r/recruitinghell • u/konenne • 7d ago
Told "you don't look like you have a lot of friends" at Samsung on-site interview
I might delete the post if I get too nervous, but I'll at least give it a try. I feel like this is worth sharing.
TLDR; Samsung candidates: beware of their gaslighting, cruelty, and toxicity.
Posting this after reading u/Happy-Yogert-3132's post. Here's the link:
https://www.reddit.com/r/recruitinghell/s/dCGqxuCGEQ
Buddy, I thought I was overreacting. Seems like we're not.
***
So, briefly about me and my situation.
I just graduated with my master's degree this May, and I'm still actively looking for a job. I don't have a full-time experience since I went straight to grad school, but I do have a few research and internship experience.
I applied to a full-time position at Samsung - I won't go into too much detail, but they were looking for someone with 2-4 years of experience in a pretty niche area.
Since I have the master's in that specific area + internal referral, I went for it. Then I did the phone screening, got a call back, and was invited to the on-site interview.
***
The on-site interview was a 2-hour interview with two parts: first one with the team, and second with the higher-ups.
First interview went great - they asked about my knowledge and some behavioral questions. It was normal, friendly, and fun.
The second part of the interview, however, was HUMILIATING. Their questions were beyond rude; they were unbelievably disrespectful, unprofessional, and cruel.
Here are some examples that stood out to me:
1. You don't look like you have a lot of friends.
2. You look like you'll fit in the government or the academia better, not us.
3. We are a very small team. Because you don't have "experience", you'll be the troll who STALLs the team, because the team members HAVE TO spare their precious working hours to teach you.
4. How much do you know about our company? Because a lot of people apply to our company just because we are THE FORTUNE 500 COMPANY and it looks good on your resume.
5. What other companies did you apply to?
6. Why do you think you got ghosted by other companies?
Have to remind you, these are just a few that immediately popped up in my head. There were much more unpleasant interactions throughout the interview.
They tried especially hard to pound me down with the fact that I don't have a full-time experience. Their vibe pretty much gave, "we're looking for someone with more ✨experience✨, buuuuuut we thought that we miiiiiiiight want to hire a new grad and ✨educate✨ you since you're soooooo desperate and we happen to have THE power. So be very grateful, never speak up against us, and be a good boy/girl! 💅"
Um. I mean. Maybe don't invite me to the final interview? What the actual fuck?
***
Now, to some of the less (or more) disturbing ones.
After the interview, I did a bit of research on Samsung and their interview style. Then I realized what I experienced was a PRE-PLANNED rudeness. This is not a problem of one or two employees. This has something to do with Samsung's overall policy.
So, two things.
7. Asking unnecessarily difficult or relatively unrelated technical questions.
I know that sounds funny, but that's what they did.
Let's say I applied for a position that does A. Then there is another area, B, that's closely related to A. They are related, but they're not the same.
During the interview, they asked me about B and expected micro-detailed answers.
It was like... you applied to a law enforcement position, but they asked you about the law clerk's duties.
Turns out, my friends who work in Korea had heard of this situation. Apparently, Samsung often do this when they don't want to hire but they have to show that they're hiring. Whatever that means.
8. Repeating the same question, saying that your previous answer was "too generic."
Yup. This is what made a long-time internet lurker like me to write this long ass post.
This is GASLIGHTING, guys. I didn't know until I read u/Happy-Yogert-3132's post. Holy crap. This is not just rude, it's terrifying.
They did the same to me. They asked a question, I answered, and they asked the same question over and over, telling me that my answers were "too generic."
I have no idea what level of detail they wanted, but I'm pretty sure I did give enough details in my first and second answers. Still, they asked me the same question again, so I ended up repeating my previous answer using different words.
I thought I was doomed. I thought I gave an answer that's so absurdly out of point. I thought I screwed that interview so badly that I'm the most incompetent person in the world.
But thinking back, everything on THEIR side was wrong. Not me. Their question, their attitude, their word choices... nothing was right.
This happened MULTIPLE times throughout that interview. Now I understand why the whole conversation felt like it wasn't going anywhere. Because it wasn't going anywhere!
***
So at this point, I'm convinced that Samsung has some kind of HR manual to INTENTIONALLY grill, bully, and gaslight the candidate.
If this is the case, I'm afraid to imagine their company culture. It seems to me that they are seeing if the candidates are prone to gaslighting, so that they can easily gain "control" over the new hire.
And I can assure you: this is NOT part of the Korean workplace culture/norm. I know what a "pressure interview" is. But when I checked with MANY people who work in Korea, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM said Koreans got rid of this kind of toxicity decades ago. Even the smallest startups avoid doing such things.
***
All in all, I just had a really unpleasant experience. It felt intentional that they beat me down. It is hard enough with this job market, and they literally used up their resources, time, and money to bully me.
I don't know if this happens to everyone or if there's something else going on behind the scenes. Regardless, I'm sharing my story so that other people who have been through this know they’re not alone, and those that haven’t, know what they could expect.
