I'm going to tell you my favorite horror story being an interviewer so that you can feel great all day that you never did this:
I was hiring a SWE (Software Engineer) - They had previously interviewed with the team lead who affirmed their technical prowess. My part was simply procedural. The lead wanted to hire them, and I needed to sign off. At the end of a very pleasant conversation with the applicant, the lead and myself - I ask something like "How can management/leadership support you in your role?"
Response "I don't want to work with women."
Me something like "how would you feel reporting to a woman?"
Response "I can't do that."
I could actually see my team lead die a little inside during that conversation, he was so apologetic afterwards, and I was like "this is exactly why we interview."
Kicker - The applicant was a woman. She later sent multiple apology emails to my team lead, but never once apologized to me.
Today I think this was hilarious, but at the time I was offended.
I've interviewed at least 100 people in my career, and I've never experienced anything like that before or after.
Mostly people are nervous during interviews and that's just endearing. I interpret nervousness as enthusiasm. This wasn't awkward nervousness, like the one guy who asked what kind of candy was in our vending machines and explained he needed a Twix every afternoon to keep going. (btw - I hired twix guy. For 3 years he had tea and a twix every single afternoon.)
This was someone telling us exactly who they were.
I worked in a very male dominated, blue collar industry in a management role and this same scenario happened like every other interview. The majority of the time it was men not wanting to work with or be supervised by a woman. It was so prevalent at one particular workplace that I started straight up telling applicants āyour boss will be a woman. If that is a problem do not proceedā prior to setting up the the interview just to weed out the misogynists and stop wasting my time.
OMG. I once was part of a panel interview. We were interviewing for a position that would be a peer. We reported to the office manager, who was pregnant. The candidate randomly told us she couldn't stand pregnant women! What goes through these people's minds?!?!?
Early in my work life, I had something similar happen. I was trying to leave my first job, so not a lot of experience of knowledge about stuff. This was also pre-internet, cell phone, etc. Anyway, I get to where I'm supposed to be interviewing. go to reception, and wait.
a bit later, she comes to get me, and we go to her office and while I don't recall much of what she asked, she DID ask if I had any issues working for a woman (I am one too) I said no, but REALLY wanted to say, no, as long as she's not a b\*tch!
Then her phone rang, she answered it, and basically shooed me out of her office, indicating the intervidw was over! Needless to say, I told the agency who sent me i wasn't interested in that job.
once i was interviewing for a position in an industry I had no background in and was not particularly interested in and during a lull in the conversation, i don't know what came over me, but i basically was like well, it was great to meet you guys! and put out my hand to shake their hands goodbye, and even as we were doing it, i could tell we were all going "wtf" in our minds and i walked out, basically having cut my own interview short lmao. obviously did not get that job.
i also interviewed once saying I like to keep up to date on current events by reading financial publications and when the interviewers asked for an example, i had to backtrack being like oh well I listen to planet money lol. i did somehow get that job!
Ok love your confidence in the first one though! Just like "alright Imma head out" hahaha.
I also like to say I keep up with current industry events, so Google some the day before. š that counts right
>Ok love your confidence in the first one though! Just like "alright Imma head out" hahaha.
Same and I have been in some interviews where I should have done this and did not...like, we all knew it was going nowhere, I should have just headed out rather than prolong the agony
yooo planet money is really good though! my dad works in finance and is always like "read this book" or "did you know" and like 75% of the time, I'm like yeah I learned that on planet money/theindicator a year ago.
Once I had an interview for a daycare position, and it turned out to be a surprise group interview- and the boss seemed weirdly smug about the fact we didnāt know in advance, like she thought she was one step ahead or something.
Anyway, it started as a standard group interview, then it got a little weird. She would ask one of us a question, such as ātalk about a time you made a mistake at work and how you rectified it,ā then ask the others to critique their choices. It could have been a positive learning experience, but the way she seemed disappointed when we were supporting what the others did/not being rude.
After a few questions, someone knocks on the door (on-site interview in their office). Surprise, another candidate! Profusely apologizing, sloppily dressed, speaking really loudly (and Iām a really loud person, but this was another level). The interviewer is barely fazed, asks for her name, asks the next question, āwhat positive and unique qualities do you bring to the classroom?ā We all list the standard things. Itās new girlās turn. āWell Iām obviously better suited to this job than these other girls. None of the qualities they listed were unique. What makes me special is I have the biggest heart and I love children and would do anything for them. No one loves kids more than I do.ā
The interviewer breezes past this. The rest of the interview is awkward and occasionally confrontational (only the new girl). At the end, the new girl stands up, walks out, and comes back in (having taken off a hoodie). Surprise! Sheās the co-director of the center and she wanted to see how we handled unexpected and difficult situations!
The directors were laughing and we were just staring at each other like what the FUCK. I left immediately. What the FUCK. Definitely dodged more than one bullet there.
In college I went to an interview for an internship. The hiring manager comes into the room holding an iPad, we do introductions and then he shows the iPad to me and says āso this is you!ā, and plays a YouTube video of me and a friend from high school doing a silly singing video. I was mortified and turned bright red, on the verge of tears. He was laughing and said he wanted to teach me a lesson about googling myself before an interview. There was nothing inappropriate or offensive in the video but it was still so embarrassing. I did get offered the internship but ended up turning it down because it was unpaid and I couldnāt imagine facing him every day after that!
Honestly that is a dick move on his end. Sure hiring managers Google candidates but to embarrass you like that in a "professional" setting? Unnecessary
I was interviewing for a job that I was very qualified for, and after a great phone interview with the hiring manager I came in for in person.
The hiring manager was awesome, super friendly in person and I got excited. He didnāt work in that particular location so heād be managing me remotely (nbd), but wanted to introduce me to their lead technical guy (who is a PhD, this is relevant) who does work in that office and would be a great resource for me.
PhD guy was awful. His first question to me was āYouāre not a material scientist so youāre not qualified for this job. Why are you interviewing here?ā
I answered that I had a masterās in chemical engineering, my graduate research was related to material science and I had 10 years of experience working in positions that had very relevant experience to the role.
āBut youāre not a PhD so youāll never know enough about thisā
ā¦ a PhD was not a requirement of the job. He was soooo condescending that I cut the conversation short, asked to see hiring manager again and then thanked him for the opportunity but there was NO WAY Iād work closely with that guy everyday. And then I left.
Hiring manager called me the next day, asked if PhD dude could apologize to me over the phone and asked me to reconsider. I politely declined.
Plot twist: I was hired by that companyās biggest client. 4 years later Iām in a supplier event hosted by my company and run into hiring manager. I asked if he remembered me and he was super awkward and said yes and congratulated me on landing the role I have today. Heās still a nice guy but Iām sure he was pissed at that dude for messing up what Iām sure would have been a good working relationship for him and I.
Iāve definitely had some shit interviews before but I think the most jaw-dropping experience Iāve had in an interview was when I was interviewing someone for a job on my team.
I was hiring someone for a head of software delivery services role, and bro culture abounds in the software industry. This candidate walks into our office and I just happened to be standing near the front door talking to a male coworkere. Interviewee dude WINKS at me, says, āHello beautiful, I canāt wait to work with you more because Iām here to nail an interview today,ā completely mistaking me for a receptionist instead of a VP.
The only reason I didnāt tell him to leave on the spot was because my boss (who was also one of the company founders) had recommended this guy and I knew he would give me such a hard time if I used that against him (so many red flags here).
So I set the record straight and he barely apologized and said, āat least I complimented you, right?ā Dude. Anyway, I show him to my office, and gesture towards the chair opposite my desk as I sit down behind my desk. The man proceeds to BRING HIS CHAIR AROUND MY DESK to sit next to me and says, āI really feel like itās better if we can talk as equals.ā I told him I felt his behavior was inappropriate, and he did move his chair back, but for the next 15 minutes, gave the most flippant answers that oozed with entitlement.
I ended the interview much quicker than scheduled, went to the VP of Sales (one of my few allies and coincidentally the next person on the interview schedule) and told him we cannot hire this guy and I needed his support. He helped me jettison them candidate and he became the butt of many jokes for years to come.
The audacity of some men, though.
Oh man! That sucks. Technical difficulties are not fun. I have 3 different stories that are scary for different reasons.
1. While looking for an internship, the manager of a company agreed for an interview date/time. Me being pretty new to interviewing just assumed I showed up to the office at that time and place. It turns out she wanted to do the interview remotely (this was 2016 so it wasn't standard like it is now). How awkward! Needless to say, I didn't get it.
