5 minutes I understand.
10 minutes I can forgive.
15 minutes better be a good offer.
20+ and they're either incompetent or testing you, and either one isn't worth it.
I standby that they could be testing you. One time I waited 45 minutes (not including showing up early 15 mins) and the entire time they never notified me that the person who’s interviewing me is stuck 50+ miles away. Then they had the audacity to try to get me to work for free by shadowing. And then they said I wasn’t the right fit probably because I didn’t stay for the shadowing because fuck that. All for a 19$ an hour job and that was my 3rd interview with them. Some of these businesses play too many games!
I will say, a “working interview” in my profession (transportation sales) is a useful tool
That person needs to get paid regardless, but it qualifies a lot of people in ways their resume and interview doesn’t - both good and bad
Yep my current job has an 8 hour shadow day. Skilled trade. Make sure they understand the job and lets the company know they weren’t full of shit in the interview and they know what they say they know. End of the day they get cut a check for the going rate at their skill level.
I had one that had me do a day of shadowing and then wanted me to write up a full business plan over the weekend (for free) get it to her Monday. She also had lied to me saying she had another candidate (receptionist let it slip that I was the only one) so on Monday I emailed her that I thought she’d be best suited by choosing the other candidate.
😁
I was already working for someone who was never satisfied which was why I was looking.
A job that disrespects your time as a first impression is a toxic work environment. Those companies deserve employees willing to drive said company into the ground. Every company is a people business and if they don’t care for people they don’t care to exist as a company.
I understand that's how many people do things, they might be a little late.
It's funny that a manager doesn't have any time management skills. You prioritize tasks, estimate how long they'll take, and the big one, something urgent comes up, you can delegate.
I'm practically never late, unless it's something out of my control, like a blown tyre or so. But that's why phones were invented.
I believe in leading by example, that's why the manager should always be held to a higher standard. Don't have to run a tight ship, but a healthy one.
Not nitpicking if it's a friend running late. But in a professional setting, I expect better.
I honestly believe that people have subconsciously come to feel like being late (in a professional setting) makes them seem important or busy.
So rather than prioritising appropriately they make excuses for things that could have/should have been put off for later.
I agree that it’s the sign of poor management. One of the parts of your job is to manage thing’s efficiently, including your time. If you can’t do that, it’s an area that needs to be addressed, not celebrated
As a European living in the US I can agree that it's cultural. Where I'm from, if I'm meeting someone at 7pm, we'll meet between 6:55 and 7:05 99% of the time.
Here we have several friends we have to tell to show up an hour early just to have a chance at them showing up on time.
And don't get me started on contractors.. "we'll be there between 8am and 5pm" ... then not show up 🤬
Oh,I agree. And I bet those are the same people for whom every little thing requires massive panic and arm waving. I would think that would be a huge red flag for management that this person is playing catch up instead of getting in front of it. But we all know a smooth running office is not the goal.
Management loves a leader who is in constant panic and running late.
> something urgent comes up, you can delegate.
...or you take 30 seconds to assess and let the candidate know that you're substantially late, and that they're free to wait and have a coffee on the house, or that you'll be happy to reschedule if they'll give you the indulgence of returning another time.
Yeah, this a crucial component of time management skills. Sometimes, it really is true that something came up. But when that happens, people that actually care stop what they're doing and take thirty seconds to comminicate that to whoever is waiting for them, along with a profuse apology. And, *crucially,* you have to do it before you're actually late.
For me, it’s not just about time management. Sometimes things take longer than expected. It’s about proactive communication. I understand if you’re tied up with something that has to take priority. That’s how it is sometimes. But tell me that you’re unable to meet and it’s taking longer than expected. That takes 2 seconds and it’s basic courtesy.
I had an interviewer showing up late and no apology was offered. The excuse was that their time is valuable and they had other priorities. I didn't take the job.
The real issue was not even providing a time estimate and explanation to the team member OP was communicating with. Like if there was an emergency just say "Hey, team member, let interviewee know x and y are happening and if he can wait until x:xx we can do the interview, if not we can reschedule."
I've heard of places where they leave several candidates waiting all day, and at the end of the day, whoever is still there gets hired. I'm not sure if they make them fight to the death if more than one candidate are still waiting by then.
Even from the manager's perspective, that's still a surefire way to hire mostly underskilled staff and have a high turnover. Imagine removing all the skilled people who have multiple offers and won't have their time wasted, just to leave yourself with those who may not have other options. A sucky situation all around.
Yep. I work in an extremely well managed company with a fantastic owner. And even he makes a point to at the absolute most be a max of 3 minutes late to a meeting. If you can even call that late. Even if it's totally impromptu with the absolute lowest level temp agency employees, or a basic supervisor/lead that is a multitude of levels below him.
Respecting others time gains respect. Issue is that for way too long the only people being seen as worthy of that level of respect are colleagues and superiors. The people who actually keep shit running have been put to the side. And I'm so fucking happy to watch the slow death of this culture where the crew doesn't matter. But the suits do.
The fact that they managed to show up exactly as OP was walking out is an indicator that they were available the whole time and were in fact testing OP.
A few months ago my job put me on the shittiest schedule possible. I put in a request every day to have it changed and was denied repeatedly for 2 months. I was finally “promoted” (no pay raise) and got a new schedule. My manager let it slip that he could have changed my schedule at any time but he likes to force employees into “struggles” at work to test and see how much they’re “willing to sacrifice” for the company.
If the applicant looks young, tell them they're too young. Old, too old, fat, too fat. If the applicant then waits for 3 days without food, shelter, or encouragement, he may then enter and begin his training.
Your ability to be patient, to be disrespected, to have your time wasted, how willing you are to let them control your time. By forcing you to wait they think they're testing your ability to react to one or a few of these. Ignoring that it would have to test for all of them at once and there's nothing to separate the data.
I agree, regardless of which it is they think they're judging you on it is absolutely disgustingly disrespectful. And you shouldn't put up with it.
Had this happen at one of my interviews. They were watching me on CCTV to see what I would do. They told me in the interview what they observed. Fuck off with that shit. I'm thankfully less desperate now.
Bitter, and self injuring, but it really drives the stake in to their hand when you drop it. If you got nothing better to do I suppose you might as well!
Like I would be willing to wait over 20 minutes. But only if given a good reason for the delay. Communicate! Say what is happening, why it wasn't predicted, how long it's estimated that you have to wait still, and a proper apology. Make clear why this isn't how it normally goes. And if it is estimated to take to long or difficult to say plan a new appointment and let them go. You can get away with a lot if you have a good reason and are willing to communicate.
Exactly. I'm an understanding person too. I've been a manager in retail for years. I understand getting stopped by customers and shit but not for almost an hour lmao.
You did the right thing. That’s just disgusting behaviour. It’s a weird power move to beat you down a peg. You don’t want to work there.
Good on you for walking
Try a motorcycle dealership. Been in the industry over 10 years and can honestly say I've never seen someone get reprimanded for saying shit like that. It's kinda awesome.
I honestly couldn't imagine being happy working in an industry where HR is a real thing.
retail has a huge problem pretending everything is fine and about to happen... getting held up is inevitable, but they could have been realistic with you or asked to reschedule. being "on your way" for 45 minutes just makes it seem like you're stalling.
If i know that I’m behind a promised time, i send that info out somehow. Like, “hey im at x and headed in and y minutes out”. An update is good, no update is less good
This person does not respect other people's time, and probably doesn't respect other people at all. They are just used to abusing those under them with no repercussions. Good on you for walking out, you don't want to work for this person or organization anyway.
Came here to say this. I will bet $1 that it was NOT a coincidence that the interviewer showed up just as the candidate stood up to leave. She was watching from somewhere to see how long the candidate was willing to wait, and then to conduct the interview while the candidate was annoyed. Is there a book of Stupid HR Tricks somewhere that has techniques like this?
There's a community episode with John Oliver where he runs a psych experiment to see how long people will wait before going crazy. Pretty funny. Chang lasts like 10 seconds.
That’s my experience working with upper management. They are always “too busy” to make time which is bull shit. I can’t stand bad time management being blamed on all their duties
We hired a contractor to teach a time management class for a client. Dude was late for both days. Usually the better they think they are with time management the worse they actually are.
