To have left this interview?

[Iwishthaticouldbelikethecoolkids]

I was scheduled yesterday to have an interview at 11am for a casual position. My 3rd interview of 3, which I found a bit OTT but anyway (the first 2 were on the phone) I was 5 mins late which I was stressed about, but I emailed in advance to let them know.
I arrived and it was in a large block of offices, I was asked by the receptionist to take a seat and they'd be with me shortly.
In the seating area, there were a group of 3 young people having a meeting/discussion. It was very heated and then I realised they were talking about the company I'd applied to, and they were employees/management. It was very bitchy and honestly really didn't give me a good impression of the place. They were constantly blaming poor leadership and saying employees are useless, unorganised and so on. Anyway, no company is perfect but the description of it all was so negative.
I was kept waiting for 25 minutes before the receptionist came over and said they'd be with me as soon as the meeting was finished.
Well how long was that going to take? They also must have seen me waiting.
I get meetings can run over, but when you know you're meant to meet someone at 11. It just gave me a really bad impression, plus I wouldn't have had enough time to get to work later as I had no idea how long they'd be.
I waited another 5 minutes then told the receptionist I'd have to reschedule due to time constraints, and left. They said they pass the message on.
Maybe I was rude, but it's also rude to keep me waiting for at least half an hour with no indication of when the interview will start. I also got a very poor impression of the company from what I overheard.

It wasn't employees just having a moan about work, it was a meeting to discuss what seemed to be many problems with the company, and all the 'management' looked under 25 which also put me off.

I wouldn't go back for another interview. Sack it off, keep looking. Any company ran by a bunch of 25 year olds and under would immediately put me off.

Very poor taste to have staff sitting moaning when people are sitting in a waiting area. I fully understand we all moan about our jobs but surely try to keep it a bit more private than a public waiting area.

You'll know if it’s the right job for you but I don’t blame you for walking out!

It doesn't sound like the company would be a good fit for you, I'd keep looking if I were you.

Sounds like you and the company are both as bad as each other.

Being late and then being pissed off about being kept waiting - do you not see the irony in this?

I interview a lot and if someone is late they pretty much have to fart rainbow dust for me to consider them for the position.

The employees were very unprofessional and in that alone I'd have binned the interview

I think there's a slight difference between 5 minutes and 35.
In most interviews I've had, the interviewers never arrive bang on time to greet me. Usually 5 or so mins after. However never had this before. They just said 'when the meeting is finished'. That could have been another 30 mins

I understand I was 5 minutes late, but it was only 5 and I emailed in advance to tell them. They just left me waiting around with no sort of timeframe!
I did think it was odd to hold a meeting in a public waiting area?

I don't think the issue was you running late, because you emailed ahead. Personally I would've waited and might've used the opportunity to ask them about what I'd overheard!

That's a good point!
If they'd been able to tell me at the start, "Sorry we're running a bit late, we'll be with you at X time" then ok, but they seemed to expect me to wait an indefinite amount of time.

An interview is a two way street so it's as much about them showcasing themselves to you as it is about you showing them your best self. They failed big time, it sounds like it would have been an awful place to work. It's so unprofessional to have that sort of conversation in a waiting area where anyone can hear.
Where I work we would be forgiving of 5 minutes late from the candidate if they had emailed ahead and the reason wasn't something trivial/highly avoidable. Sometimes things happen outside of our control (buses breaking down, road accidents causing unexpected hold ups).

I'm an awkward bugger so I'd have waited and then let rip at the "any questions you'd like to ask us" bit.

I think it's a bit rich to complain about them keeping you waiting when you were late for the interview. However, just because of the meeting in the public area and how flakey the management sound, I'd say you were right to leave.

You can't compare being kept waiting 5 minutes with advance warning to being kept waiting a minimum of 35 minutes with no news whatsoever.

I'm not saying I should have been 5 minutes late but it's just really not on the same scale

You were right to leave. Place sounds awful. I also interview people, and if you’d told me in advance you’d be 5 mins late, I’d be ok with that. It would give me time to send out another email. Sometimes things can’t be helped, e.g you got lost trying to find the building etc.

Forgot to say I once had an interview and as I was leaving, the receptionist told me not to work there, it was toxic. Called a friend who knew of the company and confirmed they were bad and the owner was an alcoholic. I was offered the job and turned it down.

You were late for an interview (which there's no excuse!) and you're annoyed they kept you waiting.

Yes I was annoyed to be kept waiting for 35 minutes minimum and until who knows what time. I am allowed to be 5 minutes late and advance warning as well as being annoyed by them. It's like saying you should be prepared to wait for 3 hours because you were 5 minutes late so you have no right. There's no logic.

I think you are fine to not pursue the job for any reason.

I wouldn't have left because if a half hour wait though. Especially not when I had been late myself. It's definitely the sort of thing I would have sucked up when trying to make a good impression.

Yes I see what you mean, it's just that I didn't know how much longer it would be. I don't mind waiting a bit but they didn't seem to be in a hurry and I was expected to wait for a meeting to end. Why arrange a meeting when you know someone's coming in?

You did right. Not to mention the lateness, they gave an awful impression- it might have been genuine stuff taken out of a more acceptable wider context (as you say a meeting to solve some specific and frustrating issues) but not professional to have it in earshot of the public. If someone rings you could ask about what you heard and be honest that it's given you cause for concern, see what they say. Unless the job is special or rare I would be looking elsewhere though.

I personally couldn't give a toss about an interviewee running 5 mins late if they'd let me know beforehand. Life happens and it's not big in the scheme of things. Especially not once they'd proven themselves in 2 prior interviews

Of course there are good reasons for being late to an interview! Traffic accident on the road, unforeseen train delays, tube station evacuation being but a few. Usually not due to someone not leaving in plenty of time but sometimes these things can add an hour or so to your journey.

Bad taste to have you wait.

Are you sure it was staff and not someone's mates? 😁 Or the staff knew interview people are waiting there. No such thing as coincidence

You were late. Five minutes late is still late. Not a great first impression at all so I’m not surprised they weren’t that keen to meet you.

Putting that aside, interviews are a two way street - it’s a chance for you to think about whether you want to work there. You didn’t like the vibe so left - that’s not unreasonable.

😂
So because I was 5 minutes late it was ok for them to make me wait up to what could be an hour?
It wasn't the first impression, as I said in the post it was my 3rd interview.