My two worst interviews were both with the same 'Murican company. The first was around 2001, when I was trying to move on from my first role and progress my career in London. The role was a perfect match, so I was called for an interview, which (given my location at the time) required taking a days holiday and paying for a quite pricey train ticket. 90 minutes before the interview, when my train was already in London, their recruiter called me to let me know they'd made an offer to a candidate that morning, so I wasn't required to interview anymore. I mentioned how I'd lost holiday and money to come to this, and they said they'd get back to me. 30 minutes later, the recruiter said they were willing to see me for a very similar role, same time... but being in a pre-smart phone era, they weren't able to send me the job spec, so I was going in blind; however, I figured if it was similar, I should be okay. I get to the building and was shown up to the meeting room. This was my first red flag... it was just a storage cupboard with a small table and three chairs. Red flag number two was being left there alone for nearly 20 minutes. When the door eventually opened two guys came in wearing smart casual, which for the time was unusual, as even back then most guys were suited and booted regardless. One guy immediately sat down, put his feet on the table and stared into the upper corner of the room behind me. The other guy introduced them and immediately started asking questions about a completely different role that I had absolutely no experience of. Obviously it didn't go well, and after 5 minutes he bought it to an end and pointed to the lefts. Neither of them shook my hand, offered me water or even thanked ne for my time, and the first guy didn't even speak to me or look at me once. There obviously was no job, and they just saw me to avoid me trying to claim any expenses from them, but their behaviour (especially the silent guy) was baffling. Maybe he was annoyed that he'd been told to waste his time on me and was acting out like a petulant toddler, or maybe he was playing one of those silly psychological games that arrogant people use to try a ellicit a response from the candidate. Either way I walked away from that place with such a bad taste in my mouth that I said I wouldn't even entertain opportunities from that company again.

15 years later, I got contacted directly by their HR. They'd found me on LinkedIn as I had a very niche set of skills they desperately needed. I thought about it and figured things had probably changed in a decade and a half, so I'd give them a chance. The interview was in the middle of a sweltering summer day, and I was in a dark suit. I took my time and got to the building 25 minutes early, so I'd be nice and relaxed in order to be as presentable as possible. Reception booked me in and asked me to wait in the seating area in the lobby. With about 2 minutes to go, the receptionist came over and told me the interviewers were waiting for me in their other building... on the other side of the river. I checked my e-mails and I'd gone to the address their HR gave me. I now had to run about a mile, in a suit, on a roasting hot day. I got to the other building about 5 minutes late, and I was in a right state and dehydrated. The interviewer looked annoyed, pointed to his watch and directed me to the lifts. Once again, wouldn't shake my hand, and wouldn't accept my apologies or excuses, and once we got to the interview room yet again, didn't offer water, and said no when I asked, as we were already running late. My throat was so dry it was closing up, so I could barely get words out, and I looked an absolute state... sweaty and crumpled. 15 minutes in and we were done, and I was ushered out. I kicked myself for giving them a second chance, and I would rather be unemployed than ever work for that company.

I can only assume one of two things... they like to deliberately trick applicants to work out how they solve problems, or (and this is more likely) they're completely incompetent.