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Unprofessional interviewer


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Anyone have some stories to share about unprofessional interviewers?

 

Man, I just had one today and the guy started off with "So what's up? Tell me about you."

 

The whole time he talked to me like he was having a beer with a friend and was rather presumptuous when I told him the name

Of someone I worked for had the same last name. He was just like "Your dad?" Not "are you related?" And then he was all like "Well I'm not sure whether that's a gig or not".

 

Man, I should have seriously hung up on the guy. I wonder if he operates business in his garage.

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No, but I can tell you one time when I came off as unprofessional.

 

I had this young girl in for an interview who was barely 18. As usual, one of my questions was..."So what would you change if you could about yourself?"

 

The question applies to work abilities...or so I thought.

 

She said, "I wish I had bigger boobs." :eek:

 

Oh boy. So I quickly had to explain what I meant before this went way out of hand! Truthfully, she was just being open and honest and did not mean anything by it.

 

I never asked that question again without thinking of her...or before explaining what I meant by it. :D

 

BTW, she was hired (unrelated to that question) and became an excellent worker who is now a manager at that company.

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I once had an interviewer show me his teeth - as in opening his mouth and pointing to one of his back teeth (rather than just baring his teeth in a fake smile). He wanted to point out a filling my dad had given him. I didn't get the job.

 

Another time when I was very young and before I got my act together to go to university, I went for a job that involved trying to sell a well known brand of tights to supermarkets. The interviewer told me "some of these supermarket managers are yobs and they'll just tell you to **** off. How would you deal with that?" I said "Well, if they were that rude to me I would put in a complaint. I don't think supermarkets would want their staff talking to anybody like that." He roared with laughter and said "Great saleswoman you'd make, going around making complaints about potential clients just because you can't cope with a bit of blunt talking. Never mind...you're a pretty blonde with nicely polished shoes. You'll get a job easily enough, just not this one."

 

Aristoc tights. Never bought a pair since, never will.

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It was a long time ago - and I didn't get lucky with a 'phone interview'.

 

Had to dress all up all up in my suit - only to have to go over there and be cross examined by these two broads who were Completely enthralled with the workings of my divorce. :lmao: Crazy women probably knew at the time they had no intention to hire me, but were just using me as their current entertainment. ha

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Hornylildevil
No, but I can tell you one time when I came off as unprofessional.

 

I had this young girl in for an interview who was barely 18. As usual, one of my questions was..."So what would you change if you could about yourself?"

 

The question applies to work abilities...or so I thought.

 

She said, "I wish I had bigger boobs." :eek:

 

Oh boy. So I quickly had to explain what I meant before this went way out of hand! Truthfully, she was just being open and honest and did not mean anything by it.

 

I never asked that question again without thinking of her...or before explaining what I meant by it. :D

 

BTW, she was hired (unrelated to that question) and became an excellent worker who is now a manager at that company.

 

Oh, if you two became friends and there wasn't any risk of stupid-ass sexual harassment laws, I would NEVER let her forget that! That would be a running gag for the ages!

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No, but I can tell you one time when I came off as unprofessional.

 

I had this young girl in for an interview who was barely 18. As usual, one of my questions was..."So what would you change if you could about yourself?"

 

The question applies to work abilities...or so I thought.

 

She said, "I wish I had bigger boobs." :eek:

 

Oh boy. So I quickly had to explain what I meant before this went way out of hand! Truthfully, she was just being open and honest and did not mean anything by it.

 

I never asked that question again without thinking of her...or before explaining what I meant by it. :D

 

BTW, she was hired (unrelated to that question) and became an excellent worker who is now a manager at that company.

 

I would think interested applicants are there in hopes to draw from or project the best they have in filling the position - rather than be sidetracked.

 

Good for her in giving an honest answer to an off-track question.

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Some people are more casual then others.

 

 

I had an interview with a guy who had a naked centerfold as the backdrop behind his fish tank in his office. The minute I saw that I knew I didn't want to work there.

