Awkward job interviews

[youvalss]

Re: Awkward job interviews

I think it's time to bump this one...

Recently I interviewed at a medium size company. The interview went great(!) but I blew it with the assessment test I was given when I got home. I think I almost had the job...but then I decided to take the test and tell the truth...bad idea.

But the funny thing was that the interviewer (which was the President and CEO, since it's a smaller company) for some reason decided to tell me about the 2 people who used to do the job and left, and he told me where they are working now. A Bit strange...isn't it? I could probably get their names if I really wanted to...

[BurghFan]

Re: Awkward job interviews

Who was the guy on here who was apparently coming down with the flu and puked in the interviewers garbage can and still got the job?

Anyone remember that A&W root beer commercial where the guy is interviewing with a guy with the last name Dumass (pronounced Dew-moss) but kept pronouncing it "*******" and made it a point to say the name as many times as possible?

[PhilliesFan13]

Re: Awkward job interviews

Who was the guy on here who was apparently coming down with the flu and puked in the interviewers garbage can and still got the job?

Anyone remember that A&W root beer commercial where the guy is interviewing with a guy with the last name Dumass (pronounced Dew-moss) but kept pronouncing it "*******" and made it a point to say the name as many times as possible?

Loved that commercial.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

[HealyMonster]

Re: Awkward job interviews

Today was one of the first times I have given a job interview. About 10 minutes in with the first candidate I realized something was not right. The following 2 hours and 20 minutes were painstakingly awkward and it got me thinking - Has anyone else here ever given an interview to someone completely off their rocker or even made a fool out of themselves during an interview?

Story below

Spoiler

For those of you who don't know, I own a construction company and an equipment dealership that specializes in machinery sales. Recently I have been looking to hire laborers for my construction company

I have advertised a nice starting wage and other perks in an attempt to attract some decent applicants.

I had 3 guys call and want to set up an interview from a certain town about 40 minutes away. Since I had that many applicants and was going to be in that city at the time anyways, I set up all three guys for a casual, laid back interview at a local restaurant.

The first interview was at 2, then 2:30 and then 3. I figured a half an hour was more than enough time to do what had to be done.

The first guy showed up a few minutes late and was lacking the resume I asked him to bring. Not a major, issue yet, but still concerning.

So I started describing the general duties of the job, what I expect, etc... and then **** got dumb.

The guy got really fidgety and kept looking around, almost as if someone was out to get him. I began to explain the travel required and he just interrupts me and goes off on a bender - "I don't eat! I might have a crumb here or there, but you give me a big gallon of water and I will put my bandana on to work! I sweat! I sweat and I go to church, but that doesn't mean I'm a Christian. But it also doesn't mean I'm not a Christian. It means I work! I work hard and I'm a getter' goer."

So, after this ranting kept going on, and after he would interrupt basically every question I had with another classic rant, it was already 2:30 and time for the other applicant to sit down.

I politely said it was time for the other applicant and I would get back to him at a later date. Completely blowing that off, he belts out another comical rant in this restaurant.

Now, before I tell you what it was, I must note that this area is beside numerous reservations and that the booth across from me was seating two Native American girls who I overhead talking about their finals, school, etc... because it was more fun that listening to this character.

His completely off topic rant went like this - "And I don't even drink alcohol. Alcohol is a destructive tool. Hell, look what it did to the indians! And the white man, he drinks and drinks and then hurts the indians!"

At this point, it went from mildly humorous to full out stupid. I told the guy he needed to let the other applicant take his place and I would call him later...

So, he did what any of us at that point would have done - Got up and took a seat at a table behind us.

So I interview the 2nd guy, took 20 minutes or so and called it good. He got up, and homeboy came over and sat down.

Clearly not wanting to make a scene, and starting to suspect a possible, underlying mental health issue, I remained as polite and professional as I could.

After another round of ranting, the 3rd guy arrived and went just like when the 2nd guy showed up.

After the 3rd guy left, this guy sat back down and wanted to talk about Ben Hogan and metal.

I offered to buy this guy dinner because I just felt bad for him. He just had something about him that made me feel sorry for him.

He turned down the offer, but asked if I would go somewhere and buy him chew. I told him I would not, so then he asked if he could borrow money for me.