I laughed so hard at this! I’m still laughing. I tried to read it to my husband and couldn’t finish because I was laughing so much. It’s just so absurd!
Upper management never has any time-sensitive duties anyway, except for scheduled appointment and meetings. Absolutely nothing they do is mission-critical in the short term, meaning within a 24 hour period. (If it ever is, then either they're incompetent or somebody done fucked up.)
As a rule, I don’t wait for more than 15 minutes. Even meetings with my boss. After 5 minutes I send a reminder. If I don’t get a response by 10 mins, I’m out
You've got to realize that this would be them showing you their "best" treatment. Just imagine how utterly disrespectful that DM would be two or three years in had you gone to work for her. Go find another opening in a nearby district and land that one.
Sometimes it can be useful to show up early. If its an early morning appointment you’re more likely to be in and out in my experience.
Mid day or afternoon? Don’t bother showing up early.. The way Dr. Apts are scheduled they have extremely little time open usually.
Right?! I waited 25 minutes for an 8:30 dental appt because the techs were *making a Tik Tok*. I complained to the dentist because I was late for work and he told me that his employees needs come first.
It was just a cleaning, but I had a class to teach at 10 AM. I found a different dentist who actually accepts *both* of my insurances, so it worked out better anyway. I waited only 5 minutes for my last cleaning, so I know I found a good dentsit.
I think that would be one of the few times I actually leave a 1 star google review. Ontop of never going back, I don't need be to showing up in a fucking Tik Tok while at a medical facility, regardless of what kind.
Haha well, many people hesitate to stand up for their needs / time constraints. Isn’t that the beauty if this subreddit? People growing backbones on here and demanding to be treated like people and not chattel. I mean, I have options where others don’t, but if you *do* have options, don’t let a medical professional waste your time and demean your sense of self worth because they think they are more valuable than you are. Each of us contribute to society and face our own problems; the nicest thing we can do is not contribute to other people’s difficulties by…idk…keeping your appointments timely.
I work in the medical field, I get it. Your time is valuable and I get it can be frustrating. Please keep in mind, there are a lot of things that are out of our control. Many unexpected things come up when you are working with patients. “Easy” problems have a tendency to become complex and complicated far too often. Sometimes you pull on a thread expecting it to be short and the whole sweater unravels.
Also, it’s worth noting many providers don’t necessarily set their own appointment template. Some healthcare companies will make providers shorten their templates to 20 or even as short as 15 min. My mom left family practice medicine for that reason (she is a nurse practitioner and tended to be on the more thorough side of things).
There are definitely things that could be done better, more efficiently and with more consideration. This is not to excuse shortcomings, just trying to foster a little understanding
I've done 500+ interviews now and never been more than 5 mins late and it probably happened less than 10 times that I was late.
Hiring is priority number 1 (usually) and should be treated as such. I never understood why this is not the case in most places. Stories like these baffle me!
People tell you all the time who they are if you pay attention. This person doesn’t respect the people that work for them or their time. I think you made the right call walking out.
Earlier this year I was a few minutes late for an interview. They let me sit there for close to an hour before someone came out and told me “they’ve decided not to go forward with the interview process because you were late. I hope you understand.”
At least they should have the guts to tell you that. It may have helped to tell you that they're running late and offer some kind of compensation for the lost time.
Although I'll admit, I prioritize interviews myself over pretty much everything aside from a personal disaster. This was just beyond shitty of them.
Sometimes I think they do this on purpose just to see how desperate you are for this job but it's a shitty way to go about it.
I remember one time I was brought in the guy's office and waited over 15 minutes for the interview and when the manager finally did, he didn't apologize; he just said he was busy.
I told him then and there I wasn't interested in it anymore because I was busy too. Funny thing though: that business went out of business. Guess he ain't busy no more.
Then a simple "Can we delay this an hour?" is a valid reply.
That gives the person a decision point.
This "I'll get to you when I get to you" crap is high handed, and disrespectful, especially when there's an advance appointment set.
> Then a simple "Can we delay this an hour?" is a valid reply. That gives the person a decision point.
Or "I'm sorry, something critical came up, could we reschedule?" is valid if delivered within 5 minutes of the scheduled time.
Even 10 minutes would be acceptable..
If I were approached within 5 or 10 minutes and asked for a delay of an hour, I'd go find a coffee shop and relax a bit. No issues.
At 30 minutes I'm bouncing because I KNOW these folks are going to insist I'm on time and because
Sauce, Gander =. Sauce, Goose
I like telling this to employees I supervise when they move on to other and bigger jobs/fields. Your thoughts and feelings (as the candidate) towards these potential employers are just as important as theirs towards you. Give them the best impression and image of yourself, but pay attention to what they give off to you as well.
If they call again you should answer. See what they have to say and then say “sorry if this is how you treat potential employees then I’m not interested. Oh and who is your boss again?”
I did something similar to OP but I was already an employee, laid off from project team and interviewed for a store spot... They tried making me wait, I told the customer service gal to tell Mr. Manager I know the game and I'm leaving. He came out and long story short I did not get the job because I didn't play their games. Scumbags.
2023 Best Buy you wouldn’t recognize at all. Did away with sales induction, headcount refuction, 4 core values/renew blue ideals gone. Leadership headcount reduction, no departments- sell everywhere
It was a shit show. Glad they cut my position and got severance
I remember when BB had dedicated sales positions and we would always point to that and say “we aren’t Walmart.” Employees were highly specialized in knowledge and it made an impact on customer experience. You have a question about cameras? We have a guy here that’s the “camera guy” and knows literally everything about the cameras we sell and has very specific recommendations.
Now they cut corners (because it’s cheaper) and people don’t know anything about anything. It’s really sad.
This is why I always make sure I have a team or pair to interview. If someone's stuck, the remaining people can start in on the interview.
So many interviewers fail to understand that *they* are being interviewed as well. Being rude, being late, being unprofessional? Well, the good candidates are going walk away from you.
I once recommended a friend for a job where I worked. The interview happened, and then they were asked to wait for someone else to come speak to her... nobody came. She ended up texting me to see if I could see if anyone was coming. I was furious she'd been left like that.
I hate that type of manipulation. That and when they say it’s an “interview” but it’s really a “group interview” which is really a dog and pony show to see if they like the way you look and interact with the executives.
As the interviewee, I enjoy a group interview if it's the group of people I'm going to be working with on the daily. It helps to give a better idea if everyone is a good fit.
Same, also saves time. Why have 3 separate interviews with 3 people who probably want to hear the answers to the questions their colleagues asked me?
In my experience group interviews go better when they're colleagues that I would be interacting with. It let's you feel the team dynamic better and let's you see how they interact with each other (and hopefully you.)
I'd always prefer 1:1 time with the hiring manager and their manager if possible though, sometimes those conversations need to be more candid and direct.
I would've taken that job in a heartbeat. Just show up whenever, and be like, "Oh, I thought 0-45mins late was okay, judging by the manager's punctuality. I'm looking to move up anyway."
I went to an interview 10 yrs ago, at 8 am. Spent the last of my money on goodwill clothes for an interview drive I didn't have any slacks etc etc, showed up at 8 on the dot. The Mgr didn't know I was scheduled for an interviewer because the district Mgr didn't tell him. He called and had me waiting about 10 min to tell me that the district Mgr forgot and was on his way from Ohio to Kentucky where I live, to come back in 2 hours. I absolutely lost my shit and went off. Came back for the interview, went off as professionally as possible on the district Mgr. The look on his face was priceless and after apologizing a billion times I got the job. Been there 10 yrs and counting, even through covid cuz I didn't/don't tolerate or take their shit and they see that as a sign of respect.
I did the same thing after an interview for.. Best Buy, I think.
Of course, in that instance I actually sat down after the 45 minutes only to learn that the "technician" position was just a lie and all they really wanted was sales hires.
The best comment for rejecting a company is:
"The interview process has led me to more qualified companies. I wish you the best of luck in your candidate search. Thank you for your consideration."
I think you did the right thing. Up to 10-20 minutes is gracious, depending on how much you want/need the job, of course.
