Worst Interview Ever.

[GigaBuist]

Warning:  If you're not in IT this probably won't make much sense.

A few weeks back my boss calls me up and asks me to put together a summary page of the various technologies I know how to work with.  Another firm in town had a few developers quit on them recently and they were behind on a few projects, and since I have nothing at work right now, subcontracting me out looks like a good idea.

So, I do that and today I'm called in for an interview of sorts.  This should be a no brainer, they know my boss, my boss knows them, he understands what they need so he sends me in.

First question:  "So, what kind of experience do you have with Sharepoint?"

Uhm, practically none.  I don't do Sharepoint.  That wasn't even on my summary page!  My company does, but I'm not one of those guys.  I do custom .NET development and I'm coming on board the business intelligence side of the MS platform, but I've never even diddled with Sharepoint.

Yeah, that interview lasted all of 10 minutes.

I also felt like a real knob for showing up 20 minutes late.  I slapped their address into Google Maps but that put me on the wrong side of town, so I had to call my boss to find out where they actually are and find my way there.  It wasn't pretty.  I gather I'm not the only one to make this mistake because a guy coming in for another interview after me was also 20 minutes late.

I called the boss up after the interview and he was equally perplexed.

I felt like such an IDIOT today.

[K Frame]

I had one of those, once.

It is kind of odd.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

interviews can be weird i had one yesterday. the lady needed to verify my dependability with current employer.  i'm self employed. i verified myself

[280plus]

Yea, well try not to be so stupid next time dammit! 

There, feel better? 

[TF_FH]

Don't feel too bad, for my current job (Helpdesk Tech) they had a bunch of interviews.  They ended up telling me about this one guy who I was competing against...   He was asked how a laser printer worked.  His answer?  "IFW"  They asked him what 'IFW' meant and he said, "You put in the toner, you put in the paper, and you plug in the printer and IFW."  They ask again what 'IFW' means and he says "It F**kin works."

Needless to say he was not hired.

[AJ Dual]

The worst interview I had was for a place where a couple of friends of mine worked, and gave me a lead on a job opportunity.

They warned me that the interview process was grueling, up to six people within the department, then a call back with senior managment and the owners of the firm.

The office was brand new, occupied the top floor of a downtown office building, with 360 views of the city and Lake Michigan, and lots of glass and open-concept archetecture ensured even the peons in the company enjoyed the view.

Everyone was friendly.
The interviews went well.

I learned of their benefits:

100% match of 401k up to the fed legal max for your income bracket, vested @ five years.
No employee premiums for health care.
A $2500 Medical Flexible Spending credit card, gratis.
Free high-end gourmet catered lunch daily.
Jeans and tennis-shoe dress code.
Covered parking in the building's structure.
Employee health-center/gym.
Early/Flexible hours.
Banking/Federal holidays.

It was the worst interview I've ever had...

Because I didn't get the job. 

[Bogie]

If I'm talking to someone, I'm screening THEM. Do I want to work there? Can I fit in? Is the place geek-friendly?
 
My worst interview... It was an investment/consulting kinda place downtown St. Louis... I go in, and the guy tells me a few things (at which point I more or less decide that I don't want to work there... he spewed the basic BS about "long hours, tedium, attention to detail in reports" and the rest...), and then starts going over the resume, etc., and then asks me where I went to school...
 
In St. Louis, the big question is "So, where'd you go to school?" They mean high school. They want to know which part of the city you grew up in, what economic stratus your family occupied, your religion, etc., etc...
 
I replied that I went to Soldan (which is on the north side, and had PLENTY of gnarstiness), with his mother, and that I didn't want to work for the outfit.
 
He was still sitting there, jaw open, when I shut the door and found my own way out...
 
Another outfit at about the same time hired me to do some deskside and network support.
 
And immediately stuck me on a phone. Where I was supposed to sell the client a new box, rather than talk them through fixing the old one.
 
That afternoon, went in, handed the guy my new ID, told him I didn't appreciate being lied to, or being told to lie to customers, and then he told me that I'd never work in this town again... Well, his company didn't last all that long...
 

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

my funniest was when the company i worked for lost a mid sized account the new guys were interviewing our employees to decide which they wanted to retain. i wasn't really interested but i wanted to see what they were like. i was chef at a mid sized school. the guy they had interview me was born after i started in the biz. his first questions were the usual nonsense but it went south for him when he asked me how many quarts in a gallon. and i asked what kinda gallon, us or imperial. i almost felt bad for him. his company didn't last 6 months