Interview Diasters

krudler · 04-02-2014 05:53PM

I sat in on a couple of interviews once and some people ask straight out what the pay is others never bring it up, you'd imagine people would want a specific figure of what it is they're going to be making? I'd never take a job without knowing that.

emmabrighton · 04-02-2014 05:56PM

krudler wrote: »

I sat in on a couple of interviews once and some people ask straight out what the pay is others never bring it up, you'd imagine people would want a specific figure of what it is they're going to be making? I'd never take a job without knowing that.

Would asking that question not hurt your chances? I always felt that it came across like you were more interested in the money than the chance to work at company X...

What about asking about benefits like Maternity Leave or how many holidays you get or can you get flexi time etc...

These are the things I am interested in but consider it a faux pas to ask... I generally leave those questions for the recruiter...

04-02-2014 05:56PM

My very first interview for teaching English.. After the interview, the four women pretended to be students and I had to teach them in one of the classrooms. With only a four week course behind me, I froze up completely and could barely speak.

If you think a normal interview is bad, imagine "teaching" them afterwards.

willabur · 04-02-2014 05:58PM

What do people think about not turning up to an interview in a full suit?

A mate of mine reckons that you should be presenting your true self at an interview so if you dont wear a suit everyday then you shouldn't be lying to yourself and the interview panel by wearing something you normally wouldn't wear except for awkward family occasions. The last two jobs interviews I got accepted for I went for smart casual, I felt I was nice and relaxed during the interview and clearly they saw my dress as no impediment for the position. I then attended an interview last week where I pretty much bombed out, they showed no interest in me almost from the start of the interview and I could feel it was partially because of the way I was dressed. In retrospect I am delighted, anyone who judges you on the way you dress alone, rather than how you speak for yourself is a person I don't want to work for..

Anyways, thoughts?

Aestivalis · 04-02-2014 05:59PM

I feel so awkward and nervous in interviews. I keep messing up my answers and completely drawing a blank.
I'm not able to think of anything!

I hate interviews so much. I'm not able to come up with such random ****in answers on the spot like that, I'm bad at wording things.

fryup · 04-02-2014 05:59PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KV2rxpQ_Js

Dolbert · 04-02-2014 06:07PM

willabur wrote: »

What do people think about not turning up to an interview in a full suit?

A mate of mine reckons that you should be presenting your true self at an interview so if you dont wear a suit everyday then you shouldn't be lying to yourself and the interview panel by wearing something you normally wouldn't wear except for awkward family occasions. The last two jobs interviews I got accepted for I went for smart casual, I felt I was nice and relaxed during the interview and clearly they saw my dress as no impediment for the position. I then attended an interview last week where I pretty much bombed out, they showed no interest in me almost from the start of the interview and I could feel it was partially because of the way I was dressed. In retrospect I am delighted, anyone who judges you on the way you dress alone, rather than how you speak for yourself is a person I don't want to work for..

Anyways, thoughts?

I used to work in HR and often did group-style interviews for leisure type jobs, where it was about 50/50 between who would turn up in suits and who was more casual. The ones who dressed up were always the ones to get the job. Make of that what you will.

Edit: to clarify, it's not about simply hiring someone based on their clothes. The ones who were bothered wearing a suit were generally better presented and prepared overall.

--Kaiser-- · 04-02-2014 06:14PM

willabur wrote: »

What do people think about not turning up to an interview in a full suit?

A mate of mine reckons that you should be presenting your true self at an interview so if you dont wear a suit everyday then you shouldn't be lying to yourself and the interview panel by wearing something you normally wouldn't wear except for awkward family occasions. The last two jobs interviews I got accepted for I went for smart casual, I felt I was nice and relaxed during the interview and clearly they saw my dress as no impediment for the position. I then attended an interview last week where I pretty much bombed out, they showed no interest in me almost from the start of the interview and I could feel it was partially because of the way I was dressed. In retrospect I am delighted, anyone who judges you on the way you dress alone, rather than how you speak for yourself is a person I don't want to work for..

Anyways, thoughts?

That's nonsense, you wouldn't want a 100 grand a year job because they expected you to wear a suit? An interview isn't an everyday thing, that's why they expect you to go the extra mile

Quin_Dub · 04-02-2014 06:15PM

I've not done many interviews myself - Been with the same company of 18yrs now...

But I've interviewed loads of people over the years..

