Interview Awkwardness

A few weeks ago, a VP emailed me asking if I could come into the office for an interview the following week. After I happily agreed, he asked for the best number to reach me at. I gave it to him and said that I would see him the following week.

I walked into the office, and after telling the secretary my name, they inform me that this was supposed to be a phone interview with the VP. Strange. I met with the VP, and the first thing he said was, "... So I thought this was supposed to be a phone interview". I immediately apologize for the miscommunication, and I informed him that the email stated that I should swing by the office. He got a little irritated and said that he read through the email, and it was definitely supposed to be a phone interview. I apologized once again and we started the interview. I was completely rattled, and it definitely showed throughout the interview.

Here's what the email chain looks like

Hi X2,
Thank you for reaching out to _____, what's your availability to come by our office next week for an interview? x/x/2018 works best for me.

Hi VP,

x/x/2018 works great at xx:xx P.M.

Hi X2,

Perfect, lets do xx:xx on x/x/2018. What's the easiest number to contact you at?

Hi VP,

You can contact me at xxx-xxx-xxxx, See you on x/x/2018.

VP: Thanks.

Has anyone ever had something like this happen?

 
Best Response

That would be nothing compared to the MD at Lehman who would ask his prospective interns/analysts to open up one of the windows in the room as the interview started. Unbeknownst to the candidate, the window was cemented shut. One intern panicked so badly after he was chewed out by said MD for his failure that he threw a chair through the window. Hustle was 10/10, but he still didn't get it.

 

Did he actually say, "come into the office," or did he just ask you to interview with him? Because if he said to come in for an interview, and asked for your number, I would assume the number was just to reach me for something around me coming in, like to confirm.

Who "stress tests" that way in reality, though? He even had his secretary in on it? That's a really hard sell. Maybe he suggested at interview and you took it to be in person, but he never specifically said for you to actually come in.

 

I didn't see your updated your post until now.

I think by the time he wrote his second and third email to you, he had forgotten that he had asked you to meet in person in his first email. So he accidentally switched things up on you. I think he should have acknowledged that when he re-read the email exchange, instead of getting irritated, but he probably only read his second email to you where he was asking for your number to set up a phone interview.

 

No, it wasn't. The original email states "come by the office." Never in my life have I seen or used that phrasing for a phone interview. And I routinely exchange numbers with people prior to physical meetings, in case someone's late, can't find me, etc.

I guarantee you the VP went back and checked his email chain, and now knows he was wrong. He'll either ding you to avoid having someone around who thinks he's an airhead, or recommend you out of guilt.

 
FellowTraveler:
No, it wasn't. The original email states "come by the office." Never in my life have I seen or used that phrasing for a phone interview. And I routinely exchange numbers with people prior to physical meetings, in case someone's late, can't find me, etc.

I guarantee you the VP went back and checked his email chain, and now knows he was wrong. He'll either ding you to avoid having someone around who thinks he's an airhead, or recommend you out of guilt.

I've made a similar mistake. HR put the wrong info on my calendar and I never bothered to check the original email. Easy to mix up if you're scheduling 50+ interviews in a week.

A decent person would have called or emailed to apologize after the fact, once they realized their mistake.

 

If I was you I would have pulled out my phone then and there and asked him to his face how else you possibly could've interpreted that.

I wouldn't sweat it, man. You don't want to work with someone like that anyway.

 

Very confusing.

I've been in similar situations where the timing / method of the meeting is unclear. The best remedy is to repeat the time, date, and location back to the person.

Also, in the event there was confusion, you did the right thing by physically being there. Don't over apologize for going above and beyond, apologize once, reiterate your eagerness, and focus on how you're going to help his team.

Life is my favorite drinking game - gselevator
 

VP is kind of a cunt. But, I've had interviewers say they will confirm later, and never do, only to call anyway. Some will say they are going to call at certain time, then call 10 mins later and ask if it's still a good time.

But, one thing I will say, when someone asks to setup an in-person, have the person confirm their address. Either, "is the address below the correct one" or some form of, "should I call at the desk or let you know once I'm in the lobby". If he didn't give you the address directly, he might've been thinking his colloquialisms were being followed even though, the truth is, we can't read minds.

 

Rule of thumb - only apologize once. I don't care if you're right or wrong, only apologize once.

Whether you were right or wrong doesn't matter, you the kid being interviewed and he's the VP hiring. He could tell you to go get him a black coffee from Starbucks and when you bring it back and it's not tea, he'll be pissed.

Don't worry much about it, and don't look into people's responses too much either. If you get it or you don't, there's more things to look at than just one.

 

Assuming that the email chain is verbatim, then this guy is either a) too stupid to have re-read what he wrote correctly, or b) a proud/pompous asshole who didn't want to admit he was wrong. I agree with the above poster that the only thing you did wrong was apologize multiple times. This is probably not someone you want to work under for any duration, so I personally think you dodged a bullet on this one, although it sucks you wasted your time going over there.

"Who am I? I'm the guy that does his job. You must be the other guy."
 

Quam aut quis amet voluptatem. Qui nemo dolorem eius doloribus. Molestiae vero voluptas incidunt est provident harum magnam. Aut corrupti aliquam non. In labore non blanditiis perspiciatis ut provident doloribus.

Consequatur aliquam magnam quia molestiae eum vero. Ex sequi eos alias ut. Fuga qui et nam voluptas non dolorem qui est. Quos enim consequatur possimus hic voluptas.

I have a friend who lives in the country, and it's supposed to be an hour from 42nd Street. A lie! The only thing that's an hour from 42nd Street is 43rd Street!
 

Officiis minus mollitia facere molestias quasi aperiam consectetur. Omnis voluptatum aut consequatur laboriosam.

Dolorem soluta est numquam. Nihil corporis alias nostrum et fuga. Aperiam deserunt et dolorem. Ipsam non maiores eos exercitationem necessitatibus dolores qui.

Dolores temporibus voluptatem qui illo. Voluptatibus expedita aut fugit nesciunt a qui quod. Autem eum fugit odio.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”