I Refuse to Let an Interviewer Belittle Me, So I Turned the Tables in Seconds

Job interviews are meant to assess skills and fit, but sometimes they turn into something entirely different. What should be a professional conversation can quickly reveal personalities, power dynamics, and unexpected challenges. One Reddit user recently shared an experience that shows exactly how strange and stressful interviews can get.

This is the story:

Minutes ago, I was in a Zoom panel interview with an insurance company. This was a second round of interviews after my initial interview with the manager (who gave me a positive review). The first two interviewers who showed up on time seemed professional and greeted me. The last interviewer was this old lady who seemed annoyed and barely acknowledged my presence.

She started the interview with, “So I saw your resume, and it looks like it lacks a great deal of experience and skills for this particular job. Why should we even consider you? Give us good reasons.” I answered by highlighting my skills, achievements, and relevant experience related to the role.

She cut me off towards the end and said, “This is not a marketing job; tell us how you will sell our insurance.” I was confused and stated that this job role was advertised as a marketing job, and the hiring manager seemed to like my background.

She seemed annoyed and repeated, “I really don’t know why you would be a good fit; you need to really sell yourself.” I replied, “You know what, you clearly don’t like any of my answers, so let’s save our time and end this interview.” She looked shocked and said, “No, we want to consider you, but we have a right to know what your selling points are.”

I told her I wasn’t interested in the role anymore and would never consider working with their team or insurance plans. I thanked them for their time and said, “Best of Luck.” She clearly looked surprised and said, “Oh, okay, thank you.” I ended the call before any of them did. I’m glad I didn’t waste my time on them any longer.

This story shows that interviews can test more than skills. Below, Reddit users share similar experiences and cheer the author for handling it so well.

• Interviews are supposed to be a two-way thing — both the candidate and company are assessing each other — and as an interviewer, basic professionalism and common sense would have said that even if she didn’t like you or your CV she’d keep it neutral for the sake of her colleagues. Her behavior basically told you everything you needed to know — late and rude when she thinks she has the power, and talking complete gibberish when she’s forced on the defensive. © JaegerBane / Reddit

• If all the other interviews were normal, and she was the only one on the panel acting that way, I’m willing to bet she went rogue and the other two interviewers were just as upset at her behavior as you were.
  A similar thing happened with a critical role at my old job. The hiring manager was a jerk to all the candidates, and they all walked because we needed them more than they needed us. We even got a compliance fine because the position stayed unfilled for so long.
  There was an investigation, and they were let go after the other hiring managers were asked why it was so hard to fill. © ElectroNeutrino / Reddit

• I might have inquired about why: are they understaffed, ineffective, or just have poor management? © cadred48 / Reddit

• Yep, the moment she said “I have the right to know what your selling points are,” I would have come back with “You absolutely do. What you do not have the right to do is to make this a stress test when I am presenting you with said selling points. You yourself said you don’t really know if I would be a good fit, and I wouldn’t want to be miscast into a role you yourself had doubts about.”
  It really becomes a game of using their own words against them. © chub70199 / Reddit

• Sounds like they tried a bait and switch on the interview. Good for you. Stand up for yourself. Love it! © Philosopher_1234 / Reddit

• This is a strategy I see a lot from the older generations. They intend to hire you, but they like to see you squirm a bit and get annoyed when you don’t. Often seems to be how they establish a pecking order and get favors from other departments. It does cut through red tape effectively, but it can feel extremely demeaning. © gHx4 / Reddit

Even in high-pressure situations, confidence can change the outcome. Stories like these show that standing your ground matters. Read more inspiring examples here: 14 Times Employees Handled Toxic Jobs Like Absolute Pros.