Employers attitude.

[Lallydallydune]

An employer contacted me earlier this week.

They'd seen my CV on some website (I'd forgotten it was there, I'd been on that website a long time ago).

They sent me an email asking me to do an online interview for a position.

The positon seemed good. I decided to do the interview.

The onlie interviewer was so rude. After grilling me about different things for a while.

He said

"Why did you apply for this job". I said

"I didn't. Are you aware that the company contacted me and asked me to interview"

He then said "why should we hire you over all the over people that applied for this job"

. I again said "the company contacted me to do the interview for a start. Then I did answer the question and I listed my "qualities".

He was so rude. And I couldn't understand why he kept saying "why did you apply for this job" aggressively, when the company had sent me an email asking me to interview.

Why ask someone to do an interview and then be rude to them? I felt upset afterwards.

Weird experience

See, this is the extra context that matters. Can you see how the difference between this comment and your OP paints you in a completely different light? It took multiple responses to get to this. I get that you're trying to be concise but you're asking for the opinion of strangers, how you present the scenario matters.

I had an interview around 20 years ago for I job I HAD applied for and the manager who was doing the interview was a horrid little twerp. He asked me what my customers would say about me if asked and when I told him said "I don't believe you" and I replied "I don't care"
I was actually offered the job but refused on the grounds that he would have been my boss, another manager contacted me to ask if I would join his team instead but I still refused as they couldn't guarantee I would never have to work for The Twerp in the future.
Some interviewers think that putting you under pressure is a good tactic, its usually not, dodged a bullet I would say OP

I don't even understand why people are arguing with you @Lallydallydune.

Yes the interviewer was rude, and even if you were abrupt back, so what? It's not rude to ask if he was aware, as in, someone else thought I was a good match for the role so here I am.

But don't waste your energy being upset about it.

The OP probably wanted to end the interview too. It cuts both ways.

It's amazing how we're conditioned to think companies are doing us a favour, whether it's condescending to sell us things, convey us on trains or interview us for jobs. Even though they need employees and customers to exist.

Some of you need to read Colin Newlyn's "decrapifying work".

But if you don't need the job and you have a good job already, why accept the interview request? Aren't you wasting your time as well as theirs?

Interviews are a 2-way street. As a representative of his company mr rude man gave a very bad impression. Working for someone like that would be a soul-destroying nightmare.

Of course she didn't - not with the answers OP reports as having given. An employer would be lacking in judgment to hire someone giving the answers the OP did

Why did you apply for this job is a completely normal question and you gave a shit answer

For Petes sake love.

You didn't apply because you were called by the recruiter. You applied because "the position looked good". If you actually wanted the job, you needed to answer by reference to what about the job looked good to you. If you didn't really want the job, don't apply for it.

"Wed love you to interview. You look like such a great candidate for this position. Your CV is what we want. Will you please do an online interview tomorrow".

They say this to everyone! Did you think they desperately wanted you and were going to spend half an hour wooing you?

He didn't just ask me once. He asked me three times.
And each time I said your company reached out to me and asked me to apply.

He sounds rude but I'd imagine he asked three times because you weren't giving a proper answer. He'd have done better if he rephrased it to "what appealed to you about the role" or the like, but could you not tell what he was looking for?

How many interviews have you had in your lifetime @Lallydallydune ? Have you ever had interview training tips?

Yes, he asked the same question more than once, but you need to be quicker in your ability to adapt your responses so that the only person repeating themselves is the interviewer.

I think you got hung up on his wording and the fact that you didn't actively 'apply' for the job. It also sounds like you checked out of the interview when you were asked that.

About 25 years ago I was recommended by the MD of the company where I worked already, to interview for a more senior role. I was very young at the time and think I’d just assumed I’d get it because I’d been recommended. The interview panel had no idea why I was there (the job progression wasn’t a particularly obvious one) and they hadn’t been told - and clearly didn’t care - that the MD had recommended I apply. I felt utterly embarrassed because they had multiple external candidates who were a far better fit than I was, and they very clearly didn’t know why I was even interviewing.