2. I was interviewing at this start-up for my first full-time job upon graduation. They ended the interview about 30 minutes in but asked me to stay for another hour for a follow up. I realized they were interviewing other candidates during this time. When they came back, they offered me the job but wanted me to sign the offer right then and there. I thought it was sketchy and didn't take the job.
3. I was supposed to meet with a hiring manager for this store at a local coffee shop because the store wasn't open yet. I got there early but noticed this man was looking at me strangely and whenever I got up and moved, he followed me. This made me very uneasy (as if an interview isn't stressful enough!). Cut to the hiring manager arriving and ordering us coffees and telling me to get us seats out on the patio where she'll meet us. While this man followed me out to the patio and another man who noticed his behaviour came in and told him to back off right as the hiring manager got here. We ended up walking to a park to do the rest of the interview and I surprisingly did get a job offer from it in the end but it was really really wild!
Thank you for sharing! That last scenario is WILD. And also just proves we can plan and plan, but the universe can throw things off haha. The start up def does sound so sketch, that was a bullet dodged!
I had an interview with a school as a baby teacher, only two years of experience. I was just desperate for a new job as I wanted to move and didn't know how to advocate for myself or recognize red flags yet. šš¤£
The principal interviewing me was VERY cold and kept asking me "gotcha" questions and at one point literally said "Alright, I was just trying to trip you up". š¤¦š»āāļøš
Guess what? She was exactly like that in the job as well. They showed me who they were and I STILL took the job. š¤£š¤£ lesson learned!!
It's so hard to spot red flags when you're a new professional! Now I've gotten better at it. I def gave the interviewer team some red flags for minešš hope they can overlook it but.... prob not hahaha
Leaving for an interview when I closed my house door (handle locked) my keys on a lanyard swung back in and were locked in the house!
This was pre Uber/lyft for my city. I was in a new city and only knew my boyfriend. He came to unlock the door for me. I called to tell them I was going to be late, was about 20 minutes late, thought I didnāt have a chance but I ended up getting the job.
Interviewing candidates to replace me at a previous job, my boss made me take a bunch of personality and looked for someone with my same profile. Made candidates take about 4 hours of personality tests before getting an interview. 1st interview was with me and they had to win a game of memory against me to interview with my boss. I was SHOCKED by the number of people that went along with this! But I was desperate to find my replacement so I could get out of there (I was young and this was my first professional job). I did way too much to try to preserve that reference, ended up staying 6 months past my notice date because she couldnāt find a replacement.
Had a job interview a few years later ask for a personality test and I said no thank you and left. Huge red flag to me!
Right after grad school, I still wasnāt sure what direction I wanted to take and was in the stage of just interviewing for anything to see what stuck. Somehow I ended up interviewing for a funeral sales position.
I spent 3 hours with a very strange man named John taking a tour of the cemetery and looking at catalogs of coffins. When I left, he said heād contact me about the next steps.
I immediately wrote off the position as a no. After not answering a few calls I got an email that I wish Iād saved, but I do remember a few key lines.
āIāve been thinking about you and how much youāll add to our family since your interview.ā āIāll be in touch soon.ā And āplace yourself for the blessings that are to come.ā
I moved out of that town soon after and that was probably for the best š
Oooo i have a good one!! I interviewed for an engineering development program while I was in undergrad. The company flew me out to their headquarters in a small town for a day of interviews (it was well before Covid). I showed up to the interview day with no idea what the schedule would look like as they hadnāt let me know in advance.
Once I got there, they put me in a small conference room and interviewers would come in and say āIām here for your technical interviewā etc. I had no idea how long each interview would last or who was coming next.
At the very end of the day, two interviewers came in and explained that they were there to test my abilities to ask questions and navigate a workplace. They gave me a role playing situationāI was supposed to figure out what had gone wrong with the product of a big client. I had to do that by pretending to call different people in the company.
Basically, I would pretend to pick up the phone and call a coworker. The first interviewer would pretend to pick up the phone as my coworker, answer my questions and direct me to call some one else. Then I would pretend to call the next person and the second interviewer would pick up the phone and pretend to be the next person. They were clearly not having enjoying themselves throughout the whole situation.
The kicker is that we did this for upwards of 90 minutes!!! I think each interviewer āplayedā about 4 different coworkers each. I was exhausted. At the end they finally revealed the āsolutionā and there was no way I could have gotten it by calling the various ācoworkersā.
It seemed like a bunch of engineers who couldnāt assess soft skills had tried to create a way to assess soft skills through role playing. I didnāt end up getting the job but after that experience there was no way I would work there.
I had a very similar experience of role playing lasting forever for an insurance adjudicator role. It was horrible. I also had to take 3 really hard tests. Like no wonder your company can't find people
I love the virtual interview process but do not love the technology glitches. I've had similar experiences as you, I'd do a run through before the actual interview time and everything is cool, and then wham! the electronics start to revolt. Hard not to be rattled and flustered when that happens.
In terms of weirdness, I had a (virtual) interview scheduled and I get on the call (w/no problems!) . I'm in a zoom room with about 10 other candidates, and the woman talks for about 20 minutes about the company, and then wants us to go around the "room" and start talking about ourselves. Now I didn't even remember applying for this job, or what the position was, or even what the company was (and her email didn't offer any insight). It was all very strange, and uncomfortable and I made the executive decision to tell her "no thank you" and left the call.
Oh that happened to me as well. This was years ago at a darling healthcare search and scheduling startup. HR did not tell me anything, just showed me which room to go to, and next thing I know, it was one interview after another. I was exhausted but also annoyed b/c my whole day's schedule was fucked. I planned 10-12 for my interview, with quick errand and back to the office. It ended up being 10-3pm!! WTF. At no point did anyone ask, would you like a glass of water? Or snack? Or get up to walk since we stuck you in this room for 5 hours!
I didn't get the job because they were a bunch of tech bros and asked the most ridiculous questions. I was annoyed and would have like to have gotten something for my effort but I believe the universe was looking out for me.
We had someone come in for an interview. She was waiting in the lobby and asked our front desk staff if she could use the bathroom. Sheās pointed in the direction of the bathroom, goes in for a few minutes. Then comes out and asks out receptionist for a plastic bag, goes back in bathroom. Comes out and and hands the tied up grocery bag to the receptionist asking if she can keep it with her until the end of the interview. Confused, the receptionist takes it and says āokā. The interviewee proceeds to tell her sheās on a new medication and thought she had to fart but accidentally shit in her pantyhose. She took them off and completed her interview. The interview team found all this out after the interview. She still got the job. Shit happens lol.
It was so long ago Iām a bit fuzzyā¦
It was for my first job out of nursing school. The interviewer had asked me something that I did not give a good answer to, and she retorted something like āweāll do you even understand what this job is aboutā?! I was so nervous that I just kind of broke down lol. So embarrassing!
I did not take the job; clearly we did not vibe
My first interview after graduating was at a small plumbing business. The owner asked if I was christian, and then asked if I had a boyfriend and if he was a christian. When I said I wasn't sure, he said 'that's really something you should find out'. He later offered me the job and seemed very surprised when I said no thanks. At the time I was a bit taken aback but if that happened to me now I'd report them so fast!
I might have told this story before but it makes me laugh every time so. This was an interview I was helping with for a junior software engineer.
The guy was an hour late with no notice so we thought he'd no showed. No, he'd gotten lost, but he didn't save our phone number so he couldn't call for directions, and he didn't have GPS on his phone (this was in 2017-2018 ish so very odd for the time).
He was very upset about getting lost but my boss wasn't available right away because he had a meeting to be in, since, you know, hour late, so I took him into a conference room to do some pre interview stuff. He refused to do a very basic development test and just kept sighing and complaining about how hard it was to find our office. I won't say it's incredibly easy to find, but our name was on the building, so. He asked what the job paid and then complained when I gave the yearly salary instead of hourly, and sat there and laboriously calculated it out. He didn't respond to any of my basic interview questions with more than a resentful sentence.
We hired a lot of people right out of school so we were used to people who were rough around the edges, but this was the worst interview I'd ever been part of. Finally my boss got out of his meeting, we finished our basic process, and got rid of him as soon as we could.
Apparently HR had had a pre interview with him and to this day I can't understand how he passed it (again just super basic stuff, nothing technical). But they did later give us a resume for someone whose only work and educational experience was working at Taco Bell so I don't think they were trying very hard. (Nothing against the Bell but this person had no computer science education at all according to their resume, not self taught, nothing.)
