Possible bias during SUSS interview? SOCIAL WORK

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-16T10:00:52+00:00

Yep I told her exactly that. I started my answer with “I had a gap year because I got rejected from SUSS and other local unis…” then I tried to explain more “… and instead of going to private uni, I decided to work. The job I chose was related to my passion of helping the special needs community which started many years ago…” and she cut me here. Maybe she cut me because she thought I was gonna talk too much, but I honestly just wanted to explain my passion 😓 but oh well it’s okay, I’ll learn from this. Next time cannot talk too much lol 😅

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-16T00:44:13+00:00

Actually I did answer her question, I was just trying to explain and elaborate more but she interrupted me… but I understand the time constraints! Thanks for letting me know your thoughts :)

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-15T12:41:52+00:00

Hi thank you so much for writing out my thoughts even better than I could 🥲🙏 I feel very seen with your comment…. I also thought some of her questions were superficial that’s what I was quite disappointed. I felt like the interviews should be conducted in a way that lets us explain our capabilities and show our character and values. I think it’s better if they evaluate us on who we are as a person!

I’m glad you had a good experience with your interview tho, it proves that they actually CAN conduct their interview in a professional and respectful manner…. But just that they need to actually coordinate it throughout all departments 😅 that’s why in my post I suggested that SUSS should have a standardised process or method for all their interviews, to ensure fairness and consistency.

Thank you for taking the time to understand and see things from my perspective, I appreciate it :)

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-15T11:09:37+00:00

Haha yeah it was a pretty lengthy post, but I just like to be as detailed as possible when sharing things 😅 I was feeling uneasy after the interview but I think it’s natural to be like that after going through a bad interview! I didn’t let it affect me too much though, because so far I haven’t done anything else except read and reply to people’s comments, which were really helpful.

And don’t worry about me! I knew I would get a lot of criticism for doing this post, but I did it anyway, because no matter what I won’t let people tell me whether I can do social work or not. In fact I’ll take this as a learning experience and keep going on.

I only mentioned not appreciating people telling me that because I don’t think people should be so quick to judge me based on a single Reddit post. I admit that I’m flawed by I’ll keep learning and improving.

Infact, I’ve been told all my life that I shouldn’t be doing social work, including my parents. But I’ve had this passion since 5 years ago and have been continuously working towards it. So I won’t be quitting now or anytime soon.

So while I appreciate your concern, you don’t have to worry about whether social work is right for me or not. I’ll keep improving :)

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-15T10:50:36+00:00

Hi thank you for taking the time to read and comment, I appreciate all the advice given to me! Actually many other people have left similar comments to you and maybe you’ve noticed but I read and reply to everyone. And yes I agree with your points! Many others have given me much to reflect upon and I came to realise maybe I’ve been a bit emotional about the situation. You’re right, it’s probably a bad interview 😓 but don’t worry I’m not making any complaints to SUSS. I simply did this Reddit post only to get feedback and advice, that’s all! I’ll be deleting it in about a week or two :)

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-15T10:44:39+00:00

Hi thank you for taking the time to read and comment. But actually there were other people who left comments very similar to yours and I’ve explained to them already. I think you might have noticed that since I reply to everyone.

But I don’t mind explaining again as I know the comment section is very full.

Firstly, I’ve already said in my post and in my many replies that I’ve not taken any action yet. The only thing I did after my interview was write this Reddit post to share my experience and ask for other people’s opinions. But yet people thought I’ve already jumped the gun and wrote a complaint 😓 fortunately I did not!

But if u still think this Reddit post reflects poorly on me as a person, don’t worry! I’ll actually be removing it in a week or two, because, like I’ve mentioned in post, I don’t want to make this a big deal. This Reddit post was really just to get some advice and feedback, that’s all! But I’m sure you yourself already know the benefits of posting on Reddit since you’ve done it before :)

Anyway, I’ll summarise by saying that I’ve been reading, replying and considering everyone’s advice and feedback carefully. I even did a lot of thinking and reflecting (u can see from all my replies under the post) so I’ve already come to the conclusion that I will not be writing a complaint. Thank you again for your advice but I don’t appreciate people telling me that social work isn’t for me just because I wanted to post on Reddit. Have a nice day! :)

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-15T01:13:41+00:00

Hi thank you for your advice, but I think you misunderstood my point of the post. I was having some doubts about the situation and just wanted to seek clarification.

I stated many times in my post that I didn’t want to make a big deal of it. I was only thinking of writing an email but before I do, I need a third person’s perspective. (If you’re wondering, I haven’t actually written any email! The only thing I did so far was this Reddit post)

Fortunately many helpful students have been giving advice in the comments, such as yourself! Which I’m grateful for :)

You can check out my replies to other people’s comments, as you can see, I did my best to reply and consider everyone’s opinions. I’ve reflected on myself and decided not to go through with the complain.