I was recently on the interview panel for a position that’s the same level and fairly similar to mine but not the same. The candidate spent a fair chunk of the interview telling me that I was doing my job wrong and that if she was appointed she’d change what I was doing and how I do it. Apparently that was her “interviewing the company”.

They always ask things like that at interviews. If it was done in person rather than online it would have delivered gently with a little smile. He wasn't being rude.

While this is all true (according to your version)… you didn’t have to proceed with the interview. By agreeing to go ahead I think it’s reasonable to see it on a par with you having ‘applied’ - even though you didn’t. By agreeing to the interview - even though they asked you to interview - you’re showing interest in the job/ company and it’s reasonable for them to ask you why.

Presumably you put your CV online somewhere re seeking a job, even if you had forgotten about it. You could have just said, when approached, no you are very happy in your current position.
The questions asked are pretty routine, as is the short notice. If you are applying for any role, most jobs involve working under pressure therefore if you can’t be ready for an interview at short notice that’s not a great indication of how you cope with pressure.
Maybe how he asked the questions wasn’t great, but there must have been a reason why you decided to go ahead and apply/be interested in the first place.

This is good advice. OP just ignore the odd chorus of management suck ups who think that you need to be taken down a peg by the interviewer. Its an odd fetish people have.

He sounds incompetent. The role of an interviewer isn't to sit there on a power trip deciding whether to honour someone with a job. Its equally important to create a positive impression so that the highest quality applicant you want in post will agree to work for you. If he carries on that way he will find himself limited to less capable desperate people who have no choice but to accept a job there, as the highly sought after people will choose a better option. Which is not achieving the best result for his company.

The recruiter and interviewer won’t be the same people. The recruiter probably doesn’t even work for the company. But they presumably recruit in your field. The interviewer will give negative feedback about you.

Those were all stock questions for an interview and many organisations require them to be asked. All it needed was a professional answer which showed a positive interest in the role.

I don’t know what your role is or what field you work in and can say whether there will be come back from what happened. But this may not be a positive thing for your reputation.

Recruiters often cast their net far and wide. They don’t always think about getting a good match. The writing was on the wall here. An interview at short notice should have been a red flag.

I haven’t read through every comment but I get you, repeatedly asking why you applied after you’ve answered once is rude whatever your reason for applying but when you’ve been approached it’s doubly rude.

Yes, they were wasting your time. I'd find out who his boss is and feed it back, if you can be bothered otherwise just file in under, " wanker ".

I'd say those are fairly standard questions. Of course answer honestly that you were approached, but if you actually want the job then surely say what you admire or find interesting about them, what you'd bring to the role.
It's clear you didn't want it. And they didn't seem pleasant at interview. But you should just move on. The job could well have been a scam, or it could've been the opportunity of a lifetime. But if you've fallen out with them at this early stage then it's for the best you don't work there.

Op, I'm genuinely not trying to catch you out, or go at you here. But I think the reason he asked you twice more was to get a certain type of answer and I think you took it too literal as in why did you physically apply for the role. I think he was looking for answers like " new opportunities, challenges, career change ect....." not how did you apply which your answer seems to have been about.

It's awful feeling rubbish after an interview though so I hope you can forget it and have a nice weekend

Your not a victim though do you even know what the word means lol

I had this once - an employer invited me to an interview as a result of reviewing my LinkedIn profile. I was a teacher at the time.

The interview started with "So what would make you a great candidate and why should we hire you?"

I was like, stop right there, this interview isn't to see if I'm a good fit for you but if you're a good fit for me. You already have my CV and you know I'm qualified so shall we start again?

The account manager wasn't too chuffed but the hiring manager took it on board so the next hr was spent detailing why they thought I might enjoy the role, what qualities they thought I could bring to the team etc. The account manager did try again with "So why do you want to work here" and got "I'm not yet sure I do want to work here, but I'm willing to listen to your reasons why I should".

Had an offer the next day

It's not rude to say she didn't apply. She didn't. She was invited to interview. I would have said the same thing.

But the main point was that the interviewer was rude in his tone. And then kept asking a question that you had already answered. If he didn't like the answer he should just note that and move on. I would be irritated too OP at the waste of my time and being spoken to rudely. There's no need for it.

At least you can be clear in your head that you don't want the job!!!