Anyone ever not gotten a job, and figured what the hell and given the interviewer

[raccoon]

a piece of your mind, or at least a smartass remark?

I haven't, but I can dream, can't I?

[aikoaiko]

1. I did. I didn't get the job.

And I'm glad.

[stray cat]

2. Why burn bridges and get a bad rap

Employers get to choose their employees in most cases - the only thing owed to the interviewee is a basic level of civility

[CrispyQ]

25. Good point.

You never know who knows who.

I worked as an assistant to a woman CFO who was known to be tough. We had an investor relations director position open & she flew a young man from the east coast to interview. On the plane, the young man proceeded to tell his seat mate about his interview & that the woman he was interviewing with was a real 'ball breaking bitch.' Imagine his surprise when the final question in the interview was "How well do you think you'll handle working for a ball breaking bitch like me?" According to my boss, the young man turned red & stammered a few incoherent words. She smiled & revealed to him that the woman he sat next to on the plane was a business acquaintance of hers.

Even though the person she did hire was eminently more qualified & personable, this guy was in the red before walking through the door.

[Bonhomme Richard]

3. LOL, yes. They had me take a psychological test and....

the interviewer, who really liked me up to that point, said we have a problem with the test. The test showed that I was not motivated by money and as the job was in sales that would be a problem. I said that all kinds of things motivate people to do a good job but as far as the test was concerned he should have known right off that I wasn't motivated by money otherwise I wouldn't be there for the small amount of money that they were offering to pay me.
He also noted that on the test where they asked me about my hero's I listed John Lennon.
I didn't get the job.

[Mme. Defarge]

8. You were lucky - n/t

[Hello_Kitty]

15. I'll give that employer credit for at least being honest.

In so many sales positions they'll feed you a line of bull about how you're there to "help people" or whatever and how if you "help" as many people as you can the money will follow. While they're riding your ass to produce numbers the whole time.

[Bonhomme Richard]

31. The sales manager really liked me and I think that is why....

he was straight with me. All the same it still pissed me off because he didn't have the balls to stand up to the HR department.
All in all everything worked out for the best. I had a 20 year career in industrial sales and started my own manufacturing company...as small as it is.

[MADem]

18. Sales is a horrible game--it's like military recruiting. Soul crushing! nt

[sui generis]

19. I took the London-House profile for a finance position

1. How often do you steal an item or service from your employer worth more than a dollar (include office supplies)?
a. once a month
b. once a week
c. daily
d. occasionally

2. How many acquaintances or friends do you have who have been accused of committing a crime (include misdemeanors and family members)
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4 or more

3. In the last 10 years, how often have you considered or partaken in deviant social behaviors
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4 or more times

I wrapped up the test, walked past HR and right into the CEO's office and slammed it down on the desk and gave him a thorough and large chunk of my mind.

So he gave me the job - but turned out that the company really was that crazy. God damn yankee corporation doing business in Texas. I suck at bowing and scraping, especially to guidos.

[Hello_Kitty]

36. Guidos?

Nice. :eyes:

[sui generis]

42. edited to be more friendly

f'real real.

By guido I mean greaseball from connecticut. What you think I meant? I also said yankee; so technically alla y'all damn northerners.

:o

Did YOU have a point?

[amitten]

38. No offense, but having moved to Texas from up north,

the businesses practices here in general are by far more screwy. "Quick and dirty" is not a sound business model. Nor is "every man for himself".

I've found I can't trust the corporate types down here any farther than I can throw them. Texans do business diiiiirty. Why do you think someone like Bush thrived here...?

On edit: And by the way, that "character" test with all the theft questions is used by Texas companies, too. I've had to take a few and yes, it feels insulting.

[MarjorieG]

4. Once interviewed by someone scornful about my many jobs everywhere, curious what I was like,

with no intention of hiring. I was shocked at his cluelessness. (ie-brings me in just to insult me)

Mine were good managerial jobs in photography, studios, store buyer, sales rep, whatever, while newspaperman hubby had to find work. Talk profession with no stability, for decades.

I made comments about his lack of caring to bring me in on a lark, negative pre-judging, with my only curse of needing work. He looked contrite.