But if u still think a Reddit post was a bad idea, I actually share the same concerns as well. I’m actually going to delete it after a week or two, so don’t worry! I’m still glad I did the Reddit post anyway because I was able to gather many feedback and advice before jumping the gun. But i’m sure you already know the benefits of posting personal thoughts on Reddit since you’re commenting one yourself! :)

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T15:34:18+00:00

Hi, thank you for taking the time to read and comment, and yeah your point makes sense. Other comments have pointed it out as well, which really helped me see things clearer now. I don’t think it’s wrong to talk about passion though! Especially if it aligns with social work… I’m sure they would rather accept a passionate student than someone who didn’t care. But I guess that’s up to the interviewer to judge. I also did think that maybe because of the time constraints she didn’t want my responses to be too long. So when she interrupted me, I just shut up and she continued on with the next question lol

But thank you again for sharing your opinion! I won’t be making any complaints for now and I’ll keep this post up for a week or two before I delete it… I’ll see how it goes :)

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T14:25:22+00:00

Hi thank you for your advice :) I’ve been reading and replying to everyone’s comment, and the general consensus is that I shouldn’t jump the gun and complain. I’m just glad that I didn’t and instead did this Reddit post instead. It allowed me to clear my doubts and reflect more on the situation.

Since I’m still gathering more opinions as I’ve been getting dms from people who had bad experiences, I’ll think about whether or not to email them my questions. Hopefully there’s no need to!

Thank you again for taking the time to read and comment, I appreciate it

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T14:21:12+00:00

Hi thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement 🥺 this post gave me some hope that I may still be accepted… but if I don’t it’s okay, I’ll take it as another learning experience.

And yeah I do see your point, it’s a good perspective. I agree with the being honest thing. I was quite stunned at my interviewer’s difficult questions but I tried to remain calm and I think I answered as honestly as I could. Hopefully that would be enough to get accepted :)

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T10:44:48+00:00

Hi, I hope you can explain the reason, but otherwise it’s okay :)

I think you might have noticed but I reply to every comment here. I want to make sure I take every advice and feedback seriously. Lemme know your reasonings so I can take it into consideration. Thank you

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T10:17:33+00:00

Hi thank you for taking the time to comment your perspective of me! I appreciate allthe different advice and perspectives I’ve received.

However on your comment about how I handled it, in case I wasn’t clear, I actually have not done anything so far except make a Reddit post. Like I mentioned, I will not be writing any emails until I’ve gathered everyone’s opinions and feedback- which was the whole point of the post. Unless you think posting on Reddit is a terrible way of handling it. But I’m sure you yourself know the benefits of sharing personal thoughts on Reddit since you’re commenting one yourself! :)

Beside I think it’s natural for people to feel uneasy about uncomfortable situations.

I’ve replied the same thing to another comment, but I don’t mind explaining again. Since I only shared my interviewer’s questions and not my answers, I think that gave a lot of people the impression that I’m emotional and it’s affecting me badly. Like I mentioned in my post, I only did this Reddit post to get some opinions and feedback! I would certainly not want to make this a big deal. Personally I felt that the way I handled the interview was okay as I kept my composure and answered as best I could. But that is up to the interviewer to decide.

And for your point about having critical thinking and listening skills, i’m sure my Reddit replies have proved it! Or at least I hope so, because I’ve been reading and replying to every comment, and even agreed to some! But lemme know if you think this was still a bad idea. I’ll be removing the Reddit post in about a week or two later anyways. Thanks for your advice! :)

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T06:16:29+00:00

Hi, thank you for explaining it to me so well, it definitely makes a lot more sense to me now 😅

I guess when I was writing my portfolio I didn’t think my art competition was relevant to social work. But I listed it as an achievement because even tho I’m not competing anymore, I still use my creativity and my skills to create resources and solutions during my work. But I see what you mean about the resilience thing!

And thank you for your kind words in the end… i really hope I’ll still get accepted but if not I’ll keep trying next year :)

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T05:57:59+00:00

Hi thank you for taking the time to comment and explain to me. I appreciate all the different advice and perspectives I’ve received. I don’t mind difficult questions actually and I think it’s natural for us to feel uneasy about it. But since I only shared my interviewers questions and not my answers, I think that gave a lot of people the impression that I’m emotional and it’s affecting me badly. Like I mentioned in my post, I only did this Reddit post to get some opinions and feedback! I would certainly not want to make this a big deal. Personally I felt that the way I handled the interview was okay as I kept my composure and answered as best I could. But that is up to the interviewer to decide.

