INTERVIEW STORIES

INTERVIEW STORIES

Back in 2018 I was employed somewhere on contract but the contract was almost coming to an end and so in my quest to look for a job, I reached out to a fellow HR to see if they had any opportunity. Immediately, he informed me that they were actually recruiting for an Assistant HR Manager and I expressed my interest and sent my cv. I then immediately left work and went straight to the interview.

So I arrived at the company and was well received, I sat with 5 other candidates on a porch outside on the balcony. So the candidate before me was called and went into the interview and I was left alone at the porch since I was the last candidate. So I started to prepare myself mentally for the interview as well as just making sure all my documents were in order. So 3 hours later, am still outside no word or information and I started to wonder if they forgot about me or if the interview would proceed at all. I began to get worried.

I called my friend and asked him what was going on...apparently the candidate who went before me fell on a step while going in for the interview and broke his leg. He had to be rushed to the Hospital immediately as it was really bad. So everyone in the HR department and the management had left the office to work on that. It was a really scary moment for me. The interview didn't happen on that day as expected and I was told I would be informed about another interview date.

Got a call in the next day and was informed to go for the interview on the next day. As usual, woke early prepared myself and left for the interview. This was 2nd phase of the interview where the 3 candidates would meet one on one with the Director and I remember being nervous, yes even HR people get nervous sometime. Again, I was kept waiting for over 3 hours and I kept wondering what kind of image this company is trying to portray to future employees. The director saw the first candidate then we were told to go for lunch at this point I remember asking myself if it was worth it. I managed to have a conversation with my fellow candidate as we were going for lunch, both of us desperately looking for a job, he was jobless too. All we could afford for lunch was soda and a queen cake and as we came back for lunch he told me that it was not worth it for him to go for that interview since they had wasted too much of his time. He left and went back home.

As for me, I was thinking "well you have come this far, just give it a shot. You never know." So I went in for the interview immediately I got back from lunch now almost 5 hours later. The interview went well and I was positive I would get the job. About 2 weeks later, no feedback and since it was an urgent role, I decided to call my friend and find out what was happening. The feedback was disheartening, it had nothing to do with my experience or skills but my tribe. Apparently there is a lot of politics in that company and they were looking for someone from a specific tribe. I have never felt so discriminated and disappointed at the same time.

Dear employers and my fellow HRs, wasting peoples time is not a good thing to do, people use a lot of finances let alone mental health and emotions just to prepare themselves for an interview. Its not fair to shortlist people for interview only to be discriminated in any form. If you need a particular kind of candidate, you can source for what you need as you are shortlisting and save people the hustle of coming all the way to even a second or third interview. Skills and experience should be the key in any recruitment.