A Tale of 'Merica and Milk - I just walked out and abandoned a job interview. FML.

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marrec said:
Uhhh...

Yes, you were unprofessional to walk out on the scheduled interview.
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the interview was at 3, and he was left alone for almost an hour with the receptionist.

Thacker, I think you may just need to keep on looking. Won't do good to get a job you have to leave in 6+ months once you finally figure out they're shit.
 
Dougald said:
Did the same a few years ago. Just think about having to work for a company that unprofessional
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Just think about collecting a salary in exchange for services rendered instead of taking benefits (or drawing no income at all).

A job's a job. You can always find a better one later.
 
Thacker said:
This.

I can't "afford" it... but at the same time I honestly don't want to take a position I know I would immediately be looking to bail on anyway. The first red flag was when she said two techs had left the previous week unannounced. This was a small company of 8 people and the position paid very well, stated salaries up to the mid 70k depending on experience. While I never asked about the delay some other red flags came up such as the receptionist stating how overworked she felt and how her role actually handles.

It felt like a really sketchy situation with how rushed the hiring process was to begin with... but then for this to happen it just made me want to bail out.
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Sounds like it would have been the perfect environment given your situation.
 
Commander Jameson said:
I wouldn't say "out of line", but I do think you could have handled it better. You could have asked if this was an inconvenient time (they might have had some emergency production problem, who knows?) and if you could reschedule to a better time for them.

It looks like you don't need a/this job that badly (I don't know your circumstances).
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I'd agree. I'd have asked if it was an inconvenient time or something. Then depending on what they said that would determine if I wait a bit longer or bail.
 
That was a pretty colossal error on your part.
 
1. He's an asshole for making you wait, without saying sorry and explaining why (either in person or through the receptionist). But sometimes things come up, and sometimes you have to postpone meetings (which an interview really is). He should have let you know what was causing the delay, though.
2. Just walking out is still a bit passive aggressive of you. You should at least have asked what's causing the delay and if you could get a new estimate of when the interview could take place (maybe then you could have time to get a coffee whatever, instead of just having to wait).
 
Just tell him you had to make a previous commitment and would like to reschedule the interview. If he's going to come out and ignore you multiple times instead of just saying that he was running late. You probably should have asked the receptionist, but I think it's enough for you to be able to amicably work out a reschedule.

You can keep looking for other work but if you need a job now then you should take every opportunity you can.
 
I don't blame out all, but if it were me I would've probably asked the receptionist lady what the deal was before making the decision of leaving.

I'm surprised how fucking unprofessional some companies are. Someone I knew was applying for jobs as he was graduating college. He told me he interviewed once with this local startup and he basically walked out on the interview. The whole office was a goddamned mess. It was the whole "tech startup that's laid back" thing, but taken way too far. Trash on the floor, everyone unprofessional as fuck, dude who "interviewed" him had a bigass food stain on his shirt, and the first 40 minutes of the "interview" was a completely silent written test, and the interviewer just up and left the room.

Interviewer came back and my friend just said to him "thanks for your interest in me, but I don't think this is the right place for me" and got the fuck out of there.

Basically what I'm saying is, people do walk out on interviews because the employers are bafflingly unprofessional. If you were getting a bad vibe in your gut that was a good call.
 
djSyndrome said:
Just think about collecting a salary in exchange for services rendered instead of taking benefits (or drawing no income at all).

A job's a job. You can always find a better one later.
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It's also much easier to get a new job if you're already at a job. Much harder to bounce back if you're unemployed.
 
What do you do when you go to the dentist, or dmv... ?

Life must be harsh if you're not being able to wait more than an hour for even important things...
 
Thacker said:
Even if the interview was at 3, I got there at 2:45 and still had not spoken with the owner by 3:45 while I heard him make multiple phone calls and give various directions to two of his current techs?
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Shit happens and you have to put out fires. If you had to go (it doesn't sound like you had to go) then you let the receptionist know why... don't just abandon the interview.

I do some hiring duties for our company and would immediately rule you out as a candidate if you just bailed on the interview.
 
Thacker said:
It took me an hour to drive home in Atlanta traffic so I could post this. This was a job that if I accepted I would have relocated to the northside.
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Yeaaaa...

You done goofed.

If you NEEDED this job, you should've waited it out.

Your time may be as important as the bosses' time, but he has a business to build.

You're the outsider looking in.

Send a quick email and make up some shit about an emergency that came up at home.

Get the receptionist to corroborate your story, then buy her a BIG lunch with your first paycheck, if you're hired.
 
I mean, even if you had red flags, you still sit for the interview. Maybe there's an explanation for why those two other people left. Maybe he didn't come out and talk to you immediately because he's actively putting out fires. It's a small business, there's only so much delegation.