 

 

I have interviewed people who showed up dressed in jeans & sweats for a professional office job.

 

 

It takes all kinds.

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1. One guy started questioning my religious beliefs.

 

2. Back when I worked a lot of short contract jobs (3 months, 6 months) I had an interviewer at a staffing agency complain about my job history of short contract jobs. I thought that was odd considering the job I was interviewing for was a short contract job...

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No, but I can tell you one time when I came off as unprofessional.

 

I had this young girl in for an interview who was barely 18. As usual, one of my questions was..."So what would you change if you could about yourself?"

 

The question applies to work abilities...or so I thought.

 

She said, "I wish I had bigger boobs." :eek:

 

Oh boy. So I quickly had to explain what I meant before this went way out of hand! Truthfully, she was just being open and honest and did not mean anything by it.

 

I never asked that question again without thinking of her...or before explaining what I meant by it. :D

 

BTW, she was hired (unrelated to that question) and became an excellent worker who is now a manager at that company.

 

:lmao::lmao: That is classic. Well at least she is honest. So fun, love it.

 

 

Working in finance, I have had some very interesting interviews, all with the interviewers leering at my legs, butt and chest. I actually did the whole, eyes up here, please ...and yes, my outfit was conservative.

I had a guy ask me if I wanted to go on a date afterwards, get a beer another time, or if I thought I would not be better off marrying rich( this was when I was eighteen and was applying for a prestigious internship) because women who looked like me didn't need to work for a living. Needless to say, the interviews were over, I reported them and the companies set up interviews with women. The man who told me I didn't need to work for a living ended up being transferred according to management...to Russia. I work in International Finance.

I did my first gig as an interviewer with my Executive Manager and I was apparently so rough on him he complained to the company I was unprofessional. I didn't say anything, not one word except no thank you, in the interview as I was just observing. My manager thought the guy was upset because I didn't want to give him my phone number right after. That was when I said no, thank you.

Men can be tedious.

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I used to do alot of interviewing. I also did alot of assuming. I assumed everyone thought like me. I assumed everyone lived like me. No, I didn't think I did, but when I asked questions, I assumed the person would take my question as I meant it. I had to learn that each person has a different perspective so my questions could only be asked after I understood better what it was.

 

The one I mentioned above....yes, we became as good of friends as a boss/worker could be. Yes, she was embarrassed at her misunderstanding. It was her age and oddly, her innocence. She was one of the hardest workers for her age I ever encountered and was good at dealing with people as she got older. Hence, her move into management and why she is still there more than twenty years later.

 

I could tell quite a few from an interviewer's POV. I have been told and guess it must be true...that I have an open, kind face which "invites" people to open up. Many times, I interviewed people for positions and some were temporary. It was amazing what all they would tell me without prompting.

 

True story. Not sure I would believe it if I didn't live it.

 

I was young and innocent. Late twenties. A lady in her thirties came into my office for a temp position and as I liked to get an idea of who they were before I placed them in a department, I asked her the typical questions and one usually is simply "So tell me about yourself." Another dumb question which I never used after this. :laugh:

 

So I asked her and her response? "My husband is impotent." :eek:

 

Wait...did I hear right? Yep, she repeated it. Now what am I supposed to do about tha....never mind, I won't comment at all! :lmao:

 

"Oh, that is tough." And asked one more quick question and moved her out to a department. How I controlled my laughter...I will never know.

 

Another thing I learned as an interviewer....controlling facial expressions. I doubt I did then. :laugh:

 

Yes, she repeated her concern to others. To this day, I wonder what she expected me to do or say. Looking back as much older, I think she was in a bad place and either needed affection or was inviting a lawsuit. A couple of weeks later, an employee had a party at her place and this girl went. A guy there allegedly raped her....at least that is what her husband said to me when he came into my office. Yes, he was trying to blame our company for the incident. :rolleyes: No, he never could. All I could think of was...are you still impotent? :laugh: According to the story going around work, it was far from a rape and the woman probably told her husband that as "self-defense."

