Odd comment during recent interview....whats your take?

[Belmont31R]

Got interviewed by a guy who said he was in the Navy so a vet also...I had a binder with my military records, education, blah blah blah. He saw I had my awards and such from across the table but never looked at them, and said, "Everyone who's been in the military has the same crap." Never met the guy before, this was maybe 2 minutes into the interview, and at this point he doesn't know much about me. Not saying I really do have anything special as far as awards or anything but he doesn't know me from anyone else. There are a lot of people out there with higher awards, purple hearts, not everyone has deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan (Iraq only for me X2)....my last 1SG I had never deployed when he took over my company in 2007. So, no, not everyone has the 'same crap', and even though I didn't do anything special compared to what other recent Iraq/Afghan vets have earned that comment still rubbed me the wrong way. Obviously still bugging me 2 weeks later...I guess I should just take everything I earned and throw it in the trash if everyone has the same shit right? :D


Didn't go to well otherwise. Everything I said he shot down in some way. He asked if I handle stress well, and I half jokingly said I've got twin 4 year old boys at home. He then went on a minute long lecture about how that wasn't stressful. Oh ok I guess its not....:(


Guess its a good thing I never heard back from them...:cool:

[6933]

My take is the guy was a douche. Don't think he has kids either.

[ALCOAR]

I don't care who you are, or what you have done....to degrade a service member's/vet's awards in any manner is absolutely territory for bitch slapping a little intelligence and class into some mis-informed, disrespectful needledick.

Thank goodness you didn't get a call back or whatever, no place that has that type of cat in charge of a very important position is gonna be worth a damn anyway. A service member's military service by it's nature is easily one of the most hire able traits I could find on a resume. You ain't gotta smoke Taliban in the Hindu Kush in order to receive the awesome discipline and skills for life that military service provides. Give that dick a pink shirt and call the code pink card on his ghey ass.

[Redhat]

I don't like to burn bridges but...

Depending on the situation, once I felt it was going no where I might have had to express my opinion of him and his attitude as I was leaving.

[Cincinnatus]

What sort of interview was this? A newspaper story? An Oral History project?

[rob_s]

What sort of job was this for?

I have come across more than a few vets looking for work in the civilian sector that seem surprised that their service isn't seen as more of an asset. I'm not sure if the military is mis-representing things to new recruits and those about to be discharged or what, but IME with bosses and hiring folks they may pay lip service to caring about military service at most and dismiss it after that. If it's someone completely ignorant of military people and recent discharges they start thinking about media reports of PTSD, possible re-activation taking away their new hire, etc.

Not saying I agree with their attitude, just saying that it seems like someone is giving people a false impression of their perceived "worth".

[Cincinnatus]

Oh, so this was a job interview--sorry, didn't pick that up at first.

[Redhat]

Rob,

Thinking that way is one thing. Expressing your opinion in the manner reported is just plain disrespectful and unwarranted.

[Cincinnatus]

As far as veteran experience being discounted in a job interview goes, it depends on what field you're trying to get into. I have had some recent experiences applying for some civilian jobs with the military, and in those cases, there is a points preference system that give veterans preferred selection over other applicants--for instance, you get 10 points for a purple heart, 5 for service during the Gulf War, etc.
In fact, it is very difficult to get some of these jobs (depending on the selection criteria dictated by the hiring program) UNLESS one is a veteran. And some of these are plumb jobs with great benefits, etc.
http://jobs.faa.gov/p_Vet_Pref_Info.htm

[rob_s]

Rob,

Thinking that way is one thing. Expressing your opinion in the manner reported is just plain disrespectful and unwarranted.

Well, of course. But such is life. We are confronted with people expressing opinions we don't like in disrespectful and unwarranted ways every day. From what I've seen, the opinion isn't the exception, and may be the majority, so I'm just curious where the disconnect comes from.

[Belmont31R]

What sort of job was this for?

