interview...bit strange!

bronte

I recently posted an ad on gumtree looking for administration work.
I thought all i'd get would be recruitment agencies etc looking for my details.
I did get one email about a job that sounded great, and i agreed to an interview.
The first thing that struck me as weird was that the guy who emailed me about the job in the first place mentioned that he only wanted to be in contact via email ,not phone at this stage( when usually they ring you when they recieve your cv) But fair enough.
Anyway, we both arranged a time and I was told to meet him at the companies premises on monday.
Now he's emailed wanting to change the interview venue to a hotel nearby.
Maybe I'm just being a bit too wary, but I'm a girl!
Is this common practice? Should I be worried about meeting some weirdo or is this the norm?
Comments appreciated!
Thanks!

rediguana

Well, a hotel is public, so it should be fine. Don't meet him in the Honeymoon Suite or anything. He's only changed the details once and it's not THAT freaky to use email instead of mobiles. No alarm bells are ringing in my male head.

I had an interview recently in a city centre hotel, and I lived to tell the tale.

Exercise caution, obviously. And bring a concealed knife

Nody

Public space (bar/resturant area etc.) in the hotel should be ok, I've done interviews several times like this myself. Anything beyond that suggest to do it there instead (or bring a friend a long and leave said person in the bar if it is down there or take him/her up if not). Be careful if he comes up with any excuse to finish it somewhere else (a.k.a. I forgot the papers in my room, come up stairs and we can sign it directly etc.).

foxy06

Be really careful OP I have had prank phone calls after putting ads on gumtree and they were not very pleasent. The fact that they only want to contact via email is a big warning sign in my opinion. Do you know the name of the company?

copacetic

i'd at least call the company direct on Monday to confirm meet time etc before turning up to Hotel. Speak to a receptionist or HR person and ask to confirm your time for meeting this Guy, mention his name etc and you will have it confirmed in no time. It sounds a bit off they way it has been arranged. Although meeting in hotels can be normal if a meeting room wasn't available or whatever.

Either way I'd bring someone along with you who can be nearby just in case. doesn't do any harm.

Pythia

Is the email address a personal looking one or is it name.surname@company.ie?
If it's just a hotmail one, I'd be very wary.

bronte

Hi,
Thanks for opinions...This guy emailed me from an email address that ended in
@sense.ie.
Typed in sense.ie to google and it brought up a fairly official looking website.
However He could have gotten his hands on that address somehow,y'know?
He gave me a number to call..a mobile rather than an office phone.
The whole changing the venue to somewhere nearby the office was a bit weird though...just didn't seem right or something.
May call the company that morning myself to see if they know anything abouy it...if they didn't I'd be extremely freaked :eek:

loodles

I would be weary - it could be someone employed in this company hence the e-mail address but not necessarily recruiting anyone.
I would ring the company and ask for him, say you lost the mobile number and you want to confirm/get directions.
I am confused why he would meet with you without speaking to you on the phone. As am employer, I would always phone someone before offering interview to see that their english was ok etc etc. Just be careful!

bronte

The interview is tomorrow at 2pm and honestly I still don't know whether i'll go or not.
The emails did seem to come from a company address but I suppose these days it's all too easy to gain access to these types of things.
It's strange he didn't call and wanted to keep to emails...then when the venue was changed...it just all seemed a bit off.

The only thing that's half swaying me is the fact that i'm trying to get my foot into administration and this job seems ideal

Kinetic^

Get a friend to sit in the lobby somewhere with a video camera so we can watch with delight!!!

Hells_Belle

Actually, I recently (2 months ago) advertised for a PA and I did post on Gumtree. I interviewed three people, and as they sent their CVs by email, I arranged the interviews by email as well. Our company issues mobiles to everyone - we're growing fast and have run out of phone extensions, so I'm mobile only!

So it could well be legit. Do go to the hotel. Do not leave your coffee unattended. Do NOT leave a public space with this person.

bronte

Just an update guys,
Turned out something came up and I couldn't make the monday appointment.
I emailed suggesting the same time on wednesday, thinking he'd definitely have the interview in the office, but he emailed back saying the time was fine(he'd asked me to suggest any time) and that he'd "prefer to keep it to the hotel venue"

warrenaldo

just for your info - if i wanted to i can send an email from ***@sense.ie right now. its very simple thing to do for any sort of computer programmer.

so i would not trust him based on that. why dont you ring the company "sense" and ask does that person work there. if you get through to him then hang up.

simple.

