We all need work, in fact, people are desperately looking for jobs.
However, not all interviews go as planned... and sometimes the interviewer is who needs to find different employment.
You know you can tell from the interview whether or not it's a good idea to stay or run like you're on fire.
Redditoru/JimmySaulGenewanted to hear about all of the times we've peaced out of meetings because the red flags were just too glaring, they asked:
People who walked out of a job interview, why did you do it?
I've had a few interviews where I walked out thinking... "Feet don't fail me now!" I stayed all the way through to be polite. But I should've left like Angela Bassett sauntering away from a car on fire like in "Waiting to Exhale." Next time.
Hair Prejudice
beards GIFGiphy"Sat down with the owner and the first thing he said was, I don't hire people with beards. I said okay, got up and walked out."
Show me the $$$
"Refusal to discuss salary… this was interview #3."
"From my end, that's an interview #1 thing, preferably even before the interview. I don't want to waste time if the range isn't going to fit. I don't need to drive an hour for something that is not in my range and they don't need to waste 15 minutes on someone who will decline if the salary range isn't right."
Time Wasted
"Years ago, I went to an interview, and sat down with the man who was to interview me. Sat in silence while he read something on his computer for a few minutes, then waited for a minute or so while he looked over my resume (it was a small business, he is the same person who called me to set up the interview and he'd had the resume for a few days.)"
"He finally looked up at me and said, "Well, I'm not sure why you applied for this job; you really don't have any of the skills or experience I'm looking for." He was just so arrogant and I felt like he was trying to make a power move to make a lowball offer. I didn't apply to any job that I wasn't qualified for. I was just instantly pissed that he was playing games."
"I calmly said, 'Then I'm not sure why you're wasting my time,' and I stood and walked to the door. He said something like, 'Oh, no, let's talk,' and I told him I wasn't interested in working for him. I had a job already, I just wasn't terribly happy with it, so I really didn't feel like putting up with his b.s."
Rogers Place
"Showed up for a construction/trades workers "hiring event". I'm a plumber by trade and work was bleak as hell in my city at the time, so I went. Crap looked legit until they sat us down to speak about the work scope. They claimed to be one of the companies that were building Rogers Place in Edmonton."
"After they gave us sketchy details they said "however, if you don't want to do that you can…" And started speaking about how to do door to door sales of mostly chocolate in the higher end communities around the city. They talked construction for maybe 15 minutes and the rest was door to door chocolate sales and UNICEF fundraising and how we can have an income of 150k+ a year doing that."
"I left probably 20 minutes into that. I had a friend who champed it out and stay the entire time. The stories he told me were hilarious. Ironically, 30 minutes after I left, I got a call from a company who was actually a contractor on the Rogers Place job and ended up working for them for 4+ years."
"sales and marketing"
plotting dave holmes GIF by EarwolfGiphy"Pyramid scheme advertised as "sales and marketing." It was a group interview. They served wine for craps sake! They had obvious stooges initiating conversation about how great this opportunity was. I got very drunk and stopped being polite about it."
Some of these people sound mental. Who thought they sounded ripe for hiring and management? I mean, how do some people get into positions of power?
The Fixer
canadian what GIF by CBCGiphy"Owner of a bar told me in the 1st interview to never approach him with a problem because I wouldn't like how he fixed it."
People Describe Their Best Chance Encounters | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Are chance encounters really serendipitous or is it part of some grand master plan? While we may never have an answer for why we come to meet certain people ...Hey Jo-Ann...
"I was 19, and pretty crafty. I thought it would be cool to work at a store that fit my interests. So, Jo-Ann Fabric here I come. I get to the interview and something seemed off. I show up dressed nice, for an interview and just got the stink eye from the manager. I am led back to the office, all the while the manager is trying to get me to tell her something. I didn't catch on until later in the interview."
"It was going well, and she seemed like she liked me and my experience. That is, until the little hints didn't work. She straight up asked me if I was gay, and if my partner knew I was here. I am a straight man. I was in shock, until I realized she was being serious, and I wasn't getting further in the interview if I didn't tell her I was gay."
"Flabbergasted, I got up, told her I thought her preconceptions were going to hurt her, and left. It was the weirdest thing I have experienced in an interview. After talking to others that worked there, the guys straight up lied to get the job. She only hired gay guys, because straight guys wouldn't know anything about crafts, and were only trying to hook up."
Dr. A
"I'm a vet tech. Interviewed at a primary care, single doctor practice. The manager was over 25 minutes late to my interview. While I waited for her, the front desk staff ignored me while they talked crap about the techs, manager, and clients. The manager said they did not believe in referring to any specialists, because "Dr. A is a specialist in everything from grizzly bears to canaries."
"He was not, he hadn't even done a rotating internship and definitely had not done any type of residency program. I had already worked in a toxic clinic, but at least the doctors were competent. When she asked if I had any questions, I just asked if I could have my resume back, so I didn't waste the paper."