Some of the "best" ones were when I was interviewing people in the US for jobs based there..

Asked a guy - So, why do you want the job? (Was for an IT project mgmt role)

His Answer - "I don't really as I run my own consultancy business , but the cash-flow there is a bit erratic so I thought that taking a regular job like this would give me a bit of stability whilst I build up my own business" - eh... NEXT!!!

Interviewing another guy for a Program mgmt job - He was working for US local government doing IT projects there.

He asked a perfectly valid question about the level of responsibility in the job , what was expected etc... I and the other interviewer proceeded to go over the details whilst this guys face got paler and paler.. He eventually just said "Please stop.. I couldn't do any of that...that's nothing like what I do today" He then got up and literally ran out of the building....

Last one was another IT Project mgr job in the US.. The interviewee had worked with the company about 5 yrs before so he knew a few people and some of the work history etc.

I was sitting in the interview but hadn't spoken yet other than to introduce myself at the start.. The other interviewer asked the guy "So what did you do when you worked here before?" - The guy starts going through the details of a project that had been done in Europe explaining how he had led the project from the US, been responsible for this and that , generally bigging himself up in a significant way.. We've all done it a bit in interviews....so not exactly terrible..

Unfortunately for him , the project he chose to use for his bragging was one that I was actually the owner of....

So I chimed in " You worked on the that project?...interesting , I was the lead there , don't remember you at all"

Que the next 10 minutes of him trying desperately to recover/backtrack whilst working off the world largest ever reddener!!

ForstalDave · 04-02-2014 06:19PM

I feel that wearing a suite shows that I am willing to make an effort for the job. I always try to ask questions but i never ask what it pays my minium is normally set before the interview(most recruiters ask) and if they offer you the job then it can eb decided if its going to be higher

Soft Falling Rain · 04-02-2014 06:20PM

Did an interview once in a place I was interning in (was in the place over a year), and I didn't even get past the 1st round. The interviewer was kindly enough to give me feedback afterwards and the first thing he said when I sat down was "I think you need to do some interview classes."

I just laughed and said that bad? He was not amused.

I think if you're a good waffler you stand more than a good decent chance of doing well in interviews tbh.

Quin_Dub · 04-02-2014 06:23PM

ForstalDave wrote: »

I feel that wearing a suite shows that I am willing to make an effort for the job. I always try to ask questions but i never ask what it pays my minium is normally set before the interview(most recruiters ask) and if they offer you the job then it can eb decided if its going to be higher

Tend to agree..it's not the suit as such , but the message it sends out...

Arriving in regular clothes says "I've not put in any extra effort here, not really pushed myself to make an impression"

gramar · 04-02-2014 06:26PM

ForstalDave wrote: »

I feel that wearing a suite shows that I am willing to make an effort for the job. I always try to ask questions but i never ask what it pays my minium is normally set before the interview(most recruiters ask) and if they offer you the job then it can eb decided if its going to be higher

...useful if you want a job in Harvey Normans!

mikemac1 · 04-02-2014 06:28PM

razorblunt wrote: »

So I finished up with "shame you didnt iron your shirt this morning", the thing looked like it was at the bottom of his basket for a fortnight.

Bit nasty

castletownman · 04-02-2014 06:35PM

Me and my best friend showed up to a group-style interview in a tuxedo once. To be honest we were almost TOO well-dressed for the position (it was in a sporting goods store) but the potential boss saw the funny side as some kind of ironic play on the vacant position. Everything was going swimmingly, and we had the job virtually secured, until my partner in crime let out the loudest, longest and most horrendous fart imaginable.

It left a taste of onion and ketchup in the tight confines of the interview room and we didn't get the job.

Joe prim · 04-02-2014 06:43PM

My worst ever interview was with the Gardai, first question was "where were you
on the night of June 21st 2012?", and before I could even reply, they hit me with " How did the victims blood end up on your shirt?" At least I had an answer when they asked me where did I see myself in five years time?

mosi · 04-02-2014 06:43PM

I was working in an office once that was hiring for a vacant position. After the interviews had been done and the candidates considered, the person doing the hiring made the call to give the successful candidate the news...problem is, she called the wrong person, a girl who had the same name as the person who had been chosen. She felt absolutely terrible having to then call this poor girl and tell her it was a mistake.

krudler · 04-02-2014 06:53PM

emmabrighton wrote: »

Would asking that question not hurt your chances? I always felt that it came across like you were more interested in the money than the chance to work at company X...

