Well, I think the issue here it was that it was a job interview, and she didn’t know how it would have been perceived by the interviewer. Under any other circumstances I am sure she would have sent it back without hesitation.
Overthinking it (as I am now), it is kind of telling the interviewer “You have brought me to a place that does not know how to prepare food.”
Of course, it is also saying “I am willing to stand up for myself and not get sick for trivial reasons.”
Seems tough to know which way to go if you really need the job.
In such situations, one should always advocate for oneself. I’ve participated in and hosted dinner interviews, and it would never cross my mind to think badly of someone who made a reasonable request of a server or a chef.
Interviews go both ways; you’re interviewing the folks you’re meeting with to see if you want to work there as well as they interviewing you. I wouldn’t want to work with/for someone who thought badly of me for sending back badly-prepared food.
same here. it’s probably most common for positions which involve a lot of schmoozing (sales, marketing, finance) and for big-swingin’-dick levels of management.
It’s not uncommon for tech interviews to go all day and include a meal. My final interview at my current company was an all-day thing, and included lunch with a couple engineers. We went to a steakhouse; it was pretty good quality.
My previous job interview actually was lunch at a restaurant, after a couple phone interviews. I think it was a brewpub kind of place, not bad, not great.
if I may ask, what field/industry? “Tech” is kind of vague. I’m an engineer working in the automotive-related field, and have never been interviewed over a meal.
I once interviewed for a job at a hospital that was staffed by the same company I was working for but in a more desirable location. I don’t know if the boss there just thought I was a shoo-in or what but I didn’t hear anything from him about the dinner that was supposed to be scheduled for the evening before until about half an hour before the reservation.
Then when my wife and I got to the restaurant we discovered that it was a sushi restaurant. I am not a big fan of sushi in general but figured I could find something on the menu I would like.
Unfortunately, when we got inside it turned out to be some unholy combination of sushi bar and nightclub. There was loud music, flashing lights and raw fish all over the place. In addition to not being able to have a decent conversation with the guy sitting next to me, the boss had apparently invited all of his best friends in the company for a night on the town. We were two of about 20 people at the table (I was the only one interviewing that day) and didn’t even get to meet half the people there.
As a management consultant in the go-go '90’s when the McKinsey’s and Bain’s ruled the world, hiring MBA and other grad-school grads from top schools was a horserace. Based in San Francisco, I took interviewees to top SF restaurants at the time, including Masa’s, Fleur de Lys, Postrio, etc. A great way to learn about fine dining on not-my-dime. Masa’s was just amazing.
I’ve never had a job interview meal, but one time a university flew me out for a weekend to interview for a scholarship. In the morning, we went out for a nice brunch buffet and we bumped into Michael Moriarty (formerly of “Law & Order”). That was memorable.
My worst was: nothing at all. The interview started at 9:00 AM and they kept passing me from person to person, and sending me between two plants a couple miles apart, without any breaks other than bathroom stops, until 6:00 PM, when they wanted me to go see yet another person and I said I had to stop because my girlfriend had by this time been waiting an hour outdoors for me to come pick her up at her work. They later made me an offer, and I accepted, and I’ve been there 33 years now.
My best was: jeez, I never got a meal out of an interview. But then I’ve only been working since '73 so maybe something will pan out some time…
Mine two meals were for IT stuff. Now that I think about it the times they did throw in food it was with the Director and jobs where they knew their salary wasn’t that great. I think it may have been an attempt to show that they had flexibility other than salary.
And thinking back I did have one interview chance at a very nice restaurant. But while I was setting things up from the phone I got a very weird vibe. It was a smaller company and the owner really ran things closely. Lots of team dinners, a gift program on your joining adversaries where he bought shirts and ties and eventually a Rolex on your 5th year. Seemed like the kind of place that wants your personal life commitment as well. No thanks, I turned it down before the face-to-face and meal.
Back when I was living in NYC . . . A former coworker got me an interview in the company where he was working. It was sort of late-lunch to early-dinner in a very upscale restaurant. I hadn’t eaten all day, and to call me hungry would have been an understatement. I’m diabetic, though hadn’t been diagnosed at the time. So there I was with the owner and general manager and my friend who had recommended me. The waiter passed out the menus, and I ordered a steak and a few sides, and an expensive drink. Much to my chagrin, the other three had coffee and dessert. I should have cancelled my order, but was too hungry and the service was fast. I offered the others to take some of my food, but they refused. I felt really bad when the owner insisted on paying the whole tab.
My worst job interview meal would have to be the breakfast buffet that myself and all the other interviewees had at the very nice hotel we were staying at. This was a large auto company’s event for graduating college students, flown in from all over for a couple days of activities. After leaving for the day, I had terrible food poisoning, and later found out many people ended up in the hospital.
I also remember an interview where we were out for breakfast, and I had the tortilla of my breakfast burrito somehow adhere to my palate. Awkward to get it unstuck!
I’ve taken interviewees out for lunch, but find sometimes that can be awkward if the round of interviews beforehand have gone clearly badly, but hard to not go through with it if it was pre-arranged.
I’ve never been offered more than a cup of coffee or a bottle of water as part of an interview, but on the other hand I’ve been offered the job BEFORE the interview ended on my last 4 interviews.
I interviewed with a company and they took me to lunch in the cafeteria, I assume to see how I handled myself in social situations. I avoided the spaghetti (always a dangerous meal) and decided to take the rice and chicken dish. The first thing I did was bite into a piece of chicken that had a bone in it. I had to spit it out in front of my interviewer.
Yeah, I can see how expressing “I am willing to poison myself for this job” would look good to an employer. Too bad it probably wouldn’t help the employee in the long run.
Best would be the time I was taken to was at Peter Chang’s, which unfortunately closed last year. Fantastic authentic Szechuan was served. Turned the job down though.
Second best would have to be at a steakhouse in Omaha. Didn’t get an offer there.
Worst might actually be the time I interviewed at Google HQ. The guy taking me to lunch didn’t feel like walking far, so we went to the closest cafeteria, and the noodles were watery.
Software Engineers get taken out for dinner a LOT.
Well I’ve only had one. I was going for a software engineering job and the interview was basically all day. So to be nice the way they did it was they gave you lunch from the cafeteria and you interviewed with one person in a more relaxed setting.
I almost threw up. Oh no, I wasn’t sick or anything. My interviewer was that disgusting. We got the food and went to a meeting room for some privacy. So I figured they’d ask a question and then eat while I responded. Of course this was silly. What actually happened was that my interviewer talked and ate at the same time. So the food was constantly falling out of their mouth back on to the plate because my interviewer wouldn’t stop talking to eat the damn food.(No, you can’t talk and eat at the same time. Chew with your damn mouth closed.) To make this more disgusting yes the food that just got spit onto the plate got scooped up and put back into the interviewer’s damn mouth. I was so nauseated at this train wreck that I ended up not even being able to look at this maniac.
But hey, I thought I was safe once the food was gone. Oh, silly me. Then it was time to lick their hand. No, not fingers, the whole hand. From, and I shit you not, wrist to fingertips. So basically I got to live out an episode of Seinfeld in real life with me playing George or something.
I didn’t get that job, thank god. Oddly enough I got an e-mail last week asking if I wanted to apply to a position at the company. (Umm, no thanks. I know it’s been years but just no.)