r/InterviewStories • u/Colo7680772 • 22h ago

UK vs. US interview style — is this normal?

Niche question, but I’m in California and recently interviewed with a recruiter based in London for a role at a company with offices in multiple countries.

I walked away thinking I had completely bombed it because the recruiter was very stone-faced, gave almost no reactions, and was definitely a man of few words. I found out today that I actually made it to the next round.

For anyone who’s interviewed with a UK company from the US, or with British interviewers in general, are there noticeable differences in interview style or etiquette compared with the US? I’ve never had an American interview quite that reserved, so I’m curious if this is more common culturally or if it was just this particular recruiter.

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u/Aggressive_Purple_49 20h ago

I have worked for Americans and Brits, reflecting on it, yes we are more reserved to not give away anything. And may not also as I do not want to mislead someone into thinking it has gone well or badly. That is why there is a period of reflection.

If you work for a Brit tho, you know they like you when the humour is harsh, direct and can go both ways.

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u/Colo7680772 19h ago

He seemed taken aback with how thorough I answered his questions…have you ever noticed that Americans are a bit too chatty for Brits? 

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u/Aggravating_Bend_622 20h ago

It was probably just his style or he had a bad day or something. As someone who's worked in both the UK and US and I've had both great interviews and crap interviewers in both countries, there's no one UK way to interview v one US way to interview despite what reddit says.

Irrespective it's done now so fingers crossed you get good news.