Weirdest Interviews

factotum · #1 10-18-2006, 11:07 AM

I've been on some pretty weird interviews and was just wondering how many of you guys have had weird interviews, too. It's good to know what kinds of peculiar interview formats are out there.

Here are 2 examples:

1) Group interviews: I have been in a group of 6-8 people and there was only 1 person asking us all the questions. I hate those.

2) A group interview at H&M: I think I was supposed to be sworn to secrecy, but I didn't get the job so I tell you anyway. We had to build things out of Legos and cardboard boxes as a group. Pretty bizarre.

I'd love to hear what else people have been through on their job-hunting quests.

LaFille · #2 10-18-2006, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by factotum

2) A group interview at H&M: I think I was supposed to be sworn to secrecy, but I didn't get the job so I tell you anyway. We had to build things out of Legos and cardboard boxes as a group. Pretty bizarre.

seriously? to see how you interact with each other or who takes the lead or something? weird...

i don't think i've ever been on a weird interview at all.

veniqe · #3 10-18-2006, 11:51 AM

Hilarious!! I wish I could've gone to the second interview.. It's been a while since last I played with Legos!

factotum · #4 10-18-2006, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaFille

seriously? to see how you interact with each other or who takes the lead or something? weird...

i don't think i've ever been on a weird interview at all.

Yeah, it was pretty puzzling. I didn't know what they wanted us to do. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the fake advertising agency!

In the paper they described themselves as an ad agency. They had people lined up all around the office for the quickie 5 minute 1st round interview. Then they invited me back for a 2nd interview so that I could "shadow" an employee for a day. So I ended up riding in a car with another person who was being interviewed and 2 current employees. We drove about 20 miles to another suburb, where I got to see them in action. Advertising? Hardly. Turned out the job was door-to-door sales and I had to follow this guy around all day watching people slam doors in his face.

It was a very unsettling experience and I'm just glad I didn't end up as a Special Victim or a Cold Case or something... Now I try to look up companies I've never heard of on the Better Business Bureau's site or on the Rip-Off report.

CTGirl · #5 10-18-2006, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by factotum

In the paper they described themselves as an ad agency. They had people lined up all around the office for the quickie 5 minute 1st round interview. Then they invited me back for a 2nd interview so that I could "shadow" an employee for a day. So I ended up riding in a car with another person who was being interviewed and 2 current employees. We drove about 20 miles to another suburb, where I got to see them in action. Advertising? Hardly. Turned out the job was door-to-door sales and I had to follow this guy around all day watching people slam doors in his face.

A friend of mine had the exact same experience, I wonder if it was the same company, or if there is more than one that does this......

As for your lego experience, I'd say it was prolly to see how you worked with a team.

Skyblade · #6 10-18-2006, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by factotum

Yeah, it was pretty puzzling. I didn't know what they wanted us to do. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the fake advertising agency!

In the paper they described themselves as an ad agency. They had people lined up all around the office for the quickie 5 minute 1st round interview. Then they invited me back for a 2nd interview so that I could "shadow" an employee for a day. So I ended up riding in a car with another person who was being interviewed and 2 current employees. We drove about 20 miles to another suburb, where I got to see them in action. Advertising? Hardly. Turned out the job was door-to-door sales and I had to follow this guy around all day watching people slam doors in his face.

It was a very unsettling experience and I'm just glad I didn't end up as a Special Victim or a Cold Case or something... Now I try to look up companies I've never heard of on the Better Business Bureau's site or on the Rip-Off report.

These types of jobs are very common!

LaFille · #7 10-18-2006, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by factotum

Yeah, it was pretty puzzling. I didn't know what they wanted us to do. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the fake advertising agency!

