The Worst Interview of My Life! Ever!

[Forest2]

Recently I was reading about bait and switch during preliminary interviews. I then recalled the worst interview torture that I was ever subjected to. It was a few years back and I had applied for a nurse educator position in a 74 bed hospital. I was greeted by 2-3 interviewers and we were located in a small conference room. There were probably 8 total chairs in there. During the interview a couple more people came in, then in a few minutes a few more came in, till at one point people were standing. At that time someone mentioned that we would be moving to a larger room.

I was escorted to a very large class room, more like an auditorium really. I sat and waited in front of the class at a small table and chair. As I waited more and more and more people came in, department heads, assistants of department heads, managers, secretarial staff, nurse residents, trainees, every single member of the HR department. Finally the crowd was all settled in and introductions began. Each person introduced themselves and what their position was. No way was I going to remember who all these people were. I'd say there were about 40-50 people there. I mean really? So they start hammering me with questions. Why do you think you should get this job? What makes you qualified? Talk about mob mentality. I felt like I was on the witness stand being drilled by a team of lawyers. There were a couple of mean ones in there too, staring at me as if I were a creepy little bug that they wanted to squash. The one I remember most was the nurse manager of the OR who would roll her eyes. Now, I wish I would have gotten up and walked out leaving them there scratching their heads.

At one point, I quipped, " wow, it looks like everyone is here, Who is running the hospital?" I got several laughs about it. The HR folks told me that they invited everyone who wanted to come (it was an open type of torture for anybody to join in on I guess). Yes, and this was the first interview. I decided I would never work at that hospital. They didn't call me back anyway but I don't think it would have mattered. I was ready to tell them that their practices were unwarranted and unfair and like the Spanish Inquisition. If they treated potential employees that way I couldn't imagine how they treated actual employees.

So... Tell me about your nightmare interview experience.

[L-ICURN, BSN, RN]

I went to an interview not too long ago for a dream job that would have given me the opportunity to see so much more. I was questioned repeatedly about how (in my current health state) I would function in such a fast-paced, young environment. Every other question seemed to be tied to my weight or my age. "We're really fast paced here. Do you think you can handle that?" "We have a lot of young people here. How would that work for you?" I left that interview feeling old, fat, and really considering leaving healthcare forever. She ended the interview with "it was nice to meet you," which I took as a rejection because the look on the women's was anything but pleasant. I may still leave health care. I just wanted to be in an environment where learning and active interest was encouraged.

But you faced a figurative firing squad. I applaud your poise in getting through the situation.

[Rodrigur, BSN]

Wow, sorry to hear about that. I haven't had a nightmare story, but I did know a nurse that started off like your story and they added more interviewers via video conference. She said it must have been 8 people. She said something similar that it was torture. Even my own husband who was in the military and has a hard demeanor was in an interview with numerous individuals via video conference grilling him. He even said it was tough.

Good for you for keeping your cool. You may have not gotten the job, but who's to say one of those individuals may cross your path.

Thank you for sharing.

[Crash_Cart]

2 hours ago, Forest2 said:

No way was I going to remember who all these people were. I'd say there were about 40-50 people there. I mean really? So they start hammering me with questions. Why do you think you should get this job? What makes you qualified? Talk about mob mentality.

There's no way that many people are ever going to be able to come to any agreeable consensus. There's simply too many people, with too many individual opinions and it's not even possible to "win" in that situation.

Think about it... That many people can't even equally agree what to eat for lunch, nevermind agree with one another about anything complex like hiring an employee.

I would have indicated the interview process they are using is not agreeable, thanked everyone for their time, walked out and left.

There's something wrong with that place. (red flag)

[CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN]

I had a horrible interview that I really should have just cancelled. I had a terrible cold, my nose was beet red and I couldn't stop sneezing. My throat hurt so much I nearly cried when I would swallow. It sounded like a dream job, but they never called me back. =*(

Another interview was just a combination of odd timing and me being a bit confused if I even wanted the position. I had brain farts at every question like best/worst experience (which I'm still not good with - honestly coworkers are the make-it/break-it for me, and I'm not throwing anyone under the bus!). Really couldn't articulate anything. Kinda sad, since I was interested in working at that location.

[Davey Do]

Great rendition, Forest2! And extremely entertaining!

However, I am sorry you had to go through the experience. But, then again, the worst experiences make some of the best stories.

I can't recall a bad nursing interview, but I can recall one from my public artist days: I had submitted a proposal to paint four murals of local historic figures on a wall outside of the library's parking lot. I met with the board at one of their monthly meetings, gave my talk, and passed around "roughs" of the murals, to give the members an idea of what I had in mind.

Talk about concrete narrow-minded stuffed shirts! One board member said of my sketch of a historic female, "I'd be embarrassed if this was supposed to be my mother!"

