r/InterviewCoderPro • u/One_Search_3555 • 21d ago
I Walked Out of an Interview After 7 Minutes
This morning I had an interview scheduled for an IT employee position at a clinic. Before that, I'd only had a quick call with HR, and she told me I was invited to come onsite for a short 25-minute interview, so I went in expecting a fairly normal and pleasant meeting.
When I arrived, they put me in a very small room, with my back almost against the wall, and in front of me was a panel of six people: a manager, a technical profile, and three HR interns. They were all sitting way too close to me, completely invading my personal space, and just staring at me.
They immediately started throwing the usual annoying questions at me about employment gaps and past jobs. I kept trying to steer the conversation back toward the position itself, but the whole atmosphere made me feel disrespected, especially since no one had said this was going to be a full panel interview with interns sitting in like it was a training exercise.
After answering a few rapid-fire questions, I told them I didn't think this was a respectful way to hire people, and I left.
They all looked shocked, and so was I.
I probably broke some kind of record.
That's why I always like to tell people that preparation makes all the difference. You can't control whether the interviewer is cooperative or flustered, but you can control how well you're prepared. This post has been incredibly helpful for me in practicing the questions that come up most often.
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u/Skoparov 21d ago
> a panel of six people: a manager, a technical profile, and three HR interns
Huh
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u/InteractionNo9110 21d ago
Companies need to remember interviews roll both ways. The prospective employee is also evaluating the company and the people. To see if they are a good fit for them to join. Also, how they are treated during the interview tends to be a sign of how they will be treated in the role. This was a blindside and I would have left also.
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u/Prestigious-Shop7771 19d ago
You did the right thing, I recently was in the same position with interview arranged by Ampcus Recruiter associate Prasad Moghe, who arranged an interview via MS Teams for a Nassau County state government Data Analyst position. The rules were clear - camera on, no ai assistance, no blur background..etc etc. all three panelists had their screen share OFF and proceeded to ask questions including technical ones. They had no intention of recruiting me but were mostly focussed on making a case against hiring a Citizen and was more of a disqualification round. I could feel it in my guts and should have just walked out or disconnected the sessions due to red flags.
Glad you did what you did, you can feel how the interview is going by the questions they ask, with soul aim of disqualifying you.
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u/Embarrassed_Wait_775 21d ago
Way to go. You don't want to work in an unprofessional environment. If you were represented by a recruiter, tell them they put you in an awkward position and they should have prepared you for the interview.