Not flight related but a great story and TRUE.
Several years ago I wrote the software that runs BMW's car plant in cowley. Ever since then they have been trying to head hunt me.
After many carrots were dangled in front of my face I decided to go for an Interview, it was just a formality. 10 days after the interview I was phoned by BMW's personnel department who told me that they were very sorry but that I had not got the job. Confused and slightly miffed I forgot all about it and never called them again.
About 6 weeks later I got a very irate phone call from the chief engineer at BMW asking where I was. Confused I told him I had no idea what he was talking about.
He said.
"Its your first day and you have not turned up for work, everyone is expecting you, your desk is ready where the hell are you".
Now really confused I again told him I had no idea what he was talking about, the last I had heard was that I had NOT got the job and nothing had happened since that phone call.
He didn't believe me, even questioning if this was some kind of joke, he told me.
"You signed the contract of employment sent to you, its here on my desk, I am looking at your signature, you went for the medical and passed, we even spent ages discussing your starting date by e-mail, now its your first day and your not here, what the hell are you playing at" ?
Trying to calm him down he eventually accepted that I had no idea what he was talking about and had done non of the things he had said, I told him about my last conversation with BMW when they informed me I didn't get the job.
Now he was beginning to believe me, he told me something has very wrong here and he is going to get to the bottom of it. He said he would call me back when he knows anything further.
Next day the phone rang and all became clear. Here is what had gone wrong.
On the day of my interview another person was also being interviewed for a canteen cleaners job, it turns out his name was exactly the same as mine. They got confused with the addresses and as he didn't get the job he applied for they phoned me up telling me I had failed. The cleaner got a contract of employment through the post worth £50,000 per year plus company car and bonuses.
He went for it, he did the medical, signed the contract, argued about his starting date the lot, only to get cold feet on his first day.
After discovering the mistake they apologised, said they still wanted me but since the first interview had been so long ago I would need to go through the whole process again.
Nearly 4 months after the initial interview and after attending 2 further interviews and a medical and keeping them guessing for nearly 3 weeks I eventually told them I did not want the job any more.
I dare not go anywhere near that place again, I would be executed for sure.
Another story of my mate who applied for a job in an electron microscopy lab when he knew absolutely nothing about the subject.
This is a classic interview line.
During the interview he was asked.
"what do you understand about the interaction of carbon and cobolt in a gas when excited by high level alpha radiation".
his answer...
"Nothing but I am willing to learn".
He did not get the job.