In the paper they described themselves as an ad agency. They had people lined up all around the office for the quickie 5 minute 1st round interview. Then they invited me back for a 2nd interview so that I could "shadow" an employee for a day. So I ended up riding in a car with another person who was being interviewed and 2 current employees. We drove about 20 miles to another suburb, where I got to see them in action. Advertising? Hardly. Turned out the job was door-to-door sales and I had to follow this guy around all day watching people slam doors in his face.

It was a very unsettling experience and I'm just glad I didn't end up as a Special Victim or a Cold Case or something... Now I try to look up companies I've never heard of on the Better Business Bureau's site or on the Rip-Off report.

i always see listings for jobs that i imagine to be like this. the headlines are like "ADVERTISING!! NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED!!" probably because they know people see advertising as an exciting and glamorous career... far more than door-to-door sales, anyway...

PenforPrez · #8 10-18-2006, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by factotum

Yeah, it was pretty puzzling. I didn't know what they wanted us to do. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the fake advertising agency!

In the paper they described themselves as an ad agency. They had people lined up all around the office for the quickie 5 minute 1st round interview. Then they invited me back for a 2nd interview so that I could "shadow" an employee for a day. So I ended up riding in a car with another person who was being interviewed and 2 current employees. We drove about 20 miles to another suburb, where I got to see them in action. Advertising? Hardly. Turned out the job was door-to-door sales and I had to follow this guy around all day watching people slam doors in his face.

I did that interview once myself. The first interview was with this 6-foot-4 Irishman who talked so fast that I wasn't sure if he was trying to sell me on the job or if he was trying to sell me swampland in Florida.

Paul

MollyMe · #9 10-18-2006, 01:40 PM

I think the lego thing is a good idea because your natural behaviours are going to come out.
With regular interviews, you know what they want to hear. Even with interviews were they ask you how you would act in scenarios, you know what is a good answer. Interviews are so fake.

weary · #10 10-18-2006, 01:43 PM

i think the lego thing woulda weirded me out at first, but then coulda been kind of fun!

(i kept my kid's legos when he decided he'd 'outgrown' them. still have them.

)

WorkInProgress · #11 10-18-2006, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weary

i think the lego thing woulda weirded me out at first, but then coulda been kind of fun!

(i kept my kid's legos when he decided he'd 'outgrown' them. still have them.

)

My mom's still got ours. I think she's saving them for whenever one of us has kids. Or something.

#12 10-18-2006, 02:09 PM

If I find out there's a group interview (meaning there's a bunch of candidates and one interviewer), I just leave.

When I first graduated from college I went to an interview for a scam company and they actually asked me to come back the next day for a "test" and to wear comfortable shoes because I was going to be doing a lot of walking. Turns out it was some kind of door-to-door sales thing and they were trying to get a free days work out of me. Lame.

jrwilheim · #13 10-18-2006, 02:30 PM

I had one once with a recruiter who asked me how I'd feel about being followed to the bathroom for security purposes (this was for some paralegal job working on stuff in a high-profile case).

Last week I had an interview (if you can call it that) that ended in the interviewer offering to circulate my resume around to other people he knew in the field I was really trying to get into (not his), because I was so overqualified for the position he was interviewing me for.

cache · #14 10-18-2006, 02:42 PM

When I first started interviewing people, I had this book of interview questions - yeah, a book with hundreds of questions for all sorts of interviews and fields. Anyways, I always took a couple of the psych ones and asked them to people. I can't remember any of them, but they were difficult, and most people couldn't answer them. The funny thing is, I was asking executive level interview questions to people applying for clerical type positions. Or I would ask about a complex business dilemma to someone applying to be a telecom technician.

I know how foolish and unfair it was, but back then, I was green and didn't know any better. I thought everyone should know everything, and if they didn't, they weren't the right person for the job.

factotum · #15 10-18-2006, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cache

When I first started interviewing people, I had this book of interview questions - yeah, a book with hundreds of questions for all sorts of interviews and fields.

Ooh! Do you think they sell that at Amazon or Borders? I want to better prepare myself for the strange questions I might be asked...