 

Sad thing is...I lost two employees over it. And about fifteen years later, I read of the husband's obit in the paper. Yes, he had a disease which causes impotence. :(

 

Yes, this all really happened. I have more and could probably write a book. :D

 

Truthfully, interviewing is a difficult job. Wording things correctly so that the person understands and doesn't misunderstand takes some skill and experience. And cutting off people who want to talk too much is hard as it is easy to offend.

 

So while I understand why interviewers come off as unprofessional and crass, some of them are simply assuming and learning. Others sadly, are taking advantage of their position and trying to score. Every guy in this position has had the opportunity...hence why so many sex harassment suits.

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I was young and innocent. Late twenties. A lady in her thirties came into my office for a temp position and as I liked to get an idea of who they were before I placed them in a department, I asked her the typical questions and one usually is simply "So tell me about yourself." Another dumb question which I never used after this. :laugh:

 

So I asked her and her response? "My husband is impotent." :eek:

 

Wait...did I hear right? Yep, she repeated it. Now what am I supposed to do about tha....never mind, I won't comment at all! :lmao:

 

"Oh, that is tough." And asked one more quick question and moved her out to a department. How I controlled my laughter...I will never know.

 

 

This is definitely not 'hindsight is 20/20' according to what else you wrote, but i would not have hired her [after sitting on LS this long]; when you described it, i got the vibe of desperation, could mean affair in the office.

 

Is doing something like that [refusing to hire her after she disclosed that, but refusing to hire her for a different reason obviously] legal in the US ?

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Is doing something like that [refusing to hire her after she disclosed that, but refusing to hire her for a different reason obviously] legal in the US ?

 

She was a temp employee with only a limited assignment. Technically, she was not my employee. (The other one was.) I planned on letting her go within a short period of time so that there was no connection to the conversation. But the party beat me to it. :laugh:

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I once interviewed for a front desk position at one of those medical facial spa places. The woman interviewing me (the owner) point blank asked me if I was married because if so it wouldn't work out since she needed me to work long hours. She didn't want to deal with a husband showing up and complaining. Now I'm not married and I had no problem with the hours mentioned in the ad, but I finished the interview as quickly as possible and got out of there. That woman actually called to offer me the job a few days later! I never returned her call and she just kept calling for a couple of weeks lol. Seriously get a clue.

 

 

 

Another time I interviewed for a front desk position at an acupuncture clinic. The ad stated that weekend hours would be required. Ok no problem. So in the interview the woman (the owner) started off by asking me if I was religious because if so it wouldn't work since I'd have to work Sundays and she didn't want to have to be bothered by my wanting to go to church. Absolutely unbelievable right? If my religious needs were not going to allow me to work on Sundays then I wouldn't have applied for the position. You'd think she'd have stopped at just this question, but no. She continued pushing the religion issue for a good 15 minutes. For the record I consider myself spiritual, not religious and I love working Sundays. I didn't get the job and have avoided her clinic like the plague.

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I do a lot of interviewing and I am always shocked at the behavior of the interviewee. But I can tell one story about a co-interviewer.

 

At a point in the interviewing process we do face to face panel interviews. We travel to the territory and hold the interviews in different hotel meeting spaces or vendor's offices.

 

I was interviewing with two male colleagues when a very attractive young lady came in to interview. She was exceedingly qualified but I am watching them in my peripheral as if they are seeing the Second Coming. :rolleyes: At some point in the interview, yes I notice her engagement ring.

 

So at the end of the interview we always ask the candidate if they have any questions for us. And she asked some job related questions, etc. She leaves and we discuss. We all liked her, I played Devil's advocate that they ranked her on ability and experience not physical attributes and the highest level person in the room brings up her engagement ring and asks, "I wanted to ask her if she will have kids soon and not be able to travel"? :eek:

 

From that point on I advised my colleague that any question of that nature needs to always be asked to just me, in private, and I will help screen what the hell he is trying to say. Idiot.

