists on sitting in on the interview. It transpired that the candidate couldn't speak any English at all and Mum was supposedly "translating" questions and replies. The candidate looked thoroughly and utterly bored throughout, barely saying anything, so it was clear that Mum wanted them to take a career path they didn't, let alone the fact that they couldn't even speak the language they'd have had to have worked in.

I'm not sure what Mum was proposing - coming along every day and sitting with them?!

I used to work in recruitment. You'd be amazed how many younger adults' mummy's and daddy give you a call/drop you an email. (I'm talking roughly 18-28ish) It's terrifying. Sometimes they're just "touching base" so you know they are there if you have any concerns, sometimes they are very angry that their child did not get the job and are there to tell you that you must give it to them. Some of these were candidates who were rejected because they didn't even bother turning up for the interview...

I feel so sorry for these people because I'm sure as shit that a large portion of them do not want or need their parents meddling!

@PipeScatter I see you've had similar encounters to me 😆