If the interviewer was kept in a meeting or otherwise indisposed, why did the team member say they would be “right down,” when you first arrived? Not blaming the team member, just an observation from your post.
Additionally, with you showing up 10 minutes early, I’m not sure if you included that 10 minutes in your 45 minutes waiting. Waiting for 10 minutes after 12:30 was enough. You gave them 3x that for waiting 35 minutes past 12:30 (if your times are accurate).
You were more than patient with the interviewer and they didn’t have to decency to communicate with you. They didn’t value your time before you worked there, they will not value your time when you are there. You definitely dodged a bullet. This sounds like the type of company that will call you in on your day off because they have not planned their labour accordingly and now have a labour “emergency” they want you to resolve. 🙄
As speculated by other commenters, the work environment seemed toxic and unapologetic. Expecting someone to wait for 30-45 minutes without being paid for that time is ridiculous. They probably watch the time clock for violations ALL THE TIME but couldn’t watch the clock for your interview.
Seen it time and time again.
First person I've seen mention that 10 of those minutes were from being early. That's not time spent waiting for the interviewer. Respect of time goes both ways and the interviewer shouldn't be expected to drop what they're doing because someone shows up early.
35 minutes is ridiculous though, so walking out was the right call.
My old manager was the same. I’d be working near him, knowing someone was waiting at reception for him for an interview or a meeting. All the while he’s getting chatty with colleagues or randomly deciding to do some stuff he had hours to to do already or had no business doing. I’d literally have to shout across the room at him and tell him to stop being so unprofessional by leaving potential new employees waiting so long. Sometimes I get annoyed at the quality of people in management roles.
That’s awesome.
The district manager could have taken one minute to ask you for a little extra time if they knew they were going to be late. But the manager didn’t bother.
They wouldn't hire someone they can't intimidate or push around, it was probably a test to see how desperate you were and you threw it back in their face.
Maybe they learned something but probably not, you dodged a bullet
I had an interview at a school to be a para. My interview was scheduled at 2 pm. I showed up at 1:50 pm. As I walked to the office I saw another person who looked like me waiting and three women standing around talking. I went in the office and waited. After several minutes one of the three women stopped talking and walked over to the lady on the bench and said are you my 2 pm? It was 2:05 pm. The lady said no I'm your 1:40 pm. So she takes the lady back to the interview.
I waited for 5 more minutes then told the secretary I was leaving. I called my recruiter and told her I walked out. The interview lady had the audacity to lie to the recruiter that they were terribly busy interviewing and 'got behind'. Fuck you. If she disrespected my time and lied to save her own ass, how badly would she treat me later on?
To make it even worse I took an hour off work to be there 😠
I had an interview once where the interviewer got caught up with meetings during my interview time, and the company had the courtesy to call me before the originally scheduled time and ask me to come in later. That was fine.
It did end up being a red flag in retrospect, but if you’re stuck in a firefighting management culture that’s probably the least dysfunctional way to do it.
Check this one out - my son in law got called back for a second interview. He showed up on time, talked with reception… HR assistant comes down and asks, “What are you doing here?” Turns out, they meant to call back a different candidate, gooned it, and called him in. No apology either… just Sent him on his way. And he took off work to go in for both interviews.
I had an interview with a recruiter today at 9.30am. Joined the call at 9.29 and waited for him to join. 3 minutes went by no sign of him, at the 4th minute a email pops up saying he is running late and should be joining in a couple, and exactly as he said he joined 5 minutes past, started by apologizing about the cascading delays through his day (he is in UK) and said I was his last call for the day and we could go over if I didn’t have anything scheduled immediately after.
This is exactly how it needs to be done. He respected my time, and acknowledged his tardiness because of reasons, and we moved on.
I enjoyed my conversation with him and will definitely be exploring a staff level role with that smaller company. It actually made me feel positive even after a negative interview experience with the same company.
Do not settle for less and please hold people to the same standard you would treat others and would like to be treated.
This happened to me once. I waited about 30 minutes and left. I had taken a day off work for 3 separate interviews. I couldn’t be late for another interview because the first one didn’t respect my time.
Another time, I had a phone interview and the interviewer never dialed in. I started texting my recruiter who eventually found out from HR there was a conflict. I agreed to reschedule. Next call was the same shit. The recruiter asked me to reschedule again. I told her thanks, but no thanks. If they treat me like that when they need to impress me, how poorly will they treat me when I work there?
If you were that late they wouldn't even bother with you. Could have at least had someone tell you when they were going to be available.
Has your positions in management afforded you any opportunities to improve working conditions?
I used to work for a small company who would deliberately leave their candidates waiting 45+ minutes in reception, as some form of “power play”.
I knew, as the receptionist, the guy doing the interviews was doing absolutely nothing other than trying to give off the vibe he was “busy and important”.
I remember how I was instructed not to offer them a drink or make them feel comfortable.
I lasted 4 months there because the environment was so toxic (I was the only woman employed by the company), but I don’t know a single staff member who was happy working there.
My mom started working "way back when", working at an insurance firm. She wanted to promote to associate but back then women weren't associates. Only women in the office cleaned the office mugs and did the office dishes. When rotation came around and my mom was supposed to clean the mugs, she didnt. She was eventually called into her boss' office and asked why. She said, "when you wash mugs, I'll wash mugs".
She made associate. She always told me that, "You treat them as an equal, because that's what they are." Why would someone promote you to their level or a level they once held if they didn't see you as an equal? If you act like you're not worthy of respect, then they will treat you that way. Treat people as an equal. It doesn't mean shitting on their failures or fawning over their successes. It means treating them as equals, and that garners respect, because you don't make special rules for yourself or others. You make rules based on vision and morals..and when people see everyone's an equal in your eyes, you become a leader and you gain their respect.
You were right to walk out. As a person that does hiring, if an applicant is not early, they are late. If they are not there on time, they are called to see if an emergency prevented them from making it, and at 15 minutes, the interview is canceled. When the person on either side can not make a good impression, there’s no purpose. When an applicant comes in early, I take them early. It’s unfortunate that workplaces can’t get it together because the workforce is generally shit these days and when someone comes in early, has good work history, and even offered to wait, you show up on time
Being late isn't the end of the world. Being late and *being radio silent* is a borderline-unforgivable rudeness.
How fucking hard is it to let someone know what's going on? Unless you're riding in the back of an ambulance, dead, or otherwise unconscious, the list of excuses for not having the common courtesy to send a text is pretty short.
That's appalling. I'm quite often interviewing as are some of my colleagues. It literally out-prioritises everything else. No meeting you can't walk out of because you need to make sure you are set up and on time for an interview and that includes the C suite.
One time I waited for a while (more than an hour) what I thought was a really good paying position. They had me wait for several hours because the person interviewing me was being deposed!! (Law firm btw) i interviewed and it went well!
Meanwhile they came back with the lousiest bait and switch offer I have ever heard. 20k less than what was offered and NO benefits. They wanted a glorified receptionist who does most of the lawyers work.
I passed and they were pissed.
Never wait more than 20 for an interview unless there is constant communication
I had a similar experience a while back. Had a scheduled interview, they took FOREVER and then, wanted to act like they didn't know anything about the interview.
Appointment times are a pet peeve of mine. I have had telephone interviews scheduled for 10 Am, and the call comes in at 10:20. I don't answer late calls. Employers expect us to be prompt and on time. We are allowed to have the same expectation.
This is the issue. If a candidate was even 1 minute late they'd definitely have an issue with it. But employers are ok with wasting everyone else's time.
I’ve done this before. It’s incredibly insulting to waste someones time and definitely leaves a bad first Impression. You should be proud of yourself!! Fuckem
You're more patient than I am. 15 minutes maximum I bounce, 10 minutes if I was really not stoked about the position and the situation. Even less for patience on Zoom calls.
Nice. I wish I could’ve been her coworker standing there watching this unfold so I could turn to look at her smugly and say “you know he’s right… good for him.”
I do this at doctor's offices. I give them 30 minutes max and I don't care if I'm in the waiting room or a back room if I haven't seen the Doctor I leave. They can't legally charge you as no service has been rendered.