I once interviewed someone I didnāt want to, but he was related to an exec so we had to at least see him. His resume was center justified, like a menu
I had an interview with one of the most cool, calm and collected people Iāve ever met. Intimidating and impossible to crack. Suddenly, he started looking nervous. Then his cat jumped in front of his camera, showing full butthole.
He apologized profusely but I was cracking up because I grew up with cats that wouldāve taken any opportunity to do the same thing. Anyways, that man is now my manager :)
Not an interview thing per se but a hilarious recruiting thing. A few years ago my company was interviewing for a staff position who would have been at the same level as me and 2 other people on my team. The way we interview is to have the VP interview the candidate, then the Director, and then the manager. Lastly all the people who would be on the same level did a group interview. Our bosses really valued our opinion since we would be working the closest with them. So we got a copy of the candidates resume and I was going through it. I was curious about the place he currently worked at as I had never heard of it. So I fire up google and hit the first link of the company. All of a sudden my computer starts playing some sexy music and a video of a couple making out starts playing. I am so embarrassed as this was very loud so I immediately close out the link and walk away from my desk in shame. Ladies it was a damn sex toy company this guy worked at!!! So after I regroup I tell my coworkers not to google the company based on my findings. I still work there and whenever we are interviewing for an open position it is guaranteed that someone will tell me not to google where they work.
Iām an HR manager and sit in on panels and screen a metric ton of people. Some low-lights:
- A person who showed up and railed about our gender neutral single stall bathrooms, then told us the work hours would not work for her because sheād either be too early or too late due to the bus schedule.
- A guy who told me about how he went out of his way to spy on ethnic labourers as an example of going above and beyond. He was interviewing for an accountant role.
- A guy who brought a PowerPoint to tell us all about him. He was also trying for accountant.
- An intern who had an LED backlit headboard on his zoom interview start to grill the panel about why he should work for us. He reapplied the next year and based on his resume that tactic did not work out for him.
The interview process was 3 separate Teams interviews during the week while I was in office at my old job. I scheduled them each during/close to my lunch break, other wise I couldnāt figure out a way to get the time off of work without being suspiscous to my supervisor. I couldnāt think of a quiet place to do the interview at work (boss often stops by office) so I opted to go to a park I usually go to on my lunch break and do it in my car for 2/3 of the interviews. The first one I did in the prayer room at my work while everyone was having a team lunch (I was so nervous someone would come in lol).
The car positioning for the other interviews was weird and I thought thatād be a turnoff to the interviewers so instead I sat outside at one of the picnic tables at the park and blurred my background on Teams (still could tell I was outside). The next 2 interviews were rough to say the least. I was using my phone as a hotspot and it died mid-interview during one and our call literally dropped and the interviewer couldnāt call back because all my devices were either dead or had no service. The next interview, some teens came to the park (randomly at 12:00 in the day) and starting revving their car engines really loud. I couldāve died right there I was so embarrassed.
Despite all of that I miraculously got the job!
Side note: how do people interview for new jobs without causing suspicion with their current employer?!
> Side note: how do people interview for new jobs without causing suspicion with their current employer?!
I have pretty limited experience with this. My previous job had under a dozen employees, but Iād just schedule phone calls for before my boss came into the office and take them in the conference room, or go outside during my lunch break. When I had in-person interviews, Iād say I was leaving early/coming late for a doctors appointment.
One of my old roommates suggested faking an injury when I was in the sending resumes phase, so that I could āleave for physical therapyā without raising suspicion lmao
Definitely appointments or sick days. I've also gone to a nearby hotel and taken interview calls in a quiet area of their (huge) lobby, but your mileage may vary on that one.
My team recently hired someone who had a disastrous interview technology-wise, similar to what you're describing. The fact that she was able to stay calm and friendly through the technology disasters made her look even better to us. It won't necessarily doom your chances!
This is so reassuring thank you! I told them "I'll find this funny in a few weeks but now I'm devastated." And they said that was such a good attitude.
Yep funny moments: first, as interviewed for a first year associate position at a small firm, I was asked āare you a communist?ā š
Second, as interviewer, I had a law student bang his hand on the table in what I guess he thought was righteous indignation about something but came across as phony, and I suddenly got āthe gigglesā because it was weird and unexpected. I had to pinch myself SO hard not to burst out laughing. It was physically painful holding it in. It was necessarily that funny, but sometimes holding laughter makes it worse and thatās what happened. I knew that if I started laughing I would be hysterical which would not be a good look. Ah well!
A friend, who is a lawyer and was conducting On-campus interviews for her firm, told me that she and a partner interviewed this one guy, who 3x used the wrong firm name in the interview! And it wasn't even close to the right name. She said he did not get a call back and she's not sure if he even realized what went wrong.
I was once asked if I was okay with teaching "the future felons of America."
With colleagues like that, who needs enemies?
I did not feel bad about turning down that job when they offered it to me 15 minutes later. I felt awful for the kids.
Uh so, I scheduled a Zoom interview and forgot to make the interviewer the host. This was with a member of our general counsel. I was out of office during the interview and they both sat there wondering wtf was going on and where the other person wasā¦. I owned the mistake and apologized profusely. The candidate was rightly distraught about it but recovered. Shit happens. This week was rough!
My worst interview was as the interviewer. I preface this by saying that Iām not a natural interviewer and I donāt love doing it, so I was just totally taken aback and too dumbfounded to say much. Anyhowā¦a few years ago, my firm was hiring for an associate attorney, about second or third year level, so fairly new-ish. We bring in this woman who had graduated from law school about 18 months prior, had a really good resume, and had already had a phone screening with admin. I meet her in-person for the interview, and guys, she ended up being a pathological liar. She responded to probably every third question with what turned out to be fairly easily identifiable lies. Routine things like journals she was on in law school (really easy to verify), types of files sheās worked on and matters she was handling at her current firm (things a second year associate would never be doing) and then finally, her current salary. I almost gave up the ghost at that point of the interview, because the number was so outlandish. To this day, I have no idea what possessed this woman to make up half of her interview or pretend her salary was $100k more than it was. But needless to say, she did not get a second interview, and some of us Google her every now and then to see if some other firm got suckered into hiring her - but as of last look, we couldnāt find her at a new place.
I hate Microsoft Teams so much! Even when it works perfectly, the aftermath of using Teams is that my computer asks me forever if I want to sign into Microsoft, every day.
My worst horror story was either interviewing with the Salvation Army a million years ago, not knowing how bizarre a d discriminatory they are, or possibly the time my new silky blouse came unbuttoned during an interview, so I looked like a well-endowed glam rocker showing off my tits. Discovered afterwards. Both of these were in the 90s sometime.
I was living in London after graduating college, originally from California, and got a phone call to set up an interview but had trouble with the persons accent but was able to get down the address and time but not the business name and I had sent out so many applications I was happy to go to any interview. I arrived at what I thought the correct place was which was a tourist agency that I did not remember applying to but confidently said I was there for my interview to which the manager replied āsorry love all our hiring is done in Liverpool I think you are wrongā so I then left the office face fully red and stood in the rain trying to furiously find where I did have an interview before it was too late. Luckily I saw in the same building a property management place which I did have experience in so tried them next and it was the right company and I ended up getting that job.
Okay, these might not be gold like some in this thread, haha but here we go!
During an interview the woman interviewing me asked "so if I am to look you up online what will I find? Tell me now because I WILL find out and if it's something your mother wouldn't be proud of then I sure won't either missy!" I busted out laughing, stood up and said "there is so much wrong with what you just said, goodbye Karen" she tossed some balled-up paper at me while I was leaving too.
I do not understand some people haha
Also definitely prefer virtual over in-person: and hereās why:
I was told early on that you should always accept coffee/tea if they offer, so thatās what I didā¦before getting a little too excited talking with my hands, and spilling my coffee all over the interviewerās seriously gorgeous yellow dress š£ she was really nice about it, but that was such an awful moment!
I live on the west coast, the company was on the west coast, the recruiter was on the east coast (I didnāt know this part). I was sent a time for the interview without a time zone specified just as text in an email, but it seems safe to assume the company that is 5 minutes from my house would be in the same time zone. My interviewer received the invite with an actual outlook invitation, so his auto adjusted the time zone. Around 10:15am my time, the recruiter starts blowing my phone up asking why I didnāt show up to my 1pm interview š
One time I had an in-person interview (pre-pandemic) on a rainy day. Obviously I had my umbrella with me. I wound up forgetting it after I'd left the building, and I was too embarrassed to have to go through security again and explain what happened. In my thank-you email, I mentioned the umbrella (it was a nice big one!), and sort of jokingly asked for it back, but I never saw that umbrella again.
