SINGAPORE: A Singaporean recently shared on social media that he felt outright disrespected during a job interview, as a senior staff member repeatedly interrupted him and criticized his former company.
In a post on r/askSingapore, a Reddit forum, he explained that midway through his introduction, one of the senior staff, referred to as ‘D’ in his post, abruptly cut him off and began making derogatory remarks about one of the products his previous company offered to the public.
The frustrating part, he noted, was that this particular product wasn’t even something he had worked on, and he had to clarify that it wasn’t under his responsibility.
“D mentioned how my previous company was receiving a lot of funding during the COVID-19 period, in a tone that made it sound like it was undeserving, which to me, wasn’t a nice thing to say and definitely not the right platform,” he added. “I had to reiterate that these things were not something that I can comment on.”
To make matters worse, D also stated that his former company ‘was not a prestigious one,’ even though it was a Fortune 500 NYSE-listed organization.
“He did not appear to be as professional and had the tendency to fidget and look elsewhere, as if uninterested in what I was sharing,” he said. “While the decision to hire lies with the team, I believe it is basic respect to hear what an interviewee has to share—if not, why invite in the first place?”
He then told the online community, “It was a bad experience. I hope I’m not being overly sensitive or overreacting.”
“Do you guys just let such things pass or how do you not get traumatized by such an experience?” he asked.
“Take it as a warning and run as far as possible from this company.”
In the comments section, many Singaporean Redditors agreed that the senior staff member’s behaviour was indeed unprofessional and that interviewees deserve a respectful, fair process when applying for jobs.
One Redditor said, “Name and shame. Glassdoor negative feedback. Share your experience on Blind. They deserve to be called out.”
Another commented, “I always liked when they showed their true colours during the interview process. It makes my life easier. Take it as a warning and run as far as possible from this company.”
A third Redditor said, “Not all hiring managers are professional. Just take it as a good experience.”
Meanwhile, some offered a different perspective, suggesting that sometimes recruiters and hiring managers use a “good cop/bad cop” tactic to see how candidates handle pressure and whether their interpersonal skills hold up under stress.
One Redditor explained, “It’s an interview tactic to throw you off balance and see how you handle difficult situations.
“It’s pretty common to poke potential employees to see how they respond under unfavourable conditions. Sometimes it’s done on the written or skills test (unrealistic workload, impossible tasks) but it’s most often done during the verbal interview.”
Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)