What about asking about benefits like Maternity Leave or how many holidays you get or can you get flexi time etc...

These are the things I am interested in but consider it a faux pas to ask... I generally leave those questions for the recruiter...

Why though? that's surely stuff they should be willing to discuss from the beginning, would you take a job and find out there's crap wages or rubbish holidays? Isn't working for money the point of working? I dont do it for the laugh :pac:

EyeSight · 04-02-2014 06:53PM

razorblunt wrote: »

Interviewed a guy before, who had the worst fitting suit and shirt I've ever seen. Was never going to go against him, just thought it looked ridiculous, like his dad was 6'3 and he himself was 5'7. Anyways interview is going ok, not great, something off putting that I won't get into here. But talk was lagging, in an effort to get a bit of chat out of him I asked the standard, "weakness" question. Starts going on about how he's a perfectionist, mentioned the word about 12 times over the next few minutes. So I finished up with "shame you didnt iron your shirt this morning", the thing looked like it was at the bottom of his basket for a fortnight.

I think you come off really bad here. Maybe the poor guy couldn't afford his own suit or just has bad taste in clothes. From what you say here he did nothing wrong in the interview, but that he wasn't a stand out candidate. But at the end of the interview you had to be a smart ass and say that, thus more than likely shattering his confidence. Some people have massive anxiety going to interviews and people like you have a massive negative affect on their lives! It's not the x-factor....
I have interviewed people before and our company gives us a lot of training to do it. Sometimes if someone is terrible or has some big flaw, i will take them aside quietly and then politely give them a tip on what they should improve. Not make a smart ass comment. I was in their shoes once, and who knows, in 15 years time they may be interviewing me!

FYI to address other people questions:
Asking about the pay or benefits - This should usually be done before the interview when you're in contact with the recruiter/HR rep. You can ask in the interview, but ask smartly!

Regarding if you should wear a suit - Depends on the job. Feel free to ask the recruiter or HR rep before hand. My company say to dress casual. We don't care. Half come casual and half in suits. I wore formal casual(sweater over a shirt). Be clean, and avoid tracksuits.

--Kaiser-- · 04-02-2014 06:57PM

I went to an interview once and was asked how I dealt with a difficult situation and I gave a real life scenario when I did just that (and very well, I might add). Once I answered the two interviewers shared a little smile. I couldn't work out why that was until I met my friend after (who went for the same job) and found out he had used my example to answer the question. Bastard!

Gongoozler · 04-02-2014 07:05PM

I hate interviews, I always get really nervous, and forget anything I've prepared. I'm not a blatherer so I find bull**** answers difficult to come up with, or remember.

That said, I don't have any major fcuk up stories like these. When asked why did I want to leave where I am, I did say slightly bad things about the place. It was their fault, got me all relaxed and casual.

If you're moving to a job that's the same work, what do you say to that?

some_dose · 04-02-2014 07:23PM

Once went for a interview which involved a Welsh language, pronunciation and spelling test.

Needless to say, I didn't get the job.

razorblunt · 04-02-2014 08:06PM

EyeSight wrote: »

I think you come off really bad here. Maybe the poor guy couldn't afford his own suit or just has bad taste in clothes. From what you say here he did nothing wrong in the interview, but that he wasn't a stand out candidate. But at the end of the interview you had to be a smart ass and say that, thus more than likely shattering his confidence. Some people have massive anxiety going to interviews and people like you have a massive negative affect on their lives! It's not the x-factor....
I have interviewed people before and our company gives us a lot of training to do it. Sometimes if someone is terrible or has some big flaw, i will take them aside quietly and then politely give them a tip on what they should improve. Not make a smart ass comment. I was in their shoes once, and who knows, in 15 years time they may be interviewing me!

.

Probably comes across a lot harsher than it was intended in text, it was said in jest and taken in jest. This wasn't my first rodeo, I wouldn't have said it had I in anyway thought it would be taken incorrectly.

I have to say though, I would never pull someone aside after an interview, I've always let HR provide that feedback. My opinion is just that I might advise something that would get **** down at the next interview for that person.