 

I have had candidates completely unprepared, when asked if they are familiar with our company/brand and what are their thoughts say sure, and tell us all about how they would change it. :rolleyes:

 

I have had, unfortunately, more than one male candidate who completely ignores the female interviewers in the room. I had one that was so bad, even though I was sitting across from him he would only address the men on either side, even when I asked a question. He also felt comfortable enough to curse.

 

I had another who felt comfortable enough to drop the F bomb as well as spill the dirt on a governmental investigation that happened with his current company. Information I wanted to learn but not becoming of an employee.

 

Shockingly both of those were California candidates. :eek::rolleyes::laugh:

 

Interviewing is like dating and there are a whole lot of interesting first dates! :laugh:

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Interviewing is like dating and there are a whole lot of interesting first dates! :laugh:

 

Good quote...and so true! :laugh:

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Good quote...and so true! :laugh:

 

I try and train other managers on this and remind them that the person is on their "best behavior" in the beginning. So you better love everything about that at that point because you know it will loosen up and they will relax over time. So if they are a bit . . . . persnickety right now you better believe they are going to be high maintenance once the blush wears off the bloom. :laugh:

 

And like dating, the one that seems to care most has less power. So that goes for both sides, as a company do not act like everything hinges on one candidate, as a candidate do not seem to have all your eggs in that one basket. Play it cool, know your worth and know when to fold/walk away.

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Interviewing is like dating and there are a whole lot of interesting first dates! :laugh:

When I was younger I had a job interview with a man who kept a rattlesnake head in a jar on his desk (or maybe it was encased in lucite as a paperweight). He was known for producing offbeat movies. He was very funny and a nice guy, though. He was flirtatious but I knew he was married.

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When I was younger I had a job interview with a man who kept a rattlesnake head in a jar on his desk (or maybe it was encased in lucite as a paperweight). He was known for producing offbeat movies. He was very funny and a nice guy, though. He was flirtatious but I knew he was married.

 

Reminds me of one of my previous managers in a small company. He would flirt with me from time to time. He was a foreigner, so I don't think he was aware that when you tell someone they look fresh, although he meant it differently, could be taken as sexual harassment. He would also frequently do hi-fives and hold onto my hand for long periods of time. It was a small company and I needed the money, so I dealt with it. I do think he was just trying to be genuine and he wasn't all that smart so I don't think he realizes certain gestures aren't appropriate. Lol

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In a company I used to work for, my boss asked me to filter some CVs from job applicants. She said she would double check later....

Going through the reject pile, she picked up One CV, read it and then asked "what's wrong with this one? She seems like a possible..."

I looked at the CV, then replied , "check out her email address..."

 

She read it, then laughing, put the CV back on the reject pile.

 

The email address?

if**[email protected]......

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nomadic_butterfly

LOL these stories are too hilarious!! For me, it's been more of unprofessional behavior by male superiors AFTER I get the job like catching them staring at my boobs (but I'll admit they are big) or legs (I hate having long legs) if I'm wearing heels and a skirt. Boys will be boys I guess...

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Oh, one also asked me if I had a boyfriend, since it was a personal training position and having a partner can apparently be a hindrance.

 

I would never ask someone about their relationship status during an interview.

 

Some people are retarded. I mean, how hard is it to just be professional? Why are they even in the position to BE an interviewer if they have no common sense (and only conduct relevant questions?)

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Oh, one also asked me if I had a boyfriend, since it was a personal training position and having a partner can apparently be a hindrance.

 

I would never ask someone about their relationship status during an interview.

 

Some people are retarded. I mean, how hard is it to just be professional? Why are they even in the position to BE an interviewer if they have no common sense (and only conduct relevant questions?)

 

In the U.S. a lot of questions, such as these are illegal to ask, though it would be very difficult to sue over. They cannot ask your marital status, whether or not you plan to have kids or etc. They cannot even ask you if you own your own car (unless the position involves driving). They can ask if you have reliable transportation, but they cannot ask or say you must own your own car (unless needed by the job) otherwise it can be considered discrimination. As long as the person is able to get to work, the means is none of their business.

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