Your mom had good intentions, but OP should have turned her phone off or put it on vibrate. There will be more job opportunities OP! Don't let this get you down to much

#20 nailed it. Mom probably feels horrible, but her heart was in the right place. Interviewer sounds like a jerk; this job may have turned out to be bad news anyway. OP should keep phone on vibrate. That is all.

This has been a Public Service Announcement by doctorhook86

22, I agree, while its a well known taboo to have your phone on in an interview that reaction was totally uncalled for. People get nervous in interviews and may forget things that would seem obvious to people any other time. Sounds like you got a bit of a pretentious interviewer there. Also, your mother is an idiot.

The mom isn't an idiot.

Leaving your cell on isn't that big a deal. We all have cell phones. I see high profiled workers leave cellphones on all the time like professors for example. Even people working at a register I noticed had them on.

Same thing during the SAT. I was taking it once and accidentally turned my phone on and got a text message. It was an older phone, so the text kept on buzzing every few seconds until I read it (it was on vibrate). I was so scared the proctor was going to hear it and kick me out. I had to wait until a break to turn it off.

I changed mine to a knock with a delay at the start a few weeks before exams started So you hit record, wait 2 seconds, tap your pen on the table twice, and stop recording. That way via vibration and 2 knocks I can tell I got a text, and also pretend I just casually knocked my pen on the table while mentally thinking. If I was asked about it in the event that I forgot to turn off my phone.

35 what's so important that you can't just turn it off during the exam? Kids today. Eh.

45 - when I was in high school, a friend of mine slipped into a coma and was likely to die. I kept my phone on at all times, with a custom vibrate pattern for her parents, so if she started slipping fast I'd be able to make it to the hospital for a final goodbye. I'd say that would be a good reason to leave a phone on during an exam. Also, people sometimes forget. That's just human.

Did your friend wake up? If not, I'm sorry for your loss, and did you make it in time? If they survived, congratulations. I hope they make/made a full recovery!

18 - you're lucky they didn't hear it. During my ACT test, a girls phone vibrated once and she was kicked out of the room

69: She died, unfortunately. Thank you for your sympathy :) I walked out of an exam in order to be with her family when she passed. She ended up brain dead and they knew it was time to let her go. It takes a lot of courage to make a decision like that.

Sorry to hear about your friend. My best friend died in 2008 after being in a coma for 10 days from the result of a vehicle collision. The custom vibrate is a good idea for emergencies like that.

Common knowledge. Just because it's your umbilical cord doesn't excuse silencing it when required, and yes, an interview is just one of those times!

Exactlyy. Going through all that work

I don't, blessing in disguise if u ask me

In this economy, interviewers don't have to be understanding. When 500 people are going for one job they will look for any reason to narrow down the applicant pool. It sucks, but that's the way it is. Interviews give you one shot at a first impression on what you can bring to the company, your professionalism, and how you carry yourself. Good luck next time. Anyone can forget to turn off their phone, but right now, potential employers don't have to tolerate mistakes. Sucks for anyone looking for a job.

This isn't an overreaction at all. It's basic common decency and courtesy to turn your phone off for something so important as a job interview. If I were the interviewer, I would have thrown him out too.

Or you could try not being rude in your job interview.

Then its lucky you don't interview people eh Doc? 28, I realise this, but a decent employer would give him the opportunity to redeem himself. If he performed really well then he may have been the best applicant for the job.

A decent employer has a line of people waiting to prove themselves for one position. Why settle for someone who isn't at the tip of their game for an interview? The interviewer probably had a dozen other people to interview for that same job. Sloppiness on an interview leads one to believe there will be sloppiness on the job.

73, And that line of thinking again is what separates a decent employer from a crappy one. If you're going to make connections like that then you shouldn't be interviewing. Actually several people I know who are highly productive valued members of their team broke the cardinal rules of interviewing at one stage. One was 5 minutes late, one had their phone go off and one was dressed inappropriately. They're all currently working in some of the leading businesses in their industry, one of whom works with me and is close to a promotion. Moral of the story: Shitty hiring staff make ignorant assumptions, quality hiring staff seek out the answers they need.

Gotta disagree with some people on here. Like what has been said, if you got a large pool of applicants for few spots, anything that might seem minor will be blown up, might not be "fair", but deal with it. If someone "forgot" something, that might tell me the person might be forgetful, won't cover all their bases, and might not be good for the job

Anal, that is all. Op, shame shame shame.

Don't forget movie theatres.

True, true.