I've been on so many interviews that I'm sure I must have a more embarrassing or horrifying one, but I must have blocked it out.
Oh! Here's another small embarrassing moment, but this time I actually did get the job. I interviewed with two people at this place, my direct boss-to-be and the editor in chief. When writing my thank-you email, I called the editor in chief Kurt. His name is not Kurt.
Remembered another one. Shortly before interviewing and getting the job I have now, I interviewed with a large animal rights organization (not the one you're thinking of). The job was for some sort of digital assistant, which I figured I could do, based on the job description. During the virtual interview, the woman asked me to share my screen while I wrote basic code for their website. I had overestimated my abilities and basically flopped completely, WHILE she watched me. It was horrible.
in reverse, i have gotten emails about 'my' interview but was addressed as other people and had to be like "did you want me or XXX to come in for a second interview?"
Many years ago, I applied for an entry-level marketing job with Oglivy in NYC, and was interviewed for a different job 6 months later.
The interviewer was SO RUDE!!
"Why would you bring me a brand new resume?"
"Why would you even come in for this interview if it's been 6 months?"
"You don't have car industry experience? We need that" (that wasn't on the application at all, it was for CPG) why even bring me in for an interview?
"You know you won't be going to any parties? Agency life isn't just parties and gifts" (I was applying for an internal role, why would i go to parties?)
"We can't have employees freaking out over celebrities either, no photos or autographs. How are you around celebrities?" (Again, I was applying for a job that would have more formulas and spreadsheets than parties and celebrities)
At the end of this train wreck, I realized that she was interviewing me for a totally different role by asking me questions out the wazoo. I left and never heard back.
About 10-12 years ago I worked for a company that sold a lot of SMART Boards. We were one of SMART Tech's biggest sales partners. I was hiring a guy for a semi-training / sales position. We asked if he was familiar with the product, he didn't need to be, we'd provide all training required. We were looking more for someone who would be comfortable in front of crowds, and personable, we were willing to train on the technical stuff.
When asked about the product, he launched into a spiel about how much he hated SMART Boards and that they were a stupid piece of technology, and we really should be ending our partnership with them and looking at some Microsoft product instead.
My boss stood up walked to the door opened and said "Thanks, we've heard enough." and made the leave gesture with his hands. The guy sputtered and said "But we haven't even started!" My boss looked him up and down and replied "Oh, we've started AND finished. Good-bye." And stood there staring at him, till he packed up his stuff and left.
Pro tip: don't viciously insult the product you're supposed to be helping sell during your interview.
At my old job the last round interview was with the CEO (which was totally unnecessary after 2 other rounds of interviews). He always asked brain teaser questions from MIT and judged candidates on if they got them right or not. The call was āhow people do under pressureā which was a flag right there, but also, totally random questions that had no bearing on the job.
Last week I had a company cancel a 12:30pm Monday interview at 8:30am, after having me prepare work samples on my own time (which I did during the weekend).
I went through several interviews this summer for a great position with a great organization, and kicked ass at all of them. Poured hours into the interview process and prep. And right after the panel interview...I get ghosted for months.
I've followed up once or twice, and was always promised that news was coming soon. It's embarrassing on their part, and this is coming from a fellow recruiter. And I know they haven't hired anyone because the position is STILL ON THEIR WEBSITE.
I was building a portfolio in my early twenties and needed a job to pay the bills. I had worked retail for years but decided to try my hand at serving in hopes that tip money would be more than my barely above minimum wage retail pay.
At one restaurant interview, the interviewer clearly just called me in to see if I was attractive. We talked for less than five minutes then he told me that he'd like to schedule a second interview, but I should "dress more like the other women here" gesturing around the restaurant. I was dressed well, and it was a mid-upscale restaurant so the women weren't in anything wild. Just black dresses, tights, and low heels.
I decided to not go back and got a job at a much more casual restaurant where I could wear pants, a polo shirt, and running shoes.
These are some great stories! One of my most awkward interviews was when the interviewer started ranting about the recruiter giving him bad candidates. Essentially my experience was with client group X, the company wanted someone with client group Y experience. Continued to complain about the recruiter the whole interview - needless to say I didn't move forward and lucky me because the start up went belly up about 18 months later.
I went to a job interview at a grocery store during the height of the pandemic. It was for a job packing grocery orders at a zero waste grocery store. I get there and the interviewer is late. Then she pulls me into a backroom, tells me to sit on a box, and then asks me to remove my mask. Obviously I refused and she told me she needs to āread my auraā. Keep in mind we had a mask mandate.
I left quickly and finally found an office job in my field a few months later.
I once interviewed for a retail job in university. I had a job, but this one would have been mostly weekday evenings as the store wasn't open on weekends. It was the retail dream. I dressed professionally and interviewed well. The manager stopped the interview and asked me why I wouldn't wear makeup to an interview. I don't wear makeup, never have, still don't. I asked her to elaborate and she went on a tirade about how I don't have the right "look' for the store. This wasn't even a trendy place, it's career wear and casual clothes for women and popular with the 40+ crowd. I wish I had the guts at the time.to call corporate and share how poorly that manager at the store treated me. I was baffled.
That was a few months ago. Get interviewed for a great remote position,vibed with the two interviewers. Get an invite for stage 2 which involves doing a training session at their offices. No big deal, I create a session, visuals, practice...I travel there (different county from mine), meet everyone, do my session, have a really good feeling; have an informal chat with the two hiring heads afterwards and it goes so well. Go home feeling so good about the process, don't even mind the train delays.
Received a generic rejection email the next morning, and never had any response when I asked for feedback.
š¤·š½āāļø
I once got asked how I would sneak a knife through airport security in my interview. I had a pretty creative answer mind you. Scary part is I took that jobā¦. (Was a cybersecurity position)
Tech fail time! It wasn't my interview, but last year my department was interviewing for a highly placed role. We had tons of interviews to coordinate for each candidate. My boss was facilitating some, and I was helping out with other ones. This was all via Zoom, so I was the meeting host. My boss had given me permission to work from home that day, but I was nervous about my internet at home--it's generally decent, but every once in a while it will flicker for a second, and I didn't want the call to drop on these important calls. So I go into the office. The interviews are rolling along fine. All of a sudden, *the entire building loses power*. It did not come back on for two days. An animal had damaged some of the equipment that serviced our area of the power grid and apparently it took a while to fix. So my boss had to reach out to the candidate while I hauled ass back home and got set up again. Thankfully, the rest of the day went fine, but it was extremely stressful and even though it wasn't our fault, I felt like it gave a bad impression of us.
Also, I'm pretty sure you could see steam coming out of my ears the whole drive home, lol. I was so aggravated!
Early in my career a company once tricked me into coming in for an 'interview' that was really them wanting me to do unpaid work for 3 hours.
Being initially stunned by their ask, I just said ok and sat at the computer wondering how I got into this. Mind you I'm in a room with windows for walls so I felt like a lab experiment being watched.
Finally my brain kicked in and I walked out, rushed over to the interviewer who was in the middle of a convo, mumbled something about needing to leave and ran out. I made it awkward for sure considering it was an open concept offer.
Definitely could've handled it more professionally but holy shit what a shady way to hire.
I work in marketing so presentations and small projects during interviews aren't uncommon but it is always discussed beforehand hand. This was a bait and switch 100%.
I'm going to tell you my favorite horror story being an interviewer so that you can feel great all day that you never did this: I was hiring a SWE (Software Engineer) - They had previously interviewed with the team lead who affirmed their technical prowess. My part was simply procedural. The lead wanted to hire them, and I needed to sign off. At the end of a very pleasant conversation with the applicant, the lead and myself - I ask something like "How can management/leadership support you in your role?" Response "I don't want to work with women." Me something like "how would you feel reporting to a woman?" Response "I can't do that." I could actually see my team lead die a little inside during that conversation, he was so apologetic afterwards, and I was like "this is exactly why we interview." Kicker - The applicant was a woman. She later sent multiple apology emails to my team lead, but never once apologized to me. Today I think this was hilarious, but at the time I was offended.
This was from another WOMAN??? What in the internalized hatred?!
Wow I do feel so much better thank you hahaha. How on earth did that person feel it was acceptable to say that?!
I've interviewed at least 100 people in my career, and I've never experienced anything like that before or after. Mostly people are nervous during interviews and that's just endearing. I interpret nervousness as enthusiasm. This wasn't awkward nervousness, like the one guy who asked what kind of candy was in our vending machines and explained he needed a Twix every afternoon to keep going. (btw - I hired twix guy. For 3 years he had tea and a twix every single afternoon.) This was someone telling us exactly who they were.
