Scott_J
New Member
I had the weirdest interview ever the other week, I traveled to London to arrive at a grey office with grey faces where the interviewer thought I was early (I was on time) and the second person taking the interview shook my hand with her wet hand.
Ironically, the day before I stumbled across a "How to avoid dickhead bosses and their games" type of blog regarding the little things companies do at the interview stage to see what the reaction would be of the candidate.
No.1 on the list was "shake with wet hands to gauge the client's reaction". I couldn't believe it when this happened! I just wiped my hand as she apologised and I said, "that's OK" and brushed it off as we all walked into the office.
Marvellous, I thought. We are now going to get the David Brent interview technique for the next ten minutes…
I was then asked, "Do you know how to change the colour of an object?" As the job was for a retoucher's role, I thought it was like asking a surgeon if he/she knew what a scalpel was?!!!
Actually, it seemed like the job was for a little bit of everything rolled into one kind of jobbie that are so commonly advertised these days by people whom don't seem to know what an Artworker does.
More banal questions like, "What is your passion?" followed and my blistered heels from the new shoes I was wearing were trying to make me grimace, and succeeded. I'm sure they thought I was frowning at their dumb questions, but actually it was the pain of my sore feet AND their dumb questions!
A few days later I received the typical form letter of, "We had loads of applicants and they were better than you blah, blah etc". I was so p!ssed off I sent a bitch-slap of a letter and finished it with, "Anyhow, I too wish you all the best in finding someone, as you need it more than me."
Totally immature I know, but I'm fed up with people wasting my time and money.
Surprisingly, I received the following email:
Dear Scott,
Thanks for your email.
We had no doubt about your skills and we thought that your multimedia background would have been a great asset to xxxx.com. We rejected your application purely on your attitude, a decision which has been further verified by your email.
Kind regards
Geoff the Suit. note:name changed to protect the prat :icon_wink:
Anyhow, today I got a call from the wet-hand-woman offering me a contract to "fill holiday cover and to see how someone performs and operates during a one or two week period."
I asked her "Why would you employ someone who has an "attitude" as I wouldn't employ me if I had an attitude problem?" She became flustered and realised she couldn't answer my question and I finished by stating: "It seems you want smoke blown up your arse?" and hung up. I was training on my bike at the time I took the call, so my heart rate was 170bpm, by the time I had finished listening to her feeble excuses it was 185!
Now it seems to me by now that Suit 1 doesn't talk to Suit 2 at the xxxx.com office, so I sent an email to Geoff the Suit:
Interesting, could you please explain, as it seems I'm no good to be employed by xxxx.com? Apparently, I have an attitude, but it seems I'm useful enough to "fill in" whilst a member of staff is away!
Later that day I received a phonecall from the Suit asking me if I would fill in for two weeks because they need a retoucher, pronto. I asked him, "How do you think I feel being told I have an attitude?" He then replied, "That I had no passion in the interview and I was not prepared." I told him that "I'm 43, I'm not 18 and straight out of college. I get up for work in the morning, do my job and go home."
Actually dear reader, I am full of passion for my job and take work seriously, but I was mightily intrigued what the next BS crippling excuse was going to be muttered from his lips...
Hopefully, Geoff the Suit got the message and replied, "You've obviously got too much attitude for anyone" and hung up the phone.
What I don't get is how desperate can a company be to employ me as they haven't been able to fill the role whilst their member of staff is in Benidorm? I wouldn't employ me if I had sent an email to the company slagging them off. The balls of it to turn me down for the job, but dangle the rotten carrot of two weeks work in an office I described in my email as, "I've never seen a room full of designers look like a morgue before. Quite an accomplishment!"
It seems as though this company has no shame in getting the job done. I actually believe I wouldn't have been paid if I had done any work for them. :icon_rolleyes:
I've worked it out that I've spent nearly £1500 travelling the country trying to get work only to be pipped at the post on each occasion. If companies are not interested in my work or there are better candidates, then I can live with that, but could they please stop the BS? It seems they time and money on their hands, but I don't.
I've worked at companies where they get prospect after prospect in to see if they can cut it, pay them a no/low fee to get their work done for sweet FA and then dismiss them on lame grounds. It sickens me, but it now seems the norm.
