How to react when interviewer argues over correct answer in a rude way? [duplicate]

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• How to tell a interviewer that he is wrong on a technical question 7 answers

I recently appeared for an interview in a well known software firm for position of "Java developer". Interview kicked off well, until interviewer started to argue over my answer to a question.

Edit1: [Interviewer asked if I am sure about this answer]

I told him that I am completely sure that this is the correct answer (an answer which I have told in a dozen interviews and it is correct). He insisted that answer is wrong. I asked him (reaction) to tell me where am I wrong (I don't know if this is acceptable or not) because I believe that an interview should be a two-way conversation. He lost his mind and said: "You are the interviewee and not me, so why should I tell you"?

He asked me a few more questions. Once again a question was very similar to the previous disputed question. I gave my answer. He literally was talking down on me at this point. My brain stopped working as I had never been in such situation before.

Now at last the interviewer got stuck on two vague words, which belong to English Literature and not Computer Science. He was being philosophical on these terms that there is a huge difference between both and that I am wrong. Let's say that I was wrong, what he should have done is to mark these answer as incorrect and move on. But he kept on going and belittling me.

For the past week, I am feeling very upset about this situation. I don't know what effect this would have in future. I wanted to talk to HR and complaint about rude behavior (which was very rude because despite the amount of confidence that I have, I still find it very heartbreaking)

Please guide me.

Answer 1

You may have come off as rude to them when you said you were completely sure your answer was correct before asking where you had made an error. You might have been wrong if you misheard the question, or they misspoke when they gave it to you.

In any case, the appropriate course of action would be to evaluate whether or not you want to continue on the path forward with this company if that's even an option after such a poor interview. It's probably not though. Even if it is, do you really want to work with someone like that?

To be clear, the best way to react when an interviewer is rude is to be nice, calm, and polite and see if you might have accidentally done something inappropriate. After the interview, take that behavior into consideration when deciding if you want to continue with the hiring process from your side.

Glassdoor also has a review section for interviewees where you can provide annonymous reviews publicly.