I have come across more than a few vets looking for work in the civilian sector that seem surprised that their service isn't seen as more of an asset. I'm not sure if the military is mis-representing things to new recruits and those about to be discharged or what, but IME with bosses and hiring folks they may pay lip service to caring about military service at most and dismiss it after that. If it's someone completely ignorant of military people and recent discharges they start thinking about media reports of PTSD, possible re-activation taking away their new hire, etc.

Not saying I agree with their attitude, just saying that it seems like someone is giving people a false impression of their perceived "worth".



The job listing said expressly about being a vet being a bonus to getting hired, and they deal with some military sales. So Id think being a vet has something to do with the job but I guess not.


Obviously a persons MOS will have more to do with getting hired than simply being a vet. Thats why I chose the MOS I did because it has direct relations to civilian sector jobs, and my resume is tailored to that not just being former mil in general with no specific experience, education and training.


At any rate even if being mil isn't a bonus to getting a particular job would you tell someone you were interviewing you weren't interested in seeing their military records because 'everyone has the same crap'? If you don't think its important to the job then thats fine...just don't be rude and disparaging about it. As much you are interviewing the job seeker they are interviewing you if its a job and company they want to work for. Even if this place had offered me a job Id likely have turned it down since that particular person isn't someone Id want to work with on a daily basis. Life is too short...

[decodeddiesel]

Got interviewed by a guy who said he was in the Navy so a vet also...I had a binder with my military records, education, blah blah blah. He saw I had my awards and such from across the table but never looked at them, and said, "Everyone who's been in the military has the same crap." Never met the guy before, this was maybe 2 minutes into the interview, and at this point he doesn't know much about me. Not saying I really do have anything special as far as awards or anything but he doesn't know me from anyone else. There are a lot of people out there with higher awards, purple hearts, not everyone has deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan (Iraq only for me X2)....my last 1SG I had never deployed when he took over my company in 2007. So, no, not everyone has the 'same crap', and even though I didn't do anything special compared to what other recent Iraq/Afghan vets have earned that comment still rubbed me the wrong way. Obviously still bugging me 2 weeks later...I guess I should just take everything I earned and throw it in the trash if everyone has the same shit right? :D


Didn't go to well otherwise. Everything I said he shot down in some way. He asked if I handle stress well, and I half jokingly said I've got twin 4 year old boys at home. He then went on a minute long lecture about how that wasn't stressful. Oh ok I guess its not....:(


Guess its a good thing I never heard back from them...:cool:

No doubt the miserable **** sleeps soundly at night though without giving any thought whats so ever to the people who have sworn to give their lives to protect his and his way of life. That guy should seriously go and die in a fire.

It would bother me too.

[500grains]

I think you should mail him a "gift" for conducting the interview:

http://www.theunticket.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/colt_anal_douche.jpg

[rob_s]

The job listing said expressly about being a vet being a bonus to getting hired, and they deal with some military sales. So Id think being a vet has something to do with the job but I guess not.


Obviously a persons MOS will have more to do with getting hired than simply being a vet. Thats why I chose the MOS I did because it has direct relations to civilian sector jobs, and my resume is tailored to that not just being former mil in general with no specific experience, education and training.


At any rate even if being mil isn't a bonus to getting a particular job would you tell someone you were interviewing you weren't interested in seeing their military records because 'everyone has the same crap'? If you don't think its important to the job then thats fine...just don't be rude and disparaging about it. As much you are interviewing the job seeker they are interviewing you if its a job and company they want to work for. Even if this place had offered me a job Id likely have turned it down since that particular person isn't someone Id want to work with on a daily basis. Life is too short...

I don't want to become the target because I'm convenient and he's not. I'm not supporting, or defending, the guy's actions, and I wasn't there, so I can't comment on what happened, how it was said, etc.

Many employers got sick of having to chase employees during the good times, and now feel like it's their chance to get even.

I was simply relaying that his attitude, whether or not overtly expressed, is more common than many vets seem to realize. Personally I'd rather know about it than not if I were in your shoes, because I'd hate to take a job and find I'm being blocked for promotion, given the crappy shifts, etc. because of some vendetta the guy had. Or even worse, take the job and miss out on an opportunity that actually was a good fit because I stopped looking.