Sit for the interview. You could have still turned them down (if a job offer came).
 
It's crazy how bad it is now and how it's just going to keep getting worse.

This won't even faze the company as there will be many more people lining up to get that job that are far more desperate and experienced than you.

Downsizing and shifting the extra work onto existing employees without pay increase. And people will say to just take it because it pays the bills. And you know what hurts? You have little choice because their advice is solid, right or wrong. At the end of the day, you just got to suck up your pride and dignity because it means nothing to corporations.
 
Nander said:
1. He's an asshole for making you wait, without saying sorry and explaining why (either in person or through the receptionist). But sometimes things come up, and sometimes you have to postpone meetings (which an interview really is). He should have let you know what was causing the delay, though.
2. Just walking out is still a bit passive aggressive of you. You should at least have asked what's causing the delay and if you could get a new estimate of when the interview could take place (maybe then you could have time to get a coffee whatever, instead of just having to wait).
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Yeah Ok I agree with this guy, you should have asked why they delayed before leaving.
 
You done fucked up. Sounds like you've never worked a real job in IT before -- sometimes terrible shit happens and you have to drop everything and put out the fire. Especially if you're short handed. Or he could just be running behind a bit. You'll never know, because you didn't wait another few minutes to find out.

Remember this when you're toiling away in retail for a third of the pay.

On the plus side, sounds like the manager dodged a bullet.
 
I'm not aware of your current financial situation. Doesn't sound like the most professional of workplaces. As you mentioned, it's a small company. It really depends on what you want, and what you need currently. If you were turned off by the delay in your interview, and don't feel like it's for you, and you are not in an immediate need to get a job, then keep looking.

Sometimes though, you have to bite your lip and deal with less than perfect circumstances. You shouldn't expect everything to go how it is in your head. I personally would not have left. At the very least, I would have gotten a better feel of the work environment after talking/interviewing with the person in charge, and made a decision after that. As is, you now waited an extra 50 minutes and have nothing to show for it.
 
Thacker said:
GAF,

I am sure some of you are well aware of the employment troubles I've posted about and talked about on here before. Well I thought things might turn around today.... and boy was I wrong. Monday evening around 7 o clock I was scouring a craigslist and saw an ad for a senior level IT position with a managed services company here in Atlanta. I sent over my resume and a small cover letter. At 9 am Tuesday morning I was contacted by the owner of the company and we exchanged a few emails and set up a phone interview for 4. At 4 I contacted him and we talked about 20 minutes and it went very well. He invited me up for an interview today at 3 at his office across town.

Today I get extremely excited and prep for the interview. I leave early and drive 45 minutes across town to his office and get there at 2:45. Immediately the receptionist has me fill out a formal application and take a small written technical test regarding my skillset. I completed this by 3 and turned it back into the receptionist and began making small talk. At 3:05 I heard the owner come out of his office and finalize his interview with another candidate. The candidate then left and I sat waiting in the front area. At 3:15 the owner came out of his office and directed 2 of his technicians to follow up on an issue they were working on previously. At 3:20 I heard him start a phone call. At 3:30 he hung up. At 3:35 he began another phone call.

During this time I continued to make small talk with the receptionist. I asked the question "Do you know if this position is an expansion or if I would be replacing a position?". She stated that unfortunately they had two techs leave late the previous week unexpectedly and that he was looking to hire multiple people.

Fast forward to 3:45 or so and I stood up... picked up my resume and materials and informed the receptionist that I would be leaving and that I enjoyed our conversation. She looked perplexed but said okay.

At 3:50 I get an email from the owner saying "I'm expecting to interview you today - are you coming back?" as the subject line with no body in the email.

GAF.. .am I totally out of line in this? I need a job... but I can't help but feel how extremely unprofessional this was... and a complete waste of my time. He had multiple opportunities to come out... introduce himself and communicate with me that he was running behind but that he would get to me shortly. I feel as if my time was unvalued... and completely wasted. I feel like this was a good enough red flag and warning sign to show that I wouldn't have wanted this job anyway.

Input?
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are you stupid or something?
 
A job is a job. It sounds sketchy as hell and I would have felt very uncomfortable about how actually working there would have been. Where I am the industry is pretty messed up though , so you take what you can get. I definitely would have approached things differently, perhaps asking when they were gonna be ready would have been a start. But it was definitely unprofessional of the place you applied for.

Try contacting them again, tell em you had a prior appointment that you needed to make and the times (clearly conflicted).
 
Aren't you the guy who hasn't been able to get a job for like a decade due to that weird felony issue?

I wouldn't have walked out, if that's the case. This could have happened at any company for any reason.
 
tumblr_motuv48eMc1soyfono1_500.gif


It was a test
 
If he was willing to treat you like that from the start then that can't have boded well for the future, I for one don't feel like a job is worth pushing your dignity aside and time is precious so I'm all for what you did.

