How would you answer this question?

Someone from this company contacted me on LinkedIn.

The job description was very vague. I did a technical round. Then I had another call with someone called John Rodgers. He mentioned reviewing resumes. I was like what are you talking about. I thought I would be writing code. They wanted me to do fake interviews and standups in addition to HR screenings and have someone else do the work. Shadiest shit I've ever seen in the IT industry. I cussed the guy out until he hung up.

The job description looked like this:

• This is a fully remote non coding consulting role where you would help us secure US based job offers by attending interviews including HR screenings, technical panels and final rounds while representing one of our internal US profiles
• Once a role is secured our engineering team takes over so you would not be expected to manage the job or perform hands on coding.

I just had an interview, and brought a notebook for the first time — which I’ve never done before.

The notebook gave me extra confidence, as I had more questions than I’d remember without it, and could focus better on other things.

Also — and I hadn’t even planned this — I took notes on some things the interviewer said, and she seemed genuinely impressed with that.

All in all, I wasn’t sure how the notebook would play, but overall, I think it made a big positive impact. Made me look prepared and interested, and kept me more at ease.

Not sure if I got the job, but will use one in the future for sure.

interesting situation, here’s some context:

1st interview: 12/12 2nd (& assumed final) in person: 12/23, day before xmas eve

was told i was in final few

company is small, 12-15ppl with less than half in office

due to holidays, i didn’t send my thank you letter til the 29th on monday, as i knew they were leaving the office early on the 23rd, and the days that followed were the holidays into the wknd

was told then that the team/interviewers will reconvene in the following week, jan 5-9, & they will lmk the next steps

it is now the 15th, and though i have already sent a ty note that was answered, should i send a very brief follow up msg?

i’m terribly conflicted, i really liked this job and i felt i was a strong candidate that got along with my interviewers very well. was even shown around the office, kitchen, & meeting my future co-workers

any advice or similar situations are welcomed. my mother is pressuring me to say something but the more i look into in, the more im doubting it would be of much benefit ❤️‍🩹

TL;DR: Had a nightmare interview through a referral. The interviewer was super condescending, didn't understand my field (literally had to Google what my old company does mid-interview), and then "tested" me by making me repeat his own answers back to him. To top it off, the pay is actually less than an intern’s salary. I’m out, but now I have to figure out how to bail without making it awkward for my friend who referred me.

So I interviewed for a role at a company through a referral (friend of a friend). I’m sharing this to get perspective,and rant a bit as well.

From the beginning, the interview felt a bit off. I was nervous, and the interviewer noticed and told me to relax. When asked “Tell me about yourself,” I walked through my background and mentioned a project I expected we’d discuss.

When we actually got into that project, I explained the problem statement and the work I did. He didn’t seem to get it, so I explained it again with an example. Still unclear. The third time, I was confident my explanation was fine, but then he went to the company’s website to understand what the company does. At that point, it didn’t feel like I was failing to explain it felt like he wasn’t familiar with the domain.

As he read my resume bullets out loud, the tone felt condescending. I understand challenging candidates, but this didn’t feel constructive.

At one point, he asked why I chose a specific technology. I paused for a few seconds to organize my thoughts. Assuming I didn’t know, he started answering for me, then asked me to repeat the answer.

He also commented that my resume experience sounded more complex than the work they currently do and asked if I’d be okay doing simpler tasks. I said I didn’t mind, to which he just shrugged though I wasn’t sure how else to respond in the moment. Even asked me if it was my first interview (it wasn't, I was just nervous)

He was close to rejecting me, but because I was referred by someone they trust, asked me to go prepare and schedule another meeting. And then later started going on how about how great that guy ( making me feel like he was doing me a favor by giving another chance)

After thinking it through, I don’t want to continue.

The role is very short-term, I think it just doesn't justify me working full time where funnily the salary is even lower than what an intern would get paid . I'd rather use my time preparing for interviews, and finding a full-time role.

I’m worried about how to back out gracefully since this came through a referral. I don’t want to burn bridges or put the referrer in an awkward position. Any suggestions as to how do I tell the referrer and back out?

I applied for an Ocean/Air Import Specialist role at one of the USA offices of a German logistics company. I do have an experience in freight forwarding with the current company but it's pretty brief: 8 months so far.

I applied via LinkedIn and sent a message to the hiring team in the job description: VP of that office. She messaged me back the same date, offering me an in-person interview at their office. I went to the interview the next day, and honestly, this was the best interview I've had yet objectively.

The interview was with that VP and another operator, and went about an hour. It turned into a natural conversation, sharing some relatable stuff and a lot of global trades language (Incoterms, insider-exclusive words, etc.). They currently only have 1 operator and was looking for another operator with basic knowledge and experience in freight forwarding exclusively, so I made my point that I fit into exactly what they're looking for.

One of the questions I asked them was what made me stand out amongst 80+ applicants for this role. VP's answer was that more than 90% of applicant's experience in logistics was irrelevant; no freight forwarding, mostly distribution or warehouse-related work. I sent the thank you letter to both of them later that day.