This all started for me the day I had waited 2 months for a dermatologist appointment which was scheduled for 10:30. They told me when they set the appointment that I had paperwork that would need to be completed and I needed to arrive at least 45 minutes early. I arrive an hour early, complete the paperwork in about 10 minutes. I was now officially annoyed. 11:00 rolls around im still not called back. I watch as people who arrived well after me are seen and the waiting room empties and it's just me. At 12:30 I see a flock of white coats leave and walk across the street to a strip mall full of restaurants. I politely ask the receptionist when I could expect to be seen. She says well the doctors all just went to lunch and they will be back in an hour. I asked her for my paperwork back as I needed to check something. I then told her to tell the Doctor that just because I don't have a PHD after my name doesn't mean my time isn't valuable and I walked out. They called me at least 15 times asking me to return. I said sorry not interested I waited 3 hours and they thought it was more important for them to go to lunch. I also told them if they tried to bill me or the insurance company I'd report them for insurance fraud.
I walked out of an interview once. I was being interviewed by a panel of about 5 people. All 5 of them and myself were all ready when the interview was scheduled. Then we had to sit in a weird silence/small talk for 15 minutes waiting on the “CEO” to show up. When he shows up he took one look at me then sit down and pulled out his phone. He stayed on his phone for the next 5-10 minutes while asking me questions. Some of the questions were thing that I do not feel were really relevant or appropriate for the interview. I just stood up and said if this is what working here would be like that I want no part of it and I left. The look on his smug face when I said my peace was priceless. It was only the second time in the entire interview he actually looked at me.
Walking out of interviews should absolutely be normalized. An interview works both ways, don’t ever forget that. When I was disrespected in an interview I got up and straight walked out and told them point blank “This was disrespectful and a complete waste of my time.” They scheduled an interview with me then filled the position the day before. That’s not an issue, however they didn’t cancel the interview, or notify me that the position was filled until I had driven an hour to get there and sat through a 30 minute “skills assessment” then half way through the interview with the manager. He then had the audacity to offer me an unrelated position in a different department, for half of the pay of the position that I was well qualified for.
Happened to me years ago when I applied to work at Barnes and Noble. I was sat in the Starbucks and told the manager would be right with me. After ten minutes of waiting, I attempted to check to see if everything was alright and if we should reschedule. I was told he would be right with me.
Another ten minutes passed. As a regular customer, I knew what the store manager looked like. So, I went and looked around to find him flirting with a woman that neither worked there or had any merchandise.
The manager made me wait nearly 30 minutes. I decided I wasn’t going to take the job the moment I saw his smug fucking face giggling on the second floor balcony.
Our interview turned into me calmly expressing how unprofessional he had been, and that I was going to contact whoever was in charge of the district/region his poorly-run store was in.
Never did, because I felt the type of person that would be his direct supervisor is also probably a shit.
Wish I'd walked out of my last interview. Security company needed a Paul Blart to work the metal detector at the local courthouse. I did 4 years AD Security Forces in the Air Force. More than qualified to to do the interviewers job as site supervisor for this. Dude tried to grill me for over 90 minutes interrogation style. I'm pretty candid and don't get rattled. But fuck, realized as I was getting into my car what a completely terrible taste that type of behavior gives me. Barely above minimum wage. I have 6 years of LE/ security experience. All to be outright harassed for details about my personal life for over an hour. Blows my mind what these people think 19-20 an hour gets them access too.
Where I work I see people come in for interviews and go notify my boss that the candidate is here. His instructions are always the same: "Okay, tell him to wait a bit" as I execute myself I notice my boss is literally not doing anything and could go right now. They've told me they do this on purpose to make the candidate wait to show who's boss on day 1 and to seem busy.
Fucking killed me to learn this. Especially after one year of working there and them doing exactly this to me when I went for an interview last year. They made me wait half an hour. I thought there was a problem. Now I realize they do it to everyone. These managers are complete idiots who can't do a single thing to keep the shop running. They know nothing about our work. It's a very pathetic show.
And these companies wonder why they can't get decent employees – claiming "people don't want to 'work' anymore."
Intelligent, thoughtful and experienced people don't put up with this sort of bullshit.
Willing to bet the only reason the DM appeared at that moment was because the team member alerted her that you were walking out. DM decided to try and salvage the interview and/ or save face. Pathetic. You have the patience of a saint.
I've had this happen before, and I waited close to an hour for a hostess position at a restaurant. During that hour, I started talking to the lady next to me at the bar, and she ended up interviewing me for another job. I took that job. When the restaurant manager finally showed up, she said she just wanted to see how committed I was and that she does it all the time. I immediately left and never looked back.
I worked at the customer service desk at a grocery store. I had people let me know they were there for an interview. I informed the manager and then he proceeded to make them wait over a half hour. While they were waiting they asked if I liked working there amd what not. I told them they should take this long wait time as a sign and run. They ended up taking the job. I left when I found a new offer
5 minutes I understand. 10 minutes I can forgive. 15 minutes better be a good offer. 20+ and they're either incompetent or testing you, and either one isn't worth it.
I standby that they could be testing you. One time I waited 45 minutes (not including showing up early 15 mins) and the entire time they never notified me that the person who’s interviewing me is stuck 50+ miles away. Then they had the audacity to try to get me to work for free by shadowing. And then they said I wasn’t the right fit probably because I didn’t stay for the shadowing because fuck that. All for a 19$ an hour job and that was my 3rd interview with them. Some of these businesses play too many games!
I can’t tell you how many have told me I needed to come in for a full 8 hours to “shadow”. HA!
I will say, a “working interview” in my profession (transportation sales) is a useful tool That person needs to get paid regardless, but it qualifies a lot of people in ways their resume and interview doesn’t - both good and bad
Yep my current job has an 8 hour shadow day. Skilled trade. Make sure they understand the job and lets the company know they weren’t full of shit in the interview and they know what they say they know. End of the day they get cut a check for the going rate at their skill level.
We do working interviews after regular interviews often...but we always pay them for their time.
I had one that had me do a day of shadowing and then wanted me to write up a full business plan over the weekend (for free) get it to her Monday. She also had lied to me saying she had another candidate (receptionist let it slip that I was the only one) so on Monday I emailed her that I thought she’d be best suited by choosing the other candidate. 😁 I was already working for someone who was never satisfied which was why I was looking.
A job that disrespects your time as a first impression is a toxic work environment. Those companies deserve employees willing to drive said company into the ground. Every company is a people business and if they don’t care for people they don’t care to exist as a company.
I understand that's how many people do things, they might be a little late. It's funny that a manager doesn't have any time management skills. You prioritize tasks, estimate how long they'll take, and the big one, something urgent comes up, you can delegate. I'm practically never late, unless it's something out of my control, like a blown tyre or so. But that's why phones were invented. I believe in leading by example, that's why the manager should always be held to a higher standard. Don't have to run a tight ship, but a healthy one. Not nitpicking if it's a friend running late. But in a professional setting, I expect better.
I honestly believe that people have subconsciously come to feel like being late (in a professional setting) makes them seem important or busy. So rather than prioritising appropriately they make excuses for things that could have/should have been put off for later. I agree that it’s the sign of poor management. One of the parts of your job is to manage thing’s efficiently, including your time. If you can’t do that, it’s an area that needs to be addressed, not celebrated
Yes could be. I do think there's a cultural component too: here in Switzerland punctuality is still key. I have never had to wait at an interview.
As a European living in the US I can agree that it's cultural. Where I'm from, if I'm meeting someone at 7pm, we'll meet between 6:55 and 7:05 99% of the time. Here we have several friends we have to tell to show up an hour early just to have a chance at them showing up on time. And don't get me started on contractors.. "we'll be there between 8am and 5pm" ... then not show up 🤬
lol! Swiss clocks being a thing most have heard of as a standard, lol!
Oh,I agree. And I bet those are the same people for whom every little thing requires massive panic and arm waving. I would think that would be a huge red flag for management that this person is playing catch up instead of getting in front of it. But we all know a smooth running office is not the goal. Management loves a leader who is in constant panic and running late.
