Is this somewhat unfair...

Had it happen to me. Was a bit surprised, but luckily I didn't fsck up the interview too much.

My friend had his GS interview while he was working out.

If you're from a non-target, your interview slot is whenever HR feels like getting around to you. Unfair? Probably.. But being fair to non-target kids isn't high on their priority list.

Tell them you are just stepping into class and ask them if you could call them back, that's what I did and it worked fine (legitimate excuse, it was a test review and I wasn't missing it for shit). On the weekend, better excuse is that you're just pulling up to your sister's wedding reception or dad's surpise 50th. OR, just do the interview, think on your feet, and man up, because you'll be expected to do that quite often if you get the job.

yeah, but honestly a completely unscheduled interview is kind of ridiculous.

I've only seen it happen once and hopefully it was the last time.

I agree: not fair. I'd never do that to a candidate. Wouldn't want it done to me either.

Really, from HR though, come on. What do HR interviews ask you, why you want to be an investment banker, why you want to move to NY, what's your favorite color? If it's a associate/VP asking you to unlever and relever Beta or explain the nuances of an LBO while you're driving your car rocking out to Nelly Furtado and eating Taco Bell that's one thing.

I agree with Pool here.

Hahah, dad's surprise 50th. that's a good one..

Hahah, dad's surprise 50th. that's a good one..

The kid's a sophomore, just breaking into the field. The kid was probably not raised/trained by OCR/OCS. Cut some slack.

and ask if they can call back at later time.

but it's really the first impression which counts. So even that 15-second conversation explaining why you can't talk, they've already judged you.

a friends brother got me an interview at his bank and i got called for an unexpected interview while sitting on a ski lift. need less to say i totally fucked it up and didn't get the job. it was an "unfair" situation and i lost a job that was mine for that taking, but thats part of the process, sometimes you win sometimes you lose. everthing worked out fine in the end.

I got a call from an associate that I completely wasn't expecting. He basically said: Hi, I'm ABC and XYZ from such and such and why do you want to be an investment banker? I said, "Hi, how are you? I'm sorry, I already accepted a job with so-and-so." Of course, he probably didn't care, but it felt nice knowing that their "call randomly with no notice" trick didn't work.

i actually got a call from a 212 number yesterday. i never pick up the phone if its a 212 number that i dont know..always let them leave a voicemail so that i can prepare for whoever it is. this time though, i never got a voicemail. i called the number back and it was the building receptionist who said the number did not come from that building and it was probably forwarded from somewhere else. she did say that her building was mainly headhunters, consultants, lawyers, and bankers. what do you think is goin on here? it could very well just be some random wrong number or something haha.

two points:

1)screen calls if you're nervous

2) fair is irrelevant. the sooner you accept this, the better.

Totally fair, be a man and handle it--you can't always be prepped for everything.

You will be expected to think on your feet on the job. If you can't interview out of the blue, how are you going to answer questions about a deal out of the blue when a CEO calls you on the weekend (assuming you're not in the office)?

Think it won't happen? It will. I don't mean to sound rough, but if this bothers you, you're probably in the wrong field :)