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Wrong Guy - A Nightmare Job Interview

 
 
Reply Tue 16 May, 2006 04:42 am
Last week, I was watching the news when this woman interviewed someone called Guy Kewney about Apple computer's legal victory over Apple Corps (a British company set up by the Beatles).

At the time, I was wondering, what on Earth was that guy doing making such funny faces?

It turns out that he wasn't Guy Kewney after all...

Quote:
BBC News 'wrong Guy' is revealed

The true identity of a man who was mistakenly interviewed on BBC News 24 has been revealed.

Guy Goma, a graduate from the Congo, appeared on the news channel in place of an IT expert after a mix-up.

But Mr Goma, who was wrongly identified in the press as a taxi driver, was really at the BBC for a job interview.

Mr Goma said his appearance was "very stressful" and wondered why the questions were not related to the data support cleanser job he applied for.

The mix-up occurred when a producer went to collect the expert from the wrong reception in BBC Television Centre in West London.

The producer asked for Guy Kewney, editor of Newswireless.net, who was due to be interviewed about the Apple vs Apple court case.

After being pointed in Mr Goma's direction by a receptionist, the producer - who had seen a photo of the real expert - checked: "Are you Guy Kewney?"

The economics and business studies graduate answered in the affirmative and was whisked up to the studio.

Business presenter Karen Bowerman, who was to interview the expert, managed to get a message to the editor that the guest seemed "very breathless and nervous".

Mr Goma was eventually asked three questions live on air, assuming this was an interview situation.

It was only later that it was discovered that Mr Kewney was still waiting in reception - prompting producers to wonder who their wrong man was.

'Happy to return'

Mr Goma said his interview was "very short", but he was prepared to return to the airwaves and was "happy to speak about any situation".

He added that next time he would insist upon "preparing myself".

He later told News 24 that he had not yet heard whether he had got the job he had applied for. "I really want to work for the BBC," he added.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "This has turned out to be a genuine misunderstanding.

"We've looked carefully at our guest procedures and will take every measure to ensure this doesn't happen again."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4774429.stm
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nimh
 
  1  
Reply Tue 16 May, 2006 10:08 am
Heh, I was also going to post a thread about this one. Razz

the Guardian wrote:
The cock-up was reported around the world, with 308 related links on Google News today. The clip of Mr Goma's original appearance on News 24 has been viewed more than 140,000 times on Youtube.com.

Best headline on the story of the Beeb mistaking Guy Goma for Guy Kewney:

"Any guy will do for BBC" (Toronto Star)

Goma was also invited back to News 24 for an interview about the botched interview:

Quote:
Mr Goma, who had turned up at the BBC for a job interview, proved he could see the funny side by returning to News 24 today. "I was very shocked. I just thought, 'Keep going'," said Mr Goma, a university graduate from Congo. He said he was "still waiting for the result" of his interview to become an IT assistant.

Unfortunately, News 24 presenters Simon McCoy and Carrie Gracie appeared about as sure of themselves today as Bowerman had last week.

"Is there anyone else you would like to impersonate?" asked Gracie. Misunderstanding the question, Mr Goma replied: "Yes, I really want to work at the BBC."

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nimh
 
  1  
Reply Tue 16 May, 2006 10:09 am
Also see:

The interview went pretty well. So, have I got the job?
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nimh
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 May, 2006 11:23 am
The blog of one Jason Thomas adds a good point:

Quote:
If you watch the interview, apart from his initial surprise at being introduced wrongly, the answers he gives are on a par with a real expert. This just shows how shallow news interviews are, and how very leading questions can allow someone with no knowledge of a subject to come across quite convincingly.

(from the May 15 entry)
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