My opinion has not changed. I think it’s a pretty stupid site and a dopey concept.

Talking about interviews, I found a website where you can find about the interview process in different companies:
http://www.glassdoor.com
http://www.glassdoor.com/Interview/index.htm

We can look for the most stupid interview process here.

They also show the salaries in the different companies (based on anonymous individuals). If you want to see too many salaries, you’ll need to enter your own (anonymously)

Anyways, Nick, if you think it’s a cool site that your readers are not aware of, you can write on the blog about it.

Cheers
N.

He then walked me through his career background in detail. In between, there are a few comments about how interesting he found my profile. And that I was highly recommended for the position by a VP there.

The “interview” lasted for 45 minutes, during which I probably spoke for 2 minutes. It ended with his offer to me to walk around the office and see work for myself. I was so relieved I was not quizzed.

I thought – this is as good as it gets – and joined, though in hindsight, a I felt uneasy that we did not spend much time on my exact role, but I ignored it quickly.

In a week, I came to realize the interviewer was only interested in getting me on board because (a) he felt I’d be loyal to him personally (b) the workplace was like a Kuwaiti oil-well after the Iraqi forces left and (c) he was’nt able to pursuade anyone internally to move to the hot seat. Needless to say, this was a short-lived relationship of convenience.

The moral of the story is that high-stress interviews definitely tell a story. Too low-stress an interview also says some things – so don’t automatically drop your guards for a “nice guy” interviewer, and DO assess independently and objectively if there’s a fit. Don’t leave it to the company to decide for you.

This was such a humiliating experience, and I was very tempted to write a nasty letter in response basically telling them where to shove their job opening. I didn’t write that letter, but I did stop thinking about that job. Funny enough, they called 1.5 months later to offer me the job that they claimed wasn’t for me. Why did it take them 1.5 months? I figure I’m not the first or second person to decline their offer.

I confronted HR, who called with the offer, with this information and questions specific to the job. I had never been through an idiotic stress interview, so I supposed maybe the hiring manager had a bad day or there was some logical explanation for his abusive behavior during the interview. I couldn’t imagine how such a negative and humiliating interview ended up as a job offer, so I definitely had some questions that I needed answered before even entertaining the offer. I was still working for my current employer, so I wasn’t desperate to bite on just anything that came my way.

I had not choice but to ask my questions to HR because the hiring manager had refused to give me his contact information during the interview. This was another point that I had never experienced during an interview. What kind of hiring manager does not allow you to follow up after the interview? HR and I agreed on a date by which I was to make my decision. I never did receive a single answer to my questions. Nobody called or wrote. I called to follow up, and I received nothing in response.
The surprising thing for me is that I always thought I would have a hard time declining a job offer, but this one was a no brainer. It was clear these people were a barrel of idiots who create, not solve, problems in the workplace. My impression of this supposedly highly respected company has forever been changed. I might not have formed a negative impression of the overall company if so many people had not been involved in this negative experience. I can’t believe anyone other than jerks and the desperate would want to work for these people.

My reaction would be to say that from the sound of it, their shop is a mess. Aside from Emergency Services – cops, firemen, ER, etc. – a properly run shop does not allow situations to develop to the point of being too stressful. If it’s a business environment that is stressful, they need new upper management.

I can put out fires with the best of them, but I hate it. I’ve therefore spent most of the last 45 years practicing fire prevention. I’d rather spend one hour a day preventing problems from developing, than getting an ulcer when %^&*(@&* hits the fan from lack of attention.

BTW: After one interview, the techies I would have been working with invited me to lunch and did their best to get me drunk, presumably on the premise that ‘in vino, veritas’ and they could figure me out. It didn’t work (I have a cast iron stomach), but it’s not a bad approach to checking out an applicant’s personality…

This is important because the help desk serves everyone on the flow chart, minimum wage to top executives. While not perfect, it has weeded out candidates who can not handle the unexpected.

I’ve stopped the interview, asked whether this “is the working style I should be accustomed to here, because it’s extremely difficult to solve business problems and make money for the company if chaos is just accepted practice”.

It’s either evolved into a proper discussion of a business problem or devolved into my exit from the conversation. Either way, no more time wasted.