Members of a popular forum were shocked after a poster on the internet detailed an online job interview they had attended, which was attended by more than 70 other candidates.
In a viral Reddit post posted to r/antiwork, Redditor u/championofjerkwall expressed dismay at the group’s interview and recounted their rebellious actions which left them triumphant afterwards.
Titled “Interviewer using spray n’ pray approach for interviews left Zoom chat open,” the viral Publish received nearly 11,000 votes and 99% upvotes last day.
Explaining that the interviewer conducting the massive group interview mistakenly activated Zoom’s chat function, allowing each of the more than 70 candidates to comment throughout the conversation, u/championofjerkwall assured that they had fully took advantage of the situation.
“Over 70 people in this interview,” the Redditor wrote. “It pissed me off, so I immediately sent a comment in [the] argue to tell her that we are people who deserve respect for individual interviews, not heads of cattle lined up for her [multilevel marketing] bullshit *t. “
“We need to take care of ourselves and our loved ones,” they added.
Following their impassioned comment, u/championofjerkwall said the interviewer offered a curt response, prompting the contestants (including the original poster) to leave the Zoom call altogether.
“She got cocky and said, ‘I don’t need this kind of negativity, if you don’t have anything nice to say you can leave,'” the Redditor wrote. “Immediately the people on the call started dropping like flies, and I hung up too.”
“It was a small moment of rebellion, but it felt good,” they added.
A collective job interview is “an interview technique in which several candidates are interviewed simultaneously for similar positions”, according to Human Resource Management Company.
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Intended to streamline interview processes, group interviews allow for greater efficiency and allow employers to hire large numbers of people quickly, especially during peak periods.
However, their success relies on solid planning, execution and transparency.
Participating job seekers should understand the goals of their potential employer, as well as the purpose of interviewing many people at once, rather than one-on-one.
Unlike the scenario described in the viral Reddit post, group interviews must be conducted by multiple trained interviewers, to ensure that all applicants are observed and vetted properly.
Oliver Parks, a consulting firm specializing in recruiting employees for tech companies, said that while multi-person interview processes can be helpful for employers, they can also turn potential employees into uninterested parties.
Due to a lack of anonymity and their impersonal nature, group interviews rarely allow candidates to show their personality and show what will set them apart from other candidates.
Candidates looking for a tight-knit work environment are also unlikely to thrive in these types of interviews, according to Oliver Parks. website.
In response to the viral Reddit post, commenters agreed with u/championofjerkwall that group interviews are the opposite of what many job seekers are looking for.
“Group interview?” wrote Redditor u/ChooseWisely83, in the main comment of the article.
“F**k that noise,” they added, upvoting 4.1,000.
“How…was that supposed to work?” asked a Redditor.
“It’s called a group interview and that’s a huge red flag,” another commenter replied.
Describing a group interview they attended, Redditor u/Sometimesnotfunny speculated that employers who engage in the practice do so to combat high employee turnover rates.
“I never felt like cattle until then,” they commented. “It was less of a group interview and more of a ‘We’re going to hire you all because most of you won’t make it anyway’ type situation.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m sure if you took the time to make potential employees feel important to you, you wouldn’t have to resort to such tactics,” they added.
Newsweek contacted u/championofjerkwall for comment.