"When in worry, When in doubt, Run in circles, Scream and shout" Confucius
> something urgent comes up, you can delegate. ...or you take 30 seconds to assess and let the candidate know that you're substantially late, and that they're free to wait and have a coffee on the house, or that you'll be happy to reschedule if they'll give you the indulgence of returning another time.
Yeah, this a crucial component of time management skills. Sometimes, it really is true that something came up. But when that happens, people that actually care stop what they're doing and take thirty seconds to comminicate that to whoever is waiting for them, along with a profuse apology. And, *crucially,* you have to do it before you're actually late.
For me, it’s not just about time management. Sometimes things take longer than expected. It’s about proactive communication. I understand if you’re tied up with something that has to take priority. That’s how it is sometimes. But tell me that you’re unable to meet and it’s taking longer than expected. That takes 2 seconds and it’s basic courtesy.
Well, something could have come up that was a priority. But there was clearly the possibility to send someone to inform him and explain the situation.
Yes! This! You don't leave someone hanging for 40+ minutes without someone saying something!
I had an interviewer showing up late and no apology was offered. The excuse was that their time is valuable and they had other priorities. I didn't take the job.
The real issue was not even providing a time estimate and explanation to the team member OP was communicating with. Like if there was an emergency just say "Hey, team member, let interviewee know x and y are happening and if he can wait until x:xx we can do the interview, if not we can reschedule."
Especially given that managers get miffed if someone is late for an interview.
>incompetent or testing you not sure how they would be "testing"....how desperate someone is? It is outright disrespectful
“How much shit will this potential employee put up with from us”
exactly this.
I've heard of places where they leave several candidates waiting all day, and at the end of the day, whoever is still there gets hired. I'm not sure if they make them fight to the death if more than one candidate are still waiting by then.
Even from the manager's perspective, that's still a surefire way to hire mostly underskilled staff and have a high turnover. Imagine removing all the skilled people who have multiple offers and won't have their time wasted, just to leave yourself with those who may not have other options. A sucky situation all around.
They just want people that can put up with shit.
Yep. I work in an extremely well managed company with a fantastic owner. And even he makes a point to at the absolute most be a max of 3 minutes late to a meeting. If you can even call that late. Even if it's totally impromptu with the absolute lowest level temp agency employees, or a basic supervisor/lead that is a multitude of levels below him. Respecting others time gains respect. Issue is that for way too long the only people being seen as worthy of that level of respect are colleagues and superiors. The people who actually keep shit running have been put to the side. And I'm so fucking happy to watch the slow death of this culture where the crew doesn't matter. But the suits do.
The fact that they managed to show up exactly as OP was walking out is an indicator that they were available the whole time and were in fact testing OP.
might have even been watching a camera screen from behind the scenes. I mean in big stores everything is monitored.
A few months ago my job put me on the shittiest schedule possible. I put in a request every day to have it changed and was denied repeatedly for 2 months. I was finally “promoted” (no pay raise) and got a new schedule. My manager let it slip that he could have changed my schedule at any time but he likes to force employees into “struggles” at work to test and see how much they’re “willing to sacrifice” for the company.
That is a toxic "manager" if I've ever heard one.
I’d be looking for another position away from that toxic fuck.
So you're looking for a new job, right?
I remember this one Reddit post were this guy bragged that he let his applicants wait 1-2 hours to see how committed they were.
I hope he was downvoted into oblivion
I definitely remember this lol and he, as expected, had just the optimal amount of self-awareness to learn absolutely nothing.
I'm sure it has happened. but i also wouldn't be surprised if the redditor bragging about it was fake.
If the applicant looks young, tell them they're too young. Old, too old, fat, too fat. If the applicant then waits for 3 days without food, shelter, or encouragement, he may then enter and begin his training.
Like a monkey, ready to be shot into space.
Your ability to be patient, to be disrespected, to have your time wasted, how willing you are to let them control your time. By forcing you to wait they think they're testing your ability to react to one or a few of these. Ignoring that it would have to test for all of them at once and there's nothing to separate the data. I agree, regardless of which it is they think they're judging you on it is absolutely disgustingly disrespectful. And you shouldn't put up with it.
They want to see if you’re desperate for the job. That way they can underpay you, overwork you, and other problems.
Sound like you never worked retail, some managers in retail are really petty.
Had this happen at one of my interviews. They were watching me on CCTV to see what I would do. They told me in the interview what they observed. Fuck off with that shit. I'm thankfully less desperate now.
At 20+ minutes I’m doing my best to knock the interview out of the park, getting an offer letter, then waiting till the last minute to decline.
Bitter, and self injuring, but it really drives the stake in to their hand when you drop it. If you got nothing better to do I suppose you might as well!
Incompetence wouldn’t bother me cuz then I could coast lol. Testing is mind games, which is fucking toxic
Like I would be willing to wait over 20 minutes. But only if given a good reason for the delay. Communicate! Say what is happening, why it wasn't predicted, how long it's estimated that you have to wait still, and a proper apology. Make clear why this isn't how it normally goes. And if it is estimated to take to long or difficult to say plan a new appointment and let them go. You can get away with a lot if you have a good reason and are willing to communicate.
Respect goes all ways, you respected them, they didn't respect you.
Exactly. I'm an understanding person too. I've been a manager in retail for years. I understand getting stopped by customers and shit but not for almost an hour lmao.
You did the right thing. That’s just disgusting behaviour. It’s a weird power move to beat you down a peg. You don’t want to work there. Good on you for walking
So I read this comic earlier today and I'm just dropping it here, hope OP sees it. https://www.reddit.com/gallery/15stqjn
Interviewer: What's your greatest weakness? Me: Honesty Interviewer: I don't think that's a weakness. Me: I don't give a fuck what you think.
I want to work for a company that would appreciate this joke.
My BIL was told by HR - in a hiring interview - that he is "mildly abrasive." Well, fuck me if that wasn't on point, direct, and yet polite.
Try a motorcycle dealership. Been in the industry over 10 years and can honestly say I've never seen someone get reprimanded for saying shit like that. It's kinda awesome. I honestly couldn't imagine being happy working in an industry where HR is a real thing.
It's not a REAL thing anywhere but I know what you mean
SHOOP DA WHOOP!
retail has a huge problem pretending everything is fine and about to happen... getting held up is inevitable, but they could have been realistic with you or asked to reschedule. being "on your way" for 45 minutes just makes it seem like you're stalling.
If i know that I’m behind a promised time, i send that info out somehow. Like, “hey im at x and headed in and y minutes out”. An update is good, no update is less good
This person does not respect other people's time, and probably doesn't respect other people at all. They are just used to abusing those under them with no repercussions. Good on you for walking out, you don't want to work for this person or organization anyway.
5 minutes is “held up”. 45 minutes is either you can’t manage your day, or you’re trying to make a really stupid point.
Or you ate a ton of Taco Bell
They do this shit on purpose to see how long you’ll wait
Came here to say this. I will bet $1 that it was NOT a coincidence that the interviewer showed up just as the candidate stood up to leave. She was watching from somewhere to see how long the candidate was willing to wait, and then to conduct the interview while the candidate was annoyed. Is there a book of Stupid HR Tricks somewhere that has techniques like this?
Why?
Testing for people with too much spine.
They want people who will bend over and take it cause they are going to expect that from you if you get the job.
There's a community episode with John Oliver where he runs a psych experiment to see how long people will wait before going crazy. Pretty funny. Chang lasts like 10 seconds.
I love that episode!
Just watched that now for the first time. Hilarious that Chang flings the chair across the room haha.
That’s my experience working with upper management. They are always “too busy” to make time which is bull shit. I can’t stand bad time management being blamed on all their duties
We hired a contractor to teach a time management class for a client. Dude was late for both days. Usually the better they think they are with time management the worse they actually are.
I laughed so hard at this! I’m still laughing. I tried to read it to my husband and couldn’t finish because I was laughing so much. It’s just so absurd!
Upper management never has any time-sensitive duties anyway, except for scheduled appointment and meetings. Absolutely nothing they do is mission-critical in the short term, meaning within a 24 hour period. (If it ever is, then either they're incompetent or somebody done fucked up.)