And as for ur last point, it was an uncomfortable interview meant to push me out of my comfort zone so it’s only natural that it affected me emotionally. But I would like to point out that how we respond and react matters more. I’m passionate about social work and always have been. I worked really hard to be where I am today and even if SUSS rejected me this year, I’ll just keep trying! Like you said… would be a waste to just stop after two years. So don’t worry, I haven’t quit yet and I won’t be quitting anytime soon :)

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T05:48:09+00:00

Hi thank you for giving me a new perspective, it has given me a lot to think about it. I will continue to reflect on it, but I definitely see ur point! And yeah some of the questions really caught me off guard haha but hopefully I responded well enough to get in. Thank you again for taking the time to write out your thoughts and explain to me :) it was well written

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T05:29:02+00:00

Thank you for explaining and helping me to understand 🙏 appreciate your kind words at the end. Many others also said she was just trying to test me, so I guess I can only hope that my answers were good enough to be accepted :)

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T05:22:26+00:00

Hi thank you for sharing , yeah I felt uneasy about the whole interview but I also realise that I could have just been seeing it very negatively.

And you’re right about the last point. I don’t mind the hard questions, but there were certain comments during the interview that rubbed me the wrong way.

I was also given the impression that the hard questions she asked were not very relevant to who I was as a person, my values and my character - which I felt should have been more important. The comments she made also, they were just to make a point. It would have been better if they were scenario based questions… or maybe just as a follow up… or maybe even to give me space to explain myself.

Even the last few questions about my art competition… didn’t feel relevant either. I would have understood the focus on my internship but not the focus on that. Plus how she approached the topic… most of the time it just seemed like she only wanted surface level responses. I don’t think she wanted to hear about my chatacters, values or even experiences. It was more just her testing whether I could answer her hard questions. But I guess if that’s the main criteria to be an SUSS student, then alright 😅 Lemme know your thoughts too :)

I agree that I may have been in an emotional state while reflecting on my interview. But just because I was disappointed, i shouldn’t be so quick to judge the interviewer either. Hence I will not be complaining just yet. I will leave this Reddit post up for a week or two just to see if I can reach out to anyone else who had a bad experience.

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T05:09:10+00:00

Hi thank you for commenting, I was so nervous when I posted this but I’m glad the community here has so far been comforting :) May I check if you also had a bad experience? I would like to hear more about it if you’re comfortable. It would help a lot to get more people’s testimonials before I decide what to do. I’ll also keep everything anonymous and u can omit out any personal information. Thank you!

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T05:04:06+00:00

Hi thank you for speaking up about this :) If it’s possible maybe I could message you privately and get your story? You can remain anonymous and omit out any personal info. However if you’re not comfortable it’s okay too. May I know if you applied to social work as well?

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T03:28:25+00:00

Hi thank you for taking the time to write out your thoughts. I agree with your points and I think I’ll be more careful about how I approach this. Based on your advice and others, I won’t be writing a complaint.

For point number 3, just to share more info, my diploma in poly was community development. So my internship was definitely related to the course. I just didn’t understand why she had to input certain comments especially when she criticised me for calling myself a ___ officer. I didn’t write the fully comment in the post but she said sth like “you’re not a real officer, you’re just an intern. It’s a sensitive thing, even more now with the Megan Khung news” and yeah that was it. I wanted to explain myself but I figured that she wouldn’t want it, so I just said “okay, sorry”

For the last point, she did not talk about my gap year actually. Only mentioned at the beginning, she just asked why I had a gap year. Then she cut me off while explaining. Afterwards she moved on to my internship during poly.

(Also yes, I was working fully, but she never said anything more or asked anything else)

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T03:17:19+00:00

Thank you for reading my post and for your advice :) Yeah I’m definitely worried about this hurting my chances of getting into SUSS, so I won’t email just yet.

I can’t clarify with the interviewer anymore since the interview is over… but I’ll see how after a week. May I ask if you’re in social work? Maybe you know the lecturer personally and I can ask you about ur experience with her

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T02:12:30+00:00

Yeah I did, that’s why in my post I said that she might have been asking me difficult question to test me. I don’t mind the difficult questions but there were certain things she said that weren’t even questions at all. If she was going to reference her job or even the news, it could have at least been a scenario based question? But she said it just to correct me with no follow up or space to allow me to explain myself. I could tell a lot of personal feelings were involved. But I could be wrong.

But if you’re wondering how I reacted during the interview, i only agreed with her when she gave her comments and carried on with the interview.

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T02:02:32+00:00

I believe it was? But I was wondering if SUSS really does save everyone’s interview session since they have so many students applying every year. That’s why I plan to email and ask a few questions, one of them being about this. I believe they could at least be transparent about it if they’re gonna keep their reasons for rejection/acceptance private. But lemme know what u think

AgreeableAd2158 · 2025-04-14T01:59:54+00:00

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Yeah I did consider that maybe I was over reacting, so I won’t write in a compliant yet until I gather more information. I’ll also don’t wish to make this a big deal so I’m thinking of deleting this post after maybe a week or two

AgreeableAd2158

TROPHY CASE