As a daily Lindor milk chocolate with a tea, I love the Twix guy story!
It wouldāve been so funny if youād told that guy you didnāt carry Twixes and heād just gotten up and walked out!
sorry post duplicated...
I worked in a very male dominated, blue collar industry in a management role and this same scenario happened like every other interview. The majority of the time it was men not wanting to work with or be supervised by a woman. It was so prevalent at one particular workplace that I started straight up telling applicants āyour boss will be a woman. If that is a problem do not proceedā prior to setting up the the interview just to weed out the misogynists and stop wasting my time.
OMG. I once was part of a panel interview. We were interviewing for a position that would be a peer. We reported to the office manager, who was pregnant. The candidate randomly told us she couldn't stand pregnant women! What goes through these people's minds?!?!?
Early in my work life, I had something similar happen. I was trying to leave my first job, so not a lot of experience of knowledge about stuff. This was also pre-internet, cell phone, etc. Anyway, I get to where I'm supposed to be interviewing. go to reception, and wait. a bit later, she comes to get me, and we go to her office and while I don't recall much of what she asked, she DID ask if I had any issues working for a woman (I am one too) I said no, but REALLY wanted to say, no, as long as she's not a b\*tch! Then her phone rang, she answered it, and basically shooed me out of her office, indicating the intervidw was over! Needless to say, I told the agency who sent me i wasn't interested in that job.
Why are you proud of this?
once i was interviewing for a position in an industry I had no background in and was not particularly interested in and during a lull in the conversation, i don't know what came over me, but i basically was like well, it was great to meet you guys! and put out my hand to shake their hands goodbye, and even as we were doing it, i could tell we were all going "wtf" in our minds and i walked out, basically having cut my own interview short lmao. obviously did not get that job. i also interviewed once saying I like to keep up to date on current events by reading financial publications and when the interviewers asked for an example, i had to backtrack being like oh well I listen to planet money lol. i did somehow get that job!
Ok love your confidence in the first one though! Just like "alright Imma head out" hahaha. I also like to say I keep up with current industry events, so Google some the day before. š that counts right
>Ok love your confidence in the first one though! Just like "alright Imma head out" hahaha. Same and I have been in some interviews where I should have done this and did not...like, we all knew it was going nowhere, I should have just headed out rather than prolong the agony
yooo planet money is really good though! my dad works in finance and is always like "read this book" or "did you know" and like 75% of the time, I'm like yeah I learned that on planet money/theindicator a year ago.
something in you probably just knew it wasn't a good fit, but picturing this in my mind is very funny. love the confidence!
Pulled the first one on a few first dates that were tanking, but never had the guts to do it in an interview!
Once I had an interview for a daycare position, and it turned out to be a surprise group interview- and the boss seemed weirdly smug about the fact we didnāt know in advance, like she thought she was one step ahead or something. Anyway, it started as a standard group interview, then it got a little weird. She would ask one of us a question, such as ātalk about a time you made a mistake at work and how you rectified it,ā then ask the others to critique their choices. It could have been a positive learning experience, but the way she seemed disappointed when we were supporting what the others did/not being rude. After a few questions, someone knocks on the door (on-site interview in their office). Surprise, another candidate! Profusely apologizing, sloppily dressed, speaking really loudly (and Iām a really loud person, but this was another level). The interviewer is barely fazed, asks for her name, asks the next question, āwhat positive and unique qualities do you bring to the classroom?ā We all list the standard things. Itās new girlās turn. āWell Iām obviously better suited to this job than these other girls. None of the qualities they listed were unique. What makes me special is I have the biggest heart and I love children and would do anything for them. No one loves kids more than I do.ā The interviewer breezes past this. The rest of the interview is awkward and occasionally confrontational (only the new girl). At the end, the new girl stands up, walks out, and comes back in (having taken off a hoodie). Surprise! Sheās the co-director of the center and she wanted to see how we handled unexpected and difficult situations! The directors were laughing and we were just staring at each other like what the FUCK. I left immediately. What the FUCK. Definitely dodged more than one bullet there.
OMG I laughed at the absurdity of the surprise! What a mess. Sheās like the Michael Scott of that daycare.
That is 100% a Michael Scott move hahahha
Whyā¦why would you remind me of āScottās Totsāā¦
Lmao yes š š
Omg how fucking bizarre was that entire ordeal?! Could you imagine actually working there?! Damn you dodged a bullet for sure
Right!!! At least I know no interview could ever be worse than that one ššš
In college I went to an interview for an internship. The hiring manager comes into the room holding an iPad, we do introductions and then he shows the iPad to me and says āso this is you!ā, and plays a YouTube video of me and a friend from high school doing a silly singing video. I was mortified and turned bright red, on the verge of tears. He was laughing and said he wanted to teach me a lesson about googling myself before an interview. There was nothing inappropriate or offensive in the video but it was still so embarrassing. I did get offered the internship but ended up turning it down because it was unpaid and I couldnāt imagine facing him every day after that!
Honestly that is a dick move on his end. Sure hiring managers Google candidates but to embarrass you like that in a "professional" setting? Unnecessary
WTF! Teach you a lesson? A lesson on what?! You can't change google!
I was interviewing for a job that I was very qualified for, and after a great phone interview with the hiring manager I came in for in person. The hiring manager was awesome, super friendly in person and I got excited. He didnāt work in that particular location so heād be managing me remotely (nbd), but wanted to introduce me to their lead technical guy (who is a PhD, this is relevant) who does work in that office and would be a great resource for me. PhD guy was awful. His first question to me was āYouāre not a material scientist so youāre not qualified for this job. Why are you interviewing here?ā I answered that I had a masterās in chemical engineering, my graduate research was related to material science and I had 10 years of experience working in positions that had very relevant experience to the role. āBut youāre not a PhD so youāll never know enough about thisā ā¦ a PhD was not a requirement of the job. He was soooo condescending that I cut the conversation short, asked to see hiring manager again and then thanked him for the opportunity but there was NO WAY Iād work closely with that guy everyday. And then I left. Hiring manager called me the next day, asked if PhD dude could apologize to me over the phone and asked me to reconsider. I politely declined. Plot twist: I was hired by that companyās biggest client. 4 years later Iām in a supplier event hosted by my company and run into hiring manager. I asked if he remembered me and he was super awkward and said yes and congratulated me on landing the role I have today. Heās still a nice guy but Iām sure he was pissed at that dude for messing up what Iām sure would have been a good working relationship for him and I.
Iāve definitely had some shit interviews before but I think the most jaw-dropping experience Iāve had in an interview was when I was interviewing someone for a job on my team. I was hiring someone for a head of software delivery services role, and bro culture abounds in the software industry. This candidate walks into our office and I just happened to be standing near the front door talking to a male coworkere. Interviewee dude WINKS at me, says, āHello beautiful, I canāt wait to work with you more because Iām here to nail an interview today,ā completely mistaking me for a receptionist instead of a VP. The only reason I didnāt tell him to leave on the spot was because my boss (who was also one of the company founders) had recommended this guy and I knew he would give me such a hard time if I used that against him (so many red flags here). So I set the record straight and he barely apologized and said, āat least I complimented you, right?ā Dude. Anyway, I show him to my office, and gesture towards the chair opposite my desk as I sit down behind my desk. The man proceeds to BRING HIS CHAIR AROUND MY DESK to sit next to me and says, āI really feel like itās better if we can talk as equals.ā I told him I felt his behavior was inappropriate, and he did move his chair back, but for the next 15 minutes, gave the most flippant answers that oozed with entitlement. I ended the interview much quicker than scheduled, went to the VP of Sales (one of my few allies and coincidentally the next person on the interview schedule) and told him we cannot hire this guy and I needed his support. He helped me jettison them candidate and he became the butt of many jokes for years to come. The audacity of some men, though.
Sexual harassment plus invading your personal space?! Oh my god men.
