Guy Shares A Based-On-True-Events Job Interview And Some People Think That The Employer Is Out Of Their Mind
An account of an unorthodox job interview format, which some are calling hopeless, disrespectful and abusive has sparked debates about what kind of candidate could get a job this way and who would want to. A Nigerian business consultant named Jerry Doubles asked for his followers’ opinions on an employer’s method of selecting patient, obedient candidates: by telling them to show up early, and then stalling for 11 hours before meeting them.
Doubles also shared a story told to him on Facebook by a woman who had once waited 8 hours for an interview and could confirm that this was no urban legend.
Image credits: jerrydoubles1
Here is the alarming story posted by business consultant Jerry Doubles
Image credits: jerrydoubles
Image credits: jerrydoubles
Commenters have been overwhelmingly disgusted by the tactic, and it’s not hard to see why—after all, if an employer is willing to treat applicants like this as a test to see which one he should hire, imagine how he would treat them once the contract is signed.
Twitter users were not impressed with the employer’s strategy
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Doubles emphasized that he was not defending the employer, only stating that hiring methods like this aren’t unheard of in Nigeria, where over half of young people are unemployed and people often finish university only to find no options waiting for them in their field. Someone who needs steady employment doesn’t always have the luxury to choose an employer that will treat them with respect.
Doubles responded to criticism when he saw the anger his post had inspired
Image credits: jerrydoubles
Image credits: jerrydoubles
While he has a good point, commenters fairly pointed out that there’s also another kind of discrimination taking place in this interview format, and it’s a type that happens worldwide.
An applicant who has children, or needs to spend the rest of the day working another job or going to other interviews, would not be able to spend 11 hours at the office unplanned. It’s easy to imagine that while this is what many employers are looking for, this one just happened to find an effective method to weed out candidates who can’t afford to sign their lives over.
What do you think? Is this the kind of competition employers should be creating or is it just sadism? Have you ever had a job interview that made you reconsider your application?
As a manager of 20+ years I can tell you this is a terrible idea. The only thing the manager established is that this one person did not have something more urgent to do. A much better candidate could have left because they HAD to pick up their child from school or HAD to take a relative to a doctor appointment. What's more - he just hired someone who will sit on their a*s all day WAITING for something to happen. That is the last thing I want my staff to do. I want proactive people who make things happen.
That's what I was thinking. Better to have an employee with a mind of their own and a sense of value than a drone that will blindly follow you into the fire.
Load More Replies...To be honest, I wouldn’t give a job to the people who just sat around all day waiting passively, instead I’d be much more interested in the applicants who decided that this was a waste of time and left.
Yeah this seems more of an urban legend type thing even if it isn’t. It shows the person has no respect for themselves or their time. Honestly seems not too bright also. Like the employer could make them do anything after that apparently
Load More Replies...Job interviews go both ways. People evaluate each other and decide whether they are willing to work together. I would not be willing to work with someone who prioritizes sitting on a*s over productivity.
Training people to accept disrespect for their literal life, as if we don’t have a limited amount of time to live. Disgusting. Sure you got the job. And that job will be the kind where nobody gives a s**t about your time or money or family or existence. Making you okay with slavery. Life as an employee isn’t living.
I'm floored at the girl that waited nearly 10 hours for a position in customer service. I can understand if it was a company that had contracts with the military or government. But a silly customer service job? I would never wait for what was probably a minimum wage job. An employer that makes them wait that long is seeing if you need them more than they need you and that you are willing to do ANYTHING they ask...legal or not.
While I agree with you, let's not forget that some people live paycheck to paycheck and need jobs (even s****y ones) just to survive, not to mention other necessities
Load More Replies...The employer is an abusive asshat and not worth anyone’s time. You get 15 minutes. If you can’t be on time, I’m moving on.
What was the job offer? Something close to slavery? 🤬🤬🤬 Employer testing how far he can go with future staff? 🤬🤬🤬 This is the worst start in a manager-staff relationship!
This is an extreme example, but I think that the issue of making employees conform to a broken business model, rather than investing resources to improve the business model, and make things better for everyone, is a common problem across many industries. Management needs management.
This is wrong. People have lives and family. The employer is not waiting to see who is the most patient. The employer is looking for the person that will die at their desk. An Employer/Owner/Operator wants to work less. So will Employ someone totally invested in their work.
Time is a currency that can't be earned back. If you don't value my time, I don't care if you are Google, Facebook, or whatever "dream" employer people salivate over; you're not for me.
