Whut?

By what did you say? - 15/06/2016 13:25

Today, I went for a job interview. The woman interviewing me had such a thick accent that I had to keep asking her to repeat herself. She got so frustrated that she ended the interview super early. I don't think I got the job. FML
I agree, your life sucks 13 584
You deserved it 1 198

Same thing different taste

Top comments

I've been there, OP. The trick is to affect an accent of your own until you're able to get her to ask you to repeat yourself as often as you ask her.

I always feel quite embarrassed when I have to ask the Indian subway employees to repeat themselves multiple times. I couldn't even imagine how bad that situation must have been.

Comments

The FML has already been moderated. Saying "No" now does nothing.

lexiieeex3 32

I don't think you got the job either, OP.

I always feel quite embarrassed when I have to ask the Indian subway employees to repeat themselves multiple times. I couldn't even imagine how bad that situation must have been.

TheNoNameGuy 20

That's her fault. but at least there's other jobs out there.

She didn't choose to have a thick accent. Nobody is at fault here.

Ms_Monster 6

It's her fault for reacting poorly and getting upset over it. I don't know what line of work it is, but she's the interviewer, and should act more professional.

Actually it is the company's fault. You should never hire people to do telephone customer service (I'm looking at you Dell and Microsoft) or interviews. The interviewer needs to be able to convey a clear question for the prospective employee. This is not fair to the prospective employee (who could lose out on a position they would be great in) or the company (who could lose out on a wonderful employee who could really help the company).

Those situations are the worst. I've had teachers in the past whose classes I would do poorly in because I can't understand the words through their accent.

ApollosMyth 22

Best thing to usually do is simply tell them you are having trouble understanding them in that situation, 9 times out of 10 they will try and help you

I've been there, OP. The trick is to affect an accent of your own until you're able to get her to ask you to repeat yourself as often as you ask her.

Honestly, if this is a company they should have someone else conducting interviews. People who are interviewing for a job are already nervous and stressed, the last thing you need is to be worried about understanding your interviewer. Sorry OP.

cootiequeen4444 11

I'm not sure if this would be considered socially acceptable aka idk if would have hurt your chances even further but upon realizing she had such a thick accent you should have been upfront with her about not being good with accents (while apologizing profusely). this might initiate her to slow down a bit and pronounce her words a little bit more deliberately as a result. at least in theory that is what she might do. or she might have gotten someone else to interview you maybe if it's a medium to large sized company. if it were a smaller company and/or if she was destined to be your boss, however, I think having communication problems would be an issue. and thus while I don't think you don't deserve the job just because of this, I thi n k logistically the company would side with their employee and you simply were just shit out of luck. though an everyday struggle with communication would be stressful o n you too, no? so maybe it would be for the best. in the meantime don't get to preoccupied with this perceived failure. there is a job for you out there! you just have to find it - so keep looking :)

Oh jeez, I'm so sorry to hear that OP. I personally have a huge problem hearing and understanding what people are saying if they have an accent, deep voice, stutter, or are talking quietly. Sometimes even people that speak normally, I just have a hard time registering what someone may have said or thinj they said something different. The best thing I find that you can do in a situation like that is be honest with the people you're talking to and tell them that, because for me when I try talking to people that speak in those ways my brain doesn't even register that it heard words, but just sound or mumbling. And I'm not hard of hearing either, mostly just when it comes to those ways that people speak. Perhaps if you were honest and told her the dilemma, she possibly could have had you come back in at a later time with a different interviewer. The best thing you can do at this point is go back to the place and talk to the manager and/or interviewer and explain yourself, but also remember Tgats doesn't guarantee redemption. FYL OP and best of luck.

I feel your pain, OP. I'm really terrible with accents and it makes situations terribly awkward. But honestly, you should've just told her that you're having trouble understanding her while apoligizing ofc.