Most ridiculous job interviews (red flag?)🚩

[Inforapenny]

After being told by the interviewer hr would contact me and then to contact the interviewer with the salary I waited then sent a follow up email just incase she was waiting for me to give her the salary expectations WHICH SHE ASKED ME TO DO
My email was ignored.
Radio silence.
Just got a generic rejection email

I really don't mind not getting to the second round what I do mind is being told expect something, waiting patiently and then not knowing what i should do. I feel rather messed around.
Thank god It stopped at round one.

I think I've learnt my lesson that companies who have shitty recruitment policies are shitty.full stop.

 

[Rxt156]

The only reason we do our jobs is for MONEEEYYY it shouldnt be such a taboo subject but it is

 

[Kmacg]

I interveiwed for and was hired immedietly for a bus company as a driver. Sent off for my PCV/provisional and went back for a 'driving assessment' 3 weeks later. Now, I had only been driving a year (and had actually learnt to drive to become a bus driver at the ripe age of 32) and I know im not the best driver in the world, but the way I was treated while being 'assesed' was horrific. Never driven a bus before (obvs) and the instructor was utterly vile to me for the 90 minutes i was on the road in a 40ft vehicle, having gone from a Peugot to what might as well have been a space ship. I left in tears as they begged me for a 2nd assesement with another instructor, as they were desperate for drivers. When i got home i opened up facebook and that company had put a post out saying they were having to cut services due to high levels of drivers leaving. The replies were 300+ saying they werent surprised as they treat staff like shit, pay was shit, hours were shit. If i had gone with them I wouldve been on less pay, more hours and zero control of my rota. Dodged a bullet big time!

In 3 weeks I start at a council, working from home, more money, fully flexible with my kids and I am so goddamn thankful that instructor was awful to me and saved me making the wrong decision!

 

[Inforapenny]

I'm raging, its been a few days I've heard nothing and they took my ideas I feel pissed off.

 

[emm]

Over the summer a guy on LinkedIn posted about his dismay of having to go through around 5 rounds of interviews, over months to only be snapped up by another company in the meantime.
It seems that companies are starting to really make hiring ridiculous. People are calling it breadcrumbing and then ghosting candidates.

Anyhow fast forward and I'm applying for jobs. I got an email from head of said company asking for an interview in the new year. Great. However I now believe this 'interview' to be an interview for the interview
They sent through their interview process and I'm now really unsure about the company and if their recruitment process is a piss take??? Is it a massive read flag???
Have they just got a shit policies, is this a bad sign?

I've been told after the first interview I need to expect up to 6 interviews plus interviews in between at their discretion.
If I get through all of this I have to have a written test that is between 4 to 10 hours long.
(I went to uni/I studied at Cambridge uni,that's on my CV so I'd like to think this makes the above slightly redundant).

On top of this they have not disclosed the salary and their policy is that they will decide on a salary depending on experience and this is no negotiable. I found the wording quite spikey and aggressive.

Has anyone else had this experience? Some of my friends have had a few too many rounds of interviews but this seems ridiculous? Am I right to be thinking this is a red flag?

PS it's NFP charity.

Loving this thread, very interesting. I had an interview for a small charity, it was a part time VERY badly paid job, the interview was 3 hours long, on a Sunday, and consisted of about 2 hours of interview questions, conducted by 2 people and then 2 different writing tasks. I got the job but when I started I realised all of us , beside the CEO , were new. It wasn't a new charity, all the previous staff had just quit. I then learned about how high the staff turnover was, it soon became very obvious why. I stayed there less than a year, the lesson learned was that a consistently high staff turnover is a huge red flag.
They also had some unpaid interms and the boss was weirdly obsessed with their references, she wanted 3 work related referrnces, couldn't be a teacher etc (bearing in mind these were 19/20 year olds who had barely worked before). One of the interns' reference was an MP, during an election campaign. She was constantly trying to chase them as the boss kept hassling her for it, in the end the intern quit after a few weeks without getting the reference. It was easily the least efficient place I have ever worked

 

[Rxt156]

I know you know what I hate, when they’re like ‘why do you want this job’ and I always wanna say errrrm cos I wanna get paid bitch

I’m really passionate about stacking shelves

 

[tomato123]

I was interviewed by a solicitor firm. They showed up 30 minutes late, and the first thing they said was “I haven’t read your CV, is it okay if I take 5 minutes to look at it?” So for the first five minutes I just had to sit there whilst the person was reading my CV.
they then also asked if I could read quickly and asked me if I could recite any poetry.

