[JERBS] What is your weirdest interview experience?

Had a job interview with IBM in Austin. They flew me out there, had a car rental lined up, I showed up for the interviews and the hiring manager neglected to set up any other interviews. I wasted an hour talking with the guy, who then took me to the IBM cafeteria for a lunch, then I went back to the airport to kill three hours before flying back home.

The hiring manager later admitted that his bosses in Armonk didn't want another person on the team based in Austin and he was too embarrassed to let me know before the interview. They ended up giving the job to an internal candidate based in the Research Triangle. I was never going to fit in at IBM anyway.

I've interviewed at Dell for three different jobs over the years. The first two I was down to the final candidates and drove out for a day of interviews. I never heard back. I would call the HR contact, ask if I was still being considered. They would tell me they had to check with the hiring manager... and never call me back.

The third interview at Dell was in Plano (at a former Perot Systems location). Didn't get that job but they did at least call me to let me know. They flew me up for a day of interviews and in the hallway the hiring manager and me bumped into Ross Perot. He knew the hiring manager and shook my hand even. Even though I didn't get the job it was one of my favorite interviews.

btw, I have met three different presidential candidates through work...

 

I interviewed with 6 people before not getting a job. Had to 'pass' to get to next step.

HR person -> senior IT Lead -> IT manager -> SQL technical interview -> IT director -> CIO

 

JFC, what a red flag. Do you have to file forms in triplicate to take a ****?

 

"How do you feel about TPS reports?"

This was a great thread to re-read, thanks bumper.

 

Road head to finish the deal?

 

Haven't gone through any absurd interviews like this, but my brother was interviewing with Cintas a while back for a sales position and it was legit 6 interviews plus a 6-hour walkthrough. I had never heard of a damn company taking you through essentially a training (non-paid) pre-hire. Who the hell has time for 6 freaking interviews? Who does that many damn interviews?

Eta: Just remembered this part, he ended up finding out that he didn't get offered the job because in the 5th or 6th interview he was wearing a collard shirt and slacks. He was currently working with another company and the only time they offered the interview was at a specific time when he was on the road, working. He was up front with Cintas that he currently had another job, and he tried to reschedule the interview so he could do it when he wasn't at work, but they basically told him that was the time, take it or leave it. The person he was interviewing at that time was the regional manager, was a bit old school, and it was suit and tie or bust.

That's some super over the top, micro-managing af hiring practices. So if you're a sales manager at Cintas you can't just hire the guys you think would be a great addition, you have to hope your bosses also approve, and the candidates fill the need of all of their little quirks. That's insane imo.

 

As a young lawyer I interviewed for a job with a solo much older lawyer. Interview was over dinner and then drinks. He mentioned that sometimes he got real real stressed and might yell at me. I said I understand. About an hour later he repeated that and I then said that would be ok as long as he wouldn't mind if I yelled back. The interview continued but I knew it was all over. No job of course.

 

I had a job interview with KBR straight out of college where after very brief introductions the hiring manager went "Ok, ask me questions." I asked a few basic questions, after which he went "Alright, that's it? Here, talk to one of my employees." I don't think I saw him again after his employee came in and saw no reason to even follow up on that one.

I've also been on the other side of that which I feel bad about. I'd seen the resume for a guy coming in for an interview for a technical position and I wasn't sure why they were even bringing him in as he had a project management background. I was supposed to sit in and throw in a few questions, so maybe 10 minutes before my boss comes by and goes "Hey, I can't make it, if I don't finish the paperwork on the bonuses in the next hour they're not coming through." She ended up sending me into the interview with the only person in the group who was more terse than I am. I was over the interview in the first five minutes and my buddy tried but didn't have much more than I did.

 

One of the easiest jobs I got was with Morgan Stanley. I was in there for 3 hours, and they didn't let me leave until I got my offer. I talked to every higher up there and I was 29. I countered a few weeks later and they accepted.

We never know how life goes, but I was told I should take the Analyst Role due to my IQ scoring. I denied and now, 20+ years later, I'm a salesman...

 

Story # 1 - I had a car service drop me off at the airport and I let out silent but deadly gas. The driver put down the windows doing 80 on the freeway to air out the car. I didn’t get the job.

Story # 2 - My first job was at a grocery store and I interviewed with the Assistant Manager over coffee. She had an exposed tramp stamp. I had a boner. I got the job. She would be in her 60s now.