He inherited his established photo stock business, was older, and never had to worry. This was 18 years ago, and wonder about his current security.

[RobinA]

32. This Happened to Me

I was a paralegal for a very large, national law firm. So shoot me. I was ready to move on, maybe to something smaller, so I answered an ad for a paralegal at a small firm. The guy called me in and spent 45 minutes denigrating large firms and the people who work for them. I'm sitting there playing it straight, NOT talking down about my firm, since I had a good experience there, and thinking what is up with this guy. He could see from my resume where I was from. Then he started to tell me a snide story about applying for a job at another large firm in our city and how while waiting for the interview there he had silently been making fun of the reception room furniture. Then it hit me, didn't get hired by a large firm, still bitter. The odd thing is, after telling me that people from large firms don't know anything, can't do anything and are basically pampered idiots, he calls me up and offers me the job. Needless to say, I turned it down.

[county worker]

5. Yes,

Back in the late 80's I was unemployed for quite a while. I applied to be a sales tax auditor for the CA Board of Equalization. At the time these words were placed in most job want ads, "we are an equal opportunity employer, women and minorities are encouraged to apply." Now that was because HR departments had to keep track of the number of applicants by race and minority status and that was compared to the number minority persons on the payroll. The reason I know that was because I had to keep such statics as a controller of a manufacturing plant. It was also code for "white guys do not need to apply" since the majority of present employees were white guys in most cases.

Well I got selected for an interview. I told my wife that I most likely would be interviewed by women and minorities. Sure enough I was interviewed by 4 women and two were not white. After about 15 minutes it was clear that they were not interested in me for what ever reason. The next question asked was something like this, "when I would audit a minority owned business what could I do to make them feel more comfortable with me since I was not a member of a minority". I answered that I was in Vietnam during the war and if I were auditing a Vietnamese owned business and I spoke to them in Vietnamese they would feel very comfortable with me.

That answer energized all four of the women and one asked with a big smile, "Do you speak Vietnamese?" I answered no but if I did they would be comfortable with me.

I didn't get hired.

I'm ready for any snarky remarks.

[Mme. Defarge]

11. LOL!

[Lars39]

13. But you got an interview.

These women and minorities probably wouldn't have even been offered an interview in days gone past. Some would have seen the "no coloreds need apply" sign on the front door, or read "no women need apply" in the newspaper ad.

[county worker]

16. I got the interview because I was a veteran and got extra points added to my test score.

Interviews were based on test scores. This was with the State of California.

[Lars39]

22. Thank you for your service, but I'm sure you see the irony in your story.

[county worker]

28. Yes I do, the problem is that we have to make these decisions

based on perceived outcomes. It was not the women's fault they may have been overlooked in the past and it was not my fault either. But because they were overlooked in the past they felt ok to overlook me in the present.

on edit: Basically I was made to pay for wrongs done to them in the past that I did not commit. They may have been treated unfairly in the past and I was treated unfairly in the present. That happens and we take it and move on. Justice is served?

There are no good outcomes in this case I believe.

[county worker]

21. I agree with your point though.

[CTyankee]

33. In the old days, I remember that jobs in the Help Wanted section were listed

in two separate sections, "Men" and "Women."

Guess which ones paid more?

Them pesky feminists gave the newspapers hell and they stopped doing it.

It seems like we lived on Mars in those days...incredible...

[cliffordu]

6. Well...I DID go to an interview drunk once.

[Mme. Defarge]

7. I have always tried to live by my belief

that job interviews are a two-way street -- that I am interviewing the "them" as much as they are interviewing me. So, I try to let go of all of the "shoulds" that I have been taught on interviewing and simply be myself. If they don't want the real me, then they are doing me a favor by giving the job to someone else.

Lately, though, I have been pondering the notion that job candidates are really entitled to not just company information, but personality profiles of all of the company's managers and employees in order to really determine if the place is a fit for him/her. After all, that is what the company is doing in the interview. If job candidates knew up front that the company employs bullies and people with other problematic personality disorders, and then said "No thanks," perhaps companies would have to weed out the jerks who make others so miserable at work.

