I had an important interview some days ago. and I used ‘Mr.’ alone to address the men who where interviewing me (also, I didn’t know their names or surnames) for example:
Interviewer: “Can you give me an example of how you solve problems at work?”
Me: “Of course Mister; I usually apply this methodology.. ”
Now, English is not my first language, and they were older than me. Was I disrespectful? I’m genuinely curious. I know that from now on I’ll just use ‘sir’.
Thanks in advance!
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“Sir” seems more appropriate in this case, though still quite formal.
Edit: introductions should be the very first part of the interview. Judging by how they introduce themselves, it should be clear whether they would prefer you to use their given names or Mr./Ms. [Surname].
It probably became obvious that English was not your first language, since “mister” is very old-fashioned, but it wasn’t disrespectful at all. If anything, you would’ve come off as being extremely polite. I wouldn’t worry. If the interviewers don’t react well to this, they’re not someone you want to be spending your time with anyway.
I don’t find it to be disrespectful but yeah “sir” would be a better word to use.
It sounds pretty old fashioned to my ears to address someone just as mister, if a native speaker said “okay mister” I’d think he was being flippant or ironic. You, however, are not a native speaker (and presumably have an accent), so I would not make that assumption – I would think you were trying to be respectful. Sir, or nothing at all as Americans are not usually big on formalities, sounds more natural to me so you can use that if you want to. But I don’t think you should worry that you accidentally disrespected the guys that interviewed you.
I’ve only ever seen “Mister” used standalone like sir in very old books. Nowadays Mister is the sort of thing you might call a young child or a cat that was getting into trouble.
I absolutely wouldn’t find it offensive coming from a non-native, though. Unless you’re using a rude tone of voice it should be obvious as an attempt to be polite.
I’ve only heard it as a challenge, like listen here Mr.
Just old fashioned ‘gee wiz mister your new car sure is swell’
It started getting used more sarcastic and so people might be confused at first, but then get it.
If they know English isn’t your first language, they wouldn’t be insulted. I’m sure they understood your intent.
For the future, yeah, you wouldn’t call someone “mister”; it’s a little disrespectful when used alone and has the tone of “I don’t know your name and I don’t want to”: “Mister, for the second time, leave this bar.”
Sir or ma’am is better.
Best is to ask their names and call them by their names. Mr. Smith, Ms. Smith, Dr. Smith, Julia (if they introduce themselves by their first name)–whatever they tell you they are called. You take your cue from them.
It’s not disrespectful, just an odd term to use. If they can hear your accent, then they most likely chalked it up to english not being your first language and haven’t thought about it since.
Good luck with the job hunt!
Mr. should **always** be followed up with their last name; the way you were trying to use it is incorrect, you would instead say sir as you indicated you now will.
This is, of course, very formal.
Saying Mr. by itself is very condescending usually, or is something a kid on the street would say to an adult in the 40’s.
People are right that “sir” is used for that these days, but also you generally don’t need to use any word like that in most conversation. If you had said “Of course sir; I usually apply this methodology..”, it would be more correct but it would still sound very very deferential, much more than you need to be in a job interview unless you’re being interviewed by the president of the company or something like that. It’s okay to just answer a question like that without addressing them.
I think it’d be perceived as odd more so than disrespectful, but if you’re not a native speaker that should explain it away in most people’s minds. Generally, with white collar jobs at least, you just call people by their first names though.
It’s not disrespectful, but it does sound odd. It’s an archaic phrasing that I would say has been out of common use for a long time. I’d guess around 100 years, but I’m no expert in the subject. I would say that “sir” is much more reasonable here if you are trying to be respectful, but even that isn’t necessary. I probably wouldn’t use any term.
Not disrespectful at all
A lot of people are saying it’s old fashioned, which I agree with. However, it’s not too uncommon for students to use to address teachers. I have plenty of students who say “mister” or “miss” to get the teacher’s attention, as well as those who omit the title and just say the last name. Somehow saying “Mr. Cleary” or whatever is too difficult.
I don’t think the usage you describe is rude or disrespectful, just a bit odd.
I wouldn’t say disrespectful, but maybe more old-fashioned. I immediately think of some kid from a ’50s TV show saying “Gee thanks, Mister. That sounds swell.” “Sir” is certainly the way to go.
Yes, “mister” by itself has a very sarcastic tone to it. It’s mainly used by older women to scold young boys, like “pick up your toys, mister.” But if they’re aware that English isn’t your first language, they probably understand that you’re trying to show respect
I wouldn’t call it disrespectful. however, addressing an unknown man as only “mister” sounds stereotypically like something a small child would say in an old movie. knowing that it’s not your native language, they should hopefully have been understanding though.
if I were in that position I would most likely not directly address them at all, unless I was specifically trying to get their attention. in that case I would use “sir”
if someone used mister in this way id just think of a little orphan boy from new york in 1920. itd be kinda funny to me but not disrespectful
It depends on the inflection of the word and the region you’re in. If you’re in Montana and a cowboy says something like “Hey mister you dropped your wallet” he’s being polite but just doesn’t know your name. If you’re in New York City and a person *ends a sentence* with it, chances are they are upset with you or are being contemptuous just for fun.
It’s not disrespectful, though perhaps a bit peculiar to American ears. Normally we’d use “sir” in that context. Using “mister” in that way sounds a bit African to me. I’ve come across Kenyans and Nigerians using “mister” like that.
I would be very surprised if he took offense to that.
I think you’re all good.
Comes off as archaic and potentially combative depending on how it’s used.
It would strike me as old-fashioned. I would not be offended, I might just find it unusual.
Try switching mister with the word sir. Sir is used to show courtesy and respect.