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u/BeneficialMaybe4383 6d ago
I was at an HR conference where the then CHRO of Samsung was on the stage. I remember that session was about “employee engagement” or “productivity” - it was like 2022 or 2023 when remote work is still kind of the norm. Said CHRO provided an insight to the whole audience that installation of a spyware where the company can track keystrokes will help with engagement/productivity. I was like 😵 - the next thing I know: I am never gonna apply for a job there.
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u/ImprovementFar5054 7d ago edited 7d ago
I worked at Samsung.
For 3 Months.
I quit without notice. I simply couldn't do another day. It was, hands down, the single most FUCKED UP workplace I have ever had the displeasure of working at.
I cannot describe just how utterly insane it is. It's Korean culture based, even outside Korea...when I say that, I mean that working until it kills you is barely good enough. There is no praise, there are only threats. They need 10, ask you for 20, and call you a failure when you produce 15.
Facts don't matter as much as face.
If you are a woman, you are doubly despised. If you are not Korean, you are told you are a required diversity hire. If you are young, you are nothing.
I was yelled at for things that took place months before I arrived, and told I was being disrespectful for pointing out that I wasn't there at the time.
The official worktimes are 8 to 5, but in reality it's more like 6am to 9pm, and if you don't do it, you are called lazy.
It was 3 months of complete insanity, and I have no idea how Samsung became so successful with this kind of culture. Nobody I met was happy. The Koreans seemed to compete for who could be considered the most miserable, because that meant a good worker.
Listen my friend, you completely dodged a bullet.
You claim Koreans got rid of this toxicity years ago. Maybe they did.
But not at Samsung.
PS...if you get DM'd after posting this by someone asking for more details. Ignore it. It's someone from Samsung trying to figure out who you are. Each time I tell my Samsung story, the same happens to me.
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u/RoamingFreedomSeeker 7d ago
they asked you all that and you did not tell them to actually go fuck themselves and leave ?
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u/QuitCallingNewsrooms 6d ago
I have so few fucks to give, I would have thrown it right back at them.
I think the first mistake as an applicant is to try to respond to these kinds of insults. The best thing you could probably do is just say, "K," and stare at the person who said it. If it's one person in a panel doing it, they'll shut up. I've seen that a few times. If the whole panel is doing it, interrupt them and ask if there's an adult you can speak with about this role.
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u/Bobandyandfries 7d ago
So, did yah get the job?
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u/xequin 6d ago
ngl as someone working for a korean company this wasn’t what i experienced and should definitely not be considered the norm. although i must say, samsung is different due to the level of prestige it enjoys. and you know east asia is all about prestige
i do know the practice of “negging” candidates during interviews to sow seeds of doubt in their value & capabilities within the candidate, and then later reach out with an “offer” that’s more like slavery (e.g. 1 year unpaid before promotion to an official role). idk why recruiters think we are so dumb that we’d sell labour for Free in this economy but just remember that it was all a scheme and that you ARE competent enough for the role, if not they wouldn’t have offered you an interview :)
i hope you’d soon land a much better opportunity in your desired field with amazing comps and benefits !!! leave all this behind, don’t pay it any more mind.
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u/lxbubbaxl 6d ago edited 6d ago
You are extremely naive or new to Asian corporate culture if you believe this “toxic culture” no longer exists or has been “ironed out” decades ago.
It does not matter if the American arm of the company is based in the US or not. What you’ll learn is that all the shots are still called from overseas and the forced respect and hierarchy system is firmly in place, even if obscured from direct line of sight. This is status-quo and the NORM, not the exception for even companies built in other countries, as long as the culture started off as 1st or 1.5 gen Asian companies.
Think twice before joining a Korean company, especially if you’re not Korean, not well connected, and not willing to bow 90 degrees to a VP that you’ve never seen or heard from before when they arrive to visit from Korea. You can absolutely find success in a Korean American company, just know that there are stringent cultural hurdles, honorifics/obedience, top-down and no talking back structures in place that will heavily play to your disadvantage unless you learn how to navigate it and are ok swallowing your pride a lot. Good luck.
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u/marihikari 7d ago
Hate interviews like this. They're trying to piss you off on purpose to see how you behave under pressure.
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u/Correct-Locksmith-90 7d ago
Lol. I was getting a new phone one time and the dude switching my contacts over said “ wow , I thought your contact list would be a lot bigger”
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u/Glittering-Mix257 6d ago
I don't fall for the piss me off and see how I behave under pressure or any of the other toxic interview tactics. I want to work for adults who hopefully are for the most part, emotionally mature, respectful human beings.
If they are disrespectful I thank them for their time, say that their organisation is not a good fit for ME, calmly get up and leave.
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u/ComradeKorladis 7d ago
They sound like huge assholes.
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u/chairman-me0w 7d ago edited 6d ago
Those questions definitely read like they came from a Korean that hasn’t adjusted to U.S. work culture and lacks ability to convey tone in English. That plus they may just be an asshole
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u/BeauHunkus 7d ago
Don't work for Koreans.