[raccoon]

12. Ideally, that's the way it oughta be,

" job interviews are a two-way street -- that I am interviewing the "them" as much as they are interviewing me. "

Except if you're desperate, you have to take the job if it's offered, no matter how sucky the job/employers seem to be.

BTDT.

[Mme. Defarge]

27. Sad but true ...

good luck in your job search. And don't let the bastards get you down!

[raccoon]

29. I'm not looking, I'm happily underemployed now, but thanks! nt

[CrispyQ]

37. It's a Catch-22.

I think sometimes they sense if you're desperate for the job. Maybe it's because you don't ask many questions for fear of offending the interviewer or maybe your demeanor is one of desperation, not confidence. I've interviewed in both contexts & I've always gotten more & better job offers when I have the confidence to inquire about fit & not the attitude that "I'll take anything."

I've always thought that part of an employee reivew should be to inquire the other employees who work with that person what they think. My husband works with a guy who is the boss' friend. He's a nice enough guy, but he's a screw up & unreliable. The day before his week long vacation started, he called in & said he needed to rest for his vacation. Holy shit.

[Mme. Defarge]

39. In my case,

my confidence level in an interview is strongly influenced by the rapport I am able to build with the interviewer. A lot of it is intuitive. If there is a "flow", then I do well and sense that it is a place where I might want to work. If I am "blocked", then I simply go through the motions and write it off.

[supernova]

9. I did and I'm glad I don't work there

Back in March, I interviewed at a start up and I mean startup. There were about 11 people total, about seven here and four out on Silicone Valley.

I interviewed with one of the owners here. The interview was about two things:

1) They really liked that I had previously edited a line of IT books that the owner has a passion for. Fine and dandy.

2) They asked me lots of questions about what kind of work environment I preferred. I said "professional." I said that I preferred a fairly quiet work environment and that the best teams really learned to use humor to diffuse conflicts. I said I'm pretty much of a "spock" at work.

That's not what he wanted to hear.

He proceeded to tell me that they are almost operatically emotional, they enjoy in your face confrontations as a workstyle. I also got a psych assessment designed for engineers (I'm a Tech Writer, mind), which I got about 2/3 right and 1/3 wrong, according to the owner, who wanted to go over every question in detail. Ugh.

He was looking for someone to fit into his team, apparently regardless of the skills.

I finally had enough during this "assessment" (over 2 hours) and told him I thought a particular question was Bullshit.

No, I didn't get the job and I'm glad. It would have been a toxic place for me to work, if they survived. Good luck to them, but I don't need Pavarotti for a boss.

[Democrats_win]

10. I did give a Safeway interviewer a dirty look following an interview.

The problem with working for Safeway is that you need to work there for 10 years before you get 40 hour-work weeks. And only then if you "deserved" the extra hours. Wow! Thanks for the favor. The ad for the job didn't say it was part-time. I was in that situation when I was a teenager and worked for a mom and pop grocery store. Small stores are nice places to work. Yet Safeway isn't a small store. So the sacrifice isn't worth it.

[bigwillq]

14. I wish I had on one interview.

It was for some job with the Boy Scouts and if you got the job you had to sign this waiver stating that you think homosexuality is wrong (or something to that affect). The guy basically stated that he was a bigot and that the company did not approve of homosexuals.

But this was before I "came out" to anyone so I didn't say anything. :mad:

[Ohio Joe]

17. Sort of...

Back in 93, I was working for Ames Dept. Stores and looking for a job. A head hunter sent me on an interview with Allmerica Financial. The interview went great up until the guy asked me if I would be loyal to the company. I told him that I was loyal to my work and always did my best, regardless of the company I worked for. He did not say anything and the interview ended shortly after that. My head hunter and I talked later and he said that the feed back he got, was that they wanted me back for the second interview and were real happy with me but were disappointed with my loyalty answer. He told me to tell them what they wanted to hear and take the job.

I went to the second interview and it was much like the first, same guy even. As we get near the end, he finally asks me again if I would be loyal to the company. I give my same answer and again the interview ends.

Next day, my head hunter calls and says they are willing to try one last time. I told him, tell them thanks but no thanks.

Two days later, I got a real good offer from them and went to work there.