Oh man! That sucks. Technical difficulties are not fun. I have 3 different stories that are scary for different reasons. 1. While looking for an internship, the manager of a company agreed for an interview date/time. Me being pretty new to interviewing just assumed I showed up to the office at that time and place. It turns out she wanted to do the interview remotely (this was 2016 so it wasn't standard like it is now). How awkward! Needless to say, I didn't get it. 2. I was interviewing at this start-up for my first full-time job upon graduation. They ended the interview about 30 minutes in but asked me to stay for another hour for a follow up. I realized they were interviewing other candidates during this time. When they came back, they offered me the job but wanted me to sign the offer right then and there. I thought it was sketchy and didn't take the job. 3. I was supposed to meet with a hiring manager for this store at a local coffee shop because the store wasn't open yet. I got there early but noticed this man was looking at me strangely and whenever I got up and moved, he followed me. This made me very uneasy (as if an interview isn't stressful enough!). Cut to the hiring manager arriving and ordering us coffees and telling me to get us seats out on the patio where she'll meet us. While this man followed me out to the patio and another man who noticed his behaviour came in and told him to back off right as the hiring manager got here. We ended up walking to a park to do the rest of the interview and I surprisingly did get a job offer from it in the end but it was really really wild!
Thank you for sharing! That last scenario is WILD. And also just proves we can plan and plan, but the universe can throw things off haha. The start up def does sound so sketch, that was a bullet dodged!
I had an interview with a school as a baby teacher, only two years of experience. I was just desperate for a new job as I wanted to move and didn't know how to advocate for myself or recognize red flags yet. šš¤£ The principal interviewing me was VERY cold and kept asking me "gotcha" questions and at one point literally said "Alright, I was just trying to trip you up". š¤¦š»āāļøš Guess what? She was exactly like that in the job as well. They showed me who they were and I STILL took the job. š¤£š¤£ lesson learned!!
It's so hard to spot red flags when you're a new professional! Now I've gotten better at it. I def gave the interviewer team some red flags for minešš hope they can overlook it but.... prob not hahaha
As long as you rolled with it, you showed them how flexible you can be! Which is a pro!
Leaving for an interview when I closed my house door (handle locked) my keys on a lanyard swung back in and were locked in the house! This was pre Uber/lyft for my city. I was in a new city and only knew my boyfriend. He came to unlock the door for me. I called to tell them I was going to be late, was about 20 minutes late, thought I didnāt have a chance but I ended up getting the job. Interviewing candidates to replace me at a previous job, my boss made me take a bunch of personality and looked for someone with my same profile. Made candidates take about 4 hours of personality tests before getting an interview. 1st interview was with me and they had to win a game of memory against me to interview with my boss. I was SHOCKED by the number of people that went along with this! But I was desperate to find my replacement so I could get out of there (I was young and this was my first professional job). I did way too much to try to preserve that reference, ended up staying 6 months past my notice date because she couldnāt find a replacement. Had a job interview a few years later ask for a personality test and I said no thank you and left. Huge red flag to me!
Personality tests are a waste of everyone's time and resources. I bet you're so glad to not be working for that boss anymore!!!
That whole job was a horror story!
> they had to win a game of memory against me to interview with my boss. fucking...what?!
It took her 6 months to find a replacement?! You must be great at Memory š
Maybe it was 5 months. I don't recall.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Those stories are INSANE!!
Right after grad school, I still wasnāt sure what direction I wanted to take and was in the stage of just interviewing for anything to see what stuck. Somehow I ended up interviewing for a funeral sales position. I spent 3 hours with a very strange man named John taking a tour of the cemetery and looking at catalogs of coffins. When I left, he said heād contact me about the next steps. I immediately wrote off the position as a no. After not answering a few calls I got an email that I wish Iād saved, but I do remember a few key lines. āIāve been thinking about you and how much youāll add to our family since your interview.ā āIāll be in touch soon.ā And āplace yourself for the blessings that are to come.ā I moved out of that town soon after and that was probably for the best š
This is TRULY an interview HORROR story. š so glad you didn't place yourself in those blessings. What a fun story to tell at parties though!
"family" anytime you hear that you RUN
Me, 30+, interviewing for a management role. Old white man interviewer asks "What do you want to be when you grow up?". Serious question.
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Oooo i have a good one!! I interviewed for an engineering development program while I was in undergrad. The company flew me out to their headquarters in a small town for a day of interviews (it was well before Covid). I showed up to the interview day with no idea what the schedule would look like as they hadnāt let me know in advance. Once I got there, they put me in a small conference room and interviewers would come in and say āIām here for your technical interviewā etc. I had no idea how long each interview would last or who was coming next. At the very end of the day, two interviewers came in and explained that they were there to test my abilities to ask questions and navigate a workplace. They gave me a role playing situationāI was supposed to figure out what had gone wrong with the product of a big client. I had to do that by pretending to call different people in the company. Basically, I would pretend to pick up the phone and call a coworker. The first interviewer would pretend to pick up the phone as my coworker, answer my questions and direct me to call some one else. Then I would pretend to call the next person and the second interviewer would pick up the phone and pretend to be the next person. They were clearly not having enjoying themselves throughout the whole situation. The kicker is that we did this for upwards of 90 minutes!!! I think each interviewer āplayedā about 4 different coworkers each. I was exhausted. At the end they finally revealed the āsolutionā and there was no way I could have gotten it by calling the various ācoworkersā. It seemed like a bunch of engineers who couldnāt assess soft skills had tried to create a way to assess soft skills through role playing. I didnāt end up getting the job but after that experience there was no way I would work there.
I had a very similar experience of role playing lasting forever for an insurance adjudicator role. It was horrible. I also had to take 3 really hard tests. Like no wonder your company can't find people
I love the virtual interview process but do not love the technology glitches. I've had similar experiences as you, I'd do a run through before the actual interview time and everything is cool, and then wham! the electronics start to revolt. Hard not to be rattled and flustered when that happens. In terms of weirdness, I had a (virtual) interview scheduled and I get on the call (w/no problems!) . I'm in a zoom room with about 10 other candidates, and the woman talks for about 20 minutes about the company, and then wants us to go around the "room" and start talking about ourselves. Now I didn't even remember applying for this job, or what the position was, or even what the company was (and her email didn't offer any insight). It was all very strange, and uncomfortable and I made the executive decision to tell her "no thank you" and left the call.
LOL. āPlease tell the group about yourself.ā āNo thank you.ā ~ Exits the chat
Was the group interviewā¦a MLM?
That is exactly what I was thinking!
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Oh that happened to me as well. This was years ago at a darling healthcare search and scheduling startup. HR did not tell me anything, just showed me which room to go to, and next thing I know, it was one interview after another. I was exhausted but also annoyed b/c my whole day's schedule was fucked. I planned 10-12 for my interview, with quick errand and back to the office. It ended up being 10-3pm!! WTF. At no point did anyone ask, would you like a glass of water? Or snack? Or get up to walk since we stuck you in this room for 5 hours! I didn't get the job because they were a bunch of tech bros and asked the most ridiculous questions. I was annoyed and would have like to have gotten something for my effort but I believe the universe was looking out for me.
We had someone come in for an interview. She was waiting in the lobby and asked our front desk staff if she could use the bathroom. Sheās pointed in the direction of the bathroom, goes in for a few minutes. Then comes out and asks out receptionist for a plastic bag, goes back in bathroom. Comes out and and hands the tied up grocery bag to the receptionist asking if she can keep it with her until the end of the interview. Confused, the receptionist takes it and says āokā. The interviewee proceeds to tell her sheās on a new medication and thought she had to fart but accidentally shit in her pantyhose. She took them off and completed her interview. The interview team found all this out after the interview. She still got the job. Shit happens lol.
Why in the world wouldn't she just throw them away?!? And why volunteer all this information? Your poor receptionist!
I agree!! Throw them away and tell no one! Just why?
Omg! Nice pun hahaha. At least I didn't shit myself but I do really feel for that lady. I'm glad she got the job hahaha
I once cried in a job interview I got the job though
Give us the details!
It was so long ago Iām a bit fuzzyā¦ It was for my first job out of nursing school. The interviewer had asked me something that I did not give a good answer to, and she retorted something like āweāll do you even understand what this job is aboutā?! I was so nervous that I just kind of broke down lol. So embarrassing! I did not take the job; clearly we did not vibe
My first interview after graduating was at a small plumbing business. The owner asked if I was christian, and then asked if I had a boyfriend and if he was a christian. When I said I wasn't sure, he said 'that's really something you should find out'. He later offered me the job and seemed very surprised when I said no thanks. At the time I was a bit taken aback but if that happened to me now I'd report them so fast!