"No thank you"
"I once went to a job interview for a large welding shop, in the middle of a rain storm. After talking to the interviewer for 30 or so minutes, he walked me out to the shop floor to take a welding test. The machine we went to was in decent condition, but was literally sitting in a puddle of water. The welding table's legs were rusty and not grounded well, and also in said puddle. Over half the shop was flooded. I turned around and said "No thank you." Then proceeded to walk out the door. My life is worth more than $20 an hour."
Red Face = Red Flag
Inside Out Reaction GIF by Disney PixarGiphy"The guy interviewing me interrupted the interview to scream at one of his employees. Like red in the face screaming and berating the guy. And then tried to just pick up where we left off like it was nothing. No thank you."
You Lie
"I'm in my 30s but look in my 20s. I applied at a music store. The place was an independently owned place in Mineola NY run by some eccentric old guy. He didn't believe I was even in my 20s. He thought I was a teenager lying about my age and demanded to call my parents and high school to get their permission. So, out the door I was."
Hello to you all...
"Applied for a software developer position for an online retailer. First round of interviews was a traditional technical skills and whiteboard coding session, second round was a cultural fit interview with HR. I assumed it would be a one on one interview with HR, it was a room with 20 something people applying for anything from legal to finance. They asked us to stand up, then crawl into a ball and pretend we were flowers opening. At this point I honestly thought it was some kind of prank, then I saw everybody around me doing it. I just said thanks for the opportunity and left."
1 Hour Down
"I applied for a register position at Pizza Hut. I specifically told them during my 2 interviews that I cannot be a delivery driver due to my car being unreliable, they even acknowledged that and told me okay. Got the job, came in for training on the first day, the very first thing they do is sit me down in a chair and started up a training video on delivery driving. I asked them if I could skip it since I'm only working the register/in the kitchen, and the manager tells me that every position is a delivery driver. Walked out right then and there and got paid for 1 hour of training."
Zoom Out
Schitts Creek Love GIF by CBCGiphy"It was a virtual interview and I ended it. The interviewer was a complete jerk, had an ego, and would make condescending remarks. Just told him that it sounds like he's not interested in working together so in the interest of both our time, we should just end the call."
- cginc1
Excuse me?
"Third and final interview (all same day) at a tech company. First two went well and I was told this last one just was a formality - they wanted me to join. Interview with the head of the office guy seemed to start well. We walked to the cafeteria, grabbed a couple coffees, and with some small talk we learned we knew some of the same people. We get back to his office and sit down. He looks at my file, "It says here you're looking for [certain salary]."
"I said yes, and explained it's really close to market for someone with my skills and experience. He looks at me and says, "I don't think you're worth it." I said "Excuse me?" He repeated it. I laughed, grabbed my bag, stood up, thanked him for his time and walked out. The company went out of business like a year later, so I feel I dodged a bullet there."
Do you know what time it is?
"I had a phone interview one time and we had scheduled it for noon. He called me at 7am. I was still asleep, so when I answered the phone it took me a moment to figure out what the hell was going on. He said that in our line of work we should be ready for anything (lol)."
"It was a 4 month position with fish and game doing carcass surveys (looking for dead salmon). He kept asking a lot of hypothetical questions like "if you're walking a stream and a guy jumps out of the bushes and points a gun at you, what do you do??"
"Apparently the correct answer is call the cops and then get back to work. The questions got nuttier but they always involved a guy pointing a gun at me, and I said, "look, if people are going to be pointing guns at me I don't want the job." And I hung up."
Why am I Here?
"I should have; I stayed there out of morbid curiosity to see how low they would go, but I had made the decision I wasn't gonna work there early in the process. I'm glad I stayed. The last thing that happened in the interview was the CEO personally asking us all to promise that, if we ever make a mistake, the company will calculate how much that mistake cost us, and we will voluntarily pay the company that amount."
- Oudeis16
the melaleuca tree...
"I was approached at work (bagger for a major grocery store chain when I was 16) by a guy who asked me if I would be interested in making $1100 a week. He told me to meet him at one of the empty businesses in the same plaza after work. He went on this long spiel about the melaleuca tree from Australia and how his company made soaps and shampoo out of it. Then he told me for $500 he would train me how to sell the products. I just turned and walked out the door with him yelling behind me that I would never amount to anything with my attitude."
everyone is replaceable...
The Office Boss GIFGiphy"Told the hiring manager I would like to give more than just 2 weeks at my current job as a courtesy. He raised his voice and said "everyone is replaceable and they'll find that out." Yea that seems like a good mentality for your boss to have. Later tater."
I need a break...
"Showed up and the manager practically bragged about how the job offered no breaks for an 8-10 hour shift, and if there was a food break it would be 5 mins max at a hip-height table with no chairs. She said that you'd be fired if you sat down even for 30 seconds. I'm more than capable of doing that. I did that every day at my last job."
"But when you brag about how your employees are so over-worked that they don't get breaks or an option to rest their legs, it tells me all I need to know about how little you value your employees. I should also note that this job wasn't paying exceptionally well. Above minimum wage, but not at a level that was even enough to live on."
Just because you need work doesn't mean you're in a position of weakness. The staff and company you're interviewing for is also being interviewed. Don't be afraid to use that attitude. Don't stay if it feels like a mess.
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