The OP is trying to say that maybe in some aspects this behavior is professional. In no capacity ever is it professional to make potential employees sit around all day and claim it was a test of patience. In what field is unending patience a requirement for employment? None. The employer was rude and these two people clearly didn't have anything else to do that day. I would have been one of the people to leave. It is absolutely disrespectful what the employer did and to defend it makes this guy sound ridiculous. Any company that treats their potential employees like that is not a good one.
This is ridiculous. I’m failing to understand why anyone would be interested in working for someone who doesn’t care at all about their time or the things they have to do. I can’t imagine what went through that guy’s head when he thought that it would be a good idea to waste someone’s time and throw their day away like that. My life doesn’t revolve around a job interview to the point where I’m willing to sit around for nearly 12 hours over it, all this demonstrates is that the 2 people who stayed had nothing better to do, not that they are more qualified.
Soooo...two people were rewarded because they were willing to needlessly waste an entire day?
As a young CEO, I have hired several employees. I ensure they are treated with maximum respect and I would walk away from any job that does not do the same.
This "method" tells me a few options... (1.) You have very clearly now laid out how you expect to be treated. You have told the employer that they may use/abuse you however they like because you will do it! (2.) The employer has SELECTIVELY CHOSEN those who very likely had no drive/motivation to line up other interviews, care for their children, care for themselves, etc. (3.) Sure... what if it was a "big job" like Google or Disney or Microsoft? You're telling me you're okay with being asked to work 12-13 hour days, maybe even 7 days a week, probably no overtime, no sick leave, Hey... maybe not even a schedule, so you can waste your day doing literally NOTHING again like you did at your interview? How much abuse are you really willing to take? This is not a "test" it's a Jerk Power-Move by the Employer to ENSURE that he can domineer over you.
This employer clearly has no regard for other people's time. I would avoid him like the plague. And. to be honest, I'm surprised none of the candidates came to the office demanding an explanation.
I would never work for a person who doesn't respect my time (i.e. - me). Good luck for getting jobs with a-holes!
I will only work for someone I respect. That kinda mentality makes them looks like a precocious prick. I'd end up being the employee from hell if I thought my boss were such an arsehole.
So let's say you have someone who may have a few interviews lined up because they are very qualified, you put them in this situation and they leave so the most qualified person just walked out the door and you are left with the people with the fewest options. I had three job offers before taking my most recent position and I went with the job I have now because they were willing to be flexible with my hours for graduate school. The job I work is pretty specialized so finding people who are qualified and with background in the field can be incredibly difficult and thus the employers have to compete rather than the employees. I would have walked out because who wants to spend the majority of their waking hours being treated so disrespectfully? I would have had to do that when I was younger, but the more experienced I get more picky I get about who I will work for. Best thing about getting older thus far in my life has been being in a position where I can walk away from s**t like this.
I can't image that the games stop after the interview. I've interviewed for jobs that were already filled, taken tests like draw the room (for drafting position), and asked all of the stupid questions people read online and think are out-of-the-box cool thinking questions - all of it. You want a good employee? Look for skill and potential. No one is a perfect fit at first but most are trainable. And treat them with respect because you don't want to lose your productive and high preforming employees when better jobs become available some where else.
I had a similar thing happen to me. After waiting for 45 minutes I told the receptionist to get the boss to book me another appointment as I had another job interview to go to. From what I had heard at the time, no one got the job as no one had the time to wait as they had scheduled around 4 other job interviews on the same day at rival companies. Moral of the story: Playing these games could see you losing a good employee being taken by your rival on the same day
The ones who left got off lightly. I'd never be desperate enough to work for this a*****e.
fuuuuck this manipulative arrogant d******d who is stuck up his own a**e. Nobody is that important and I wouldn't never want to work for someone who thinks they are so above me they can virtually imprison me to teach me "patience" . Kindly go and f**k yourself to this idiot
They must have known beforehand what the job was all about. Knowing that, the two that stayed must have decided that it was worth their time to wait. From the manager's standpoint, the two that did wait, either waited because they were desperate for a job and hence would be compliant and docile employees or that their doggedness put them in a special category of reliability, resoluteness, and loyalty -- all the kinds of virtues he want in his employees. I just hope the job they so patiently waited for was a damn good job, with good working conditions, good pay, and nice benefits. Otherwise, I'd have to say they probably just needed a job and decided to stick it out.