I was kind of pissed, but I gave the guy 10 dollars and said my goodbyes before leaving.

I don't imagine I will ever have an interview like that again.

And on a side note, this guy was an extremely professional, normal seeming guy on the phone. He is a good reason why I will never consider hiring someone over the phone as long as I'm in business.


EDIT: Luckily I have the draft to cheer me up tonight, but the more I think about it, the worse I feel. Something about that whole scene was depressing to me.

props to you for handling it how you did, I mean overall weird situation.

[RockinDaMike]

Re: Awkward job interviews

Nothing like what Baumy had but I've had interviewees get so nervous they can't even speak a word and I had to cut the interview in less than a minute.

My gf and I conduct all the interviews and even though most Filipinos know english they sometimes get super nervous when an American/Foreigner is around especially an island that is not that developed yet.

It's actually a big problem since the culture is very submissive probably due to its history of being colonized by different countries in its history.

I pretty much hire anyone who is not shy and do my best to train them.

[mgoblue]

Re: Awkward job interviews

I think it's time to bump this one...

Recently I interviewed at a medium size company. The interview went great(!) but I blew it with the assessment test I was given when I got home. I think I almost had the job...but then I decided to take the test and tell the truth...bad idea.

But the funny thing was that the interviewer (which was the President and CEO, since it's a smaller company) for some reason decided to tell me about the 2 people who used to do the job and left, and he told me where they are working now. A Bit strange...isn't it? I could probably get their names if I really wanted to...

What truth was there that lost you the job from the test?

[youvalss]

Re: Awkward job interviews

What truth was there that lost you the job from the test?

That I don't hang out with groups of people, that I don't like being the centre of attention, or that I don't think that only 21st century style of solutions (pretended "outside of the box" silliness) can work.

As long as you know exactly what they want to see (which is easy to find online...as I discovered later), you are good. You can be a serial killer, a pedofile a psychopath or just a lazy bum, but as long as you know exactly what the right answer is to each question - you're in. As simple as that.

The truth is that they don't care who you really are. All they want is that you score each personal quality section in the "right" range. That's all there is. It only tests your ability to research and find the right answer. I could easily beat the personality section of the test (it also had some pretty-easy technical sections) if I knew exactly what the right answer was. It has nothing to do with who I am, but with me realizing what I was supposed to do. I have held a similar position and didn't have issues.

I used to know people who passed these tests and got hired, but were lazy, negative and didn't do their job. However, they were just smart enough to fool the HR rep.

I guess you can say that my research skills are (or were) below-average. I can accept that.

To conclude the subject: All that these tests are meant for, is to enable the HR rep mark a check mark in the box indicating that the applicant scored the right numbers. It's about a formal procedure, not about finding the best man for the job.

[fistofrage]

Re: Awkward job interviews

You never know what you are going to get in person. We conduct a lengthy phone screen with our candidates before they can come in and meet in person and I am interviewing people with college degrees and decent work history and I would say 1 out of 3 of them that come in for face to face interviews leave me thinking what the H just happened.

I can only imagine the stories you get from some of these people who come in without being screened first.

[Godgers12]

Re: Awkward job interviews

Who was the guy on here who was apparently coming down with the flu and puked in the interviewers garbage can and still got the job?

Anyone remember that A&W root beer commercial where the guy is interviewing with a guy with the last name Dumass (pronounced Dew-moss) but kept pronouncing it "*******" and made it a point to say the name as many times as possible?

If I was the interviewer, and a person came in sick throwing up all over the place and they seemed competent, I'd probably hire on the spot. That shows some major commitment.

[Herky]

Re: Awkward job interviews

I cut myself shaving prior to a interview once. Spent as much time as I could trying to stop the bleeding. Even sat in the car up until 10 min before applying pressure to the cut with my 4th piece of toilet paper. Went in hoping the bleeding had stopped. Did one quick cut wipe before I sat in front of the manager. She kept looking at me weird and my answers sucked and I fumbled around a lot with my words. I was worried about the cut the whole time. After the interview I got to my car and looked in the mirror. Blood was smeared on my check and neck and a big blood crust had formed under my chin.

Got a letter back a week later saying I did not get the job.