Ficheall · 04-02-2014 08:27PM

I recall my first interview for a postdoc, which I was just doing for much-needed practice - 'twas via phone and there were three of them at the other end, which I hadn't expected. The only guy who spoke was Chinese and that, combined with the poor connection on my mobile, made what he was saying almost completely unintelligible.
I did manage to work out that I had neither any relevant experience or knowledge, and that the position didn't really sound like my cup of tea. I couldn't answer their questions about what I hoped to bring to the table, and the final straw was when I found myself unable to answer the question about what the software I'd used for my phd did, so I said
"Look guys, this isn't going very well, but thanks for your time..."
The interviewer insisted that we drag things out for a couple more minutes, but things didn't really improve, save for my relief at having the pressure off.

True story.

Then they offered me the job, and four months later I'm still here, and still clueless.

willabur · 04-02-2014 08:34PM

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

That's nonsense, you wouldn't want a 100 grand a year job because they expected you to wear a suit? An interview isn't an everyday thing, that's why they expect you to go the extra mile

thats not what I said! If the job doesn't entail wearing a suit day to day then I don't think it is particularly necessary to wear a suit to the interview. I'm not suggesting wearing a tracksuit or appear scruffy but smart business casual has done the trick for me in the past and the work I have been doing has been earning me close to 100,000

Mint Aero · 04-02-2014 08:38PM

Specialun wrote: »

I am doing interviews for 2 positions we have open.

to cut a long story short I had an interview earler. The guy turned up in jeans and a shirt with runners..My team lead proceeded to ask him the basic interview questions and then I stepped in to ask him few more. When i asked him the first question he replied " who are you"..i replied that they guy asking him the questions was my team lead to which he replies " Why are you asking me questions when you report to him"..I quickly informed him that I meant me as in he reports to me and I do the hiring and firing

Thus this guy hope of landing the job was fooked

So AH have you messed up in interviews before..have you interview horror stories..have you put your foot in it

TBH, the guy comes across a lot better than you do in this story. It's you who should be fired imo.

Shenshen · 04-02-2014 08:42PM

willabur wrote: »

What do people think about not turning up to an interview in a full suit?

A mate of mine reckons that you should be presenting your true self at an interview so if you dont wear a suit everyday then you shouldn't be lying to yourself and the interview panel by wearing something you normally wouldn't wear except for awkward family occasions. The last two jobs interviews I got accepted for I went for smart casual, I felt I was nice and relaxed during the interview and clearly they saw my dress as no impediment for the position. I then attended an interview last week where I pretty much bombed out, they showed no interest in me almost from the start of the interview and I could feel it was partially because of the way I was dressed. In retrospect I am delighted, anyone who judges you on the way you dress alone, rather than how you speak for yourself is a person I don't want to work for..

Anyways, thoughts?

I'm lucky that way, as a woman throwing on a reasonably nice dress will pass for interviews easily.
I do feel sorry for men there. My husband went through quite a period of looking for work, and he absolutely detested his "monkey suit". I don't think that it suits most men, and I think it makes a lot of them feeling uncomfortable even before meeting the interviewers - an handicap they can do without really.

Personally, while I've never interviewed anyone in my life, I would favour the person who comes dressed in reasonably comfy clothes (not track suit bottoms and hoodie, but also not showed into some ill-fitting suit and tie either), I would say they show common sense.

Hangballlouie · 04-02-2014 08:46PM

RoboRat wrote: »

I interviewed a guy a few years ago with a female colleague. She was Polish and extremely pleasant on the eye and liked to wear clothes that I would consider appropriate for going out in.

Anyhow, when the meeting concluded the poor bloke clearly had been somewhat excited by the prospect of working with my fair colleague and as much as he tried to hide it, well, it was quite obvious.

Very awkward handshakes at the end but thankfully he left and didn't ask to use the facilities.

How old was he, 12?

For Forks Sake · 04-02-2014 08:47PM

Some of the posts in this thread are doing little to dispel my long-held opinion that most people who 'work' in HR are the bottom of the food chain.

Wompa1 · 04-02-2014 08:51PM

I interview pretty well. I did go for a job interview in the US, it was an IT role with a University. It was October, so not too far from Halloween, the interviewer asked me What I dressed up as last year for Halloween...

I told her I wasn't interested in the job, her face turned and she asked me why I had come down there. I got up and walked out.

I have interviewed people quite a few times. Working in IT you get a lot of people trying to BS their expertise. It's kind of funny the first few times but when you realize about 90% of the people who get to the interview stage are spoofers, it starts to grind.

IT Recruiters are the worst!!

Interview Diasters

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