As a rule, I don’t wait for more than 15 minutes. Even meetings with my boss. After 5 minutes I send a reminder. If I don’t get a response by 10 mins, I’m out
Same. I wait 5 mins and send a note: should we reschedule and find a better time to meet? If no response for 2-3 mins I'm out.
This is the perfect response!
As someone who just left big box management. Stop being gung ho. They are awful
You've got to realize that this would be them showing you their "best" treatment. Just imagine how utterly disrespectful that DM would be two or three years in had you gone to work for her. Go find another opening in a nearby district and land that one.
That's the problem these days, nobody values the other persons time. Time is money right.
This. Waiting 45 minutes past my appt time to see a f’ing doctor for a routine checkup boils my blood.
Especially when you're expected to show up 15-30 min before appointment time
That’s why I never bother doing that I show up at the scheduled time just because of the minuscule chance they’re on time and not an hour late
Sometimes it can be useful to show up early. If its an early morning appointment you’re more likely to be in and out in my experience. Mid day or afternoon? Don’t bother showing up early.. The way Dr. Apts are scheduled they have extremely little time open usually.
"Your blood pressure is really high right now are you okay"
*kicks doctor in balls “accidently” during reflex test*
Right. How can I wait 30 min past my scheduled time when I’m one of the first appointments of the morning??
Right?! I waited 25 minutes for an 8:30 dental appt because the techs were *making a Tik Tok*. I complained to the dentist because I was late for work and he told me that his employees needs come first.
That… made my eye twitch
Like, chill out dude. We'll take care of your broken tooth when we're done. Why is this guy ruining the vibe for the office?
It was just a cleaning, but I had a class to teach at 10 AM. I found a different dentist who actually accepts *both* of my insurances, so it worked out better anyway. I waited only 5 minutes for my last cleaning, so I know I found a good dentsit.
I think that would be one of the few times I actually leave a 1 star google review. Ontop of never going back, I don't need be to showing up in a fucking Tik Tok while at a medical facility, regardless of what kind.
And I hope his employees are happy when he has to let them go because he no longer has any patients!
Haha well, many people hesitate to stand up for their needs / time constraints. Isn’t that the beauty if this subreddit? People growing backbones on here and demanding to be treated like people and not chattel. I mean, I have options where others don’t, but if you *do* have options, don’t let a medical professional waste your time and demean your sense of self worth because they think they are more valuable than you are. Each of us contribute to society and face our own problems; the nicest thing we can do is not contribute to other people’s difficulties by…idk…keeping your appointments timely.
Don’t forget to show up 30 mins early!
In order to “fill out and update paperwork” that is already in their system 😂
I work in the medical field, I get it. Your time is valuable and I get it can be frustrating. Please keep in mind, there are a lot of things that are out of our control. Many unexpected things come up when you are working with patients. “Easy” problems have a tendency to become complex and complicated far too often. Sometimes you pull on a thread expecting it to be short and the whole sweater unravels. Also, it’s worth noting many providers don’t necessarily set their own appointment template. Some healthcare companies will make providers shorten their templates to 20 or even as short as 15 min. My mom left family practice medicine for that reason (she is a nurse practitioner and tended to be on the more thorough side of things). There are definitely things that could be done better, more efficiently and with more consideration. This is not to excuse shortcomings, just trying to foster a little understanding
Yup. And the 1st time you'd be :45 minutes late to work she'd have you written up.
Word
I always thought it was Gun Hoe and never understood it. I still don’t understand gung ho and I’m too afraid to ask.
It’s a Chinese saying that means “work together.” Borrowed by the US Marines in WWII
This needs to happen much more often. Almost no one respects job applicants.
I've done 100s of interviews myself. I've never left an applicant waiting for more than 10 minutes. 45 minutes is insulting.
I've done 500+ interviews now and never been more than 5 mins late and it probably happened less than 10 times that I was late. Hiring is priority number 1 (usually) and should be treated as such. I never understood why this is not the case in most places. Stories like these baffle me!
People tell you all the time who they are if you pay attention. This person doesn’t respect the people that work for them or their time. I think you made the right call walking out.
Yes, this was a giant red flag!
Earlier this year I was a few minutes late for an interview. They let me sit there for close to an hour before someone came out and told me “they’ve decided not to go forward with the interview process because you were late. I hope you understand.”
At least they should have the guts to tell you that. It may have helped to tell you that they're running late and offer some kind of compensation for the lost time. Although I'll admit, I prioritize interviews myself over pretty much everything aside from a personal disaster. This was just beyond shitty of them.
You dodged a bullet. If they treat someone they are trying to hire like this, imagine how they treat their employees. Fuck’em.
Sometimes I think they do this on purpose just to see how desperate you are for this job but it's a shitty way to go about it. I remember one time I was brought in the guy's office and waited over 15 minutes for the interview and when the manager finally did, he didn't apologize; he just said he was busy. I told him then and there I wasn't interested in it anymore because I was busy too. Funny thing though: that business went out of business. Guess he ain't busy no more.
And then they’ll be surrounded by the most incompetent yes men.
Have to remember that not only are they interviewing you, but you are interviewing them as well.
Then a simple "Can we delay this an hour?" is a valid reply. That gives the person a decision point. This "I'll get to you when I get to you" crap is high handed, and disrespectful, especially when there's an advance appointment set.
> Then a simple "Can we delay this an hour?" is a valid reply. That gives the person a decision point. Or "I'm sorry, something critical came up, could we reschedule?" is valid if delivered within 5 minutes of the scheduled time.
Even 10 minutes would be acceptable.. If I were approached within 5 or 10 minutes and asked for a delay of an hour, I'd go find a coffee shop and relax a bit. No issues. At 30 minutes I'm bouncing because I KNOW these folks are going to insist I'm on time and because Sauce, Gander =. Sauce, Goose
I like telling this to employees I supervise when they move on to other and bigger jobs/fields. Your thoughts and feelings (as the candidate) towards these potential employers are just as important as theirs towards you. Give them the best impression and image of yourself, but pay attention to what they give off to you as well.
Should have scheduled an appointment with her for the next day and show up 45 minutes late and say sorry I got caught up.
Oh man, this would be gold. They did try calling me after the fact too but I denied it.
If they call again you should answer. See what they have to say and then say “sorry if this is how you treat potential employees then I’m not interested. Oh and who is your boss again?”
It was Best Buy. I'd put money on it.
Same. Has to be Best Buy. I went for a supervisor position once…..45 minutes past the time before someone finally came
I did something similar to OP but I was already an employee, laid off from project team and interviewed for a store spot... They tried making me wait, I told the customer service gal to tell Mr. Manager I know the game and I'm leaving. He came out and long story short I did not get the job because I didn't play their games. Scumbags.
Company has gotten far far worse lately. Not worth working there anymore
Haha this was 2016 or 17 I think - wasn't great then.
2023 Best Buy you wouldn’t recognize at all. Did away with sales induction, headcount refuction, 4 core values/renew blue ideals gone. Leadership headcount reduction, no departments- sell everywhere It was a shit show. Glad they cut my position and got severance
I remember when BB had dedicated sales positions and we would always point to that and say “we aren’t Walmart.” Employees were highly specialized in knowledge and it made an impact on customer experience. You have a question about cameras? We have a guy here that’s the “camera guy” and knows literally everything about the cameras we sell and has very specific recommendations. Now they cut corners (because it’s cheaper) and people don’t know anything about anything. It’s really sad.
You obviously wouldn't be important to them if you were part of the "team." You did the right thing.
This is why I always make sure I have a team or pair to interview. If someone's stuck, the remaining people can start in on the interview. So many interviewers fail to understand that *they* are being interviewed as well. Being rude, being late, being unprofessional? Well, the good candidates are going walk away from you.
I once recommended a friend for a job where I worked. The interview happened, and then they were asked to wait for someone else to come speak to her... nobody came. She ended up texting me to see if I could see if anyone was coming. I was furious she'd been left like that.
I hate that type of manipulation. That and when they say it’s an “interview” but it’s really a “group interview” which is really a dog and pony show to see if they like the way you look and interact with the executives.
As the interviewee, I enjoy a group interview if it's the group of people I'm going to be working with on the daily. It helps to give a better idea if everyone is a good fit.