 

[NapQueenReturns]

Sod that.
If there’s more than one interview or no salary shown upfront then they can do one. You’re not a dog, no need to jump through hoops for people’s entertainment.

 

[Inforapenny]

I moved back to the UK from abroad as a recent graduate. I had a series of the weirdest job interviews ever it was so disheartening.

One company put me through a series of tasks, an interview, meeting the team, a full tour of the shared office space. Once I'd done all this and 'passed' I got to have an interview with the 'CEO'. He was the biggest gif of all time. The salary was 16k and it was a 40 hour week in the office, but he said you need to be switched on 24/7 and be constantly ready to take work calls, you should do work when you get home too etc. Once you'd worked there for so long and he saw fit, you'd be allowed an hour gym break, he said if you don't use it for the gym and the gym only you lose it. He berated me, and did the standard 'someone from X uni has applied here and they're better than you, why should I bother choosing you?' I shouted at him because that really hit a nerve for me. Then he randomly offered me the job on the spot. I accepted out of awkwardness but in my head I was absolutely fuming. They were all like why aren't you happy you got the job They all went off to do something so I just walked out of the building. The girl who showed me around was texting me like aw we couldn't find you where did you go? I didn't even open the message because there was no chance I was ever going back there and then the next day she text me like we've changed our minds you haven't got it, which was so childish and gave off such 'no I dumped you first' vibes it was hysterical.

I think most dodgy organisations call themselves out when you turn up there and see it for real

Good for you I love that you walked out. Absolutely brilliant.
I remember a few years back I had this awful interview, the head honcho was doing everything to make it known she was a total bitch. Looking back I wish I had got up and called her out on it and left the interview. That's a big regret of mine.
Years later I'm more long in the tooth I know my worth and know I'm a hard-working, well liked, knowledgeable colleague so it's not all about them picking me it goes both ways

 

[Rxt156]

I was royally fucked around in an interview years ago in many ways including not informed of the plan for the day, taken straight to a presentation with no time to spare and loads of people watching in silence whilst I logged in/found the ppt/set up, then abandoned in reception afterwards… I wasn’t sure if I should stay and wait or go home? So I left. No one contacted me for 5 hours. They then said sorry you didn’t get the job would you like some feedback? I said no thank you 🥲. Not interested in your opinion if you can’t even arrange an interview day and keep people informed. Goodbye!

 

[judgejohndeed]

Years ago after my law degree I thought I wanted to be a solicitor (lol) and had 2 interviews for what had been advertised as an admin job at a big city law firm. It turned out it was actually more of a facilities assistant role and I would be moving furniture etc about and setting up for meetings with some reception duties, so if I 'had potential' I might get to progress to do some admin. Lucky me! Anyway, I had nothing else lined up so thought if I got it I would do it for a while. I had 2 interviews, which tbh is pushing it for a job like that. They then had the gall to ring me and offer me a third interview because 'we really like you but it's now between you or another candidate'. To move chairs around! I said 'offer it to them then' and hung up.

Anyway, 6 interviews is mad and I wouldn't do it. For the profession I'm currently in there are always 2 for the training year, and some places have 3. I had a few of the 3, and it pissed me off even back then (a few years ago now). So 6 would be a huge nope for me.

 

[Moonflower]

Good luck.


It's a 5 min presentation. But what they're asking to include is a lot!!!! It could be a 40min presentation with the things they want covered.
Then after the interview they've said 'followed by questions for 10 mins'

And I've just had a look at the bonkers interview I've got ...ie the interview for the interview and a million rounds.
Just read the finer details. They state they will ask candidates their current salary but at no point discuss the salary they offer.
They have said they don't disclose salaries because they want a fairness BUT they want to know your current salary to base their offered salary on.

I would read that to be questions about the presentation. Either way 10 minutes will be over in a flash so don't sweat it.

The second one, I'd be out. I'm sorry but if they don't disclose salaries but expect you to disclose yours? That's not ok.

 

[Scotch Mist]

Good luck.


It's a 5 min presentation. But what they're asking to include is a lot!!!! It could be a 40min presentation with the things they want covered.
Then after the interview they've said 'followed by questions for 10 mins'

And I've just had a look at the bonkers interview I've got ...ie the interview for the interview and a million rounds.
Just read the finer details. They state they will ask candidates their current salary but at no point discuss the salary they offer.
They have said they don't disclose salaries because they want a fairness BUT they want to know your current salary to base their offered salary on.