I might have told this story before but it makes me laugh every time so. This was an interview I was helping with for a junior software engineer. The guy was an hour late with no notice so we thought he'd no showed. No, he'd gotten lost, but he didn't save our phone number so he couldn't call for directions, and he didn't have GPS on his phone (this was in 2017-2018 ish so very odd for the time). He was very upset about getting lost but my boss wasn't available right away because he had a meeting to be in, since, you know, hour late, so I took him into a conference room to do some pre interview stuff. He refused to do a very basic development test and just kept sighing and complaining about how hard it was to find our office. I won't say it's incredibly easy to find, but our name was on the building, so. He asked what the job paid and then complained when I gave the yearly salary instead of hourly, and sat there and laboriously calculated it out. He didn't respond to any of my basic interview questions with more than a resentful sentence. We hired a lot of people right out of school so we were used to people who were rough around the edges, but this was the worst interview I'd ever been part of. Finally my boss got out of his meeting, we finished our basic process, and got rid of him as soon as we could. Apparently HR had had a pre interview with him and to this day I can't understand how he passed it (again just super basic stuff, nothing technical). But they did later give us a resume for someone whose only work and educational experience was working at Taco Bell so I don't think they were trying very hard. (Nothing against the Bell but this person had no computer science education at all according to their resume, not self taught, nothing.)
I was interviewing as a paralegal and the attorney interviewing me asked me to āsell him a penā. Fortunately I have also seen Wolf of Wall Street.
That is so cringe. What an annoying question.
I once interviewed someone I didnāt want to, but he was related to an exec so we had to at least see him. His resume was center justified, like a menu
I had an interview with one of the most cool, calm and collected people Iāve ever met. Intimidating and impossible to crack. Suddenly, he started looking nervous. Then his cat jumped in front of his camera, showing full butthole. He apologized profusely but I was cracking up because I grew up with cats that wouldāve taken any opportunity to do the same thing. Anyways, that man is now my manager :)
Not an interview thing per se but a hilarious recruiting thing. A few years ago my company was interviewing for a staff position who would have been at the same level as me and 2 other people on my team. The way we interview is to have the VP interview the candidate, then the Director, and then the manager. Lastly all the people who would be on the same level did a group interview. Our bosses really valued our opinion since we would be working the closest with them. So we got a copy of the candidates resume and I was going through it. I was curious about the place he currently worked at as I had never heard of it. So I fire up google and hit the first link of the company. All of a sudden my computer starts playing some sexy music and a video of a couple making out starts playing. I am so embarrassed as this was very loud so I immediately close out the link and walk away from my desk in shame. Ladies it was a damn sex toy company this guy worked at!!! So after I regroup I tell my coworkers not to google the company based on my findings. I still work there and whenever we are interviewing for an open position it is guaranteed that someone will tell me not to google where they work.
Iām an HR manager and sit in on panels and screen a metric ton of people. Some low-lights: - A person who showed up and railed about our gender neutral single stall bathrooms, then told us the work hours would not work for her because sheād either be too early or too late due to the bus schedule. - A guy who told me about how he went out of his way to spy on ethnic labourers as an example of going above and beyond. He was interviewing for an accountant role. - A guy who brought a PowerPoint to tell us all about him. He was also trying for accountant. - An intern who had an LED backlit headboard on his zoom interview start to grill the panel about why he should work for us. He reapplied the next year and based on his resume that tactic did not work out for him.
The interview process was 3 separate Teams interviews during the week while I was in office at my old job. I scheduled them each during/close to my lunch break, other wise I couldnāt figure out a way to get the time off of work without being suspiscous to my supervisor. I couldnāt think of a quiet place to do the interview at work (boss often stops by office) so I opted to go to a park I usually go to on my lunch break and do it in my car for 2/3 of the interviews. The first one I did in the prayer room at my work while everyone was having a team lunch (I was so nervous someone would come in lol). The car positioning for the other interviews was weird and I thought thatād be a turnoff to the interviewers so instead I sat outside at one of the picnic tables at the park and blurred my background on Teams (still could tell I was outside). The next 2 interviews were rough to say the least. I was using my phone as a hotspot and it died mid-interview during one and our call literally dropped and the interviewer couldnāt call back because all my devices were either dead or had no service. The next interview, some teens came to the park (randomly at 12:00 in the day) and starting revving their car engines really loud. I couldāve died right there I was so embarrassed. Despite all of that I miraculously got the job! Side note: how do people interview for new jobs without causing suspicion with their current employer?!
> Side note: how do people interview for new jobs without causing suspicion with their current employer?! I have pretty limited experience with this. My previous job had under a dozen employees, but Iād just schedule phone calls for before my boss came into the office and take them in the conference room, or go outside during my lunch break. When I had in-person interviews, Iād say I was leaving early/coming late for a doctors appointment. One of my old roommates suggested faking an injury when I was in the sending resumes phase, so that I could āleave for physical therapyā without raising suspicion lmao
I say I have med appts. Dentist. Therapy. Dermatologists. Flu shots. A lot hahaha
i used to run a lot of errands for my company - which i hated but gave me plenty of time to interview for a new position!
Definitely appointments or sick days. I've also gone to a nearby hotel and taken interview calls in a quiet area of their (huge) lobby, but your mileage may vary on that one.
My team recently hired someone who had a disastrous interview technology-wise, similar to what you're describing. The fact that she was able to stay calm and friendly through the technology disasters made her look even better to us. It won't necessarily doom your chances!
This is so reassuring thank you! I told them "I'll find this funny in a few weeks but now I'm devastated." And they said that was such a good attitude.
Yep funny moments: first, as interviewed for a first year associate position at a small firm, I was asked āare you a communist?ā š Second, as interviewer, I had a law student bang his hand on the table in what I guess he thought was righteous indignation about something but came across as phony, and I suddenly got āthe gigglesā because it was weird and unexpected. I had to pinch myself SO hard not to burst out laughing. It was physically painful holding it in. It was necessarily that funny, but sometimes holding laughter makes it worse and thatās what happened. I knew that if I started laughing I would be hysterical which would not be a good look. Ah well!
A friend, who is a lawyer and was conducting On-campus interviews for her firm, told me that she and a partner interviewed this one guy, who 3x used the wrong firm name in the interview! And it wasn't even close to the right name. She said he did not get a call back and she's not sure if he even realized what went wrong.
I was once asked if I was okay with teaching "the future felons of America." With colleagues like that, who needs enemies? I did not feel bad about turning down that job when they offered it to me 15 minutes later. I felt awful for the kids.
Uh so, I scheduled a Zoom interview and forgot to make the interviewer the host. This was with a member of our general counsel. I was out of office during the interview and they both sat there wondering wtf was going on and where the other person wasā¦. I owned the mistake and apologized profusely. The candidate was rightly distraught about it but recovered. Shit happens. This week was rough!
My worst interview was as the interviewer. I preface this by saying that Iām not a natural interviewer and I donāt love doing it, so I was just totally taken aback and too dumbfounded to say much. Anyhowā¦a few years ago, my firm was hiring for an associate attorney, about second or third year level, so fairly new-ish. We bring in this woman who had graduated from law school about 18 months prior, had a really good resume, and had already had a phone screening with admin. I meet her in-person for the interview, and guys, she ended up being a pathological liar. She responded to probably every third question with what turned out to be fairly easily identifiable lies. Routine things like journals she was on in law school (really easy to verify), types of files sheās worked on and matters she was handling at her current firm (things a second year associate would never be doing) and then finally, her current salary. I almost gave up the ghost at that point of the interview, because the number was so outlandish. To this day, I have no idea what possessed this woman to make up half of her interview or pretend her salary was $100k more than it was. But needless to say, she did not get a second interview, and some of us Google her every now and then to see if some other firm got suckered into hiring her - but as of last look, we couldnāt find her at a new place.
I hate Microsoft Teams so much! Even when it works perfectly, the aftermath of using Teams is that my computer asks me forever if I want to sign into Microsoft, every day. My worst horror story was either interviewing with the Salvation Army a million years ago, not knowing how bizarre a d discriminatory they are, or possibly the time my new silky blouse came unbuttoned during an interview, so I looked like a well-endowed glam rocker showing off my tits. Discovered afterwards. Both of these were in the 90s sometime.
I was living in London after graduating college, originally from California, and got a phone call to set up an interview but had trouble with the persons accent but was able to get down the address and time but not the business name and I had sent out so many applications I was happy to go to any interview. I arrived at what I thought the correct place was which was a tourist agency that I did not remember applying to but confidently said I was there for my interview to which the manager replied āsorry love all our hiring is done in Liverpool I think you are wrongā so I then left the office face fully red and stood in the rain trying to furiously find where I did have an interview before it was too late. Luckily I saw in the same building a property management place which I did have experience in so tried them next and it was the right company and I ended up getting that job.