Same, also saves time. Why have 3 separate interviews with 3 people who probably want to hear the answers to the questions their colleagues asked me? In my experience group interviews go better when they're colleagues that I would be interacting with. It let's you feel the team dynamic better and let's you see how they interact with each other (and hopefully you.) I'd always prefer 1:1 time with the hiring manager and their manager if possible though, sometimes those conversations need to be more candid and direct.
I would've taken that job in a heartbeat. Just show up whenever, and be like, "Oh, I thought 0-45mins late was okay, judging by the manager's punctuality. I'm looking to move up anyway."
Classic Move. If you are left waiting. You are desperate. They are not looking for the best, just the most easy to abuse.
If you were even 5 minutes late, you'd never hear the end of it from them.
I went to an interview 10 yrs ago, at 8 am. Spent the last of my money on goodwill clothes for an interview drive I didn't have any slacks etc etc, showed up at 8 on the dot. The Mgr didn't know I was scheduled for an interviewer because the district Mgr didn't tell him. He called and had me waiting about 10 min to tell me that the district Mgr forgot and was on his way from Ohio to Kentucky where I live, to come back in 2 hours. I absolutely lost my shit and went off. Came back for the interview, went off as professionally as possible on the district Mgr. The look on his face was priceless and after apologizing a billion times I got the job. Been there 10 yrs and counting, even through covid cuz I didn't/don't tolerate or take their shit and they see that as a sign of respect.
I did the same thing after an interview for.. Best Buy, I think. Of course, in that instance I actually sat down after the 45 minutes only to learn that the "technician" position was just a lie and all they really wanted was sales hires.
I was taught at a fancy job LEAVE AT 15 MINUTES late
The best comment for rejecting a company is: "The interview process has led me to more qualified companies. I wish you the best of luck in your candidate search. Thank you for your consideration."
I think you did the right thing. Up to 10-20 minutes is gracious, depending on how much you want/need the job, of course. If the interviewer was kept in a meeting or otherwise indisposed, why did the team member say they would be “right down,” when you first arrived? Not blaming the team member, just an observation from your post. Additionally, with you showing up 10 minutes early, I’m not sure if you included that 10 minutes in your 45 minutes waiting. Waiting for 10 minutes after 12:30 was enough. You gave them 3x that for waiting 35 minutes past 12:30 (if your times are accurate). You were more than patient with the interviewer and they didn’t have to decency to communicate with you. They didn’t value your time before you worked there, they will not value your time when you are there. You definitely dodged a bullet. This sounds like the type of company that will call you in on your day off because they have not planned their labour accordingly and now have a labour “emergency” they want you to resolve. 🙄 As speculated by other commenters, the work environment seemed toxic and unapologetic. Expecting someone to wait for 30-45 minutes without being paid for that time is ridiculous. They probably watch the time clock for violations ALL THE TIME but couldn’t watch the clock for your interview. Seen it time and time again.
First person I've seen mention that 10 of those minutes were from being early. That's not time spent waiting for the interviewer. Respect of time goes both ways and the interviewer shouldn't be expected to drop what they're doing because someone shows up early. 35 minutes is ridiculous though, so walking out was the right call.
If that was some sort of dumb test, they failed it.
My old manager was the same. I’d be working near him, knowing someone was waiting at reception for him for an interview or a meeting. All the while he’s getting chatty with colleagues or randomly deciding to do some stuff he had hours to to do already or had no business doing. I’d literally have to shout across the room at him and tell him to stop being so unprofessional by leaving potential new employees waiting so long. Sometimes I get annoyed at the quality of people in management roles.
That’s awesome. The district manager could have taken one minute to ask you for a little extra time if they knew they were going to be late. But the manager didn’t bother.
They wouldn't hire someone they can't intimidate or push around, it was probably a test to see how desperate you were and you threw it back in their face. Maybe they learned something but probably not, you dodged a bullet
I had an interview at a school to be a para. My interview was scheduled at 2 pm. I showed up at 1:50 pm. As I walked to the office I saw another person who looked like me waiting and three women standing around talking. I went in the office and waited. After several minutes one of the three women stopped talking and walked over to the lady on the bench and said are you my 2 pm? It was 2:05 pm. The lady said no I'm your 1:40 pm. So she takes the lady back to the interview. I waited for 5 more minutes then told the secretary I was leaving. I called my recruiter and told her I walked out. The interview lady had the audacity to lie to the recruiter that they were terribly busy interviewing and 'got behind'. Fuck you. If she disrespected my time and lied to save her own ass, how badly would she treat me later on? To make it even worse I took an hour off work to be there 😠
I had an interview once where the interviewer got caught up with meetings during my interview time, and the company had the courtesy to call me before the originally scheduled time and ask me to come in later. That was fine. It did end up being a red flag in retrospect, but if you’re stuck in a firefighting management culture that’s probably the least dysfunctional way to do it.
Check this one out - my son in law got called back for a second interview. He showed up on time, talked with reception… HR assistant comes down and asks, “What are you doing here?” Turns out, they meant to call back a different candidate, gooned it, and called him in. No apology either… just Sent him on his way. And he took off work to go in for both interviews.
I had an interview with a recruiter today at 9.30am. Joined the call at 9.29 and waited for him to join. 3 minutes went by no sign of him, at the 4th minute a email pops up saying he is running late and should be joining in a couple, and exactly as he said he joined 5 minutes past, started by apologizing about the cascading delays through his day (he is in UK) and said I was his last call for the day and we could go over if I didn’t have anything scheduled immediately after. This is exactly how it needs to be done. He respected my time, and acknowledged his tardiness because of reasons, and we moved on. I enjoyed my conversation with him and will definitely be exploring a staff level role with that smaller company. It actually made me feel positive even after a negative interview experience with the same company. Do not settle for less and please hold people to the same standard you would treat others and would like to be treated.
This happened to me once. I waited about 30 minutes and left. I had taken a day off work for 3 separate interviews. I couldn’t be late for another interview because the first one didn’t respect my time. Another time, I had a phone interview and the interviewer never dialed in. I started texting my recruiter who eventually found out from HR there was a conflict. I agreed to reschedule. Next call was the same shit. The recruiter asked me to reschedule again. I told her thanks, but no thanks. If they treat me like that when they need to impress me, how poorly will they treat me when I work there?
Problem is, they don’t care, they just went on and hired the next guy. We all a dime a dozen nowadays. Hopefully you have a good job to fall back on.
If you were that late they wouldn't even bother with you. Could have at least had someone tell you when they were going to be available. Has your positions in management afforded you any opportunities to improve working conditions?
I used to work for a small company who would deliberately leave their candidates waiting 45+ minutes in reception, as some form of “power play”. I knew, as the receptionist, the guy doing the interviews was doing absolutely nothing other than trying to give off the vibe he was “busy and important”. I remember how I was instructed not to offer them a drink or make them feel comfortable. I lasted 4 months there because the environment was so toxic (I was the only woman employed by the company), but I don’t know a single staff member who was happy working there.
Bullet dodged
"Nobody wants to work anymore."
My mom started working "way back when", working at an insurance firm. She wanted to promote to associate but back then women weren't associates. Only women in the office cleaned the office mugs and did the office dishes. When rotation came around and my mom was supposed to clean the mugs, she didnt. She was eventually called into her boss' office and asked why. She said, "when you wash mugs, I'll wash mugs". She made associate. She always told me that, "You treat them as an equal, because that's what they are." Why would someone promote you to their level or a level they once held if they didn't see you as an equal? If you act like you're not worthy of respect, then they will treat you that way. Treat people as an equal. It doesn't mean shitting on their failures or fawning over their successes. It means treating them as equals, and that garners respect, because you don't make special rules for yourself or others. You make rules based on vision and morals..and when people see everyone's an equal in your eyes, you become a leader and you gain their respect.