[Belmont31R]

I don't want to become the target because I'm convenient and he's not. I'm not supporting, or defending, the guy's actions, and I wasn't there, so I can't comment on what happened, how it was said, etc.

Many employers got sick of having to chase employees during the good times, and now feel like it's their chance to get even.

I was simply relaying that his attitude, whether or not overtly expressed, is more common than many vets seem to realize. Personally I'd rather know about it than not if I were in your shoes, because I'd hate to take a job and find I'm being blocked for promotion, given the crappy shifts, etc. because of some vendetta the guy had. Or even worse, take the job and miss out on an opportunity that actually was a good fit because I stopped looking.



Sure...there are people who dislike the military and others who don't necessarily dislike the military but have envy over having never served themselves. That can apply to other things, too, such as where a person got their degree from, GPA, honors, a persons physical appearance, age, whatever. As much as being a vet can hurt you with the wrong person it opens a lot of doors not available to non-vets just like any other attribute a person has.

[sff70]

You'll never really know.

Put it in the rearview mirror.

[Irish]

Just a shot in the dark... How did you respond to his questions and did you respond to his antagonistic approach in any way? Did you respond to his objections or try to convince him to see your perspective on what was being discussed? Did you sell him on the fact that your records are different than everyone else's and he needs to see them?

He may have actually been presenting you with common questions, objections and comments that are related to the sales position you were being interviewed for and he wanted to see how you would handle them. Did you choke or become visibly flustered? Did you respond intelligently? Did you lose your cool or become agitated?

He might've been testing you to see if you could hack it in the position that you were interviewing for... In my current profession I went through a similar "hostile interview" prior to being hired and believe me I had to choke down a few choice words for the interviewer while clinching my fists under the desk. Sometimes the employer's motivation for a specific interviewing approach definitely has merit. And sometimes they're just dicks.

[Belmont31R]

Just a shot in the dark... How did you respond to his questions and did you respond to his antagonistic approach in any way? Did you respond to his objections or try to convince him to see your perspective on what was being discussed? Did you sell him on the fact that your records are different than everyone else's and he needs to see them?

He may have actually been presenting you with common questions, objections and comments that are related to the sales position you were being interviewed for and he wanted to see how you would handle them. Did you choke or become visibly flustered? Did you respond intelligently? Did you lose your cool or become agitated?

He might've been testing you to see if you could hack it in the position that you were interviewing for... In my current profession I went through a similar "hostile interview" prior to being hired and believe me I had to choke down a few choice words for the interviewer while clinching my fists under the desk. Sometimes the employer's motivation for a specific interviewing approach definitely has merit. And sometimes they're just dicks.



Not a sales job. I wouldn't have any contact with customers.


I can see your point though. I don't think that was what happened.

[Honu]

chip on the shoulder ?

I would say look at a interview both ways a chance to see if you want to work for the company and if they want you to work for them ? its a two way road

is this guy just a HR guy ? and would he be above you in anyway ?

is he even liked in the company ? not something you would know until you get in I guess ?

I would decide if I did not want the job I would write a letter to a higher up in the company and say look I wanted you guys to be aware that military was a good thing to have and to bring in but when the interviewer mocks my military record and calls it the same old crap ! thats not conductive to a good workplace and not sure if thats what your intentions are just thought you should know this !

you never know the uppers might not know what this jerk is doing ?

either way best of luck in the hunt for a job ;) and might be a test he was putting you through ? but sounds like a chip on the shoulder prick who most likely does not move up the ladder of life but likes to try to kick those he feels are below him cause it makes him feel better ?

[No.6]

You weren't being interviewed by John Kerry by chance? ;)

IMO, you'd have nothing but problems with this guy if that's his attitude and you had to report to him, especially if he's he owner. If he's just an HR admin, then someone hired him and showed poor judgment. F' him, there are other (better) jobs out there.

[500grains]

Sure...there are people who dislike the military and others who don't necessarily dislike the military but have envy over having never served themselves. =.

Or perhaps he is one of those people who think that Al Gore won the 2000 election...

