A nurse who had arrived to a job interview 10 minutes early said that she ended up walking out on a prospective employer after waiting for 25 minutes after her originally schedule interview time. She says that when she first arrived at the receptionist area, she was informed that the individual who was supposed to conduct her interview wasn’t there that day, which is something that she only learned upon her arrival at the facility.
She posted about her experience on TikTok (@thegeriatricnurse), explaining that she ultimately decided to walk out the door once she wasn’t given a time frame for when she could be expected to have her interview that day.
@thegeriatricnurse When places of employment expect you, the employee, to respect their time, but won’t respect your time in return, that’s an issue. ##thegeriatricnurse##interview##nursesoftiktok##nurseprobs##nursesbelike##travelnurselife##whatnursesdo##healthcare##nurse##nurselife##nursetok##skillednursingfacility##badinterview##interviews ♬ original sound – TheGeriatricNurse
The TikToker says in her video, “So many people are going to disagree with this one: I walked out of an interview this week. I had arrived for my interview which was scheduled for 10:00am, 10 minutes early. When I walked in, I was greeted by a receptionist who immediately told me that the person who typically conducts interviews wasn’t there that day. That was red flag No. 1.”
Upon being told that she would be interviewing with an entirely different person, @thegeriatricnurse says she was given an application to fill out by hand just so that she could be given something to do while she waits.
“She [the receptionist] then proceeds to hand me a paper application to sit down and fill out and keep me busy while she scrambled to find someone to conduct the interview. She said she had sent the acting director of nursing in the building that day an email and were just waiting on someone to come out and bring me back for the interview process. In the meantime, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes goes by, that I’m sitting there that’s red flag No. 2.”
It was at this point where @thegeriatricnurse had been waiting for 25 minutes past her originally scheduled interview time that she decided to ask how much longer she could anticipate being there prior to meeting with someone to discuss her potential hiring there. “So she comes back over to me apologizes and says I’m sorry someone will be with you soon. To which I had asked OK, do you know how soon? Valid question, considering I had now been sitting there for 25 minutes, don’t forget I had arrived 10 minutes early. So she says, no, I don’t. The acting director of nursing is currently with the department of health and they are very important.”
This response seemingly jarred the TikToker, who zooms in on her face in the video after saying, “What? At that point, while I was standing up and placing the application on her desk I was simultaneously saying to her OK, I would also appreciate if my time was respected as well and I walked out the doors. Respect is a mutual agreement. Period. The end.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to @thegeriatricnurse via TikTok comment for further information.
In the social media era, the job-seeking process has been explored via explainer TikToks that uncover confusing practices. Be they rejection emails or viral phone call hang-ups.
Some commenters supported the TikToker’s decision to leave the reception area since she didn’t know when her interview would be conducted: “You did the ring thing. What happened to you is a sign of their work culture. it is absolutely about mutual respect.” Another penned, “I always say don’t forget you’re interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. They failed the interview.”
However, there were some who didn’t seem so convinced that she made the right move: “u sound like u would be such a joy to work with”
And there was another person who thought that she was misplacing her ire by directing it toward the receptionist: “I agree with your position completely, but you can’t hold the receptionist to account. That’s not fair, particularly if she was trying to resolve it.”