I went to an interview at a PR agency. Of course the ability to manage own time was a must in the job ad. The head of the agency was 20mins late for the interview. I left. No response followed from the agency. Now the woman is writing smart-a*s posts on LinkedIn about how to make a good first impression. I'm glad I don't work for her.
It would've been an epic story when the job seeking person were to decline the job, after suffering all that precious time in patience.
It's not a test of patience, but shows exactly what your position wil be like after hiring. You will be an absolute slave. Peeple, if you want to be respected, respect others ffs.
Boss who made them wait: has no respect for people. Idiots that waited: have no respect for themselves. I would NEVER work for someone like this and would thank them for showing me in advance how terrible they are.
After an hour of waiting, I went to the parking garage and poured brake fluid all over his lexus.
If I have an appointment at 9 and am running late I call and explain. If I am on time I check in. If I have other things to do after said appointment, it's clear I will state that when checking in. If someone makes an appointment with me at 9 and does not explain their lateness and lets me sit being ignored like they forgot about the appointment I would check with the desk. My time is my time. Not a game or test. As adults playing a wasting day for test of patience is not acceptable. It's rude and underhanded.
Conducting an effective and fair job interview is an important skill. It requires analysis of the relevant job skills and attributes that would make a candidate a good fit for the existing team and align with the company's mandate, vision, and goals. It takes great question writing and the ability to assess verbal and non verbal communications. Anyone who simply takes the last person standing without putting effort into the task of hiring is doing their company and the team a disservice. Just seems like a lazy, ineffective manager to me.
A big NO! I was once calle for an interview. The appointment was at 9:00 and I had an exam at 14:00. "An interview can't take that long" thought to myself. We were three girls. We waited three hours, always becoming excuses and the typical "20min more". After three hours we all three left because, obviously, life and responsabilities. I never felt more insulted in my life.
yeeeeah, Im not waiting over 15 minutes. If im to be on time, cool and ok...but I expect the same. Its IT, I have other offers on stand by by the dozen, tyvm.
I would not have stayed still. Instead I would have demanded my audience. If you set up an appointment and you miss the time, I would expect an apology. Were this company a Fortune 500 company, I would have written to their board of trustees. After two hours I would have walked out and given a lower Yelp review and linked their page to better employers.
Oh same stuff happened , i waited hours burning the seat without any offered refreshments for waiting while the other applicants left , i may look desperate and a bootlicker but what i did wasn't expected by the employer.. when i was called in , he blurt out you're accepted you can start to work first day of the coming week. then i straight declined. i told to his godforsaken face that he is the worst employer for not valuing my time. he ask me why i waited that long just to refuse and ridicule him.. i replied , because you're an a*s so i need my revenge.
Is this American thing? I've lived and worked in Europe and Asia for over a decade, and I have never heard of it, nor has it ever come across my mind when I recruit
I think it depends a lot on the job being interviewed for. There are certainly some jobs where that level of patience and/or dedication is important. That's a great test for those jobs. For most jobs though, I think this would be rather excessive; you're wasting their time as well. Especially if they're someone without a current job who needs to be putting themselves out to as many places as possible on the slim hope that our economy isn't the complete crapshoot it appears to be these days.
As a manager of 20+ years I can tell you this is a terrible idea. The only thing the manager established is that this one person did not have something more urgent to do. A much better candidate could have left because they HAD to pick up their child from school or HAD to take a relative to a doctor appointment. What's more - he just hired someone who will sit on their a*s all day WAITING for something to happen. That is the last thing I want my staff to do. I want proactive people who make things happen.
That's what I was thinking. Better to have an employee with a mind of their own and a sense of value than a drone that will blindly follow you into the fire.
Load More Replies...To be honest, I wouldn’t give a job to the people who just sat around all day waiting passively, instead I’d be much more interested in the applicants who decided that this was a waste of time and left.
Yeah this seems more of an urban legend type thing even if it isn’t. It shows the person has no respect for themselves or their time. Honestly seems not too bright also. Like the employer could make them do anything after that apparently
Load More Replies...Job interviews go both ways. People evaluate each other and decide whether they are willing to work together. I would not be willing to work with someone who prioritizes sitting on a*s over productivity.
Training people to accept disrespect for their literal life, as if we don’t have a limited amount of time to live. Disgusting. Sure you got the job. And that job will be the kind where nobody gives a s**t about your time or money or family or existence. Making you okay with slavery. Life as an employee isn’t living.