[SeriousStudent]

I am on the same sheet of music as Irish. I've been the subject of deliberately hostile interviews, just to see how I handled the situation. These were not sales positions, but dealt with stressful internal matters inside the organization.

And it's entirely probable that your first instinct was correct. The guy is just a jerk. ;)

You don't need him, and living well is always the best revenge.

Play Taps and drive on.

What kind of gig are you looking for?

[QuietShootr]

Got interviewed by a guy who said he was in the Navy so a vet also...I had a binder with my military records, education, blah blah blah. He saw I had my awards and such from across the table but never looked at them, and said, "Everyone who's been in the military has the same crap." Never met the guy before, this was maybe 2 minutes into the interview, and at this point he doesn't know much about me. Not saying I really do have anything special as far as awards or anything but he doesn't know me from anyone else. There are a lot of people out there with higher awards, purple hearts, not everyone has deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan (Iraq only for me X2)....my last 1SG I had never deployed when he took over my company in 2007. So, no, not everyone has the 'same crap', and even though I didn't do anything special compared to what other recent Iraq/Afghan vets have earned that comment still rubbed me the wrong way. Obviously still bugging me 2 weeks later...I guess I should just take everything I earned and throw it in the trash if everyone has the same shit right? :D


Didn't go to well otherwise. Everything I said he shot down in some way. He asked if I handle stress well, and I half jokingly said I've got twin 4 year old boys at home. He then went on a minute long lecture about how that wasn't stressful. Oh ok I guess its not....:(


Guess its a good thing I never heard back from them...:cool:

tl;dr.

Just kidding. **** him. You didn't want to work for that guy anyway.

[Low Drag]

I've had some interesting interviews in the years since I've been out of the Corps.

I’ve had to explain some pretty basic stuff to interviewers. Keep in mind interviewing with an HR type Vs the hiring manager are 2 different animals.
Regarding civilian skills, I was grunt and I’ve transferred a good number of skills. Take your basic OP order planning steps, it’s project management plain and simple.
The Marines expected 20 year olds to deliver, civilians twice their age have never had to stand and deliver. Focus on the ‘soft skills’ you leaned in the Navy.
Regarding the interview and second guessing this guy, like others have said put it in your rear view mirror unless you think you can learn something. Next mission.

[RWK]

He... said, "Everyone who's been in the military has the same crap." Never met the guy before, this was maybe 2 minutes into the interview...

"I'm sorry but, there's apparently been a misunderstanding here. I'll be leaving now".

If it's really stuck in your craw, call or write to the president of the company and tell them how you were treated.

[FlyAndFight]

"...If it's really stuck in your craw, call or write to the president of the company and tell them how you were treated.

Excellent advice.

[montanadave]

If it's really stuck in your craw, call or write to the president of the company and tell them how you were treated.

That was my first impression when I read the OP couple of days ago.

Situations like this can eat at you for days (or longer), playing around with all the "I shoulda's" and "if only's". Sit down, compose a letter, and tell 'em how you felt about the interview. Hell, ya might not even feel the need to mail it once you get it off your chest (although it might not hurt the guy's boss to know he's got a douche bag working for him).

[Belmont31R]

I was first interviewed by the general manager, and then the supervisor/manager of the section the job I was applying for so this guy Im talking about would be directly over me as far as chain of command goes. The GM was really nice, though.


Oh and I was Army not Navy....the guy Im talking about was in the Navy previously so we are both vets.


I handled it fine and didn't let off it bothered me but I was ready to go by the end. I wouldn't see the need for a hostile interview of this position. It was basically just testing equipment by myself all day. No customer interaction, and minor interaction with other employees to report testing results. No real stress involved other than just working at a pace to keep up with production.

[ST911]

What sort of job was this for?

I have come across more than a few vets looking for work in the civilian sector that seem surprised that their service isn't seen as more of an asset. I'm not sure if the military is mis-representing things to new recruits and those about to be discharged or what, but IME with bosses and hiring folks they may pay lip service to caring about military service at most and dismiss it after that. If it's someone completely ignorant of military people and recent discharges they start thinking about media reports of PTSD, possible re-activation taking away their new hire, etc.