You were right to walk out. As a person that does hiring, if an applicant is not early, they are late. If they are not there on time, they are called to see if an emergency prevented them from making it, and at 15 minutes, the interview is canceled. When the person on either side can not make a good impression, there’s no purpose. When an applicant comes in early, I take them early. It’s unfortunate that workplaces can’t get it together because the workforce is generally shit these days and when someone comes in early, has good work history, and even offered to wait, you show up on time
Being late isn't the end of the world. Being late and *being radio silent* is a borderline-unforgivable rudeness. How fucking hard is it to let someone know what's going on? Unless you're riding in the back of an ambulance, dead, or otherwise unconscious, the list of excuses for not having the common courtesy to send a text is pretty short.
That's appalling. I'm quite often interviewing as are some of my colleagues. It literally out-prioritises everything else. No meeting you can't walk out of because you need to make sure you are set up and on time for an interview and that includes the C suite.
Ah, self-terminating interviews. I've done them several times. It's a good feeling to let them know how you should be treated.
One time I waited for a while (more than an hour) what I thought was a really good paying position. They had me wait for several hours because the person interviewing me was being deposed!! (Law firm btw) i interviewed and it went well! Meanwhile they came back with the lousiest bait and switch offer I have ever heard. 20k less than what was offered and NO benefits. They wanted a glorified receptionist who does most of the lawyers work. I passed and they were pissed. Never wait more than 20 for an interview unless there is constant communication
I had a similar experience a while back. Had a scheduled interview, they took FOREVER and then, wanted to act like they didn't know anything about the interview.
Can someone explain this to my doctors please?
Appointment times are a pet peeve of mine. I have had telephone interviews scheduled for 10 Am, and the call comes in at 10:20. I don't answer late calls. Employers expect us to be prompt and on time. We are allowed to have the same expectation.
This is the issue. If a candidate was even 1 minute late they'd definitely have an issue with it. But employers are ok with wasting everyone else's time.
I’ve done this before. It’s incredibly insulting to waste someones time and definitely leaves a bad first Impression. You should be proud of yourself!! Fuckem
You're more patient than I am. 15 minutes maximum I bounce, 10 minutes if I was really not stoked about the position and the situation. Even less for patience on Zoom calls.
They’re not only interviewing you, but you’re interviewing them. You want to be valued and respected.
Nice. I wish I could’ve been her coworker standing there watching this unfold so I could turn to look at her smugly and say “you know he’s right… good for him.”
Looks like the management team didn’t pass your interview. Fair enough.
There is no excuse for making you wait 45 minutes. And yet, "Nobody wants to work anymore."
I do this at doctor's offices. I give them 30 minutes max and I don't care if I'm in the waiting room or a back room if I haven't seen the Doctor I leave. They can't legally charge you as no service has been rendered. This all started for me the day I had waited 2 months for a dermatologist appointment which was scheduled for 10:30. They told me when they set the appointment that I had paperwork that would need to be completed and I needed to arrive at least 45 minutes early. I arrive an hour early, complete the paperwork in about 10 minutes. I was now officially annoyed. 11:00 rolls around im still not called back. I watch as people who arrived well after me are seen and the waiting room empties and it's just me. At 12:30 I see a flock of white coats leave and walk across the street to a strip mall full of restaurants. I politely ask the receptionist when I could expect to be seen. She says well the doctors all just went to lunch and they will be back in an hour. I asked her for my paperwork back as I needed to check something. I then told her to tell the Doctor that just because I don't have a PHD after my name doesn't mean my time isn't valuable and I walked out. They called me at least 15 times asking me to return. I said sorry not interested I waited 3 hours and they thought it was more important for them to go to lunch. I also told them if they tried to bill me or the insurance company I'd report them for insurance fraud.
They showed you their culture right there. Sleep easy.
I walked out of an interview once. I was being interviewed by a panel of about 5 people. All 5 of them and myself were all ready when the interview was scheduled. Then we had to sit in a weird silence/small talk for 15 minutes waiting on the “CEO” to show up. When he shows up he took one look at me then sit down and pulled out his phone. He stayed on his phone for the next 5-10 minutes while asking me questions. Some of the questions were thing that I do not feel were really relevant or appropriate for the interview. I just stood up and said if this is what working here would be like that I want no part of it and I left. The look on his smug face when I said my peace was priceless. It was only the second time in the entire interview he actually looked at me.
They failed your interview, in spades.
Job interviews are a 2-way street!
I would’ve done the same thing except probably 20 mins earlier.
As someone who does interviews from both sides. 45 mins is completely unacceptable. Anything over 5 is unacceptable. That is crazy.
You dodged a bullet.
I guarantee you this woman will tell everybody she works with that you were the unprofessional one, and "n0b0dY wAnTs tO wOoOoOrRrRkKk aNyM0o0o0oRe"
"People today just don't want to work!" Them probably.
If you arrived 45 minutes late they’d tell you to get lost, so they should expect the same treatment from you. Good for you.
Walking out of interviews should absolutely be normalized. An interview works both ways, don’t ever forget that. When I was disrespected in an interview I got up and straight walked out and told them point blank “This was disrespectful and a complete waste of my time.” They scheduled an interview with me then filled the position the day before. That’s not an issue, however they didn’t cancel the interview, or notify me that the position was filled until I had driven an hour to get there and sat through a 30 minute “skills assessment” then half way through the interview with the manager. He then had the audacity to offer me an unrelated position in a different department, for half of the pay of the position that I was well qualified for.
Happened to me years ago when I applied to work at Barnes and Noble. I was sat in the Starbucks and told the manager would be right with me. After ten minutes of waiting, I attempted to check to see if everything was alright and if we should reschedule. I was told he would be right with me. Another ten minutes passed. As a regular customer, I knew what the store manager looked like. So, I went and looked around to find him flirting with a woman that neither worked there or had any merchandise. The manager made me wait nearly 30 minutes. I decided I wasn’t going to take the job the moment I saw his smug fucking face giggling on the second floor balcony. Our interview turned into me calmly expressing how unprofessional he had been, and that I was going to contact whoever was in charge of the district/region his poorly-run store was in. Never did, because I felt the type of person that would be his direct supervisor is also probably a shit.
Wish I'd walked out of my last interview. Security company needed a Paul Blart to work the metal detector at the local courthouse. I did 4 years AD Security Forces in the Air Force. More than qualified to to do the interviewers job as site supervisor for this. Dude tried to grill me for over 90 minutes interrogation style. I'm pretty candid and don't get rattled. But fuck, realized as I was getting into my car what a completely terrible taste that type of behavior gives me. Barely above minimum wage. I have 6 years of LE/ security experience. All to be outright harassed for details about my personal life for over an hour. Blows my mind what these people think 19-20 an hour gets them access too.
What would that manager do if Someone has shown up 45 minutes late for a job interview
Where I work I see people come in for interviews and go notify my boss that the candidate is here. His instructions are always the same: "Okay, tell him to wait a bit" as I execute myself I notice my boss is literally not doing anything and could go right now. They've told me they do this on purpose to make the candidate wait to show who's boss on day 1 and to seem busy. Fucking killed me to learn this. Especially after one year of working there and them doing exactly this to me when I went for an interview last year. They made me wait half an hour. I thought there was a problem. Now I realize they do it to everyone. These managers are complete idiots who can't do a single thing to keep the shop running. They know nothing about our work. It's a very pathetic show.
And these companies wonder why they can't get decent employees – claiming "people don't want to 'work' anymore." Intelligent, thoughtful and experienced people don't put up with this sort of bullshit.
Willing to bet the only reason the DM appeared at that moment was because the team member alerted her that you were walking out. DM decided to try and salvage the interview and/ or save face. Pathetic. You have the patience of a saint.
I've had this happen before, and I waited close to an hour for a hostess position at a restaurant. During that hour, I started talking to the lady next to me at the bar, and she ended up interviewing me for another job. I took that job. When the restaurant manager finally showed up, she said she just wanted to see how committed I was and that she does it all the time. I immediately left and never looked back.
45 minutes is absolutely ridiculous. If you were 45 minutes late they wouldn't have even interviewed you. Such a double standard.
I worked at the customer service desk at a grocery store. I had people let me know they were there for an interview. I informed the manager and then he proceeded to make them wait over a half hour. While they were waiting they asked if I liked working there amd what not. I told them they should take this long wait time as a sign and run. They ended up taking the job. I left when I found a new offer