On the flip side it would have been worth getting some clarity at the time on why this was happening, it may have been for a good reason, but he should have apologised either way.
 
Thats tough. If it wer eme, I would have left also. Its very disrespectful to keep someone waiting that long unless he came out and told you personally hey I am dealing with a lot of stuff right now. Give me a moment and I will be with you.


If he called me and said where are you , I would have said. I was there at 3:00 waited till almost 4.......
 
completely unprofessional on the part of the manager. i've waited for interviews before, but i've always at least had my presence acknowledged and a "sorry i'll be with you shortly" type message passed my way.

making you wait for 45 minutes without either of these things is disrespectful and rude. you're better off not working for such a person. desperate for a job or not.
 
I would like to divide this into two separate things:

1) You did well in a professional environment as you didn't accept his attitude towards you.

2) You failed miserably against your self since you needed this job.


You decide which one you think is the best.
 
akira28 said:
the interview was at 3, and he was left alone for almost an hour with the receptionist.

Thacker, I think you may just need to keep on looking. Won't do good to get a job you have to leave in 6+ months once you finally figure out they're shit.
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Of course it would do good. That's six months of salary and experience and he has a job when it comes time to look for a new one, which is a huge benefit.

Really, he totally blew this opportunity.
 
I had an interview for a job one day at 1 PM. Turns out the person interviewing me went to lunch, and didn't come back until an hour later.

Did I leave? No. WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?! The interviewer eventually returned, apologized for the delay, the interview went fine, and I got the job.

The fact that your interviewer actually e-mailed you because he was expecting you shows that he was still interested. Too bad.
 
The idealist in all of us would bail on a future boss that thinks making you wait an hour is OK.

The realist in you should have stuck around, enough to get the job, while plotting your next move anyways.
 
lol, Im not waiting more than 15 minutes without demanding a reasoning. My time is also important and if they are unable to just say "We are having an urgent issue and will have to delay the interview a bit" + 2 techs leaving? Bad news son, looks like a shitty place to work.

Still, couldn't you just let the recepcionist know that you had another interview or something so they told you anything?
 
DoktorEvil said:
Thacker
Member
(Today, 04:59 PM)

You waited an hour to ask this question?
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He was writing the post. Look at all those details.

Anyways, I don't know OP. Not gonna say you messed up but it's odd that you left without trying to reschedule or at least find out what the situation was. Not to mention you left "just because". You assumed to much. There are days at my job where I get so busy that I can't even get lunch until 5p. Shit happens.

I would reply to his email saying there was an emergency and reschedule. I mean you seem to NEED this job. This is definitely fixable.
 
Iolo said:
You done fucked up. Sounds like you've never worked a real job in IT before -- sometimes terrible shit happens and you have to drop everything and put out the fire. Especially if you're short handed. Or he could just be running behind a bit. You'll never know, because you didn't wait another few minutes to find out.

Remember this when you're toiling away in retail for a third of the pay.

On the plus side, sounds like the manager dodged a bullet.
Click to expand...

I think it goes both ways. I know people are going to jump on me for having too rosy/naive an outlook, but I wouldn't be too happy to have my time disrespected. Thank god I'm aiming for a career path that won't put me front and center with your typical office-politic/micro-macro managing bullshit.

That being said, I don't think OP could have handled it a bit better. He should have asked for an estimate, or gone to do something else and asked reception to notify (etc....). Get the job, and find a better one in the meantime.
 
Thacker said:
GAF.. .am I totally out of line in this? I need a job... but I can't help but feel how extremely unprofessional this was... and a complete waste of my time.
Input?
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What else in your day is so pressing that having to wait an extra hour to get a face to face interview for a job that you don't have is your breaking point?
 
Kieli said:
It's crazy how bad it is now and how it's just going to keep getting worse.

This won't even faze the company as there will be many more people lining up to get that job that are far more desperate and experienced than you.

Downsizing and shifting the extra work onto existing employees without pay increase. And people will say to just take it because it pays the bills. And you know what hurts? You have little choice because their advice is solid, right or wrong. At the end of the day, you just got to suck up your pride and dignity because it means nothing to corporations.
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From the sounds of it this isn't exactly a big soulless corporation. Honestly it looks like more of a sincere oversight on their part than anything else.
 
Uuuuhhhh... if you want a job, you gotta suck up your ego.

I can tell you that this shit happens all the time, and it's not a good way of telling how the manager is like.
 
Burli said:
If he was willing to treat you like that from the start then that can't have boded well for the future, I for one don't feel like a job is worth pushing your dignity aside and time is precious so I'm all for what you did.
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Yeah, this. Don't let people treat you like shit. That is why the whole system is rigged. Way too many people just accept being treated like that.
 
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