That's so unfair because they are going to look more favourably on the candidate with the lower salary and if your current salary is higher they might dismiss you thinking you don't want to take a pay cut. A job should be advertised with a salary so that everyone who applies knows what they will get. Sometimes people are prepared to take paycuts if the job has other advantages for them (like less travel time or better hours).

I once had to prepare a presentation for a job interview. It took me ages to put it together and I thought I did well. I didn't get the job though. The agency feedback was that apparently my presentation was the best on the day but they preferred someone else because that candidate had worked in exactly the same sector before. What a waste of time.

 

[witchofwestbyfleet]

After an initial interview with an internal recruiter I was told I would not be put forward for the first stage interview. Why? She thought my shoes were too expensive and this indicated I wouldn't stay with the company. I was unemployed, on very little money, and the shoes were not exactly Chanel. I certainly told her what I thought of that idea.

I was told when I applied for a job that it was imperative I have my own transport - even though no part of the role involved driving (nor making deliveries or visiting clients or anything else you'd need a car for.) I had a bike but no car. It didn't seem to be in a particularly out of the way area, so I thought I would go there and see. If challenged, I could always say my bike was my transport. Sure enough, it was perfectly easy to reach by train then bike. It involved cycling through a busy industrial estate but if you were driving there'd be nowhere to park nearby. So basically, you could get there by public transport or walking or cycling, and it would actually be harder (+ expensive parking) to drive. Why, then, did they emphasise the need for "own transport?" I swear some people put it in because they assume all "responsible adults" should drive and / or think it's just a standard thing to require for a job, regardless of whether it's relevant

An interviewer asked my taste in music (This was a "trendy" PR company with mostly young staff) and then laughed at me when I told him! No, I didn't get the job

 

[TommyTBFC]

I’ve had afew.

“Your shift pattern will be Sunday - Thursday 07:00 - 15:00. All applicants MUST be flexible”

why do I need to be flexible if my shift pattern is above? Basically you’re expecting me to work longer? Red flag. Go away.

 

[Inforapenny]

I've been called for an interview early next year from another company and the interview will consist of a zoom call with a panel and I need to do a 10 min presentation on my strategy for the role.
Everything has been clearly laid out in the email. I've also been told to contact HR if I have any queries.
The salary is of course given and it seems super friendly and normal. I rang up to confirm I could attend the interview and HR were lovely.
Even if I don't get the job the vibe couldn't be more different and I feel respected and treated like a Human being.
This interview is 2 days before the dodgy other companys interview for an interview so that'll be a bit of confidence I need.

 

[emm]

Can we talk about stupid application questions too? I had one recently asking "if you were a biscuit which biscuit would you be", I mean, how is that relevant to any professional job?

I answered digestive - considered a bit boring maybe, but what you see is what you get. I didn't hear anything from them, so I guess they were looking for more of a hobnob or party ring .

The same application also asked "if you could have any super power what would it be", again pointless and irrelevant.

This sounds like a question from blind date I have been asked what animal I would be, i think they were taken aback by how quickly i answered

 

[Rxt156]

Also noted on both job applications, neither specified the salary but each asked my expectation.
Fuckers.

Don’t agree with this approach at all. Sneaky! It’s like they’re playing a game of “how little can we get away with paying someone”

 

[Scotch Mist]

The way the company has set it up is....we don't disclose a salary, we don't want to know your salary but we will ask your salary expectations....sneaky.
I might as well go in with 100k.
Say it's for a job that's 25k then I'll be laughed at.

For this job interview in 2 days time...It's become apparent that the presentation I've got to do is a bit odd. They've asked for 4 things to be included in the presentation but the four things are like a riddle.....words put together.
It's not clear or concise which means I don't think they know what they're looking for.
I didn't think I was stupid but I'm doubting myself now.
I've shown my friend who is in recruitment and she thinks it looks odd. Like they haven't got a clue.

Ugh salary expectations. That's really sneaky because they'll be hoping that you undersell yourself. Don't quote lower than any comparable jobs because a man wouldn't do that!

 

[SpindleWhorl]

Any sort of group interview. I'm not looking now but when I was applying for jobs if I got an email from a company offering a group interview I blocked them. Why should I spend my time travelling and attending an interview if you're not going to give me your full attention?