Not saying I agree with their attitude, just saying that it seems like someone is giving people a false impression of their perceived "worth".

There's a lot of truth here. Many transitioning service members may have unrealistic expectations about the value of their military time and experience to the civilian world. Recruiters contribute to it, as do commands, as well as the career ed/transition folks troops often see when they ETS. Pumping troop full of "you're a shoe in for...", or "this will carry over directly to..." can be quite common. Then there are always those that have an over-inflated sense of self and accomplishment. (Plenty of those on the civilian side, too.)

On the flip side, there are plenty of employers who don't know how to properly review and evaluate an applicant's military service. There will be applicants who have highly specialized mil experience that obviously ties in with a civilian industry. There will be those mil jobs that troops earn credentials or regulatory licenses that will obviously carry over. Those applicants are fairly easy to consider. More difficult will be the troops that have other jobs without a direct counterpart on the civilian side, or who are trying to translate a skill set to a new job. It then becomes easy and too common for an employer to dismiss someone like an 11B as just another grunt that brings nothing to table. Employers should try harder. They can miss a lot of good applicants if they only consider MOS/AFSC/etc.

To mitigate these issues, troops need to do several things:


Keep meticulous track of their careers, duties, acquired experience, specific examples and accomplishments for later marketing.

Excel at everything presented to them, being anything but average, mediocre, or minimal.

Identify and obtain any state/local/industry license, certification, or regulatory credential for their occupation.

Assemble their credential file/resume/credential file/vitae with the help of an expert, preferably someone in the industry they're seeking employment in.

Have that cred file reviewed in advance by someone in that industry.

Don't load that file with military fluff, as many applicants often do. Make it about you, stressing significant and specific abilities you have. Not your unit, unit history and accolades, etc, unless you were a significant and specific part of them. (I think this is where the "everyone has that stuff" comments come from.)

Be familiar with your civilian counterparts (where applicable), comparative experience and education, and what your intended job/industry is looking for.

Market yourself. An 11B can indeed be a jughead with a rifle, or he can be an applicant with exceptional attention to detail, an ability to multi-task, supervise others, and meet company goals under significant and sustained stress while staying on schedule.

Be realistic. If you're the jughead, or fell short, accept it, fix it, and try again.


When I give advice to new public safety recruits or students, I always tell them to spend their time in service preparing for life after the job. Most don't make it a career for one reason or another, and even when they do it's a comparatively short career. There's lots of life and opportunity to prepare for afterward. I think the same can be said for the mil folks.

[500grains]

Sorry to have a burr under my saddle about this, but it makes me sick to see how some of the private sector treats vets.

[rubberneck]

FWIW I used to have an old boss that would intentionally act like a douche in the interview to see how the candidates responded to interpersonal conflict. I'm not saying it's right because I really wanted punch him in the throat towards the end of my first interview. Or the guy could just be a douche naturally. I have found that there are a metric ton of assholes in upper management, guys that quite frankly are socially retarded and should never be allowed to represent any company. Maybe you just ran into one of them. It sucks and it's got to suck even more if he was dismissive of your service. With that I say thank you for your service and best of luck with your job search.

[Belmont31R]

Thats why Ill be going to school here once my wife gets through nursing school.


An enlistment or two isn't a replacement for education...:cool:

[ST911]

FWIW I used to have an old boss that would intentionally act like a douche in the interview to see how the candidates responded to interpersonal conflict. I'm not saying it's right because I really wanted punch him in the throat towards the end of my first interview.

Selecting a "designated a**hole" is popular in some places. Done well, one member of a panel set aside to challenge or make the applicant uncomfortable, can elicit good information. Done poorly, it can backfire and alienate applicant pools as word gets out.

[RWK]

Selecting a "designated a**hole" is popular in some places. Done well, one member of a panel set aside to challenge or make the applicant uncomfortable, can elicit good information...

FWIW, I've never seen it done well.