Bad interview

[WallClock]

If you went to an interview, and it was obvious that you and the interviewer had no rapport at all, or the job was not as described, would you still stay for the whole meeting, or break it off? This question is based on a personal experience. One interviewer from the beginning obviously did not like me, but I stayed.

[winneythepooh7]

I would stay, but wrap things up pretty quickly. I didn't go on a bad interview per se one day last week, but they were very honest from the beginning that they could not even come close to matching the salary I was making now. I did stay though because they were very nice, I wanted to learn about their program, and just didn't want to burn any bridges because you never know. They actually called and offered me to be a part of their per diem list for extra money. I turned them down for the moment, but appreciated the gesture.

[winneythepooh7]

Oh, also meant to add, that the person who initially interviewed me there was like maybe 22-years-old fresh out of undergrad and seemed intimidated by ME because she was not able to answer most of my questions I was throwing at her about the program. That didn't go so well in the beginning ;). I am a lot older and more experienced then she was.

[wordsmith]

I only had one mediocre interview, and seeing as I'd taken a day off for it and driven about three hours for it, bailing on it early didn't really make much difference, it wasn't like I had anything else to do. So it made sense to just stick it out.

[AshleyJordan]

I've been on some very strange, and very bad, interviews. I have broken them off, but only when the job I was interviewing for was TOTALLY different from the job posting I applied to. . . I think I've only done this once or twice.

[spiritedaway]

I think I've only had one really bad interview back in college for a competitive rotational program. I only realized, after the fact, that the interviewer was trying to get me to respond in a certain way (i.e. standard answers) and when I didn't, he tried to guide me towards the answers he wants.

That was a total waste of my time, and I was confused and naive at that time and didn't break off the interview (besides, I needed a job at that time). If I encounter that type of interview now, I wouldn't hesitate to walk out if there is clearly no interest/rapport on either side.

[Rage]

Oh, also meant to add, that the person who initially interviewed me there was like maybe 22-years-old fresh out of undergrad and seemed intimidated by ME because she was not able to answer most of my questions I was throwing at her about the program. That didn't go so well in the beginning ;). I am a lot older and more experienced then she was.

A similar thing happened to me. The woman was asking me "tell me about a time when..." type questions, and the things I was describing made her wide-eyed. I gawked internally when she told me the salary, the hours, and I saw the working conditions, but I was still very polite and completed the interview in about 30 min. I figure, you just never know what could happen (maybe they have another position coming up and think of you even though you're not right for the one you're there for) and at the very least, it's good experience to interview when you don't care about the stakes. It's also good for your ego if you get the offer. I ended up getting the job offer later that week and turned it down. I think there was a disconnect with the job description and the actual position. I am actually surprised I got through the screening process. Point is - I would always complete the interview process if it's offered. You also never know if the interviewer just has a personality deficiency that doesn't reflect his/her feelings about you as a candidate.

[E11e]

My first real interview out of college went HORRIBLY. At time time I was naive and didn't have enough experience to really know what was happening. It was an interview for a job that required technical presentations and they asked me as part of the interview to prepare a presentation for them (one I had given for real before). I planned on giving a presentation I had given for my undergrad research, which had been well received every other time I had given it.

Half way through my INTRO slide, this older guy interrupts me and flat out asks me if I know anything about the project I am presenting (which I spent a year doing). I was so startled, didn't really know how to respond, and it just went downhill from there. For the rest of the intro slide he asked me every obscure question he could think of about the general field my research was in. Each time I would answer and try to explain how it wasn't related to the project I did, he would just cut me off and insult me. As I stumbled through the rest of my presentation, he asked me if the school I went to was any good, if I actually passed any of the classes I said I had, and the best was he asked if I had in fact gotten a degree in the field I said I had!!! This was all in front of about 8 other people, who just stared at me. I just mumbled through the questions with a deer-in-the-headlights look. I was so CONFUSED.

I now realize that that guy was just a total jerk and completely unprofessional. It was a horrible way to start off interviewing. I'm still kind of bitter about it too. I now am very aware of the fact that I do not have to stay in any situation that I am not comfortable with. If I could go back, I would probably politely try to answer a few of his questions, and then when he kept being an asshole would have calmly closed my laptop, turned off the projector, and said that I don't think this is going to work out, thank you for your time.

[Rage]

Wow! When I was reading that I thought you were going to say that he was just testing your ability to think on your feet. What a jerk ...