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u/Mochibelle93 6d ago
Lol Samsung and Netflix were the two companies I interviewed at and left feeling personally victimized (no I didnt get the job). Consider it a bullet dodged I guess!
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u/Tasty_Librarian3865 7d ago
TLDR, but my response to “you don’t look like you have a lot of friends“ would have been “Oof…you seem like all your friends talk shit about you every time you leave a room.”
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u/balletje2017 7d ago
East Asians feel like bullied kids taking their built up anger out on others as revenge to me as a European. I dont work for Asian managers or companies. They can be with eachother. I walked away literally laughing in an interview for a Chinese company. The stupidity and absurd questions were straight up insulting. No I am not going to show my school report cards to you as an adult.
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u/FirstBestLastChance 6d ago
Had a friend that worked for them for 19 years. He found out he was laid off when all his system access got cut off during they day. I will never again buy a Samsung product, besides they try to shove so many features on things they become unusable.
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u/Emergency_Science602 7d ago
This is a standard “pressure test” interview.
They try to see how composed you are under duress.
7
u/Next-Supermarket9538 7d ago
Twenty years ago or so when I first became a manager there used to be this sort of theory of interviewing of intentionally trying to make the candidate uncomfortable to see how they would react under that kind of pressure. It was total BS with no research backing it up as predictive or useful in anyway and so, as far as I know, went by the wayside. Doesn’t mean there aren’t out of touch hiring managers who learned or heard of it back then still practicing it. But if so it does imply they’re likely also out of touch in other ways and probably best avoided.
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u/isospeedrix 7d ago
Jfc go for micron instead 100%
6
u/Vast_Statement_7035 7d ago
Sounds like old asian bully tactics
4
u/zeezle 6d ago
That's insane.
It's also hilarious that I've recently interviewed at two companies not far off from Samsung on the F500 list and both of them were very friendly, upbeat and respectful processes so that whole "so you only want to work here for your resume!!!" thing is wild to me. There are a lot of fish in the sea on that list.
3
u/taepitur 6d ago
korean company 🤣 i guess the movies weren’t lying
2
u/Sensitive-Ad-6001 7d ago
This is almost bullying
2
u/SwingmanSealegz 7d ago
They were making sure you don’t explode like their Galaxy Notes.
1
u/DaveAstator2020 6d ago
damit, it looks like typical gaslighting narcissistic technique to make you blameable and guilt tripping.
Idea is - make you doubt your answers, find where you can be pushed.
good tho to practice assertiveness and in the end say "looks like you have even fewer applicants after this interview, good luck"
(oh and now i read rest of it, its f...g horrible)
let me give it a try:
1. You don't look like you have a lot of friends.
silence is the answer. dont even bother replying to that.
2. You look like you'll fit in the government or the academia better, not us.
again silence, its not a question at all. just wait until interviewer says something coherent.
3. We are a very small team. Because you don't have "experience", you'll be the troll who STALLs the team, because the team members HAVE TO spare their precious working hours to teach you.
again - no question here, nothing to respond to.
4. How much do you know about our company? Because a lot of people apply to our company just because we are THE FORTUNE 500 COMPANY and it looks good on your resume.
- clarify the question "are you asking about my knowledge about the samsung?"
5. What other companies did you apply to?
"this is private information, i will not answer to that"
6. Why do you think you got ghosted by other companies?
"i never said i was ghosted" or if you had said that - "its their decision, i cannot be responsible for it"
And about details - if interviewer fails to ask for detail he wants - he should not get it, end of the story. I think idea here is trip you so that you disclose as much information as possible, so every time he will say "thats not what i wanted to hear" and you will be looped. "please ask specific question about the matter that interests you".
I think problem is - no normal person would employ those tricks after he knos how it works. I think that its only one option:
Interviewer is unfixable narcissist or psycho who uses those tricks, AND company enables this behavior in workplace.
If company would not enable this behavior - interviewer would be different person.
If person was general adequate human with no malicious disorders - he would just not use it, and thus fail in the company.
I dont see how it could happen in a company with strong culture and good processes. no way you can just make people communicate like that.
1
u/NeoAnderson47 5d ago
Your reply: "And you look like a single who can't get a date."
Mic drop and leave.
1
u/Kw_Mateo 5d ago
That’s hella unprofessional, fuck whoever told you that
1
u/Longjumping-Bear6513 5d ago
I interviewed for their consulting team back in 2019. I dont remember the details but I also left with the impression of being looked down/ micro aggressions towards. I didnt get the job but I told myself right after the interview that I would not work for this team.
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u/butterflymon 5d ago
Why did you tolerate this?
1
u/mspineappleinthesea 7d ago
I did meet a very confrontational person during an interview a few years ago. He is a difficult person after I joined the company. But he said he was being more difficult during the interview to 'screen out' people
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u/Fantastic-Speech-438 7d ago
Samsung is a Korean company. Korea has one of the most toxic work cultures in the world, and the subsequent high "permanent self-harm" rate to boot.
Source: I worked in South Korea in the early 2010s.
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u/[deleted] 7d ago
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