Talent Sourcer Lyubov Lyakisheva spoke on LinkedIn about an interview experience she would never want to repeat.
Talent Sourcer Lyubov Lyakisheva spoke on LinkedIn about an interview experience she would never want to repeat.
«The red flag was even before the offer. During my job search, I went through a lot of interviews. There were tears, disappointment, and anger. But one situation struck me the most. I decided to take a break from looking for a role in recruiting and applied for the position of assistant marketing manager. The company positioned itself as „one that teaches from scratch,“ where experience is not the main thing. I went through an introductory interview, talked to the recruiter — everything was fine, I explained that I chose this vacancy because my friends and a young man work in this field, and from the outside it looks promising, it is an opportunity to realize myself in something new. They convinced me that there is no need to worry: I am not a manager, I am just an assistant,» says the specialist.
The next stage amazed the specialist. «And then came the final interview with the Head of Managers. And instead of a constructive conversation — a barrage of technical questions, cases I had never even heard of, and most importantly — personal reproaches:
„You have a boyfriend in this field — you could have learned something by now,“ „Friends in the subject — didn’t anyone suggest it?“, „But how did you come without any knowledge at all?“ At that moment, I was so shocked that I couldn’t even put two words together,» Lyubov admits.
She was struck not only by the devaluation, but also by the complete unethicality of such a tone. «Why should my boyfriend be the measure of my knowledge? Why should I undergo a technical «baptism of combat» if they promised training? Conclusions?
«It was a red flag even before the offer. It was an experience that taught me: the problem is not always me. Sometimes it’s in the system, the approach, or the people,» the specialist states.
In the comments to Lyubov’s post, community members share their own trashy interview experiences.
«Once, during an interview, a potential boss asked me who was the head of my family, me or my husband. It was definitely a red flag,» wrote Retoucher Olena Bruno.
Anna Datska, Performance Engineer, shared her story. «I also had a challenging experience. Having worked as a performance engineer for several years, I really wanted to move to a DevOps position. A DevOps internship opened up in one company. I realized that if I successfully completed it, it would be a major downgrade for me, since the maximum I could get was a trainee position for a few hundred dollars. But it was a conscious decision, I was ready for it. And now the day of the technical interview came. Before that, I sent my resume, where I honestly described my existing experience. I must say that the technical interview was more like bullying. The man who was the „headliner“ immediately started accusing me that, they say, I was so cunning to come to gain knowledge in their coolest company, he knows for sure that I just want to use these holy people to improve my resume later. And that he doesn’t believe that I will be able, if successful, to give up a higher salary and move to a trainee position. And there’s no need to tell him about higher matters here, that DevOps is my goal and dream, he won’t believe it, because I was once in a similar situation myself, and money always wins,» says Anna.
She then started making excuses out of shock. She said that if they saw my resume and had such prejudices about candidates with experience, why was there a need to waste their time and mine on the call, that there was no need to judge others based on their experience, that this company had not invested anything in me yet to demand anything.» Her hands and legs were shaking. After 15-20 minutes of pressure, this inadequate person started asking technical questions, but I was already in such a state that I didn’t even hear what he was asking. I don’t understand why I didn’t leave that inadequate meeting on my own. My provider decided for me. At some point, my internet stopped working. After that, I simply burst into tears from stress because I allowed myself to be helpless in front of a boor. A little later, a recruiter called me and asked if everything was okay. I told her straight out that the guy was inadequate, and that such toxic people shouldn’t be allowed to conduct interviews, especially for training. «All she could say then was that he was just straightforward. How convenient it is to cover up your rudeness with imaginary straightforwardness,» the expert noted.
