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The Employer Interview Fail

By

#InterviewFail #LearnFromTheirMistakes

In this edition of Learn from Their Mistakes, we shine a light on the employer interview fail—when untrained or disengaged interviewers derail what should be a structured and professional hiring process. While candidates often arrive well-prepared, thanks to guidance from recruiters and countless resources, it's increasingly common to see employers turning up underprepared, rushed, or inappropriate—leaving candidates disheartened and questioning the opportunity. From irrelevant questions to interviews that last less than ten minutes, these missteps can undo weeks of recruitment effort. Our message to employers: Wake Up and Hire—because bad interviews don’t just waste time, they cost you talent.
In this edition of Learn from Their Mistakes, we shine a light on the employer interview fail—when untrained or disengaged interviewers derail what should be a structured and professional hiring process. While candidates often arrive well-prepared, thanks to guidance from recruiters and countless resources, it’s increasingly common to see employers turning up underprepared, rushed, or inappropriate—leaving candidates disheartened and questioning the opportunity. From irrelevant questions to interviews that last less than ten minutes, these missteps can undo weeks of recruitment effort. Our message to employers: Wake Up and Hire—because bad interviews don’t just waste time, they cost you talent.
Table of Contents
  1. Learn from Their Mistakes: Wake Up and HireInterviewing Without a Clue
    1. What. Just. Happened?
    2. So what can employers do?
    3. And candidates?
    4. Final word:

Learn from Their Mistakes:
Wake Up and Hire
Interviewing Without a Clue

Untrained Hiring = Lost Opportunities

In recruitment, we’ve heard it all—from candidates freezing up mid-interview to forgetting the name of the company they’re applying to. There are books, podcasts, YouTube tutorials, TikToks and of course, recruiters like us—giving candidates the tools to prepare, perform, and hopefully land the job. In fact, if you’re working with a recruitment agency worth its salt (hello, that’s us), you’re probably getting more prep than you bargained for. Why? Because we want our candidates to succeed.

But even the most well-prepared candidate can’t salvage an interview when the interviewer walks in as the weakest link.

Yes. This one’s about you, employers.

What. Just. Happened?

We’ve had candidates walk out of interviews and call us with the classic:
“What. Just. Happened?”
They’re dazed. They’ve studied the company’s vision, stalked the leadership team on LinkedIn, memorised project timelines from your annual report—and then the interview lasts 10 minutes and feels like a rush job at best, a train wreck at worst.

Here are just a few of the greatest hits from recent weeks:

  • Interviewer arrives late, no apology, barely introduces themselves.
  • Candidate is asked nothing job-related—just chit-chat and vague nonsense.
  • Interviewer spends the entire time talking about themselves.
  • Inappropriate or illegal questions—yes, still happening in 2025. (“Are you planning on having children soon?” and “What’s your sexual orientation?” both made a grim return.)
  • A candidate was told “you’re too fat for this job.” Corporate office job, by the way—not that it would have made that statement acceptable anywhere.

These are not hypotheticals. These are real, reported examples. And they are—put bluntly—a disgrace.

Let’s be clear: interviewing is a skill. It’s not bestowed upon you the moment you hire your first employee or set up a business. It’s something that requires thought, structure, empathy, and yes—training. We don’t care how brilliant you are at spreadsheets, running meetings, or selling to clients. Interviewing is its own professional discipline. If you haven’t been trained, you’re likely doing it badly.

The worst part? These poor interviews can undo weeks of work on our end. We’ve vetted the CV, prepped the candidate, helped them through imposter syndrome, answered questions, and cheered them on—only to watch it unravel because someone didn’t take the interview seriously.

And before anyone protests—“it was just a bad day!”—we’ll stop you right there. A bad interview isn’t a bad day. It’s a bad representation of your company. And the damage isn’t just to your reputation—it’s to your ability to attract quality talent. We’ve seen top-tier candidates withdraw from roles that pay exceptionally well because their experience in the interview was so dismal they couldn’t imagine stepping foot in the office again.

So what can employers do?

  • Get trained. Our own Catherine and Gráinne offer outstanding, practical training on this exact topic. (Plug. You’re welcome.)
  • Plan your interviews. Write your questions in advance. Know what you’re assessing.
  • Treat it like a two-way conversation. You’re not just assessing them—they’re assessing you.
  • Watch your language. And we don’t just mean swearing. We mean tone, phrasing, assumptions, and inappropriate personal remarks.
  • Stick to time. If you’ve set aside 45 minutes, don’t wrap it up in 7. That tells the candidate they’re not worth your time—and they’ll believe it.

And candidates?

If you’ve experienced a jaw-droppingly bad interview, do your homework before writing off the job. Sometimes it’s a one-off. Look at company reviews on:

In larger companies, the person who interviews you may not even be the person you’d report to. That said, if red flags are flying, it’s OK to walk away. Trust your gut—but make sure you’ve got the full picture.

Final word:

To employers: Interviewing is not just about filling a vacancy. It’s your chance to make someone want to work with you. If you can’t do that, you’re not just missing out on talent—you’re sending it straight to your competitors.