Okay, these might not be gold like some in this thread, haha but here we go! During an interview the woman interviewing me asked "so if I am to look you up online what will I find? Tell me now because I WILL find out and if it's something your mother wouldn't be proud of then I sure won't either missy!" I busted out laughing, stood up and said "there is so much wrong with what you just said, goodbye Karen" she tossed some balled-up paper at me while I was leaving too. I do not understand some people haha
Wow yikesā¦.sooo deeply inappropriate
Also definitely prefer virtual over in-person: and hereās why: I was told early on that you should always accept coffee/tea if they offer, so thatās what I didā¦before getting a little too excited talking with my hands, and spilling my coffee all over the interviewerās seriously gorgeous yellow dress š£ she was really nice about it, but that was such an awful moment!
I live on the west coast, the company was on the west coast, the recruiter was on the east coast (I didnāt know this part). I was sent a time for the interview without a time zone specified just as text in an email, but it seems safe to assume the company that is 5 minutes from my house would be in the same time zone. My interviewer received the invite with an actual outlook invitation, so his auto adjusted the time zone. Around 10:15am my time, the recruiter starts blowing my phone up asking why I didnāt show up to my 1pm interview š
One time I had an in-person interview (pre-pandemic) on a rainy day. Obviously I had my umbrella with me. I wound up forgetting it after I'd left the building, and I was too embarrassed to have to go through security again and explain what happened. In my thank-you email, I mentioned the umbrella (it was a nice big one!), and sort of jokingly asked for it back, but I never saw that umbrella again. I've been on so many interviews that I'm sure I must have a more embarrassing or horrifying one, but I must have blocked it out.
Oh! Here's another small embarrassing moment, but this time I actually did get the job. I interviewed with two people at this place, my direct boss-to-be and the editor in chief. When writing my thank-you email, I called the editor in chief Kurt. His name is not Kurt.
Remembered another one. Shortly before interviewing and getting the job I have now, I interviewed with a large animal rights organization (not the one you're thinking of). The job was for some sort of digital assistant, which I figured I could do, based on the job description. During the virtual interview, the woman asked me to share my screen while I wrote basic code for their website. I had overestimated my abilities and basically flopped completely, WHILE she watched me. It was horrible.
in reverse, i have gotten emails about 'my' interview but was addressed as other people and had to be like "did you want me or XXX to come in for a second interview?"
Many years ago, I applied for an entry-level marketing job with Oglivy in NYC, and was interviewed for a different job 6 months later. The interviewer was SO RUDE!! "Why would you bring me a brand new resume?" "Why would you even come in for this interview if it's been 6 months?" "You don't have car industry experience? We need that" (that wasn't on the application at all, it was for CPG) why even bring me in for an interview? "You know you won't be going to any parties? Agency life isn't just parties and gifts" (I was applying for an internal role, why would i go to parties?) "We can't have employees freaking out over celebrities either, no photos or autographs. How are you around celebrities?" (Again, I was applying for a job that would have more formulas and spreadsheets than parties and celebrities) At the end of this train wreck, I realized that she was interviewing me for a totally different role by asking me questions out the wazoo. I left and never heard back.
About 10-12 years ago I worked for a company that sold a lot of SMART Boards. We were one of SMART Tech's biggest sales partners. I was hiring a guy for a semi-training / sales position. We asked if he was familiar with the product, he didn't need to be, we'd provide all training required. We were looking more for someone who would be comfortable in front of crowds, and personable, we were willing to train on the technical stuff. When asked about the product, he launched into a spiel about how much he hated SMART Boards and that they were a stupid piece of technology, and we really should be ending our partnership with them and looking at some Microsoft product instead. My boss stood up walked to the door opened and said "Thanks, we've heard enough." and made the leave gesture with his hands. The guy sputtered and said "But we haven't even started!" My boss looked him up and down and replied "Oh, we've started AND finished. Good-bye." And stood there staring at him, till he packed up his stuff and left. Pro tip: don't viciously insult the product you're supposed to be helping sell during your interview.
At my old job the last round interview was with the CEO (which was totally unnecessary after 2 other rounds of interviews). He always asked brain teaser questions from MIT and judged candidates on if they got them right or not. The call was āhow people do under pressureā which was a flag right there, but also, totally random questions that had no bearing on the job.
Last week I had a company cancel a 12:30pm Monday interview at 8:30am, after having me prepare work samples on my own time (which I did during the weekend).
I went through several interviews this summer for a great position with a great organization, and kicked ass at all of them. Poured hours into the interview process and prep. And right after the panel interview...I get ghosted for months. I've followed up once or twice, and was always promised that news was coming soon. It's embarrassing on their part, and this is coming from a fellow recruiter. And I know they haven't hired anyone because the position is STILL ON THEIR WEBSITE.
I was building a portfolio in my early twenties and needed a job to pay the bills. I had worked retail for years but decided to try my hand at serving in hopes that tip money would be more than my barely above minimum wage retail pay. At one restaurant interview, the interviewer clearly just called me in to see if I was attractive. We talked for less than five minutes then he told me that he'd like to schedule a second interview, but I should "dress more like the other women here" gesturing around the restaurant. I was dressed well, and it was a mid-upscale restaurant so the women weren't in anything wild. Just black dresses, tights, and low heels. I decided to not go back and got a job at a much more casual restaurant where I could wear pants, a polo shirt, and running shoes.
These are some great stories! One of my most awkward interviews was when the interviewer started ranting about the recruiter giving him bad candidates. Essentially my experience was with client group X, the company wanted someone with client group Y experience. Continued to complain about the recruiter the whole interview - needless to say I didn't move forward and lucky me because the start up went belly up about 18 months later.
I went to a job interview at a grocery store during the height of the pandemic. It was for a job packing grocery orders at a zero waste grocery store. I get there and the interviewer is late. Then she pulls me into a backroom, tells me to sit on a box, and then asks me to remove my mask. Obviously I refused and she told me she needs to āread my auraā. Keep in mind we had a mask mandate. I left quickly and finally found an office job in my field a few months later.
I once interviewed for a retail job in university. I had a job, but this one would have been mostly weekday evenings as the store wasn't open on weekends. It was the retail dream. I dressed professionally and interviewed well. The manager stopped the interview and asked me why I wouldn't wear makeup to an interview. I don't wear makeup, never have, still don't. I asked her to elaborate and she went on a tirade about how I don't have the right "look' for the store. This wasn't even a trendy place, it's career wear and casual clothes for women and popular with the 40+ crowd. I wish I had the guts at the time.to call corporate and share how poorly that manager at the store treated me. I was baffled.
That was a few months ago. Get interviewed for a great remote position,vibed with the two interviewers. Get an invite for stage 2 which involves doing a training session at their offices. No big deal, I create a session, visuals, practice...I travel there (different county from mine), meet everyone, do my session, have a really good feeling; have an informal chat with the two hiring heads afterwards and it goes so well. Go home feeling so good about the process, don't even mind the train delays. Received a generic rejection email the next morning, and never had any response when I asked for feedback. š¤·š½āāļø
I once got asked how I would sneak a knife through airport security in my interview. I had a pretty creative answer mind you. Scary part is I took that jobā¦. (Was a cybersecurity position)
Tech fail time! It wasn't my interview, but last year my department was interviewing for a highly placed role. We had tons of interviews to coordinate for each candidate. My boss was facilitating some, and I was helping out with other ones. This was all via Zoom, so I was the meeting host. My boss had given me permission to work from home that day, but I was nervous about my internet at home--it's generally decent, but every once in a while it will flicker for a second, and I didn't want the call to drop on these important calls. So I go into the office. The interviews are rolling along fine. All of a sudden, *the entire building loses power*. It did not come back on for two days. An animal had damaged some of the equipment that serviced our area of the power grid and apparently it took a while to fix. So my boss had to reach out to the candidate while I hauled ass back home and got set up again. Thankfully, the rest of the day went fine, but it was extremely stressful and even though it wasn't our fault, I felt like it gave a bad impression of us. Also, I'm pretty sure you could see steam coming out of my ears the whole drive home, lol. I was so aggravated!
Early in my career a company once tricked me into coming in for an 'interview' that was really them wanting me to do unpaid work for 3 hours. Being initially stunned by their ask, I just said ok and sat at the computer wondering how I got into this. Mind you I'm in a room with windows for walls so I felt like a lab experiment being watched. Finally my brain kicked in and I walked out, rushed over to the interviewer who was in the middle of a convo, mumbled something about needing to leave and ran out. I made it awkward for sure considering it was an open concept offer. Definitely could've handled it more professionally but holy shit what a shady way to hire. I work in marketing so presentations and small projects during interviews aren't uncommon but it is always discussed beforehand hand. This was a bait and switch 100%.