Work: Today, I had an interview with IBM. For a week I did extensive...

By MrZhang - 23/06/2009 03:34 - Australia

Today, I had an interview with IBM. For a week I did extensive research and preparation for the interview. At first the interview was going really well. I was hitting all the marks. Then just as a final casual question she asked with a smile "What does IBM stand for?". I didn't know. FML

I agree, your life sucks 39 425

You deserved it 26 529

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Same thing different taste

Words is hard

By Anonymous - 20/09/2023 16:00 - United States

Today, I went for an interview at a great company. Everything was going well until I tried to demonstrate my knowledge of their industry by using a technical term. Turns out I'd completely misunderstood the term and used it in the wrong context. The interviewer raised an eyebrow, and I could see "Don't call us, we'll call you" flicker in their eyes. FML

I agree, your life sucks 272

You deserved it 681

Not working out

By Anonymous - 25/07/2014 02:04 - Canada - Burnaby

Today, after months of job hunting, I finally got a phone interview with a company. Excited, I prepared for the interview and conducted extensive research on the company. The interview ended within a minute. They'd got the wrong person. FML

I agree, your life sucks 45 253

You deserved it 3 594

By Username - 12/05/2011 06:17

Today, I called a possible employer I had an interview with about a week ago to see if I had got the job that I have already been trained for. Her response? "Are you sure I interviewed you?" FML

I agree, your life sucks 30 548

You deserved it 3 045

By Anonymous - 06/10/2011 17:27 - United States

Today, I got called for a job interview. I didn't catch where it was, and in my excitement I forgot to ask. I now have no idea where I'm being interviewed. FML

I agree, your life sucks 13 697

You deserved it 35 187

Am I hired?

By KLM - 14/08/2024 14:00 - United Kingdom - Manchester

Today, I had a job interview. As I walked in, I confidently shook the interviewer's hand, only to say, "I'm doing well, how are you?" before she'd even asked me how I was, or even said anything. The rest of the interview was pretty much a blur of awkwardness. FML

I agree, your life sucks 303

You deserved it 226

Riveting

By Kebabjoon - 29/04/2011 11:36 - Spain

Today, I had my first job interview for eight months. My interviewer noticeably yawned during my reply to the first question. FML

I agree, your life sucks 28 610

You deserved it 4 880

Read other books, FFS

By Anonymous - 20/07/2012 20:26 - Netherlands - Delft

Today, I had a job interview, for which I spent hours preparing. My interviewer was nothing more than a pimple-faced teen, and after only two minutes of reviewing my qualifications, he lost interest and started asking such questions as which Hogwarts house is my favorite. FML

I agree, your life sucks 28 935

You deserved it 3 186

Foot in mouth syndrome

By Anonymous - 05/05/2024 12:00 - United States - Seattle

Today, I had an interview for a pretty interesting job. Everything was going smoothly until I referred to their company by the wrong name, not once, but three times. They politely corrected me each time, but I could see the resentment in their eyes, especially because it was the name of their main competitor. I probably won't be getting the job, huh? FML

I agree, your life sucks 93

You deserved it 776

By Anonyme - 29/05/2012 10:19

Today, I went to my first ever job interview, in a totally stressed out state. The employer's first question was: "What's your name?" I forgot. FML

I agree, your life sucks 25 843

You deserved it 9 951

Too clever

By DamnGurl - 12/02/2021 02:58 - United States - Kula

Today, during a programming interview, I provided the right approach and the right answer as agreed by the interviewer, but used some extra variables with proper names. Guess who is not selected for the next round due to those extra variables. FML

I agree, your life sucks 859

You deserved it 177

fatgothchick 0

Tuesday 23 June 2009 12:08

Internationale Büro-Maschinen how the heck should anyone know

Overcast117 5

Tuesday 23 June 2009 12:09

International Business Machines, but who cares?

Comments

mattmag 0

Tuesday 23 June 2009 18:05

I thought it was just common knowledge. Huh, I guess I overestimated the everyman once again.

kusiobache 0

Tuesday 23 June 2009 18:17

Geez, why are people saying that the OP should've researched more. First, if your qualified for the job you should be able to answer any practical question. Second, that question has nothing to do with work, unless it was a trick question. Heck if they change their name in a week the question would be made invalid. That shows how stupid the question is.

shooting_star 0

Tuesday 23 June 2009 18:30

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this because I can't be bothered to read through all the comments but this reminds me of an episode of I.T crowd when in a job interview Jen gets asked what I.T stands for and doesn't know. This now makes me suspicious of this FML. And if it is true then YDI.

The_Unspool 0

Tuesday 23 June 2009 18:30

I thought they changed the name to Lenovo?

Lunaria 0

Tuesday 23 June 2009 18:39

If you're applying for the job, you should at least know what the acronym stands for, however I think that the interviewer was probably asking what IBM meant to you.

Scotticus117 11

Tuesday 23 June 2009 18:51

FAIL, YDI, even I know it stands International Business Machines and i have never applied there or worked there. Did you get the job, I'm kinda thinking know but that still really sucks. It is your fault though.

cutebebe778 0

Tuesday 23 June 2009 19:23

LOL #7 (organisedchaos) FTW. FtheinterviewersL for not knowing how to ask the appropriate, relevant questions in an effing job interview.

MonkeySpeaks 4

Tuesday 23 June 2009 19:31

That is a very relevant question to ask. They want to know the person applying to the job knows who the company is. When you apply to a company and work there you are representing the company. Other questions they'll ask may seem mundane too. Like, describe yourself in three words. may seem trivial and inconsequential but they are looking for a few things in that. Honesty, humility, and how well you THIKN on your toes. That was probably another reason for asking about IBM. What will the person do when confronted with a surprise question. Will they stammer, will they take too long to answer? with they be honest? Thats the reason for the whole three things about yourself question. Same as "what is your biggest fault." They don't want to know your biggest fault. They want to see if you just give a shotgun answer and they want to know if you are humble enough to say, I'm known to stub my toe on the occassion. They pay attention to pauses, they count how many times you say "um" and "like" and "er." They have been interviewing people for how long now? And are the 15th largest in the US? I think they know what they are doing compared to some disgruntled kid on FML.