hbs interview horror stories

A graduate who used the leadership skills from HBS to lead a non - profit organization to great success. They were able to raise large amounts of funds and expand the organization's reach, helping more people in need.

In an interview once, the room was freezing cold. The employer didn't seem to notice or care. I was shivering while trying to answer their questions. And on top of that, they were asking really personal questions that had nothing to do with the job, like about my family's financial situation. It was a very uncomfortable experience.

One horror story is showing up late due to a transportation glitch. The millennial was all set for an important interview but the subway had a delay. By the time they reached, the interviewers seemed unimpressed and cut the interview short. It was really disheartening as it wasn't entirely their fault.

One common element is unprofessional interviewers. For example, they may be late, rude, or not prepared. Another is unexpected and inappropriate questions, like asking about your political views when it has no relation to the job. Also, a bad interview environment can be part of it, such as a noisy or dirty room.

I heard of a case interview where the technical equipment failed. The candidate was all set to present a complex data analysis case, but the projector didn't work and there was no backup plan. The candidate had to struggle to explain the graphs and data just verbally, which was a nightmare as it was hard to convey the full picture without the visual aids. It made the candidate seem less prepared than they actually were.

A student walked into the interview room and immediately felt an intimidating atmosphere. The interviewers were very serious - looking and didn't give any reassuring smiles. Then, during the interview, they were constantly interrupted while trying to answer questions. This made the student lose their train of thought multiple times and they felt like they couldn't get their full ideas across. It was a very disheartening experience for them as they thought they could have done much better if they had been given a chance to fully express themselves.

A student had prepared extensively for the wrong topic. They thought the interview would focus on a particular area of their subject based on some misinformation. So when the interviewers started asking questions on a different area, the student had no clue how to answer. They tried to bluff their way through but the interviewers quickly saw through it, and it was a really embarrassing and horrible experience for the student.

I knew someone who went to an interview and the room was freezing cold. The interviewer didn't seem to care and just carried on. To make it worse, they were very rude and cut off the interviewee mid - answer multiple times. It was a horrible experience for my friend. They felt so disrespected and didn't get the job in the end.

One common element is unprepared interviewers. They might not have read your resume properly before the interview and ask you basic things that are already on there. Another is a very uncomfortable or intimidating interview environment, like a super cold room or an interviewer who stares at you in a really unfriendly way.

There was this situation where the HR interviewer was asking inappropriate personal questions. Things like relationship status in a way that made the interviewee uncomfortable. This is not only unprofessional but also made the whole interview seem more like an interrogation than a job interview.