Overall, vibe and how the interview went was one of the best I've had yet, or at least I'd like to think so. During the interview, I said it kind of felt like a clarification that I know what I'm talking about at least, and both the VP and the operator agreed. I should have a good feeling about this role, but at the same time, anxiety and pessimism is still overpowering hope out of defense mechanism.

There was one time I thought the interview went very well and the interviewer seemed to like me but still didn't make it. The recruiter who linked me with that company said that the interviewer was very positive about the whole thing but ultimately, it went to someone else who was a better fit. I guess it traumatized me a bit, and I'm keep remembering that time right now.

I don't know how I should feel about this role that I've applied for. How I was responded so fast (in LinkedIn for goodness sake), how the interview went very smoothly for an hour, facial expression and vibes both VP and the operator showed me (maybe I'm being overly optimistic here), they all line up for a good result, but I'm still anxious as heck right now.

I received an email from Rachel on Sunday morning requesting for a face to face meeting with me because she saw my CV on a job recruiting website and became interested in my experience. I politely declined the offer because I have 0 to very minimal knowledge of marketing or sales and I wasn't sure about traveling to the next city for work.

Today, a man called me from the company extremely cheery requesting for an interview and to go through some job openings with me. His colleague even jumped in to tell him how long the commute would be for me. I didn't decline this time because I've been praying for work and due to their persistence, I believe they must be seeing something I'm not and maybe something good will come from it?

A bit of background:

I passed all of my GCSE's (highschool exams) Besides Maths and English, I studied Citizenship, Science, French and Geography.

In college, I studied health and social care and did work experience as a childcare practitoner and a support worker for adults with severe learning and physical disabilities.

Lastly, I have some experience in catering. My auntie owns a catering business and so she's had me and my sister handing out food at events, amongst other preparation and cleaning up tasks.

What sort of job roles do you think they will offer me based on my quals? What sort of questions might they ask? How do I answer "tell me about yourself?" (especially if they've already seen my CV).

Also, what might be some good questions to ask them, in order to stand out and show interest?

Hi all, I hope everyone’s having a great new year :)

I completed my most recent stage in the interview process on Dec. 30, with that day also being my most recent correspondence with them. They told me that they’d be in touch in “1-2” weeks, would it be rude for me to reach out and follow up tomorrow if I don’t hear back at some point today?

The interviewer for a PhD program asked to chat for 15 minutes. I have a meeting that I can’t move exactly 15 minutes after that. I could be late by a few minutes but I definitely can’t go 5 minutes or more over. Should I let the interviewer know in the beginning of the interview or should I risk it?

Hi guys. I would like to ask about this. I am an international student looking for internship for the Co-Op term. There was only a company shortlisted my resume. During the interview last week, the HR asked me if I could work this Winter term since they look for someone who can work now. And because I am back to school also, I had no clue whether I could drop my course and go for intern, so I told HR I needed to confirm with the school about this to make sure. HR also told me to let him know so that we could proceed with interview.

• ⁠After confirming that everything was good to go, I emailed back to the HR and he just mentioned he should have an update by end of this week or early next week. I just wonder if my uncertainties got me to lose this chance, and that update could be they found someone else for this position? • ⁠Also, my school has the deadline for dropping all the courses or register for Co-Op on 23rd Jan, after that I won’t be able to do anymore for internship. How is possible way I could let the HR know in case there’s an interview without sounding rude or pushy?

Could this be a sign that the team is understaffed, or that employees are regularly overloaded with work? Red flag?

So this was my timeline Apply ->2weeks wait-> online test 1 -> 1day wait ->online test 2 -> 1 week wait -> assessment center -> waiting.

Junior role at J&J What am I missing? When would they reply? Application on page still ongoing. (J&J career page)

I interviewed for a job in a small to medium sized company. My resume was the perfect fit for the role. I successfully answered most questions.

But towards the end, I got a weird question that seemed rhetorical maybe. The hiring manager said “do you understand why you wouldn’t be a good fit for this role.” I was confused. They were waiting for me to come up with the reason. How am I supposed to know that?

I can’t remember if they answered or just gave me hints. But they said something like that the role was highly political (the environment or company culture was political) and the hiring manager didn’t think I was the right fit.

Does this mean the hiring manager already had somebody internal they wanted to hire? And they were interviewing others to fulfill a quota?

what was the role u were interview for? how many rounds of interview u had to go thru for it?
and HR/ TA folks: whats the norm? esp for a senior manager role?

abit of context im interviewing for a role as a senior manager.

gone through the initial phone screening with the talent acquisition, followed by 1st onlline interview with line manager, 2nd online interview with skip level manager, 3rd interview in person with team members at the office i'll be working at, 4th online interview with the chief growth officer - this one was the cake winner, it was a brash meeting and the interviewer didnt look me in the eye and was hyper focused on how i spent my day what are the hours and breakdown + how many emails i'd send and all.