Stephen

Yes, but to actually receive a response to that address would be somewhat harder, no?

warrenaldo

yes its true - if the communication has been 2 way over that email then fair enough. ive only done the email one way - can send it from any address i make up. would be a lot harder to get the responses to that address.

but id still ring the company and make sure that he works there. sounds a bit dodge to say the least. sep with the mobile number only.

damnyanks

The company could be new and expanding I.e terrible offices that wouldnt leave a good impression.

If its in a hotel it should be fine. Bring a friend and leave them in the lobby if you are really concerned. He might be interviewing lots of people and notringing them to cut down on costs especially if it is a new-ish business.

Also maybe the person in question hot desks or works from home most of the time.

Just ring up the copmany - ask if blah works there. That should give you some piece of mind. goto the hotel - if he has a public enough place then thats more piece of mind.

If he asks you to a hotel room and asks what sort of extras you provide just leave.

ButcherOfNog

It is possible he is interviewing you for the job of the person that currently:
1) Answers the phone
2) Greets you when you enter the Offices

So not interviewing in the Office, and communicating via email would be a good plan from his point of view. It is quite normal not to interview people at the offices and book hotel conference rooms instead.

As said before, bring a friend to wait for you in the lobby if you are worried, but if this company is making you feel uncomfortable before they even interview you, perhaps its not the right company for you to work for?

Eoin

I've had several interviews in a hotel - it's not that uncommon.

Follow damnyanks' advice, a quick call to the company should confirm it one way or the other. If you speak to him, say you don't have computer access at the moment, and you want to confirm the meeting.

There are probably lots of reasons why they may not want to have interviews in their offices - maybe it's a very open plan office, and it's hard to find a dedicated private meeting room for the duration of lots of interviews. Maybe they're just not comfortable allowing people they don't know very well in their offices. An interview in a neutral venue will help filter out any weirdos.

Dave!

Yeh ring HR and confirm. That'll put your mind at ease.

tyler_d

I have had a number of interviews in hotels. Its extremely common (as long as he hasn't actually rented a room). One of the reasons why people choose hotels is because most people can find them so they wont get lost.

delly

No reply from Bronte folks, i'm starting to get worried.....

Dave!

Did ye roide him or wha?

youcancallmeal

I have never heard of this interviewing in hotel's lark, Hope the op is ok?

bronte

Hey guys,
Tis me! thanks soo much for all the comments.
Sorry I had you worried there!.....I went and it was okay, the guy was a little bit disorganised and didn't seem to have looked at my cv which i know can be common enough :rolleyes:
At the beginning this had me kinda worried cos I thought maybe he was posing as a recruiter for the company, but as time wore on it was clear he was genuine.
I suppose I was kinda on edge because you so often hear of weird attacks happening in really ordinary situations, and I didn't want to be another statistic.
Better safe then sorry, y'know?

foxy06

did you get the job?

throwingmuses

Bronte, if you are going to create threads asking for advice you should at least have the decency to update the thread when asked and let people know if you got the job or what the outcome was!

I still think the whole thing sounds extremely dodgy.

PeakOutput

throwingmuses wrote:

Bronte, if you are going to create threads asking for advice you should at least have the decency to update the thread when asked and let people know if you got the job or what the outcome was!

she did

throwingmuses

PeakOutput wrote:

she did

Ehhhhhhh......No she didn't. She was asked did she get the job!

bronte

Hi all,
I am terribly sorry if people were annoyed that I didn't reply about getting the position.
I have been really busy with a musical I was involved in over the last few weeks and haven't had a chance to reply.
I really appreciate all the support from you guys though as I was quite worried about going into a situation where I didn't feel safe.
I am so aware that you have to be more than careful these days.
I was offered the position but ended up not taking it as the job description was quite different from what I would actually have to do.
As someone said earlier, If the company was causing me so much concern so early on maybe I should consider if they were right for me or not.
Sorry for any annoyance I may have caused.