My Interviewer Made Me Wait Two Hours Just To Test Me

I’d been preparing for this interview for several days. The job seemed like a really good fit for my experience, and I was genuinely excited about the opportunity. So, on the day of the interview, I arrived early. I’d rather sit around for a bit than risk being late.

But when the scheduled interview time came, my interviewer hadn’t arrived yet.

At first, I didn’t think much of it. I figured maybe another meeting had run over, or something unexpected had come up. These things happen. So, I waited.

Half an hour passed.

Then an hour.

At that point, I started checking the time every few minutes and wondering if the interview was actually still happening. I even considered leaving, but I kept thinking, what if he shows up five minutes after I leave? And since I really wanted the job, I decided to give it a little more time.

Nearly two hours after the scheduled time, my interviewer finally showed up. I expected a quick apology or at least an explanation for the delay. Instead, he walked in casually and started the interview as if nothing unusual had happened.

By then, I was more than a little annoyed. I mean, seriously? I’d been waiting for almost two hours.

Then, halfway through the interview, he explained that he had intentionally kept me waiting to see how badly I wanted the job and whether I was willing to wait for it.

I tried to see it from his point of view: maybe he wanted to test my patience; maybe he thought my willingness to wait would show how committed I was to the role.

But the more I thought about it, the more I questioned the logic: how could waiting for two hours really show how serious someone was about getting a job?

I had arrived on time, prepared for the interview, and rearranged my schedule around it. Wasn’t that enough to show that I was serious?

The whole experience also made me look at job interviews a little differently. I’d always thought of an interview as the company deciding whether I was good enough for them. But that day made me realise that I was evaluating them too.

How they treated candidates, how they communicated, and whether they respected someone’s time could tell me a lot about what they might be like as an employer.

I still wanted the job. I wasn’t suddenly uninterested just because of what happened. But I also realised that wanting something badly didn’t mean I had to overlook things that made me uncomfortable. And I think that’s where the line is.

Being serious about a job doesn’t mean accepting any kind of treatment just because you want the opportunity. There’s a difference between showing commitment and compromising your boundaries.

I don’t know whether my interviewer thought his “test” had worked. But the experience certainly made me think more carefully about the kind of company I wanted to work for.



This article is part of TSS Confessions, a weekly column where we delve into personal finance topics that are unscripted and real accounts from people.