Ever actually been glad to fail an interview?

plzhelpmesave!

I went to a horrible interview a few months ago where about 6 people were all waiting to be interviewed and had been given 15 minute slots. The three people before me were still waiting, and i finally got seen about 2 hours before my time. Had been told that we may be called back in the afternoon for a second interview, and then was told to wait so ended up being there from 9.30 til after 4pm.

Interview panel was scary and asked questions about my current employer and their financial situation...??

2 people walked about over lunchtime.

I got down to the last 2 and had a phone call later from the head interviewer to say they had not apppointed but it was very close etc. I actually told him how their process was awful, the fact that people had walked out, that no one knew what was happening, they were not clear in what they wanted from an applicant or the role (new post) and said that had I been offered the job I would not have accepted anyway! Think he was schocked, but glad I told him off :-)
Heard later that they appointed someone he knew anyway, who had not even completed an application form or been for an interview

WhiteHorse

Some years ago, I walked out of an interview as soon as it became obvious that workplace bullying was the norm at that particular organisation.

I later found that the annual staff turnover there was running at about 95%, so I consider that to have been a good call.

Slinky

Worst interview I ever had was a group one about 25 years ago - pretty unheard of in those days, and totally unexpected as they made no mention of it in advance (I have a pretty low opinion of people who recruit like this). I went there at 3.30pm, was still there gone 9pm. (I should have walked out, it wasn't for me but I was only young.) My Dad had even gone to the gatehouse of the site to check I was still there as he thought I'd had some sort of accident.

My husband went to one where the agency had forgotten to confirm it and they weren't expecting him. 15 minutes sat in their reception wondering if he was going to get spotted by somebody he knew, he walked out in the end. Complete waste of a day's holiday.

Mistral001

Good thread, but remember even if you get offered such a job, you have a choice to refuse taking it unless you are on JSA etc.

Bryony84

I had one recently, the location was perfect, I could have cycled from home and I think the training I would have got would have been great, however on my second interview they wanred me that the hours are unusual (9.30am - 7.30pm standard working hours and late nights regularly up to 5am I think they said was the latest they had stayed).

No extra pay for this either! As I was headhunted for the position without being made aware of that I was quite glad when they didn't offer me the position (on the grounds that they didn't think my lifestyle would fit the hours!).

Soubrette

I'm terrible at interviews so usually they're bad because of me but two stick in my mind.

First a receptionist job. Interviewed by office manager, secretary and partner. The partner was the only male, looked down doodling while I talked or leaned back and looked at ceiling, only talking to criticise my answers. I was so pleased when I failed the interview as there was no way I was going to work there but it was part of a close knit local industry so I would have had dealings with the company and would not have wanted a bad atmosphere. The rumours were that the partner only employed women who were easy on the eye and unfortunately I'm more the dumpy capable type

Second a job at the local council for the one stop shop receptionist. Two part interview - one a psychometric test lasting all afternoon - we had two moderators and the chief exec of the dept spent the hour between the two tests getting to know us all. The second part was an interview. I was left waiting 40 mins for my interview (unbeknown to the interviewer I was sat round the corner where I could hear her chatting to the last interviewee who was obviously a friend). However, it also meant that I could sit in the one stop waiting area and observe what the job entailed, it was easy to see that they were understaffed as the one receptionist left early at 3pm saying she hadn't had any luch and there no cover so people who turned up after were told to come back. At the actual inteview, just to remind you, for a receptionist job, there were 5 interviewers, the chief exec (!!!!!!??? did the guy have nothing better to do?), HR rep, the supervisor of the main one stop where I would work, the supervisor of the other one stop where I might be asked to provide holiday cover and the HR of a management company as there was a chance that the one stops were going to be contracted out. It involved all sorts of questions and a rather stupid role play and took the best part of an hour and a half. I was left unimpressed with the complete disregard that the council had for wasting everyone's time with too many people involved in a complex interview process for what was basically a minimum wage job while the actual job itself was understaffed, what made it worse that it was my local council so part of my council tax was going towards this total waste - just to rub salt into the wounds of finding a job not suitable.

simson3325

if your on jsa you can still not take the job,
how will the jsa know.just say you did not get it,

hannahO_2

Miss_Scrooge wrote: »

I'd name and shame the company but I'm not sure if that's allowed?

Oh do tell us. You've got our curiosity going
It's not as anyone can figure out who you are from your MSE username and out of 300 people.

falko89

I had an interview in an engineering factory a few weeks back, Went in and there was 6 of us, we had to take an aptitude test, so that took about an hour, then we got the grand tour by a manager type who was the type of guy who thought he was funny but in reality we where actually laughing at him not with him, All the employees where stuck on machines with depressed heads on them, they seemed to wish they where anywhere but there, there was a big hole in the wall in the side of the building, no heating so the place was freezing, all this for the min wage, I was glad I never got the call back,

cassie55

I got through to the 3rd and final stage of an interview for a Sales Manager job for a global company.

The interview was conducted by the European Sales Manager and HR Manager who I had met on the previous interviews and the European Sales Director who had flown in from Zurich for the interviews.

The Sales Director spent the whole time staring out of the window, ignored me most of the time and when asked if he had any questions for me, asked me 3 questions, all of which I had already been asked (but he obviously hadn't been listening).

I called my husband as soon as I left saying that even if they offered it to me, I would turn it down. If he treats people like that at an interview, lord knows how he treats his staff.

Thankfully I didn't get offered the role and later found out that the rate of staff attrition there is horrendous and they are always advertising for staff.