Worst Case Scenario Is That You Get The Job

(I am in an interview for the IT department for a branch of a global appliance company. The office is about two hours from where I am living and requires moving. There are three people interviewing me but only one is doing the talking; the other two have been silent and did not speak when introduced. All three are typing on laptops. Only Interviewer #1 is looking at me; the other two never raise their heads from their laptops. Interviewer #1 has just finished explaining what I would be responsible for doing if something were to break on site. Basically a worst case scenario list. All the different things that could go wrong and what I would be responsible for has taken close to twenty minutes.)

Interviewer #1: “So you would have to fix it if this went down, too. Any questions?”

Me: “Yes. You finished explaining the worst case scenarios but is that a normal day, or what would I do if I wasn’t fighting fires, so to speak?”

Interviewer #2: *who had been silent up to this point, looks up from his laptop* “You are looking for a 9-5.”

Me: *a little confused how he got that from my question* “No, I will do whatever is needed and 80 hours a week if that is required, but the explanation of responsibilities was ‘if this breaks’ or ‘what to do if this happens.’ I want to know if something didn’t happen would I be doing phone support, or would I be at home waiting on a call to come in to fix something that broke?”

Interviewer #1: “You would do phone support. Usually, though, there is something going wrong. There has been several times they have turned the lights out on [Interviewer #3] while he is still working on something.”

Interviewer #3: “Yo.”

(Strangest interview I had ever been on. Interviewers #2 and 3 did not say anything else and did not get up when I left. Only Interviewer #1 shook my hand and traded pleasantries. I didn’t get the job, which was fine, because less than a year later that site was sold off and closed.)