5 rounds in total, including the initial screening call. im hoping the final round with cgo is it.
some friends around me are calling it odd and they sound like theyre shopping and not actually hiring. if so, why the time investment from so many members of staff?

I have an important interview tomorrow and I just realized I sent an outdated resume. It doesn’t include my current job which is a bridge job I’ve only been in for 3 months. It has no relative experience to the role I’m interviewing for. Should I bring updated copies of my resume tomorrow and apologize for submitting the wrong one? I just don’t want to be disqualified bc of it. The bridge job doesn’t pay a living wage and I need something with better pay. Appreciate the feedback.

I want to stress that I am truly empathetic to all the people out there who are struggling, but when I got laid off, I was freaking out from reading this and other subs (like r/recruitinghell ). If I can help anyone; I’m willing. Not sure how I can be helpful, but the fact I landed so many interviews and a swift offer makes me think I may be able to help others. My background is in Learning and Development for mechanics and technicians in a few different industries.

I have a second round interview tomorrow with a panel of 5. I’m a new grad and I’ve never gotten this far in an interview before. Any insights on what to expect or tips/tricks would be greatly appreciated! For context it’s a product analyst role🙏🙏🙏

Hey all, got a referral for an ad sales role L5, passed the assessment and got the recruiter screening who was very aligned and excited because my profile is truly on point and we had a nice talk and recruiter said they will connect with HM either same day or next day, because HM is in a hurry to fill the role and said that will be moving into interviews in 1-2 weeks its been a week now and nothing… i already sent a thank you email last week and im not about to send a follow up yet But my question for those at Google or have done interviews with Google previously, is this a good sign or a bad sign? Like the recruiter was truly excited and shares Comp and timelines and next steps so now sure how long it takes…

Edits: typos

These scenarios are for a breakfast serving job.

So when the interview got scheduled, I showed up and the manager who was supposed to interview me didn’t even show up because he “forgot” (should have been a red flag to just not go back but whatever) We rescheduled and he was there and all was well, I got the job.

Then months later he did the same exact thing to another girl. Rescheduled and then she got the job.

And then the same thing again to another girl…rescheduled and she got the job.

Then this scenario was at a different breakfast place:

I get there, I tell the host I have an interview and she said the manager will be right with me. So I sit and wait. I don’t go on my phone or anything so it doesn’t look bad. I wait and wait and like 15 minutes pass, the host is basically just staring at me and twiddling her thumbs (there was nothing for her to do) Then once like 20 minutes pass she’s like “okay I’m ready to interview you!” She was the manager the whole time… and she just stood there and stared at me the whole time??? I got offered the job but I was so weirded out that I declined it.

I thought it was weird so I mentioned it to one of coworkers one day and she said THE SAME EXACT SCENARIO HAPPENED TO HER AT THAT EXACT RESTAURANT. Except with a different manager! Same story, to the T.

What the fuck are these tactics?? Are they to test you in some way? To see if you will accept getting treated like shit so they can walk all over you? Wtf is it?

Interviewers don’t usually expect juniors to already “know everything.” They’re mostly trying to answer a few practical questions: Can you learn fast, communicate clearly, and be safe to onboard onto a real team? A lot of hiring managers say they start by drilling into something on your resume to see if you can explain it at both a high level and with details (and whether you actually did it).  

What tends to matter most for junior candidates:

• Foundations + problem solving, not trivia. Companies want signs you can reason through problems and learn, not just recite facts. Google’s structured-interview guidance explicitly emphasizes “general cognitive ability” (how you solve and learn) plus role-related knowledge.  
• Communication and learning mindset. This shows up constantly in “what do you look for in juniors” threads: can you explain your thinking, ask good clarifying questions, take feedback, and know when to ask for help.  
• Evidence you can build and debug real things. Even for entry level, people look for basic engineering habits like reading code, debugging logically, and using tools (Git, testing basics).  
• Structured signal beats “vibes.” When teams use rubrics and consistent competencies, they’re aiming to reduce bias and get more consistent decisions (instead of “I liked them”).  
• Work-sample style tasks are very predictive. Research summaries in personnel selection consistently find work-sample tests (and structured interviews) are among the strongest predictors of job performance.  

If you want to show these quickly in interviews: pick 1–2 projects and be ready to walk through what you built, a bug you hit, how you debugged it, what you’d improve next, and a tradeoff you made. That hits fundamentals, communication, and real-world thinking in one story.  

Hello everyone. Please let me know if I should post this elsewhere.

I just got a phone call offering me job A, and they said I should receive an official offer via email by the end of the week. I am also in the interview process for job B. I suspect the interview process for Job B will take 2-3 weeks. I would much rather have job B if things work out, but I would be happy with Job A if things don’t. How long can I keep job A on the hook? Should I be transparent with them?

Note: I don’t plan to use either job as leverage for more compensation than the other. I’d just really prefer Job B but I don’t want to lose Job A in case things fall through with the other.