Failed a Job interview
Struggling for this QOTW, largely because - as a child of the piss easy exam generation, overly supportive standards ("It's not that you've failed, you just haven't passed!") and not started to learn to drive - I technically haven't failed anything.

So how about a Job interview story.

Being an IT graduate, we were told by our Careers Advice Staff there was a holy grail of companies that you could work for. These companies every IT graduate should apply for, as the rewards and benefits for working for them were astronomical. After realising that my shoddy A Level results would result in an instant binning of my CV, I was whittled down to 4 companies. 3 I got instant rejections from, one (a famous software manufacturer with a Philantropist as it's CEO) wanted to pursue me further.

I was told I'd recieve a telephone interview, and I did. I got through that stage, and went to a face to face interview in Manchester, as well as an aptitude test.

The aptitude test came and went, and I went for the face to face interview. It was peculiar, but quite nice. They recorded the interview so I had a test run to begin with, at which I could tell them my answer without judging me. "Yes!" they said for one of the answers, "this will be fine for the interview!". I had my doubts ("Question: When have you influenced a group?" "Answer was well thought out, but it was about when I was at a party, so not the ideal business setting they wanted").

At this point I should inform you that the company itself wasn't doing the interviews, but a recruitment agency. They believed in having a personal approach to their interviews, treating every single person as a human being, rather than an applicant.

Anyway, after a month or so of phone calls (I really wanted to work for this company), I was told I'd hear on March 3rd, which was the day before my 22nd Birdthday, via email.

This was the e-mail I received (CFB).



Needless to say, I didn't have a very good birthday. March 3rd was a Friday, and the timestamp was 5pm. I could ring and complain, but they thought if I had a weekend of drunken nights out (which I did), I wouldn't be so angry at them on Monday morning.

Wrong.

9am Monday morning, I rang the agency, wanting an explanation for the e-mail. She gave a pitiful excuse ("It's company policy etc.") and said that I was "just not good enough, especially after the question revolving around the party". I said that a few weeks ago you thought it was okay, and I could've changed it (I think I got the same woman who conducted the interview). She did something that was very professional, and hung up.

Still angry, I e-mailed the company I was going to work for. They said they would investigate the matter. I forwarded the e-mail on, and - 3 weeks later - got a letter back from said company with around £500 worth of their software.

Unfortuantely, by that time, I switched to my Apple Mac.

Length? Well, average. You did want it to be personal though.
(rhyswynne - on every social network mullarkey known to man, Fri 5 Jan 2007, 14:09, Reply)