Weird Job Interview: What Do You Think Of This?

[DrumBob]

I had an interview for a P/T advertising sales job today. The owner of the company is a very bright, savvy and attractive woman in her 50's, and we seemed to hit it off just fine. She brought in this guy in his early 30's for some reason for our second meeting. It was never explained to me what his position in the company was. I got the impression he was turned off for some reason. He sat there and kind of fumbled around with my resume' and never really read it. His manner bordered on condescending and arrogant, and he rarely looked me in the eye.

I'm thinking of calling the lady owner tomorrow and addressing my concerns about this kid. I've been selling advertising since he was in grade school, I have a proven track record of success, and don't feel I deserved his attitude. Was it age discrimination? Maybe.

What do you think about this? How would you react?

[Westerly Sunn]

Did they not even tell you what his position was? Was he a Sales Manager?

[Stuco]

Maybe they were trying to see how you'd do under a little pressure, its hard to say. I wouldn't sweat it too much.

[63dot]

Is this a small family business? Is it her son?

As a former HR person, if this is the case it could potentially be volatile but it could also be a good thing depending on the culture of the place. Keep us posted. It's not really a good idea to bring an unknown and unannounced person into an interview where your personal information is there for all to see. I am also a victim of identity theft and it was during an interview where my financial information was compromised and I had to change all accounts and phone numbers. My credit took a hit and it took a long time to clear up anomalies. You can't be too careful these days.

[Westerly Sunn]

The identity theft hadn't come into my mind, but yeah, I was thinking it would be extremely inappropriate to bring someone into an interview without a full introduction and explanation.

[imsilly]

As far as the interviews I've been to, this doesn't count as weird at all.

I'd think phoning the woman who interviewed you and questioning her is pretty much the dumbest thing you could do. It would probably destroy any chance you have of getting the job. If it turns out you don't get the job, phoning would still be a dumb thing to do in case you ever reapply for a job there.

The only reason you should phone someone after an interview is to ask if you got the job or tips on improving your interview technique. You don't go around kicking up a fuss about inconsequential details about other people's perceived behavior. If something genuinely dubious happens you should call the authorities not the people who you are suspicious of.

[Dan The Man]

I reckon the guy should've been introduced to you, but I wouldn't call and 'address your concerns' What's that going to gain you?

If you're the right person for the job you'll soon find out who the guy was and you can tell the lady in person.

It seems a bit odd, and I probably wouldn't be happy with it but it's done now.

[63dot]

Originally Posted by Westerly Sunn

The identity theft hadn't come into my mind, but yeah, I was thinking it would be extremely inappropriate to bring someone into an interview without a full introduction and explanation.

The organization was a contractor for a Federal agency so I stupidly trusted the person thinking he was the agency which helps handicapped people. In reality, for whatever reason, he was a desperate person who used his job for personal and criminal financial gain. People who are white collar criminals like this can exist anywhere from small businesses to the highest levels of a corporation. My concern was not whether he was a lifetime criminal or a person without any record who was at his last straw in this recession. The main thing was to get all my funds transferred out and immediately sign up for identity theft protection from my bank. It was also a pain telling all who knew me, and who did business with me, of my new phone number.

[Telarkaster]

Originally Posted by imsilly

As far as the interviews I've been to, this doesn't count as weird at all.

I'd think phoning the woman who interviewed you and questioning her is pretty much the dumbest thing you could do. It would probably destroy any chance you have of getting the job. If it turns out you don't get the job, phoning would still be a dumb thing to do in case you ever reapply for a job there.

The only reason you should phone someone after an interview is to ask if you got the job or tips on improving your interview technique. You don't go around kicking up a fuss about inconsequential details about other people's perceived behavior. If something genuinely dubious happens you should call the authorities not the people who you are suspicious of.

+1, well said.

It is not uncommon to bring in someone else to an interview to get a second opinion. I've often been that person. Two heads are better than one when deciding whether to hire someone. After every interview, once the candidate has left, we turn to each other and discuss what we liked and what we disliked. Usually we agree, but sometimes we have widely differing opinions. We then rank the candidate compared to the others we've interviewed for the same position. Having two people interview makes this easier. If you want to torpedo your chances of getting the job, then go ahead and complain that you didn't like the attitude of the other guy.

Drumbob, I wish you luck with your job search, keep it up and I know you'll find something!

[DrumBob]

I have no doubts this guy has a legitimate function at the company, and I was told ahead of time that he was going to be there. I was never told what his position was, and I'm 100% certain he is not the owner's son.

With that said, this is a two day a week ad sales job at best, calling on retail businesses locally. The product costs the customer $69.99 a month and they sell 6 and 12 month contracts, grossing $419.94 or $839.88 total per year. My commission would be 30% or about $126 and $252 respectively. That's really not much based on a yearly deal. The company also builds websites. I'd make more in that area. In my other job, I can sell a full page ad and make a $240 commission on each one.

Based on these numbers and the negative feeling I got in the interview, I think I'm going to pass and look elsewhere.

