the worst interview ever

Colleges & Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>so here is what exactly happened:</p>

<p>Before the interview I facebooked the interviewer so that I would know what she looked like. I arrived the coffeehouse few minutes earlier and I ordered a drink. There were not many people then. While waiting for the drink, I looked around, and tried to identify the interviewer. But I did not see anyone who was likely to be her. So I found a spot outside, where I could see who were there both inside and outside, and sat down.</p>

<p>After I sat down for a few minutes, a girl sat behind me. But I perceived her to be too young to be the interviewer and looked not really like the girl on the interviewer's profile pic. So I didn't go to her and ask her. </p>

<p>In my culture, it would be quite rude to call and rush someone if he/her does not appear on time, especially to someone you've never met. So I decided to wait for a few more minutes. 10 minutes after the time we agreed upon, I called, and while talking, I saw the girl behind me was also talking to her phone, so I said, 'oh I saw you now.' and walked to her. and the conversation went like this,</p>

<p>Me:"Sorry, I didn't realize you were.."
Interviewer:" So when did you arrive?"
Me:" uh..I arrived on time?"
Interview:"Then did you call me or text me or something?"
Me:" No, coz I thought you might be late or something so I waited for 10 minutes before I called.."
Interviewer:"Well, you should've called, coz now I've got like ten or twenty minutes before I have to go back to work. and I called you by the number on your application, and you didn't pick up."
Me:"Really? what number did you call?"
Interview:" (&%&((..?"</p>

<p>I didn't recognize the number then, (but after she left I realized it might be the office number of my counsellor) so I shaked my head.</p>

<p>Interviewer:"and I even e-mailed you. (and she said something else but I can't remember precisely. basically she meant that I should've called her as soon as I arrived) So do you want to re-schedule or something?"</p>

<p>I thought the conversation didn't really start well.. she looked quite angry with me and was literally interogatting me.</p>

<p>Me:"Well let's reschedule then."
Interviewer: "When will you be free?"
Me: "Everyday, coz I am on vacation now."</p>

<p>She looked into her Iphone, and looked like she didn't care nor want to schedule another meeting. </p>

<p>Interviewer: "Well it may have to be after the holiday. I will contact you then."
Me:"Okay, sure."
She smiled, but seemed to be forcing herself to do so. We said goodbye and she left.</p>

<p>This is literally the worst interview ever. It might lasted for just 2 minutes.</p>

<p>I'm no American, so I guess the cultural difference might be an issue here..Is it my fault that I didn't call her right away? Should I e-mail her to apologize and remind her to rescedule another interview? Would it be too late to have an interview in late Febuary then?</p>

<p>Any comments are welcome. But please don't be too harsh. I'm already really upset here.</p>

2

<p>I would send a brief email explaining the mix-up (suggested content below). I don’t think this should be a problem.</p>

<p>I am emailing to apologize for the mix-up on _______. I arrived early at the coffeehouse but didn’t recognize you as the interviewer. I waited 10 minutes before I called you because in my culture, it would be considered rude to call any sooner. I didn’t receive a text/call from you, and I am wondering if the number you called was my high school’s guidance office. I am sorry for any inconvenience that my actions created for you. I am looking forward to meeting with you in the near future.</p>

3

<p>thank you very much milkweed. The suggested content is very helpful.
Anybody else want to comment?</p>

4

<p>“Interviews, when available, are conducted by alumni volunteers around the world and are not required for admission Columbia.”</p>

<p>Don’t sweat this. It’s not required. It won’t impact your status as an applicant whether it takes place or not. So long as you aren’t outright offensive during the interview, in the 3event it does happen, causing her to flag you as a potential risk to the school, you will be fine.</p>

5

<p>You might want to ask for a different interviewer. Next time, describe yourself briefly to the interviewer. As an alum interviewer, I always tell the student how to recognize me (color of scarf/coat etc) …and consider it my responsibility to arrange the interview so that distractions such as stress, are minimized…and we can go forward with meaningful conversations instead.</p>

6

<p>Thank you M’s Mom and jg0339. </p>

<p>I guess it wouldn’t be possible to ask for another interviewer. Because none of the other Columbia applicants in my HS was contacted for an interview, so I guess this suggests the lack of alumni in my area. And if I was to change an interviewer, how do I do that? Do I contact the admission office or the present interviewer?..</p>

<p>So I was being offensive/rude? :frowning: how exactly?</p>

7

<p>To change interviewers; you’d contact the admissions office. I think you misunderstood M’s Mom; who was talking about rescheduled interview; saying that the interviewer shouldn’t hold the misunderstanding against you…not saying that you were already rude or offensive. Also, I’m not just talking about Columbia U.</p>

8

<p>You did nothing wrong. My D had a very similar situation, started bad and all downhill from there (not Columbia). Repeat: You did nothing wrong. Don’t hang your head and apologize (though I’m BIG on apologies…this sounds like someone who will take that as a weakness…there are TONS of people like that). Don’t make a big deal of it, make everything positive, don’t bring it up again. You may NOT be able to get her to change her erroneously negative attitude, but you can try. Some people are like this, that’s hopefully why the interview can’t count for alot…they KNOW they have all sorts of alums.</p>