Has anyone else had an interview to top this?
Ironically, the day before I stumbled across a "How to avoid dickhead bosses and their games" type of blog regarding the little things companies do at the interview stage to see what the reaction would be of the candidate.
No.1 on the list was "shake with wet hands to gauge the client's reaction". I couldn't believe it when this happened! I just wiped my hand as she apologised and I said, "that's OK" and brushed it off as we all walked into the office.
Marvellous, I thought. We are now going to get the David Brent interview technique for the next ten minutes…
I was then asked, "Do you know how to change the colour of an object?" As the job was for a retoucher's role, I thought it was like asking a surgeon if he/she knew what a scalpel was?!!!
Actually, it seemed like the job was for a little bit of everything rolled into one kind of jobbie that are so commonly advertised these days by people whom don't seem to know what an Artworker does.
More banal questions like, "What is your passion?" followed and my blistered heels from the new shoes I was wearing were trying to make me grimace, and succeeded. I'm sure they thought I was frowning at their dumb questions, but actually it was the pain of my sore feet AND their dumb questions!
A few days later I received the typical form letter of, "We had loads of applicants and they were better than you blah, blah etc". I was so p!ssed off I sent a bitch-slap of a letter and finished it with, "Anyhow, I too wish you all the best in finding someone, as you need it more than me."
Totally immature I know, but I'm fed up with people wasting my time and money.
Surprisingly, I received the following email:
Dear Scott,
Thanks for your email.
We had no doubt about your skills and we thought that your multimedia background would have been a great asset to xxxx.com. We rejected your application purely on your attitude, a decision which has been further verified by your email.
Kind regards
Geoff the Suit. note:name changed to protect the prat :icon_wink:
Anyhow, today I got a call from the wet-hand-woman offering me a contract to "fill holiday cover and to see how someone performs and operates during a one or two week period."
I asked her "Why would you employ someone who has an "attitude" as I wouldn't employ me if I had an attitude problem?" She became flustered and realised she couldn't answer my question and I finished by stating: "It seems you want smoke blown up your arse?" and hung up. I was training on my bike at the time I took the call, so my heart rate was 170bpm, by the time I had finished listening to her feeble excuses it was 185!
Now it seems to me by now that Suit 1 doesn't talk to Suit 2 at the xxxx.com office, so I sent an email to Geoff the Suit:
Interesting, could you please explain, as it seems I'm no good to be employed by xxxx.com? Apparently, I have an attitude, but it seems I'm useful enough to "fill in" whilst a member of staff is away!
Later that day I received a phonecall from the Suit asking me if I would fill in for two weeks because they need a retoucher, pronto. I asked him, "How do you think I feel being told I have an attitude?" He then replied, "That I had no passion in the interview and I was not prepared." I told him that "I'm 43, I'm not 18 and straight out of college. I get up for work in the morning, do my job and go home."
Actually dear reader, I am full of passion for my job and take work seriously, but I was mightily intrigued what the next BS crippling excuse was going to be muttered from his lips...
Hopefully, Geoff the Suit got the message and replied, "You've obviously got too much attitude for anyone" and hung up the phone.
What I don't get is how desperate can a company be to employ me as they haven't been able to fill the role whilst their member of staff is in Benidorm? I wouldn't employ me if I had sent an email to the company slagging them off. The balls of it to turn me down for the job, but dangle the rotten carrot of two weeks work in an office I described in my email as, "I've never seen a room full of designers look like a morgue before. Quite an accomplishment!"
It seems as though this company has no shame in getting the job done. I actually believe I wouldn't have been paid if I had done any work for them. :icon_rolleyes:
I've worked it out that I've spent nearly £1500 travelling the country trying to get work only to be pipped at the post on each occasion. If companies are not interested in my work or there are better candidates, then I can live with that, but could they please stop the BS? It seems they time and money on their hands, but I don't.
I've worked at companies where they get prospect after prospect in to see if they can cut it, pay them a no/low fee to get their work done for sweet FA and then dismiss them on lame grounds. It sickens me, but it now seems the norm.
Has anyone else had an interview to top this?
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