[TexasObserver]

20. I have a friend who did.

She was interviewing with a Houston law firm, and the partner who was interviewing her asked "Do you have any lasting regrets about having not made the Law Review?"

She replied "Only that I have to respond to questions such as this one."

[KG]

23. i was once asked during and interview 'what kind of person are you?'

i wanted to answer 'what kind of fucking question is that?'.

he was the kind of guy who seemed very impressed with himself and his HR/interview skills.

[Cowpunk]

24. Not quite, but this is kinda funny.

I am an auto mechanic, so usually when applying I deal directly with the service managers. Sometimes at the fancier astablishments they've got a "human resources" person helping. I know these jokers love it when folks blow smoke up their asses, but that's just not me.

One HR jerk-off asked me what my "goals" are.

"To get out of debt", I replied.

Missed it by that much.

[pnutbutr]

26. pretty much

I interviewed for a network admin position at a company in Tysons Corner. I'm sitting there interviewing with this woman and she's describing the job responsibilities to me. Go with her to all the meetings and take notes that I would them have to provide to her as a report. I would also be responsible for getting her coffee in the morning and making runs to the dry cleaner, her house etc... I stopped her at one point to make sure I was interviewing for the right position and I apparently was so I then stood up and said "I'm not interested in being a secretary, thank you for the interview." and walked out.

[gratuitous]

30. No sense burning bridges

But I've had a couple of interview experiences that I would just as soon forget. One started off with the typing test, even though my resume showed 12 years of working as a legal secretary. It went downhill when the firm questionnaire wanted my date of birth, social security number, and last three residence addresses. I told them my date of birth and social security number would be supplied when they hired me but for a law firm to ask illegal questions of job applicants seemed incongruous. Also, I’d lived in my then-present location for about seven years, my last three residences reached back about 12 years, and I didn’t think that was really any of their business. The person interviewing me said that if that was the “attitude” I was going to take, perhaps I’d be happier working somewhere else. It was about the only thing we agreed on.

The other happened this last job hunt go-round, when a sole practitioner called me for an interview, and then spent the half hour wanting to gossip about my former employers who were personal acquaintances of his (the legal community can be a small town). I didn’t offer up any tidbits, lost half a day’s temp pay (which wasn’t a whole lot to begin with), and left his office just shaking my head. Thanks heaps, dork.

[napi21]

34. I didn't but my husband did, and he got the job! It was years ago, and he

was interviewing for a meat cutter's job with A&P. The interviewer was dancing arount the idea that he was maybe too young. He looked the guy in the eye and said "Look! Right now all you have is old men with years of union senority who don't think they have to do any work! I've been a meat cutter since I was 16 years old! (He was 28) I've done every job from slaughter through the final consumer product. If you folks don't start hiring younger experienced people, you company's going to die!"

When he came home & told me what he had said, I was sure he botched THAT interview. I was wrong, and he got the call 2 days later.

[calico1]

35. No, though I have been tempted.

Especially when the interviewer is clearly clueless and you know you know more than they do.

What I have learned over the years is you never know who knows who. So while it may give you temporary satisfaction to make a snarky comment to an interviewer, it could come back to bite you.

There isn't exactly an overabundance of jobs right now.

Why possibly make the problem worse by pissing off someone who might know your next interviewer or someone else who could affect your employment?

Nope, I wouldn't do it.

[annonymous]

40. I walked out of an interview with an employment agency.

This happened circa 1984 and I don't know if this particular agency is still in business. This company was notorious for putting fake jobs in the want ads and trying to get people to pay them $150 to place them in a job. I took the typing test and a general skills test, then came the interview and the hard sell for their services. I was looking for a low level clerical job and saw no reason to pay them to get such a job. When I heard about the $150 fee, I told them I could find the type of job I wanted for free.

[tabbycat31]

41. I walked out of an interveiw

when the interviewer told me that I was one of "those people" (meaning that I worked my way through a state university and not partied my way through harvard).

I told her that "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that the job description required an Ivy League education and that I'm clearly not the person you are looking for. I'm not going to waste my time or yours."

The job was with Enterprise rent a car. I haven't had the need to rent a car (family nearby that would loan me one if mine's in the shop), but as a customer, I will never do business with Enterprise after that job interview.