To ask for your best and worst interview stories?

Just thought of one when I was the interviewer, we were interviewing for a entry level job and the candidate was slightly older and bigger. He was a huge guy, his application said he'd previously worked in security....Turns out he's a bouncer, come body guard, come God knows what. I almost offered him the job there and then just so I didn't upset him😂. He actually was very good and we did offer but he turned us down

When I was 16, my mum was desperate for me to get a job so much so when Argos phoned to offer her an interview she said oh I've already found something but my daughters looking I can just send her instead. So I then turned up to the store and they were very confused as to who I was and why I was there, funnily enough I was unsuccessful.

Not particularly funny but I am still irritated by this one:

Interview for a job at a university. The advert closed on Wednesday. Late Friday afternoon I had an email inviting me to interview with several tasks. Task one was a presentation on a given topic. Task two was answering three questions on issues I might encounter in the job. 500 words on each. The answers had to be submitted by Monday morning. The interview was on Tuesday morning.

The weekend was spent dealing with all of that homework.

I’d assumed that some reference might have been made to the tasks in the interview, but no feedback or questions occurred on the day. When I delivered my presentation and at the end asked if anyone had any questions I was met with total silence. Nothing.

The job was in an area that I have years of experience in, and during the interview one of the panellists actually started arguing with me that I couldn’t possibly have experience in the thing that was being discussed. I realised that they actually couldn’t get their head around the fact other organisations might approach something in the same way. They told me at the end of the interview that they needed to have someone in post quickly. The following day I had a call saying I didn’t get it. I have never felt more relieved as even the delivery of the feedback was adversarial as the argument that I could not possibly be doing what I was doing in my current job as they did it differently in their organisation.

I found out subsequently what actually had happened was that they had someone in mind for the role who’d left the organisation but had been in their team. They waited several months for them to start. I honestly don’t know why they put everyone else through such a performance and so much work when it was really a one horse race.

Back in 2001 when I was a student I applied for a weekend job in Claire's. I was getting on well with the interviewer, having a laugh etc when suddenly, out of nowhere, I had a random one-off episode of nystagmus (eyes shaking quickly from side to side) which came out of nowhere.

The interviewer's whole demeanour changed and she looked shocked then found a reason to quickly terminate the interview. I felt really embarrassed as its something I'd never experienced before! Never got the job, needless to say

I was carrying out the interview with my boss for a casual admin position. The job involved dealing a lot with members of the public. I asked what equal opportunities meant to them. Their reply after quite a long pause was "we all burp and fart don't we?"

Invited to apply to the magistracy I went along for the interviews, which at the time involved a morning and afternoon session

Except that the guy chairing the interviews - clearly a drinker anyway from his appearance - arrived back from lunch absolutely plastered and somehow thought he could carry on

I withdrew my application and said why ...

I had an interview aged 23, an entry level job into the industry I had just completed a qualification for. The woman said the previous person who held the role had joined and then quickly become pregnant and was on maternity leave. "So," she said, "how's your health?"
She basically made me beg for the job and promise not to get pregnant. Then she put me on the phones for half an hour. The pay was a paltry 17k, in London, in 2011.
I didn't even get offered the job after all that!

I went for a job interview at the restaurant at the top of Harvey Nicols. I met the staff, they sat me down, offered me a drink. They were looking at me a bit funny but I thought they were just sizing me up as a potential new employee: Before the person brought my drink, I looked down to smooth my shirt and realised it was unbuttoned to my navel! I have no idea how long it had been like that, I walked about 20 mins through the city centre and through crowds of people! Argh! I got the job though, not sure how I held it together through the interview!

I had two Teams interviews in one day. Also have two cats. A few minutes into interview #1, cat #1 starts retching really loudly for at least a minute and then produces a fur ball. A few minutes into interview #2, her sister did the same thing. The first time I apologised for the noise and then my interviewer offered up a story about their animals behaving badly when they were interviewing recently, which actually broke the ice a bit. The second time I just ignored it and carried on.

