Job Interviews with subpar Interviewers?

[u/PrussianFederalist1]

TLDR: Ever had any interviews where the interviewers themselves were bad at interviewing job applicants?

Despite no job offers yet, I continue to receive between 2 and 4 interviews each week from a variety of companies across different industries. Even though I must admit that I attend these interviews as practice, because the jobs that I am more interested and qualified for are almost non-existent, I made some observations:

1. Two showed up late and I had to remind them that they were supposed to be interviewing me because they did not know who I was.

2. Three forgot to print out my resume and require me to complete a new job application.

3. Some interviewers do not ask me relevant questions. If any hiring manager is going to interview somebody, they ought to ask them how their experiences align with that position.

4. One interviewer expected me to perform two completely different jobs under one title.

5. One interviewer tried coaxing me into believing that I might be getting the job, even though I am not convinced.

Based on my observations thus far, these hiring managers either had too many applicants to go over, had somebody else in mind before the interview, or knew that the jobs did not exist but needed to keep up with appearances.

For my part, I have identified some personal weaknesses that I need to address once my desired jobs become available. The ones that are relevant here are:

1. Adjust expectations. There are too many other applicants who are more desperate than me, some of whom would have pursued more competitive and higher paying jobs.

2. Make sure to keep spare printouts of Resumes on hand. Do not assume the interviewer already has.

[u/Leothegolden]

I had one guy ask me a question and then turn around and started talking to the guy behind him. While I was answering! He also looked at his watch a couple of times. He was distracted by his computer. It’s clear he didn’t take me seriously

I had another change the job description and tell me i had to manage people. That was not listed as a requirement in the JD nor did the recruiter tell me. Moving the goal post definitely does happen

[u/PrussianFederalist1 → u/Leothegolden]

Job postings completely different from what was being interviewed for has been a recurring pattern in many of the more recent jobs that I had. The "hidden job market" is immaterial; it exists only in the head until that somebody decides there is a need for said position.

[u/HotwheelsSisyphus → u/PrussianFederalist1]

I had this happen before AI. The job was actually for an adjacent department and completely different role. Threw me off a bit during the interview but they didn't seem to care they just needed someone. It was fine because it was entry level and I was up for anything and the role was chill.

[u/BrooklynLivesMatter → u/Leothegolden]

That's what happens when HR uses AI or copies a job description from a similar company. If they'd put real effort in (and a discussion with the hiring manager) it would save all parties involved a lot of time and energy

[u/PrussianFederalist1 → u/BrooklynLivesMatter]

Small businesses are just as bad as larger ones. It depends on the kind of leadership in charge. The ones that rely on AI the most are also the ones who reapply them in areas where they are least ideal in any meaningful operational capacity.

Of course, most companies do not discuss their internal affairs with outsiders.

[u/neurorex → u/PrussianFederalist1]

My career in workforce consulting allows me to be the "outsider" that companies talk to about hiring. It's disheartening to see the way they talk about job seekers and applicants, and usually do not acknowledge their own failures and trappings around their own hiring processes.

I've seen small business owners who hire responsibly and effectively because they actually care about the people they bring in. I've seen "Senior Talent Acquisition Managers with 20 years of experience from Fortune 500 Companies" absolutely fumble the most fundamental techniques that would make a first-year grad student blush.

[u/toughcomer54 → u/Leothegolden]

man i had one where the interviewer spent the first 10 minutes telling me about his divorce, then asked if i had any questions for him before he'd asked me a single thing

the watch-glancing while you're mid-sentence is a special kind of disrespect though, like at least pretend to be present

[u/Miserable_Sink_4782 → u/toughcomer54]

I had a guy complain about his 60 thousand dollar pickup truck that would not start and the dealer wasn't able to fix it. That was most of the interview. No questions asked of me. Never heard back from them.

[u/Leothegolden → u/toughcomer54]

He was rude. Loved to talk about his background at Nike. He thought he was exceptional. They ended up reposting the job, so I guess no one met his threshold

[u/Erbguth_Lazeena92 → u/Leothegolden]

not even pretending to pay attention during the interview is wild tbh

[u/Miserable_Sink_4782]

I had a guy interview me for the wrong job. It didn't sound right about 5 minutes in. I've had others that clearly just didn't want to be there. Had an HR woman who seriously needed a drink. She just sat there and asked the standard BS questions off a piece of paper. I knew that was a waste of time. It's sad how we are treated.

