Problem with questions at interview

I'd be interested to hear what people make of this...I had an interview on Friday for a senior position with a rival firm. The guy interviewing me was to the best of my knowledge an outside consultant and not a direct employee of the firm. My problem is that he asked my what I deemed to be inappropriate questions about my present employer...if there were plans to expand, how many clients we had, what sort of revenue they were yielding, the wealth of the clients etc. Basically I told him in a calm manner that I felt it was an inappropriate line of questioning, that I wasn't going to reveal sensitive information and that if the situation was reversed and I was employed at "their" firm me revealing sensitive information to a competitor at an interview wouldn't go down too well. It was all downhill from there...the guy accused me of having an "attitude problem" and of overreacting. I said I took my job and responsibilities seriously and told him he clearly wasn't fit to interview people if he was going to try and discuss confidential information. He accused me of trying to tell him how to do his job and said my interview was a "suicide note".I then told him the only one getting the chop would be him when I went directly to the employer. Perhaps I shouldn't have said that...well not perhaps, definitely! What do people think is the best way to proceed?

John Rambo said:

I then told him the only one getting the chop would be him when I went directly to the employer. Perhaps I shouldn't have said that...well not perhaps, definitely!

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Yeah - sounds like he was out of order but you eventually sank to his level. Any chance that this was all part of a test no matter how inappropriate the approach? What sort of role was it for? Sounds like something out of Wall Street or Glengarry Glen Ross...

What do people think is the best way to proceed?

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On what? Why would you pursue this and what would be your intentions/aims? If this is the organisation's way of conducting interviews then do you really want to work for them or bother telling them what you feel is wrong with their approach? Why not just forget about it and move on?

I'd love to have been a fly on the wall at that interview!

How did the interview come about? Did they approach you? Did you apply to a job ad? Was it through a recruitment consultant?

You should definitely make a complaint and seek an apology. Do you know other people in the company whom you can ask about this guy's status? It's odd that he did not make it clear at the start of the interview.

Brendan

Agree with the approach you took, by the sounds of things. I'd follow up with a written note of the items you mentioned above directly to the employer, and then walk away.
They won't be happy to know that their reputation is being tarnished in this manner either.

Thanks for the replies...at the time I thought that it may have been a test of my discretion, hence the calculated response about confidentiality. However, given his response to that it definitely wasn't a test. I applied directly to the firm and without saying too much it's a senior management position. There are two interview stages and this was the first. I'm pretty sure he was an external recruitment consultant but he could be a direct employee in some kind of HR role. This genuinely was not made clear to me. The second interview would be with a partner in the firm. I agree with Clubman...would I really want to work with a company who use someone like this? Part of me says just leave it but part of me says pursue it for the sake of the next potential employee. I'd be concerned about about being painted as confrontational in the guy's report, but equally at being seen as a troublemaker if I go directly to the firm and complain about an interviewer. I absolutely agree that saying "if anyone is going to get the chop here it's you" was a mistake, but that was only after extreme provocation.

I think you should chalk it up, after all you don't want them to address their apology to your current firm . He sounds like a real weasel ! little apples will grow again ! At least you didn't compromise your integrity just to impress this tosser.

A complaint may be justified but I'd wonder about the utility of doing it especially if the industry in question is small and your complaining might somehow be made/become known to other employers leaving you looking like some sort of troublemaker or crank...?

It's hard for employers to find good staff. It's particularly hard to find good staff with experience in the industry.

This reflects very badly on the company and they would be horrified that someone interviewing on their behalf was behaving like this. You should definitely contact the MD or some other director.

I would not worry about what you said. You were provoked beyond reason, and unless your job in some way requires you to maintain your composure in the face of frequent provocation, this was totally unacceptable. I can't think of any job where this would be justified.

Brendan

Thanks for the input guys...I've decided to contact one of the senior people in the company. It's the right thing to do, and although as Clubman pointed out there is the risk of being seen as problematic, equally if I don't speak up heaven knows what the interviewer will say. Again, I appreciate all of your suggestions.

John Rambo said:

I've decided to contact one of the senior people in the company. It's the right thing to do, and although as Clubman pointed out there is the risk of being seen as problematic, equally if I don't speak up heaven knows what the interviewer will say.

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Good on you. It's precisely because of 'advice' like Clubman's that this kind of nonsense persists, few have the guts to challenge it. Why on earth would colleagues in your line of work hold it against you that you conducted yourself so professionally and showed such loyalty to your company in the face of such crass provocation. If I was you I'd mention it in your CV! Again, well done.

Blueberry08 said:

Good on you. It's precisely because of 'advice' like Clubman's that this kind of nonsense persists

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I was not saying that they should not report it. I was just teasing out the possible issues if they did.