MyVoile - Employment Facilitators

So you think you had a bad interview?  The following posts are designed to add a little levity to the grueling job of finding a job. While we try to focus our blog postings and articles on issues that help jobseekers to be more competitive in their job search or current endeavors, we could not help but to take a break and give everyone the chance to see that your terrible interview was not, in the scheme of things, as bad as you think.

To kick us off, here are a few examples sent in from clients or shared during interview sessions and mock interview training sessions we provide:

Interview Fiasco Number One:
“I had a chance to interview for the job of a life time. I prepared incessantly for the opportunity to take over a region of solution and sales offices with a large, nationally known brand of financial solution providers. The interview started off like any other interview.
I had taken a decongestant to make sure my sinuses did not become an issue during the interview. Unfortunately, the decongestant did not completely do the trick. In the first 5 minutes, my nose started to run. In the next ten minutes, I needed to interrupt the interview to ask for a tissue. Before I finished a full 25 minutes, I sneezed directly on the EVP that was conducting the interview and sprayed him with…. well…. Let’s just say the interview went down hill from there.”
Confidential Job Seeker, Chicago, IL

Interview Fiasco Number Two:
“I was interviewing for my first big job out of college. I had to buy a suit to wear to the interview. I was a starving student just finishing with my masters in statistics.  I purchased a suit jacket that would match my nicest pair of dress pants and was pleased. The suit jacket, while gently priced, looked like a million bucks.
I went into the interview and found myself interviewing with several people in the firm. I interviewed with programmers, team leaders, HR, and the VP. It was going very well. I was shaking hands and preparing to leave when I raised my arm to waive, and noticed the very large red sales tag hanging from a plastic pin under my armpit. Nice.
I did get the job. I did not live down the price tag for a long time.”
Confidential, Detroit, MI

Interview Fiasco Number Three:
“As a recruiter, I have sent hundreds of people on interviews. One interview stands out in my mind. I presented a professional named Michael for a senior role as a bio-statistician with a Houston based bio-tech. Michael was a highly polished professional with a military appearance. The company culture, of the firm he was interviewing with, invited high polish professionals and operated in a business professional environment.
I received a call from our client letting me know that Michelle, not Michael, showed up for her interview. The interview did not go very well. While Michelle seemed talented based on Michael’s resume, she wore a mini-skirt and flip-flops. To make matters more comical, Michelle’s mini-skirt made the rather large thigh tattoo visible to everyone.

I later thanked Michelle for the time. I told her that I would have been happy to present her as either Michael or Michelle…just help me to set the right expectations with the client next time. FYI, Michelle later got a great job for which she interviewed in a pantsuit.
Confidential, Houston, TX

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Comments (4)

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I was interviewing temporary accounting help for our SMB. I interviewed a woman who told me that she was primarily interested in working to get out of the house. She went on to explain that her boyfriend was getting tired of working around her husband's schedule. After that disclosure, she inquired about how long she would get for lunch.

As you might guess, I did not hire her.

Janice Speilman , March 22, 2009

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Wrong Place, Wrong Time

I was interviewing for a senior leadership position at a prestigious research firm, and part of the interview process was to wow them with a formal research presentation much along the lines in terms of quality and length that would be delivered to their BOD. Everyone was in place, and I had everything all set. I began the session with confidence, but as things progressed I realized that I had used the wrong flash drive and I was increasingly talking about information that was not even related to the slides. So i shifted gears and attempted to make the best of things when I then realized that the slide show came to an abrupt halt as it was a working version that I had replaced with the full version but on a different flash drive. Hey, I made the best of things, but needless to say the presentation was bumbled so I didn't get the job. Lesson learned: ALWAYS double check EVERYTHING before you go to an interview -- especially one where you will be performing!

Eduardo Garcia , March 22, 2009

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Mum is the Word

I once interviewed for a position I thought sounded really interesting. It would allow me to move to a different department within the organization where I was currently employed, affording me the opportunity to learn more about the company and industry overall.

I was excited! I went into the interview, and realized quickly that it was really a monologue. The hiring manager talked the entire time about the position and himself, and did not ask me A SINGLE QUESTION. I did not utter one word.

Now, what some might think to be good news is that he offered me the job. I turned him down. That was about then years ago, when employment opportunities were much more plentiful, but even in this economy I believe I would do the same thing. I just truly questioned what kind of a manager he would be and made the decision NOT to find out.

Debbie Moreland , March 22, 2009

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I recently had the opportunity to interview with a Fortune 100 software sales and services organization. I was very excited to have this opportunity and prepared for what I assumed would be a deeply detailed technical dive into my qualifications.

As this first interview was via phone I surrounded myself with supporting documentation and facts to wow my interviewer. Of course, considering the type of organization that I was interviewing with, I naturally assumed that I would truly need to bring my "A" game. After a brief introduction from the interviewer she began asking me questions about my resume.....Questions like: "Do you know how to do ERP?" To which I of course responded, I have worked with ERP, but I'm not sure what you mean by "do ERP".....to which the interviewer then proclaimed that I must not be as technically capable as my resume eluded??? Needless to say, the interviewer and I were never able to come to an agreement on the fact that you cannot "do ERP". Unfortunately, the torture did not end there.....after a grueling 30 minutes of meaningless questions simillar to above, she then proclaimed that they would be looking to fill this position sometime "NEXT QUARTER!" and she wanted to know if I would still be available??.....mind you, this is after we both discussed, during the introduction, that I was currently UNEMPLOYED.

Really funny part, is that after all of this, I received a follow-up call requesting my availability for a second interview??? WOW!!

Confidential , April 06, 2009

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