<p>If it were ME…I’d wait until “after the holiday” so she is less stressed (WHAT holiday? V-day? That’s not “real” enough to be called a holiday!). Yes, late February is plenty of time. Then I’d send a simple -mail, without an apology. </p>

<p>“I just wanted to check back in with you so that we can try and reschedule our Columbia interview. If you have any time in your upcoming schedule I’d love to meet again at your convenience. Thank you so much for your time.”</p>

<p>Good luck</p>

9

<p>Sorry if I wasn’t clear, Kujalulu. You did nothing wrong. Your interviewer was clearly having a bad day and took it out on you. I was was trying to convey that, if you do have an interview later, even a luke warm review isn’t going to harm your chances. Don’t lose any sleep over this.</p>

10

<p>what a biotch</p>

11

<p>it was the Chinese New Year holiday (happy Chinese new year everyone by the way:) )</p>

<p>Thank you for all your support. I feel much better now.</p>

<p>But in America, do you just call right away when you were in my situation?</p>

12

<p>If I’m meeting someone and they’re running late, then I would probably call them to confirm that they’re coming. But by no means is this universal in “American” culture, since it wasn’t even possible before cell phones. This belief that people should keep in constant contact with one another is pretty popular among young urban adults (i.e. Columbia students and New York twentysomethings). So it seems as though your interviewer is just the kind of person who likes to keep in constant contact and is fairly impatient and was put off by your seemingly apathetic demeanor. If it’s really considered offensive in your culture, then an e-mail might work to your advantage since you could essentially “shame” her into realizing that she cannot apply her expectations about when to call to others, particularly those from different cultures. Above all, though, when you next have an interview with her, don’t mention what happened last time; just go with the flow.</p>

13

<p>lol no. I had an interview today and arrived at the shop an hour early. t got to the time of the interview and I still couldn’t find the guy. So I waited 10 minutes, then walked around the coffeeshop. Turns out he was sitting on the other side the whole time i was there lol. Needless to say he wasn’t upset so idk why your interviewer would be either. I simply didn’t recognize him and neither did you =)</p>

14

<p>Thank you all for your kind and helpful comments. I guess I’ll just wait until late Febuary to email her, reminding her to re-schedule another interview, and never bring up what happened yesterday.</p>

<p>I guess what really upsets me is that she didn’t even greet me/shake hands/smile or anything just to show that she’s nice/polite. She started questioning me as soon as I sat down. During the conversation, she just kept looking at her iphone, and seldomly looked at me. Her tone also made me felt that I have done something terribly wrong.:frowning: The forced smile at last also seemed to suggest that she did not at all want to talk to me. </p>

<p>But I guess I shouldn’t expect everyone to be all nice and warm. It’s just that this is my first real college interview. I have only informally talked to an admission officer from Pomona when he visited our school, who was really nice and encouraging, and prompted me to apply to Pomona.</p>

<p>So I guess through a college interview, the school can learn more about me as a person, and I can also infer a lot of things about the school. I mean, if everyone at Columbia treats others like my interviewer, I’d rather go to Pomona or other school with a more nurturing and friendly environment.</p>

15

<p>I expect everyone to be nice and warm. Actually…are you saying this was IN America, or what? Because, though we can be thought of as harsh, we’re ALSO given a hard time for being all “have a nice day!”. I know the people in France think I’m a freak because I’m always smiling, don’t complain, etc. </p>

<p>Anyway…if you were the INTERVIEWER…I think you might have wanted to call at or before 10 minutes. But…being the INTERVIEWEE…you’re trying to be polite. It’s perfectly acceptable to have not called in 10 minutes. I bet you were very nervous, wondering where she was. </p>

<p>It’s definitely not an American thing.
Its not a WRONG thing.
It’s just a THING for this one rude person. I’m sure she exists in all cultures.</p>

<p>Besides…who sets aside 15-20 minutes for an interview? I KNOW they’re volunteering and all-and I appreciate it. But why do it if it’s such a pain that you’ll take it out on your interviewee? THAT is what happened with one of my D’s interviews. And THAT is one reason the interview can’t count for much.</p>

<p>Best luck!</p>

16

<p>

definitely don’t wait until late february. the interview report submission deadline for alumni interviewers is Feb 8th for SEAS, Feb 22nd for Columbia College.</p>

17

<p>WHOA! Bumping for OP to see this. I doubt anyone knew these dates!</p>

18

<p>thank you Denzera! I’ll keep that in mind! :)</p>

19

<p>where you from kujalulu? i agree that it isn’t an “American thing” or whatever, your interviewer was probably having a bad day. email is the best resort, and all the best to you ;)</p>

20

<p>so I contacted the interviewer again on Feb 19th morning, and I received her feedback today (Feb 22nd). She agreed to meet me again this week or next.</p>

<p>So by the time she submit the interview report, the deadline will definitely be past. Will she still be able to sumbit the report, and will her report still be influential in making the decision then?</p>