[losergeek]

If the worst interview you've had only involved a squirrely anti-social guy, you should probably count yourself lucky. I've had tons of interviews where the participants weren't introduced properly or their positions described. At my old job (a Crown Corporation) we had to have a third party observer to verify the results and ensure that everything was being done fairly - commonly this was someone from HR, but it didn't have to be. Sometimes it was just an admin who wasn't too busy.

Also if this was a company that sells websites then he was probably just a technical guy that was asked to be there in case you had any questions about their services that the manager/interviewer couldn't answer

[sixstringbastard]

Sounds like Good Cop/Bad Cop to me.

Originally Posted by DrumBob

I had an interview for a P/T advertising sales job today. The owner of the company is a very bright, savvy and attractive woman in her 50's, and we seemed to hit it off just fine. She brought in this guy in his early 30's for some reason for our second meeting. It was never explained to me what his position in the company was. I got the impression he was turned off for some reason. He sat there and kind of fumbled around with my resume' and never really read it. His manner bordered on condescending and arrogant, and he rarely looked me in the eye.

I'm thinking of calling the lady owner tomorrow and addressing my concerns about this kid. I've been selling advertising since he was in grade school, I have a proven track record of success, and don't feel I deserved his attitude. Was it age discrimination? Maybe.

What do you think about this? How would you react?

[bendecaster]

Bob, I wouldn't totally discount this as a flop. The attitude-guy may have very little to do with the final outcome of the decision to hire you. Like others here have already said, don't call and make an issue of something that could be insignificant. Just play it cool and see what happens. Obviously, your resume speaks for itself, so let it do it's job(you did get called in for an interview, right?). Perceptions can be wrong too! The guy could really be thrilled about you! He's probably a very good poker player too!
Keep positive!

[Gibson]

It's possible this guy was as uncomfortable as you and you misinterpreted his attitude. He could've been sitting in on the interview to gain experience, or he was there to see how you handled an awkward personality -- sales is about dealing with people, after all.

Thirty-two years old is hardly a kid, though. He may also be good at his job.

[Mjark]

I went to an interview once and among other things was asked to draw a picture of an man, a woman and a tree. This job had nothing whatsoever to do with anything artistic.

[63dot]

Originally Posted by losergeek

If the worst interview you've had only involved a squirrely anti-social guy, you should probably count yourself lucky. I've had tons of interviews where the participants weren't introduced properly or their positions described. At my old job (a Crown Corporation) we had to have a third party observer to verify the results and ensure that everything was being done fairly - commonly this was someone from HR, but it didn't have to be. Sometimes it was just an admin who wasn't too busy.

Also if this was a company that sells websites then he was probably just a technical guy that was asked to be there in case you had any questions about their services that the manager/interviewer couldn't answer

Before I did HR and was studying as my major back in college, I got all these cookie cutter scenarios so I went in rather, how should I say it, optimistic. When I got into the real world, it was a mess!

Back then it was common practice for HR people to be the ones who didn't fit anywhere else in an organization. I got into an HR department thinking I would be with other HR people but instead I got put in with a lot of people who would rather be somewhere else. So yes, it was common to bring in odd people into interviews until later years made things much more legal. These days with identity theft and extra laws protecting a person's private information, unwarranted people in an interview (and even who handles your personal information) is a lot more restrictive.

It's not as likely anymore for a single HR person scoping out the resumes to look for a mate (pressure taken off my match.com) or having the interview take the participants to a club and go drinking to get a feel for the person. Heck, these days even the strip club near the school runs themselves like a corporation and conducts the interviews in a very professional manner.

[elicross]

Could it be you were interviewing to replace this younger guy; he was brought in to help interview his replacement; and he doesn't particularly want to be replaced?

Just a possible explanation for his lack of engagement in the process.

[Ben Bishop]

It could be that is a test. When faced with disinterest do you keep up your good attitude? Can you detect a flicker of interest and focus your efforts there? I interviewed one place with the HR guy then the GM. Invited back I had a nice talk with the GM and then he brought in the two owners, two serious brothers, who tag-teamed me. I think the idea was to find out if I could keep my composure and good humour under fire from two sides. Got the job.

[getbent]

the only ageism I hear in this account is yours.

You have been selling for years, right? So, it makes sense that what you are selling probably has a good deal of cold calling and closing people who are busy, uninterested and distracted... their question to you was "how well can you gain the attention and close that kind of customer?"

Your own answer is---> you aren't interested in that... you are interested in being well liked and everyone being friends and showing and even more, receiving respect.

If I were them, I'd probably pass on you because you aren't watching the ball that I want watched... which is engaging and matching up to the customer that they see you dealing with--> the 30 something guy is that customer... how well are your skills and interests attuned to him? From your own account, not very...

I'm not trying to be mean, just direct. You sound like some of my friends who are 'willing' to take a job rather than aggressively pursuing it... I have always wanted people who wanted to be there, who want to be better, who want to close, who want to 'match up' and who want to succeed and build something...

If you were to call back, if it were me, I'd find something that the young man said and ask that I get to meet with him again to address those questions or statements because you woke up in the middle of the night and realized you knew how you could answer that question and move the business forward....

In an interview, the goal is to move from selling yourself to the company to getting the company to sell itself to you.

Where are you on that continuum?

[kidmo]

Ignore it. If she is as bright as you think she is, she values her teams input but her own judgement will overrule.