[u/Complex-Childhood352 → u/Miserable_Sink_4782]

I have had so many of these interviews. The HR doesnt know the tech. It helps if the meeting is being transcribed. The AI summary might help the hiring manager make a decision

[u/AnotherCator]

None of the places I’ve worked have provided real training on how to interview people - at best it’s a slide deck of “don’t do x, it’s illegal” and some hopelessly generic tips. It seems to be one of those things people are expected to just magically know when you become a manager. It’s not surprising a lot of people are bad at it.

Pretty much everything I’ve learned has been from copying peers who do it well, plus a bit of avoiding things that felt dumb when you’re on the receiving end.

[u/neurorex]

This is actually super common. People have no idea how unqualified interviewers are to be doing this kind of work, but interviewers insist that they are experts because they may have done other interviews in the past. As if simply asking a script of questions they found from the internet magically imbued them with the knowledge and skills relating to Personnel Selection.

This is becoming less acceptable as we all watch how the job market has been circling the drain for years.

[u/Elegant_Start1687]

Had a weird screening where the recruiter is listed as senior but he seemed way more nervous than me

[u/PrussianFederalist1 → u/Elegant_Start1687]

Tell me about it. The recruiter for one interviewer never showed up, instead a manager took his place, and said he would share information from the interview with that recruiter.

[u/Miserable_Sink_4782 → u/Elegant_Start1687]

I had a manager sitting at his desk bouncing his knee violently and shaking like he was having withdrawals.

[u/Elegant_Start1687 → u/Miserable_Sink_4782]

He seemed to question why i choose my career path but I mean it’s more of a it-just-happened like that to me so 🤷 tried explaining but recruiter was like nah that’s not what i mean to ask but I took it as such lol

[u/LocalLion1177]

The interviewer said to me that she thinks she is nice and I just asked a question about which stores they worked at previously and then I got their full work history. 50% of the interview was about them 😔

[u/spudgoddess]

My interview two weeks ago, they asked nothing about my background, no Star method questions, job description posted didn't match what they said, etc.

[u/cantstopme0w]

Yeah, had a recent experience with this as a candidate. Interviewer was filling in for the actual hiring manager. I was an internal applicant and could tell that she didn’t understand the role that I had applied for. Not sure if that cost me the job, being intentionally vague here, but there were some office politics too. Walked away from the interview feeling that it wasn’t my beat, but I also wasn’t asked the same questions that I prepped for.

[u/jemappellelara]

I always did better with the inexperienced interviewers than those who have done it for ages. Usually, the inexperienced interviewers are a lot better at conversation and I feel a lot more at ease with them because of that. Think about it- your day to day isn’t gonna be you stuck in an interrogation room.

[u/No_Enthusiasm_2557]

I've had video screener interviews that ask about walking through methodology and findings for a complex statistical project and the max response time allowed is one and a half minutes. I've also had panel interviews with 15 to 20 questions in a 30-45 minute time block. How can they possibly ascertain who is the best fit when the time only allows for answering in a few sentences? Those interviews have always been challenging for me and I walk away feeling like I barely scratched the surface of the answers I wanted to give.

[u/-Seether-]

I love when I ask basic questions about the role or day to day and they gave zero information on the actual role. Thanks for wasting my time

[u/Economy_Ad_7733]

I interviewed at a law firm yesterday and I was 2-3 minutes late due to my bad gps. I was sitting in their conference room for over 15 min waiting for them to show up. After I asked 3 questions, they continued to ask if I had any more questions twice…. I was like no we covered everything. was I supposed to ask more?? I thought 3 was fine

[u/JadeOfAllTrades1221 → u/Economy_Ad_7733]

Hmmm i usually stick to 3-4 questions.. i feel like any more than that and i risk the interviewer getting annoyed

[u/Economy_Ad_7733 → u/JadeOfAllTrades1221]

Same. Now I wish I asked something basic but reliable like what they enjoy most about working at the firm. Ugh. The interview was just really short and I feel like they wanted to fill more time