I'm floored at the girl that waited nearly 10 hours for a position in customer service. I can understand if it was a company that had contracts with the military or government. But a silly customer service job? I would never wait for what was probably a minimum wage job. An employer that makes them wait that long is seeing if you need them more than they need you and that you are willing to do ANYTHING they ask...legal or not.
While I agree with you, let's not forget that some people live paycheck to paycheck and need jobs (even s****y ones) just to survive, not to mention other necessities
Load More Replies...The employer is an abusive asshat and not worth anyone’s time. You get 15 minutes. If you can’t be on time, I’m moving on.
What was the job offer? Something close to slavery? 🤬🤬🤬 Employer testing how far he can go with future staff? 🤬🤬🤬 This is the worst start in a manager-staff relationship!
This is an extreme example, but I think that the issue of making employees conform to a broken business model, rather than investing resources to improve the business model, and make things better for everyone, is a common problem across many industries. Management needs management.
This is wrong. People have lives and family. The employer is not waiting to see who is the most patient. The employer is looking for the person that will die at their desk. An Employer/Owner/Operator wants to work less. So will Employ someone totally invested in their work.
Time is a currency that can't be earned back. If you don't value my time, I don't care if you are Google, Facebook, or whatever "dream" employer people salivate over; you're not for me.
The OP is trying to say that maybe in some aspects this behavior is professional. In no capacity ever is it professional to make potential employees sit around all day and claim it was a test of patience. In what field is unending patience a requirement for employment? None. The employer was rude and these two people clearly didn't have anything else to do that day. I would have been one of the people to leave. It is absolutely disrespectful what the employer did and to defend it makes this guy sound ridiculous. Any company that treats their potential employees like that is not a good one.
This is ridiculous. I’m failing to understand why anyone would be interested in working for someone who doesn’t care at all about their time or the things they have to do. I can’t imagine what went through that guy’s head when he thought that it would be a good idea to waste someone’s time and throw their day away like that. My life doesn’t revolve around a job interview to the point where I’m willing to sit around for nearly 12 hours over it, all this demonstrates is that the 2 people who stayed had nothing better to do, not that they are more qualified.
Soooo...two people were rewarded because they were willing to needlessly waste an entire day?
As a young CEO, I have hired several employees. I ensure they are treated with maximum respect and I would walk away from any job that does not do the same.
This "method" tells me a few options... (1.) You have very clearly now laid out how you expect to be treated. You have told the employer that they may use/abuse you however they like because you will do it! (2.) The employer has SELECTIVELY CHOSEN those who very likely had no drive/motivation to line up other interviews, care for their children, care for themselves, etc. (3.) Sure... what if it was a "big job" like Google or Disney or Microsoft? You're telling me you're okay with being asked to work 12-13 hour days, maybe even 7 days a week, probably no overtime, no sick leave, Hey... maybe not even a schedule, so you can waste your day doing literally NOTHING again like you did at your interview? How much abuse are you really willing to take? This is not a "test" it's a Jerk Power-Move by the Employer to ENSURE that he can domineer over you.
This employer clearly has no regard for other people's time. I would avoid him like the plague. And. to be honest, I'm surprised none of the candidates came to the office demanding an explanation.
I would never work for a person who doesn't respect my time (i.e. - me). Good luck for getting jobs with a-holes!
I will only work for someone I respect. That kinda mentality makes them looks like a precocious prick. I'd end up being the employee from hell if I thought my boss were such an arsehole.
So let's say you have someone who may have a few interviews lined up because they are very qualified, you put them in this situation and they leave so the most qualified person just walked out the door and you are left with the people with the fewest options. I had three job offers before taking my most recent position and I went with the job I have now because they were willing to be flexible with my hours for graduate school. The job I work is pretty specialized so finding people who are qualified and with background in the field can be incredibly difficult and thus the employers have to compete rather than the employees. I would have walked out because who wants to spend the majority of their waking hours being treated so disrespectfully? I would have had to do that when I was younger, but the more experienced I get more picky I get about who I will work for. Best thing about getting older thus far in my life has been being in a position where I can walk away from s**t like this.
I can't image that the games stop after the interview. I've interviewed for jobs that were already filled, taken tests like draw the room (for drafting position), and asked all of the stupid questions people read online and think are out-of-the-box cool thinking questions - all of it. You want a good employee? Look for skill and potential. No one is a perfect fit at first but most are trainable. And treat them with respect because you don't want to lose your productive and high preforming employees when better jobs become available some where else.