[daflyboys]

Re: Awkward job interviews

I so have wanted to do this in a job interview....maybe I will on the next one I really don't care about......

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KkCCoyuI_bw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[countryboy]

Re: Awkward job interviews

In my first ever interview that I had, it was for a job as a bag boy at a local grocery store. I was nervous during the interview and embarrassed myself when I sneezed and then farted. I turned red faced, but the guy interviewing me laughed so I laughed. Next day I got the job. Til the day I quit working due to going to college the guy who interviewed me and I laughed about my interview.

[z Revis]

Re: Awkward job interviews

Nothing like what Baumy had but I've had interviewees get so nervous they can't even speak a word and I had to cut the interview in less than a minute.



My gf and I conduct all the interviews and even though most Filipinos know english they sometimes get super nervous when an American/Foreigner is around especially an island that is not that developed yet.



It's actually a big problem since the culture is very submissive probably due to its history of being colonized by different countries in its history.



I pretty much hire anyone who is not shy and do my best to train them.

I used to deal with nervousness for interviews... It was never so bad that I couldn't talk, but I'd always choke on my thoughts/words. I still remember one interview about 3 years ago where the guy asked me a specific question about the job to gauge my knowledge. I knew the answer immediately and began speaking until I just suddenly couldn't put my thoughts into words or something. I abruptly ended my answer with "well you know what I mean." Lol...

Fortunately I've always gotten the jobs anyway. Maybe I don't come off as bad as I think idk. My last interview(current job) though I nailed it and had no problem at all. Not sure what was different. Confidence probably.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[HealyMonster]

Re: Awkward job interviews

That I don't hang out with groups of people, that I don't like being the centre of attention, or that I don't think that only 21st century style of solutions (pretended "outside of the box" silliness) can work.

As long as you know exactly what they want to see (which is easy to find online...as I discovered later), you are good. You can be a serial killer, a pedofile a psychopath or just a lazy bum, but as long as you know exactly what the right answer is to each question - you're in. As simple as that.

The truth is that they don't care who you really are. All they want is that you score each personal quality section in the "right" range. That's all there is. It only tests your ability to research and find the right answer. I could easily beat the personality section of the test (it also had some pretty-easy technical sections) if I knew exactly what the right answer was. It has nothing to do with who I am, but with me realizing what I was supposed to do. I have held a similar position and didn't have issues.

I used to know people who passed these tests and got hired, but were lazy, negative and didn't do their job. However, they were just smart enough to fool the HR rep.

I guess you can say that my research skills are (or were) below-average. I can accept that.

To conclude the subject: All that these tests are meant for, is to enable the HR rep mark a check mark in the box indicating that the applicant scored the right numbers. It's about a formal procedure, not about finding the best man for the job.

Theres 2 things here. I am a manger at a fortune 15 company and do quite a bit of hiring. The HR stuff I can confirm is a formality. You need to press the correct buttons to get through that process. When I got the job at this company at a lower level position I had to take an HR test, but I got the job because a manager I worked for took a promotion and came to this company and brought in his people. After several years, I took over his job, and in turn started bringing in my own people who had to take the same test during the hiring process. It had no impact on whether I hired them or not.

I have hired people I had no previous relationship with, and I will confirm that even with these people, I had no conversation with HR about A) any conversation they had with the applicant or B) any test they took. But I know they had several conversations and I know they took the test. I can also confirm that I don't care about the test or anything HR says to me. The only thing that matters to me is the persons reputation in the industry. If I am not hiring you from a lower level team to my team (within the company), or hiring you based on a referral I get from someone I trust, there is a 99% chance you aren't considered for the job.

Notice I didn't bring up "experience" or "college degree", or interview quality. While those things are all important, and they are boxes to check, its all about who you know, and who is willing to tell someone to hire you. Certainly in some fields it is different, actually in a lot of fields it is different, but most times Ill say it comes down to who you know/who you impress.

[daflyboys]

Re: Awkward job interviews

I recall having close to a 3 hour interview while going to college for a PT job at Wendy's. I went to my first shift -- 3 hours -- then quit. It couldn't have sucked more. At the time with the min. wage and then some idiotic occupation privilege tax, my check was $0.10.