500 miles, £ 100 travel and a day of my life

[SussexSeagull]

Problem is with a lot of people in London is they assume everyone is a tube ride away.

After a debacle before Christmas, checking the format of an interview before going is becoming essential.

[Brussels Slumdog]

£100 well spent

for just 35 mins of interview in London. Kind of puts a lid on my London/banking searches now. I'll never contract in London again.

So, I turn up for my 1 hour meeting and the guy hasn't even bothered to reserve a room. The receptionist is frantically trying to make a reservation but can only find a room for 30 mins. So, I'm shown to the room and the guy turns up looking flustered and stressed out. Gives me 4 sheets of paper with C# code fragments, etc. What's the output of this, write an algorithm for that, code-review this. Slightly annoying as I'd already sat an IKM online test and shot 96%. Anyhow the guy disappears and comes back 30 mins later at which point I'd finished. Felt I did a good job. We chat through the answers for about 5 mins and then he thanks me and says he'll be in touch through the agency. That's it! Nothing about the project, nothing about what I've been doing. I've never felt so short changed coming out of a meeting. Told the agent I'm not interested in pursuing the role further.

Spoke to an agent friend about this and he knows the guy and his team. Says there's constant friction in the team with some members 'hating' each other. Lucky escape eh? What is it with these people?

Think of the £100 as well spent. You could have had a phone interview and been accepted for the contract and had to put up with the team friction for 6 months. An Interview is between 2 parties,
so going to the interview allowed you to make the correct decision. I have turned down several contracts due to the fact that the interviewer is more interested in tested my knowledge than explaining what the project is about. Image if you were to test the plumbers knowledge before allowing him to fix your blocked sink!

[nomadd]

I have turned down several contracts due to the fact that the interviewer is more interested in tested my knowledge than explaining what the project is about. Image if you were to test the plumbers knowledge before allowing him to fix your blocked sink!

Yep, pretty much sums up the 60 second long "interview" I bailed on 2 weeks ago. We'd already covered his technical questions in a 30 minute phone call; In the follow-up face-to-face he wanted to spend 1.5 hours discussing further "technical questions." He refused to discuss the project or the role.

It's too easy to get ripped-off for a couple of hours free consultancy in these so-called "interviews" these days. Best just to move on.

[SueEllen]

Problem is with a lot of people in London is they assume everyone is a tube ride away.

Part of the issue is agents lie about how near you are or how you don't have a problem with travel, so it doesn't register with inexperienced interviewers that the agency is still selling to them.

[SussexSeagull]

Part of the issue is agents lie about how near you are or how you don't have a problem with travel, so it doesn't register with inexperienced interviewers that the agency is still selling to them.

In fairness I believe the CV provided to the end client has your address blacked out.

Tends to be a bit pointless as I have worked in parts of the country miles away from home but been a ten minute walk from the office as I have found a B&B near by.

[bobspud]

for just 35 mins of interview in London. Kind of puts a lid on my London/banking searches now. I'll never contract in London again.

Perhaps bolshie could have put it better but the fact remains that you caused most of this problem yourself by accepting the first interview as face to face. Without prior contacts directly with the customer.

I regularly commute to London for work and the simple solution to interviews is make sure the first one is by telephone. When you are happy that the client is professional and actually needs your skills then you can decide if you want to meet them.

Either that or you have to accept that every now and then you get to have a day out with nothing to show for it. I tend to set up a morning interview then go meet up with some friends for beers In the afternoon. That way the interview is an incidental.

And times wasters don't just work in London I have have had many stupid interviews at various customers up and down the M4...[/LIST]

[oliverson]

Perhaps bolshie could have put it better but the fact remains that you caused most of this problem yourself by accepting the first interview as face to face. Without prior contacts directly with the customer.

I regularly commute to London for work and the simple solution to interviews is make sure the first one is by telephone. When you are happy that the client is professional and actually needs your skills then you can decide if you want to meet them.

Either that or you have to accept that every now and then you get to have a day out with nothing to show for it. I tend to set up a morning interview then go meet up with some friends for beers In the afternoon. That way the interview is an incidental.

And times wasters don't just work in London I have have had many stupid interviews at various customers up and down the M4...[/LIST]

In fairness it was part and part as I did indeed meet up with ex colleagues and a couple of mates when down there. But the interview was a disgrace. I expected more.

[BrilloPad]

But the interview was a disgrace. I expected more.

Indeed. One expects some sort of basic morals from IBs. But they are full of scum. Chavs with enough money to buy "respectability".

But live and learn eh?

[Old Greg]

+1

Would have -rep'd him over it, but that would only start the rep wars up once again. Why the idiot can't stay in General is beyond me...

Negged him for you. He really is a fool.

[SueEllen]

In fairness I believe the CV provided to the end client has your address blacked out.

Agents will black out your address* but will say things like the client only wants contractors who are local.

Showing clearly that either or both the client and agent are numpties, or the client wants to ensure they don't have yet another contractor who doesn't like them so uses the location as a way to get out of the contract.

If the interviewer didn't ask even as small talk I would be worried.

*I don't have my address on my CV I have my approximate location.