I had a similar thing happen to me. After waiting for 45 minutes I told the receptionist to get the boss to book me another appointment as I had another job interview to go to. From what I had heard at the time, no one got the job as no one had the time to wait as they had scheduled around 4 other job interviews on the same day at rival companies. Moral of the story: Playing these games could see you losing a good employee being taken by your rival on the same day
The ones who left got off lightly. I'd never be desperate enough to work for this a*****e.
fuuuuck this manipulative arrogant d******d who is stuck up his own a**e. Nobody is that important and I wouldn't never want to work for someone who thinks they are so above me they can virtually imprison me to teach me "patience" . Kindly go and f**k yourself to this idiot
They must have known beforehand what the job was all about. Knowing that, the two that stayed must have decided that it was worth their time to wait. From the manager's standpoint, the two that did wait, either waited because they were desperate for a job and hence would be compliant and docile employees or that their doggedness put them in a special category of reliability, resoluteness, and loyalty -- all the kinds of virtues he want in his employees. I just hope the job they so patiently waited for was a damn good job, with good working conditions, good pay, and nice benefits. Otherwise, I'd have to say they probably just needed a job and decided to stick it out.
I went to an interview at a PR agency. Of course the ability to manage own time was a must in the job ad. The head of the agency was 20mins late for the interview. I left. No response followed from the agency. Now the woman is writing smart-a*s posts on LinkedIn about how to make a good first impression. I'm glad I don't work for her.
It would've been an epic story when the job seeking person were to decline the job, after suffering all that precious time in patience.
It's not a test of patience, but shows exactly what your position wil be like after hiring. You will be an absolute slave. Peeple, if you want to be respected, respect others ffs.
Boss who made them wait: has no respect for people. Idiots that waited: have no respect for themselves. I would NEVER work for someone like this and would thank them for showing me in advance how terrible they are.
After an hour of waiting, I went to the parking garage and poured brake fluid all over his lexus.
If I have an appointment at 9 and am running late I call and explain. If I am on time I check in. If I have other things to do after said appointment, it's clear I will state that when checking in. If someone makes an appointment with me at 9 and does not explain their lateness and lets me sit being ignored like they forgot about the appointment I would check with the desk. My time is my time. Not a game or test. As adults playing a wasting day for test of patience is not acceptable. It's rude and underhanded.
Conducting an effective and fair job interview is an important skill. It requires analysis of the relevant job skills and attributes that would make a candidate a good fit for the existing team and align with the company's mandate, vision, and goals. It takes great question writing and the ability to assess verbal and non verbal communications. Anyone who simply takes the last person standing without putting effort into the task of hiring is doing their company and the team a disservice. Just seems like a lazy, ineffective manager to me.
A big NO! I was once calle for an interview. The appointment was at 9:00 and I had an exam at 14:00. "An interview can't take that long" thought to myself. We were three girls. We waited three hours, always becoming excuses and the typical "20min more". After three hours we all three left because, obviously, life and responsabilities. I never felt more insulted in my life.
yeeeeah, Im not waiting over 15 minutes. If im to be on time, cool and ok...but I expect the same. Its IT, I have other offers on stand by by the dozen, tyvm.
I would not have stayed still. Instead I would have demanded my audience. If you set up an appointment and you miss the time, I would expect an apology. Were this company a Fortune 500 company, I would have written to their board of trustees. After two hours I would have walked out and given a lower Yelp review and linked their page to better employers.
Oh same stuff happened , i waited hours burning the seat without any offered refreshments for waiting while the other applicants left , i may look desperate and a bootlicker but what i did wasn't expected by the employer.. when i was called in , he blurt out you're accepted you can start to work first day of the coming week. then i straight declined. i told to his godforsaken face that he is the worst employer for not valuing my time. he ask me why i waited that long just to refuse and ridicule him.. i replied , because you're an a*s so i need my revenge.
Is this American thing? I've lived and worked in Europe and Asia for over a decade, and I have never heard of it, nor has it ever come across my mind when I recruit
I think it depends a lot on the job being interviewed for. There are certainly some jobs where that level of patience and/or dedication is important. That's a great test for those jobs. For most jobs though, I think this would be rather excessive; you're wasting their time as well. Especially if they're someone without a current job who needs to be putting themselves out to as many places as possible on the slim hope that our economy isn't the complete crapshoot it appears to be these days.
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