A Spaniard asked about interview etiquette during the Queen’s mourning period and got some very British replies

The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II triggered a 10-day mourning period during which has affected many aspects of national life, not least on the day of the Queen’s funeral next Monday.

We mention it because this person from Spain is due in the UK for a job interview on Friday and wondered what the etiquette should be. In particular, should they begin by offering their condolences.

Here’s what HereJustForTheData had to say.

And we’ve read all the replies – well, quite a few of them – and here are the 9 most British.

1.

‘I wouldn’t, because nobody expects the Spanish Consolation.’
cheesecake_squared

2.

‘Only if you’re being interviewed by Charles. If not I wouldn’t bother.’
Paul_1793

3.

‘Black tie please. And constantly reference that you are at ‘half mast.’
bigrightthumb

4.

‘Play God save the queen in the beginning of the interview.’
hnm133

5.

‘Union Flag as your zoom background please.’
goodvibezone

6.

‘In your situation I would open with, “I’m so sorry for your loss, I was a great fan of their music.”

‘In reality, if the interviewer is British he will automatically assume that all of our continental brethren are a bit odd anyway, therefore he is most likely to accept the good intentions behind whatever you say even if it he wouldn’t have expected it from another British candidate.’
EvillerBob

7.

‘In the UK its considered bad form to not offer a homemade cake along with condolences. The quality of cake is supposed to match the level of your grief, so if you’re particularly heartbroken it should be almost inedible.

‘If the recipient went to a state school the cake should be chocolate flavoured. If the recipient went ato a private school it should contain raisins. If the recipient went to a public school (a posh private school like Eton) then you also need to bake a smaller cake to warm the first cakes toilet seat up for it.

‘The whole thing is a social minefield to be honest so personally I’d just push a bundtcake across the table at them and make knowing eye-contact. It’s a bit continental, but it shows you’ve made the effort.’

8.

‘I would just get angry about your pen; show them you’re more of a blue blood and deserve the job, and a medal.’
paradeqia

9.

‘You should also tuck a tea bag in your shirt pocket and throw it on their desk halfway through the interview. It will really impress them and you’ll have a better chance of being hired.’
Devonshire_Dumpling

WANT MORE POKE?

Get the best of the day’s posts delivered direct to you by joining The Poke+ on Facebook

Source Reddit u/HereJustForTheData H/T Twitter @bellamackie