Have you ever refused job due to not liking interviewer?

[loadsoftwonk]

Had an interview today and was totally put off by the interviewer.

Have you ever gone against your gut by taking a job after not liking the person who would be your manager?

AIBU or should you always go with your gut. I didn't like the things she was spewing.

No - but only because if i seriously dislike the interviewer or the way the process is conducted, I withdraw from the interview process.

At one organisation I made a formal complaint and the interviewer was asked to leave the organisation.
I still turned down the job offer.

No but I wished I had. Didn't like the woman who I interviewed me from the minute I met her. I took the job anyway as I put it down to interview nerves. She ended up being my line manager and she was awful. I handed my notice in just before my probation to avoid having to give 3 months notice after my six months were up. Worst 6 months of my working life.

Yes definitely. Mine was for a senior clinical position. It was just a gut feeling that I couldn’t work with the person interviewing me. There was really nothing about them that stood out and they were very nice in the interview but there was something I couldn’t shake off. In the end turned the job down for no other reason that going with my instincts

Yes. I actually stopped the interview early by telling them that if the interviewers were a reflection on the management style, then it wasn't a company I'd want to work for and left.

I wish I had listened to my gut.. Twice stupidly! It's so much easier to say no while you're not actually there than to start and leave. Trust your gut

I wish I had listened to my instincts on one job. There were a series of interviews, and they seemed almost desperate to hire. There was a wierd vibe between the two owners who interviewed me. (It turned out they were having an affair, but I didn't find that out til much later. His wife visited the office regularly as she was the company accountant. Awkward.)

There were red flags in the interview. Not least that they did about 4 interviews for a 20k a year job. They talked about wanting to recruit 'customer service rockstars', working in a super fast paced environment, being a dynamic team, etc etc and they had free beer fridays but no parking. I rolled my eyes at it all but took the job, because the pay was better than my current one. And ended up walking out a year later with no job at all to go to, and my mental health in shreds. For months afterwards even driving past the motorway exit gave me anxiey. The place was utterly toxic. Never again.

Oh yes. If the company was prepared to employ twats like him I wasn't going to work for them.

I've turned down care agency work where I've found the care managers too distrusting and disparaging about their own staff. Also a very pushy one made me uncomfortable that they weren't client focused, just making £. And that's because I've taken care roles where I didn't step back and assess the interaction of staff/ office and whether its professional.

Yes, I think many interviewers (and sometimes candidates) forget an interview is a 2 way street. I'm looking at whether it's the right fit for me just as much as an interviewer is doing the same.

Yes. I had an interview where the interviewer kept me waiting 45 minutes then didn't even acknowledge her lateness nor apologise. She would have been my boss and I couldn't believe her rudeness. I did the interview but pulled out of the process immediately afterwards.

Oh my, how intriguing! Good for you.

It seems a lot of us go with our guts and regret it when we don't.

I've woken up feeling quite irritated after thinking back over the interview.

No. My previous work place had closed down. The person who was to be my boss was awful, but I was desperate. On my first day she told me that I wasn't her choice, her preferred candidate had turned down the job! I stuck out three years with her until I found a good promotion.
She was rude, dismissive of my work BUT I learnt so much and became an expert in the field thanks to her. In my next job I had the opportunity to pass on my expertise. If I'd listened to my gut and turned down the job I would never have progressed my career in the way I did.

I once travelled a distance to a job interview and arrived on time, but they were running very late and asked me to come back in an hour! This meant me wandering around a strange town in the rain. Once I was finally being interviewed and giving my prepared Powerpoint, the panel chair who was the CEO of the organisation and from memory would have been my line manager, told me to hurry up as I was close to my 10 minute limit. I already knew that, as I'd timed myself while practicing, so I fixed him with a stare and said I'd be completing my presentation. After that interaction I didn't think I'd get the job anyway, so was amazed when the agency called me that evening to offer it to me. I was honest with them why I decided to turn it down, and in fairness they seemed to understand. Never regretted it. Go with your instinct OP

Yeah, being kept waiting more than ten minutes is another no from me unless everything else is absolutely spot on about it and perhaps if the person who kept me waiting isn't someone I'd be working with.

I don't want to work somewhere that busy and stressy that someone can't get away to even interview a new person or work with someone inefficient and disorganised.

I know you go to work to "work", but they seemed to have had every last droplet of joy sucked out of their souls.

Excellent description. I had one interview where the office atmosphere was exactly like this. I was offered the job but turned it down. I just couldn't imagine working somewhere so drab and depressing.
Thank goodness as the firm went bust within a year.

Yup. Interviewed many years ago at the top City law firm by two partners. The male partner swivelled his chair and looked out the window when his female, pregnant colleague ask me a question. Even as 24 year old I knew I didn’t want to train at a firm like that.
I turned down my second interview and the HR woman was flabbergasted. Not many people ever did as it was considered a golden ticket. Think I told her why too but can’t be sure.

Not exactly because I didn't get offered the job but.

I was being interviewed by three perfectly nice people. The CEO came in and was just a prick. Deliberately throwing in random questions to try to throw me off answering the original question.

He was awful.

I was thinking....settle down Jeff Bezos. Clearly read too many 'how to be a complete corporate wank and still win' books. Likely written by Elon Musk.

Funniest thing is I could have done the job in my sleep, but five months later they're still advertising the role.

I turned down a second interview at a law firm for a training contract, it was a small firm and I just thought the male partner was a creep and fancied me. It did help that I already had a training contract offer in the bag otherwise I'd probably have had to go for that interview.

There have been several times since when I've been offered more than one job at at time and have had to choose, and also times when I've had to take what's on offer when there were not so many jobs available.

Was this a school?

It sounds exactly like a place where I used to work, and yes, they struggle to keep anyone in the role in that department.

@InsomniacA no sorry - A well known pharmaceutical group

Yes. It was a job requiring a lot of international travel. The interviewer, who vaguely knew DH, asked how he'd cope if I was away. That was the end of it for me, despite the owner of the business being someone I really admire, even 20 years on.

It turned out well for me though. Even though I didn't tell anyone at my current job, they heard from the other end (very small industry), and offered me a promotion just in case I was tempted!

Yes, I turned down a job offer because I knew I didn’t want to work with the interviewer. He was the MD and I didn’t want to work for a company with him at the helm, plus I would have been reporting directly to him on most things.

When I turned down the job, the HR person asked me why and I gave them an honest answer.

Came here to say similar. Bad gut feeling. Took the job anyway. A year and a half in pretty unhappy in my job and enquiring about a job in my old workplace.

Trust your gut. It’s your brain etc picking up on all the little things x x x

When I say pretty unhappy I mean the least happy I’ve been in. Job. X