There is little more stressful than a job interview.
Wanting to put your best foot forward and impress whomever it is that is interviewing you, knowing that no matter how hard you practice, you’ll still likely wish you answered a question differently.
Of course, what is often forgotten is that an interview is every bit as much an opportunity for the one being interviewed to decide if the company is a good fit for them.
And thus, they can have every bit as strong an opinion on the questions they are being asked, as the one asking them has on how they answer them.
Redditor R_Rover_2013 recently attended a job interview eager to impress.
But as the interview went on, the original poster (OP) became more and more uncomfortable with the questions they were being asked.
Things started to get so personal, that the OP felt there was only one proper way to handle the situation.
After being told by others that they had gone too far, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**Hole” (AITA), where she asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA for getting my interviewer fired?”
The OP explained how at a recent job interview, she began to feel that her qualifications were the last thing on the mind of the man interviewing her.
“I (27 F[emale]) went to a job interview for a potential job opportunity at this company.”
“The interviewer, we’ll call him ‘Eddie’ (30ish) welcomed me into the office and had me sit down.”
“First thing he did was look at my CV then started asking me questions that seemed a little too personal and unrelated to the job.’
“Like if I was in a relationship, wether my eye color was ‘real’ or just ‘lenses’, also asked about how I spend my time when “alone” and what type of dudes I like.”
“Like legit personal questions.”
‘Don’t know if he was testing how I react but I kept it cool til he asked me the question of what my greatest weakness was.”
“I responded by saying ‘keeping up with your inappropriate questions and answering them politely!'”
“He looked at me upset and then told me I had an ‘attitude’.”
“it was clear that the interview was over.”
“He told me I didn’t get the job which I found unfair because I don’t think I deserved to lose the job over what?”
“Nothing.”
“I got into an argument with him then told him I was going to report him.”
“I went to speak to the supervisor and filed a complaint against Eddie.”
‘The supervisor apologized to me and tried to reschedule a new interview but I was hesitant about it.”
“Later I was told that Eddie got fired which made me feel guilty.”
“My mom and dad agreed that his questions were inappropriate but said that I went too far by reporting him and having him fired.”
“Eddie tried contacting me via email saying that what I did could’ve been resolved between us and even said he could’ve arranged a new interview for me but I ‘ruined’ it for myself and cost him his job.”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The Reddit community agreed that the OP did nothing wrong, and was not the a**hole for reporting her interviewer.
Everyone agreed that “Eddie” was way out of line and his behavior needed to be reported, with many also pointing out how it was likely owing to more than the OP’s interview which ultimately got him fired, and others feeling that Eddie deserved much worse than being fired.
“100% NTA.”
“What is wrong with your parents through?”
“Good grief.”- Illustrious-Map2674
“NTA.”
“If he got fired that quickly, then he was probably already on probation for similar issues.”
“Your complaint is saving others from similar experiences.”
“He wasn’t just bothering you, he wasn’t serving the company well by focusing on hiring qualified people.”
“Furthermore, he should not have contacted you afterwards.”
“He shouldn’t still have access to your contact info and you should let the company know as it could be a liability issue for them.”- balancedgray
“NTA.”
“I am a manager who has interviewed people over 30 years and could clearly say that ‘Eddie’ had no business interviewing you.”
“He clearly crossed the line then had the gaul to play victim in all of this.”
“I think you handled yourself professionally.”
“I feel everyone thinks it would be easy to interview but there is actually a lot of training that is required because there are so many questions you can ask someone that seem harmless and actually break the law.”
“But Eddie’s questions are way beyond that.”
“it seems he not only crossed the line but was a 100 miles beyond the line.”
“Eddie actually put his whole company at risk for a lawsuit that can cost them millions in settling lawsuits and legal feels.”
“The company did the wrong thing by not training and preparing Eddy to conduct interviews but they did the right thing in the end and cut out that cancer from their company.”- ChewyRib
“NTA.”
“Your parents are wrong, you didn’t ‘have him fired’, you just reported what he was doing to his supervisor.”
“What happened next between him and his employer isn’t on you.”
“For all you know it was a last strike, but it really sounds like this guy just shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”
“Nice one, btw, on ‘keeping up with your inappropriate questions’.”- dioor
“NTA!”
“100%”
“WTF is wrong with your parents?!”
“They should have your back on this.”
“You absolutely did the right thing in reporting him!”
“Those questions shouldn’t have been anywhere in that interview!”
“And since they did fire him, you should consider going in for an interview.”
“A great new position just opened up!”
“YOU did not get him fired, he got himself fired by being completely unprofessional in the interview. If nobody tells his supervisor, how will they know?!”
“I’d want to know if I ran the company!”
“I’d want decent people working for me.”
“I wouldn’t want people getting harassed at the interview!”
“It doesn’t say anything good about the company if that happens!”
“And him emailing you after the fact?”
“You send him a link to this post so he can see just how ridiculous his behavior was.”
“He can blame nobody but himself for the outcome he received!”
“And it’s hard to resolve things alone with someone who was sexually harassing you at a place of work!”
” If ever you’re asked about your greatest weakness at a job interview, you can give the same answer I give:”
“‘I don’t handle unprofessional attitudes very well’.”
“Most employers love to think they have a professional work force and don’t actually see that as a bad weakness to have.”
“Make a police report of his email harassment.”
“He may have kept your address info too.”
“And let the supervisor know he contacted you after the fact.”
“Tell them you can forward the email if needed.”
“Just totally wow.”- jammy913
“NTA.”
“Notify the company that Eddie used your application info to contact you after he was fired.”
‘That is a major security/liability issue for them.”
“Keep a record of all contact in case this guy turns out to be a stalker.”- thirdtryisthecharm
“Why do all of these posts involve people agreeing that the perpetrator did something wrong but thinking that they shouldn’t have faced consequences for it?”- sabometrics
“NTA.”
“You didn’t ‘have him fired’.”
“The company realized he was a liability bomb and disposed of dangerous material.”
“WTF is wrong with your parents?”
“Don’t wait until something happens.”
“Let the company know RiGHT NOW that he used your personal information to contact you.”-MissTheWire
“NTA.”
“I could only imagine how much worse he is with his other colleagues.”
“Shame on your parents too.”- psycho-pancake
“NTA.”
“Your response was very appropriate.”
“Imagine the daily sexual harassment had you been hired with him still there.”
“You’d have become a basket case in just a couple months of that.”
“Your parents are wrong, too.”
“Ignore them.”- sunqueen73
“In my opinion?”
“If he got fired that easily after your complain, it certainly was because you weren’t the first woman to complain about it.”
“You didn’t cost him his job, his attitude did.”
‘I should even say, his attitude cost him his job, and cost you the job you were applying for.”
“So, I hope you’ll sleep well tonight, you did nothing wrong.”
“You’re NTA.”
While it was “Eddie’s” job to determine whether or not the OP was a good fit for the position, it was also his job to represent the company as best he could.
Something he most definitely failed to do when interviewing the OP.
One can only hope “Eddie” has learned his lesson, and that he will be treated with the respect he denied the OP as he goes on interviews looking for a new job.