re: Ever walked out of an interview?

They told me I'd be spending 2 weeks out of every month in North Dakota. I told them we are done here

quote:

---

Say you interview for a job, but you find out the salary is just too low or insulting. Ever just up and leave? Do you feel bad or awkward about it?

---

I interviewed to become a department head last summer, the salary to take the job was about 50% of what I requested so I just cut off the interview and left. Waste of time.

When I moved North and was between jobs in the Pharma Industry I interviewed for a rep job with a home health care organization. Ten minutes into the interview I realized that the hiring manager and her boss were loons.

As tactifully as I could, I told them that I didn't think that I was the right fit for their organization and that I really didn't want to waste their time. They seemed a bit put off.

I got a pissed call from the recruiter and I told him I just couldn't work for people like that. I think he understood. He later placed me with Genentech.

Was in an interview, and it was going OK. Skills I had were in demand. So, in the middle of it, I stood up, zipped my day timer and said "looks like this isn't a good fit". He almost fell over himself getting me to stay. I got the job and a signing bonus.

I drove 7 hours one way for an interview on my own coin. Took one of my 10 free days per year off from the internship.
I get there, he shows me around the office, sits me down and says he would never hire someone that did an internship and he is going to hire a same year graduate with "real world" experience and he just wanted to tell me in person. Then he trashes my internists AND criticalists decisions when talking about cases....all 6 of them.

Not only should i have walked out, but I should have given beaten him. Not surprisingly, he is struggling mightily now.

No, although I withdrew myself from consideration shortly after (within 36 hours or so).Thanked them for time (even I was glad to GTFO out of the interview).

Never did that, but in hindsight I wish that I did on one particular interview. I wish I had never showed up....but it was a good learning experience for me and influenced my decision to make serious changes in my career.

It was in early 2009....me and nearly every I know my age were getting laid off. The national economy was in the tank and a lot of people were struggling. There were just not many jobs out there. I was in Atlanta, which was hit particularly hard. I was in a company apartment lease so I had to leave almost right away. I ended up moving to a friend's apartment in Baton Rouge to save money.

At first it didn't seem so hopeless. I had a couple of years experience at a very big, reputable firm (which was now belly-up)....so I was confident that I could find something.

I underestimated how bad things were. It seemed like so many people were losing their jobs all over the place. It looked like big, reputable companies like General Motors and GGP were going to to belly up.

Needless to say, it was very humbling and painful time for me and millions of others. I was just one of an endless supply of experienced candidates applying for precious few openings. On more than one occasion, I'd hear about a possible job opening from a friend of mine only for that friend to get RIF'd just like what seemed to be nearly everyone else.

I must have applied to hundreds of positions. A week turned into a month, then two months, etc. Money started to get really tight, and reality started to sink in. It occurred to me that the economy was in bad shape and I was in a field that would probably not see very much positive news for a long time. My goals and what I envisioned myself being when I was growing up was starting to seem so distant and impossible.

It took a long time, but I finally got an interview at a company in New Orleans. It was the same thing I had been doing for the past 4 years before I got laid off. The pay was less than half of my previous salary but I was pretty desperate at the time. I knew I could do this job very well, and I could figure out how to make it work on such low pay.

I get in my suit and drive to New Orleans. I'm there a few minutes early, introduce myself, etc. The older guy who I interviewed with starts off with a half hour diatribe about how he prefers to only hire people from New Orleans. He went on to say that he thinks people my age don't have any experience, always demand too much money, and that we don't appreciate a good opportunity when we see it. He lectured me like I was some 16 year old. He was a real a-hole to me at a time when I was already having to consider giving up and starting over. It was very insulting, especially considering how I'd almost take any glimmer of opportunity if it came my direction at that time.

It was a trigger for me. Something clicked and I realized that I would probably drown if I didn't change my career path significantly. The interview was over by noon, and I was at CEBA building at LSU inquiring about applying for grad school by 3.

I cut my losses, enrolled in grad school, and started the process of reinventing myself. I gave LSU what few dollars I had left in my retirement savings. 6 years later, I'm in a far better position in a better industry. I'm positioning myself as an expert in my field, I get to travel a lot for work, I own a beautiful house, and earn way more than I ever expected to earn at this age.