Worst. Interview. Ever.



  •  

    					<div class="lia-message-body-content">
    						<p>Over a month ago I applied for a job as "Database/Technical 
    

    Services Manager" that I found on Craigslist, against my better judgment
    as I'm tired of being the "IT Guy" and the only one in the department,
    but I'm barely living off
    unemployment and need work (that story is a HUGE WTF, as much on me as the company, and maybe I'll post it).  A few days after I applied, I had a call
    back and did a brief phone interview.  Then, nothing.  Last Monday (a
    month past the phone interview), I received another call asking if I'd
    come in Thursday morning for an interview.  At this point I barely
    remembered the job or what it entailed, but agreed.  So Thursday rolls
    around, I go to the office 20 minutes early.  There are four or five
    other people there, but not all for the same job.  It turns out the
    company scheduled ALL of its interviews, for ALL of its positions, at
    the same time.  After filling out a really convoluted employment
    application (various questions like "What are your strengths?" "What
    could you improve on?" and wanting like 10+ references, which I don't
    give references at all) waiting for two hours, I finally got to see
    someone.  Then, the kicker is dropped:  This isn't an interview, just an
    initial screening to see if I match the qualifications they're looking
    for.  The person doing the screen wasn't the hiring manager, and didn't
    even have a copy of my resume so literally knew NOTHING about my
    background; in fact, they didn't even know what position I had applied for (and I barely remembered it since it was over a month that I had applied so I had pretty much forgotten about the position).  The screen was over in under 15 minutes.

    Why
    the hell would they call people IN for a screen, when they've already
    talked to people on the phone about the position?  Isn't THAT supposed
    to be the screen to see if I'm qualified, before having an actual
    interview?  Combined with taking over a month to get back to anyone, and
    the two hour wait time, and seemingly having one person to screen five
    people, the red flags are just racking up for this company. 

    Just
    wanted to vent about this, it came off REALLY unprofessional to me.  I feel completely used since being out of work since March and not being paid since December, it
    really got the hopes up, you know?  Out of dozens of resumes I sent out,
    this was the only one that even called me back to schedule something,
    so I was all like "Yes!  An interview!" and it turns out to be a joke.

    					</div>
    					
    					
    					
    				
    			</div>


  • This almost reminds me of recruiter experience in Ireland...

     At the HR interview the guy - of course - knew nothing about MS qualifications he insistently kept asking about (expecting a MCSA (the administrator type) cert from a developer, etc.).

    In the end he gave me a map of the MS campus "in Dublin" with directions on who to meet and where next morning, and off I went. Luckily I checked the map (I like to be prepared), and wasn't able to find the streets or the campus on the map of Dublin... so I called back.

    "Oh, I forgot to tell you... it's in Sandyford...", was the reply. It turned out that Sandyford was a 20 minute train ride + 15 minute walk out of Dublin...


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    So, did you get the job?



  •  Yup, I've seen this before. Different people have different ways of doing stuff. One of our managers prefers to talk to people over the phone, whilst the other prefers to get them in for a screening interview (which they normally then delegate to someone else because they don't have time).



  • Re: Worst. Interview. Ever.

    @ObiWayneKenobi said:

    Over a month ago I applied for a job ...
    A few days after I applied, I had a call back and did a brief phone
    interview. Then, nothing. Last Monday (a month past the phone
    interview),

    As someone who has worked at many companies over the years, let me assure you - at some places, this is normal.

    @ObiWayneKenobi said:

    I received another call asking if I'd come
    in Thursday morning for an interview. At this point I barely remembered
    the job or what it entailed, but agreed. So Thursday rolls around, I go
    to the office 20 minutes early. There are four or five other people
    there, but not all for the same job. It turns out the company scheduled
    ALL of its interviews, for ALL of its positions, at the same
    time.

    If a company is small enough they don't have a dedicated person for interview screening, it makes a lot of sense to do a few at once - that way, they don't have logistics issues most days because an interview candidate was early or late.

    @ObiWayneKenobi said:

    After filling out a really convoluted
    employment application (various questions like "What are your
    strengths?" "What could you improve on?" and wanting like 10+
    references, which I don't give references at all)

    Awesome. I wish more candidates would stand up to the system like you. If I ever get to a position where I'm hiring people, and we're both in the same area, I'll offer you a job. Unfortunately, while many people at many different companies have said I'm management material, none of the companies I've worked for have worked out long enough for that to happen.

    Having said that, I've found giving references to be fairly easy - I normally am able to find dozens of people at my current employer who are more than happy to give me a good reference.



  • I don't give references because the last major job I worked at, I left on bad terms due to leaving period (one of those "How can you leave after all we've done for you?!" megalomaniacs), and I can't give co-worker references since A) there were only like 3 of them and B) I never got their contact info and the company has since gone out of business.

    Really, every place I've worked for has held a grudge against me for leaving so would give a bad reference simply because I decided to move on.  As a result, I don't bother with references.  



  • @ObiWayneKenobi said:

     Over a month ago I applied for a job as "Database/Technical Services Manager" that I found on Craigslist, against my better judgment as I'm tired of being the "IT Guy" and the only one in the department

     

    Isn't the "DB/Tech Services Manager" just another fancy name for the generalist LAMP monkey/web developer who's supposed to do a little bit of EVERYTHING, from "web development" in whatever fucked-up combination of "tools", some "DB administration" (read: complete redesign and implementation of a DB from scratch and of the applicaiton(s) that use it), some generalist LAMP installation/ghosting etc. ? In the same way that most "Java developer" jobs in reality entail "web development" and a LOT of DB administration/design.



  • Yeah, it's pretty much code for "We want one person as our entire IT Department to mange all this newfangled computery stuff for us, but he has no budget or resources".  Like I said, against my better judgment but that seems the be only jobs I can get, since those are the only kind of jobs I've had



  • @ObiWayneKenobi said:

    Really, every place I've worked for has held a grudge against me for leaving
     

    Seriously? That's not my experience, even though I worked at at least half a dozen outfits, I still have good contacts with almost all of them. If they really all have a grudge, is that related just to you leaving?

     Also:

    @ObiWayneKenobi said:

    Just wanted to vent about this, it came off REALLY unprofessional to me.

    Absolutely. But next time, make sure you remember (ie look up) what position you applied for and you'll come across a bit more professional too. Bringing your CV usually is a good move too, look up whatever info you can find about the company, etc. Their HR might be shoddy but that's not necessarily what makes them a good place to work (I had the best time at the place where the application process was a total mess).



  • @ziga said:

    This almost reminds me of recruiter experience in Ireland...

     At the HR interview the guy - of course - knew nothing about MS qualifications he insistently kept asking about (expecting a MCSA (the administrator type) cert from a developer, etc.).

    In the end he gave me a map of the MS campus "in Dublin" with directions on who to meet and where next morning, and off I went. Luckily I checked the map (I like to be prepared), and wasn't able to find the streets or the campus on the map of Dublin... so I called back.

    "Oh, I forgot to tell you... it's in Sandyford...", was the reply. It turned out that Sandyford was a 20 minute train ride + 15 minute walk out of Dublin...

    Oh God, was it the EXP team?


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