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The worst job interview I ever had

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Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#501

Post by cwnyth »

SpicyLemonZest wrote: post #445
freehorse wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my understanding, interviewers expect sth like: > What is your greatest weakness? > I am too good at my work

This is a common misunderstanding, and I don't want to sound like I'm blaming you for it, but it's based on a misconception of how the process works. What interviewers are looking for is genuine introspection of the kind a high-quality hire would be expected to have. One answer I've given before, for example, is that I instinctively focus too deeply on technical requirements; I have to regularly prompt myself to answ…

This 100%. An actual honest answer got me my first post-academia job. I had originally tried the "I'm introspective, so I actively work on any problems I find." When I could tell the interviewer was not impressed with that answer, I just fessed up. "I'm impatient." Not only was the honesty refreshing, but the interviewer shared the same problem. It was a nice bonding moment.

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#502

Post by robocat »

trusted_bro wrote: post #28
talkingtab wrote: post #11

There is, and should be, a red flag for these situations. No make that RED flag. If you go into an interview that leaves you feeling the least bit helpless or at someone's mercy then run screaming. Not politely, not quietly. Just say to calmly to the person that you find the situation abusive. It is. As you go out, if you see anyone or have a chance to talk to anyone, just tell them you found that your interviewer to…

Similarly, if you find yourself working for a manager who uses power and fear as a lever, stand up to them or walk away.

Yeah boss. Wise up. Get confident. Learn to set good boundaries.

  Meekness is weakness.

  Don't be beta'd into submission.

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#503

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

I interviewed at a global leader in industrial cameras for an EE position. The interview slate had a slew of people from various disciplines but no EEs until the very end. Their last EE on staff was an over tasked H1-B who broke down in tears as I asked probing questions about what the job would entail and learned that the whole engineering team responsible for their legacy product line was axed in favor of reselling commodity cameras repackaged in expensive boxes. Everyone else knew nothing about what I was expected to do other than magically reverse engineer without any documentation.

Their lobby was filled with expensive midcentury furniture and their promotional materials had this weird cult like worship of their founders who were driving everybody into the ground. "Work hard play hard". I happily dodged that bullet.

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#504

Post by MattGrommes »

sdenton4 wrote: post #27

I fail to recall the exact wording of the discussion topics, but they were, in fact, non-technical — covering such lovely topics as the hardest day of my life, my biggest life challenges, and other similar “trauma-baiting” questions. Ha, I don't think anyone who asks these questions expects that you'll respond in a fully unfiltered way... These kinds of questions are part and parcel of non-tech interview processes. Y…

> Ha, I don't think anyone who asks these questions expects that you'll respond in a fully unfiltered way.

Cut to the interviewer telling his friends about the weirdest interview he ever conducted, with a guy who unloaded all his life issues on him instead of focusing on work. :)

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#505

Post by giancarlostoro »

rdtsc wrote: post #479
giancarlostoro wrote: post #405

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I lasted about 6 months and even trying to leave was an ordeal. Like finding your next gig or just not showing up ever again? Because I've worked at a place where someone came in, went to lunch, and they never saw them ever again.

In general as companies decided to treat people like fungible cogs while selling "we're are family" story, it should be expected people will start treating companies like the faceless and soulless entities they really are. When people are laid off and escorted out not even allowed to say goodbye to their coworkers, employees should be just be walking out and doing exactly the same thing to those companies.

In this particular company it was moreso the programming environment for a single product was nightmarish.

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#506

Post by ifh-hn »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #498

Years ago, I was interviewing a woman with a teammate of mine. He loved to ask the question: "why did you leave your last job". He asked it (as usual). She looked at him and said: "I was being sexually harassed by my manager. I reported it to HR, but they did nothing. I left to protect myself." Brutal. It was like an axe was thrown into this guys heart. Short story: He never asked that question again.

But did she get the job?

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#507

Post by tracker1 »

bilekas wrote: post #189
gobdovan wrote: post #173

I always wanted to tell the story of my weirdest interview. It's bad in a different way from OP's. This was for a "Machine Learning Engineer" contractor position. - Hi, I'm gobdovan. How are you? says I. The interviewer doesn't bite: - How many prompting techniques do you know? (ok?..) After a couple confused seconds, I respond with 2-3 techniques and ask if I should explain them, but the interview engine is already…

That is quite funny, I would have certainly left. > Turns out this absolute Chad is a mobile dev the client asked to interview candidates for the MLE role Those elite frontier mobile devs and their overwhelming power!

TBF, your current title/project isn't the same thing as what you're capable of... I have a lot of experience with both front end and backend systems.

I was brought into a new job as a UI expert, but still had some opinions on the backend approach... I overheard a conversation that included, "what does he care about the backend, he's just a UI guy." I don't think I've been quite that pissed off any other time in well over a decade at a workplace.

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#508

Post by eithed »

asmnzxklopqw wrote: post #428

Wth, are you people crazy? Never, under any circumstances, don’t share personal details during job interviews. Instead have a list prepared with the BS question list like: what is your greatest achievement, what is your biggest failure, how did you deal with some difficult relationship in the team, how did you unblock some item etc etc. Use chatgpt for preparation, what you say there has to be very vague and not poin…

Yeah, this - interview is a performance after all

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#509

Post by tracker1 »

abustamam wrote: post #450
gobdovan wrote: post #173

I always wanted to tell the story of my weirdest interview. It's bad in a different way from OP's. This was for a "Machine Learning Engineer" contractor position. - Hi, I'm gobdovan. How are you? says I. The interviewer doesn't bite: - How many prompting techniques do you know? (ok?..) After a couple confused seconds, I respond with 2-3 techniques and ask if I should explain them, but the interview engine is already…

I wonder if such companies realize (or care) how much good talent they're losing by keeping bad talent.

Hard for some to know when they have the ear of higher ups.

Re: The worst job interview I ever had

#510

Post by schnebbau »

lukeasrodgers wrote: post #394
schnebbau wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. This is definitely an OP-is-autistic problem, or is perhaps inexperienced. Not an interviewer problem. Keep it professional. If an interviewer asks a personal question then you simply refuse to answer (politely), or steer it back towards a professional context. If they persist then you end the interview.

"definitely an OP-is-autistic problem" is an absurd claim to make about an internet stranger, and violates comment guidelines https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html .

Well, as someone with autism myself it's relatively easy to spot others, and given the information provided in the post I'd say chances are high. Not sure what rule you're referring to, it looks fine to me - autism is a super power, not a slur.
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