I eventually got a formal letter from the library board turning down my proposal. Surprise, surprise.

However, a pretty good comic came out of it: I was standing naked in front of the board with a pained look on my face and my thought balloon read, "I guess if I really wanted to make a good impression, before coming to this meeting, I shouldn't have eaten that big plate of beans!"

Once again, bad situation but good story, Forest2!

[kp2016]

The ridiculous interview is a clear warning of a dysfunctional management team.

It sounds like a horrible experience but the bright side is instead of lamenting missing out on this great job opportunity you instead recognize it as a lucky escape from what would have likely been a nightmare job.

[Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM]

Before I became a nurse, I walked into an interview like that and when I realized what was going on I grabbed my things and left. Person conducting the interview acted like they had never seen anyone leave before.

Companies use tactics like that to SELL YOU THE JOB....not hire you.

[Chan Chan]

I've had about three that were ridiculous, but not as bad as yours.

The last one I went to was after I had recently received another offer, so I figured it couldn't hurt. The literally drilled me for an hour straight. After the 8th question I was over it and stopped taking it seriously.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I was interviewing for an assistant nurse manager position, and I woke up that morning to some absolutely horrible menstrual camps. I had endometriosis, and I'm sure many on AN know how bad those cramps can be. Nevertheless, I dosed myself with Ibuprofen (prescription strength, because my cramps were so bad I *had* a prescription) and went to the interview anyway, figuring if I didn't go I wouldn't get the job.

While at the interview, I was sitting at a long conference table across from the nurse manager and three assistant nurse managers. The Ibuprofen was wearing off, and the cramps were seriously getting my attention. As the interview progressed, I was in so much pain my head was starting to get light, I was sweating profusely and felt as though I was going to pass out. The interview didn't go well -- go figure -- and when I got up, I felt that warm rush down my leg. Ruined my interview suit and didn't even get a second interview!

[NurseBlaq]

On 7/19/2019 at 3:47 PM, Forest2 said:

Recently I was reading about bait and switch during preliminary interviews. I then recalled the worst interview torture that I was ever subjected to. It was a few years back and I had applied for a nurse educator position in a 74 bed hospital. I was greeted by 2-3 interviewers and we were located in a small conference room. There were probably 8 total chairs in there. During the interview a couple more people came in, then in a few minutes a few more came in, till at one point people were standing. At that time someone mentioned that we would be moving to a larger room.

I was escorted to a very large class room, more like an auditorium really. I sat and waited in front of the class at a small table and chair. As I waited more and more and more people came in, department heads, assistants of department heads, managers, secretarial staff, nurse residents, trainees, every single member of the HR department. Finally the crowd was all settled in and introductions began. Each person introduced themselves and what their position was. No way was I going to remember who all these people were. I'd say there were about 40-50 people there. I mean really? So they start hammering me with questions. Why do you think you should get this job? What makes you qualified? Talk about mob mentality. I felt like I was on the witness stand being drilled by a team of lawyers. There were a couple of mean ones in there too, staring at me as if I were a creepy little bug that they wanted to squash. The one I remember most was the nurse manager of the OR who would roll her eyes. Now, I wish I would have gotten up and walked out leaving them there scratching their heads.

At one point, I quipped, " wow, it looks like everyone is here, Who is running the hospital?" I got several laughs about it. The HR folks told me that they invited everyone who wanted to come (it was an open type of torture for anybody to join in on I guess). Yes, and this was the first interview. I decided I would never work at that hospital. They didn't call me back anyway but I don't think it would have mattered. I was ready to tell them that their practices were unwarranted and unfair and like the Spanish Inquisition. If they treated potential employees that way I couldn't imagine how they treated actual employees.

So... Tell me about your nightmare interview experience.

That's crazy but can I go out on a limb here and say maybe they were testing you because it was the nurse educator position you were applying for? I'm thinking they wanted to see how you would do in front of a large audience, hence the change of venue to a large classroom.

However, I think they went about it wrong. You should have had a regular interview, then maybe a warning of a test run in front of management in a classroom setting. That's what I would have done if that were the case.

[caliotter3]

My first panel interview occurred after I had left a place where, one by one, almost every licensed nurse had left after the DON and ADON made their way out of the building, so to speak. And for good reason. It did not take long for me to realize that every question, from every panel member, was centering around events surrounding the exodus and the rest of my experience was being ignored. I was feeling more uncomfortable as the interview wore on and was running out of diplomatic ways to skirt around the issues. After I left, I realized that my interview only occurred at all because the nursing community was fishing for gossip. I had to leave the area in order to find work and suspected that the others had problems finding new jobs too. All, except, of course, the DON and ADON, who had engineered their personal escapes. For the life of me, I can't think of a professional way I could have left that interview without having my tail tucked between my legs for doing the only prudent thing.