My ,at the time 18year old daughter, was saving to travel working at a pub chain where food was just microwaved and served. Me single mum of four retraining as teacher got an interview at pub running up to Xmas to help finances. I was doing well until the manager said I would have to work Xmas Day, not engaging my brain, I blurted “ who the hell would eat her on Xmas Day!” Neither manager or daughter were impressed needless to say, didn’t hear anything.🤣🤣

Interviewer asked me why I would be suitable for the job so answered accordingly only to be told 'you have a high opinion of yourself don't you'. Er it's called selling yourself. This was said by the CEO who later in the interview said 'oh fuck' about something. I wasn't impressed and even less so when I didn't get the job but was offered the chance to volunteer for them to share my skills with the existing staff

About 15 years ago I had a telephone interview. Got organised with cv and notes on the table. First interview after 3 years out for kids. Got through to the person, said hello, deep breath, leant back in the chair …. And it collapsed. I fell back on to the floor. There was a bit of noise.

i was asked what happened, I explained and carried on.

Got the job… in house counsel. Unflappable me!

Worst: I wish I could remember exactly what was so awful about it...I think it was partially some chauvinistic comments from one of the interviewers...but I remember it was a 2 part interview, first part with a panel asking questions and the second part a computer test. After the first part one of the interviewers asked me to follow her to the lab for the computer test and I said 'no thank you I've decided I don't want the job' and left.

In another one a panelist referenced my age (24) and asked if I had plans to have children anytime soon. The HR person shot him down so fast and then they had a very clipped argument about why he wasn't allowed to ask that 😅

There were two which were awful where I was the one interviewing. One poor guy so strongly resembled my recently departed grandad I genuinely barely heard a word he said. In another the interviewee directed all his answers to my male colleagues and totally ignored me. I asked how he would cope working in a team where the most senior person was a female and he still only spoke to the men. I was the most senior person in the room. He didn't get the job.

Best: in one I'm pretty sure we ended up swapping recipes for brownies and in another they called me before I even reached my car to offer me the job!

That's a brilliant answer to that comment, I'd have been proud to think of that on the spot!

Had been working nights and nodded off during the interview.

Not me but I was on an interview panel for a catering assistant role at my work and this poor lady came in dressed in trackies, held her handbag on her lap the entire time and in fact, didn't speak any English. Not even enough to answer some basic questions, the hiring manager just kept asking things louder and louder. It was incredibly uncomfortable all round. The job involved manning the tills and serving customers so English was quite important

Went for an internal interview a few years ago at my previous company. Hiring manager spent the whole time on his phone not paying attention whilst HR asked all the questions. They gave a topic and said I would need to give a presentation. I researched the topic of course and post interview feedback was I wasn't supposed to research and they wanted an on the fly presentation. WTF did they give the topic in advance then??

Woke up feeling fine, was on my way to the interview (for working in a boots photo minilab) when I started to feel a bit ill, got to the interview and explained I wasn't feeling very well but the person said do the interview anyway.

Puked in a bin about half way through.

Didn't get the job.

I was interviewing before and the young whipper snapper in front of me applying for a graduate job said the words
"Someone of your generation wouldn't know..."
I don't know what I was more offended by the fact the bloke I was interviewing with was a good 15 years older than me and he'd lumped us both together or that at 37 I was past it in his eyes 😂😂😂

I'd like to add the rest of his interview wasnt great so he didn't get the job anyway.

A few stinkers. First ever interview in the management side of one of those trueprint photo developers. It was pissing down, arrived soaking, not even asked to take me coat off, asked why I took maths, English, history and geography o levels as they were "a strange choice"...looking around the entire office was female and it's clear the boss didn't want a man(boy really I was 16) there.
The presentation went brilliantly for in house promotion...Sat down and couldn't answer a single question...later apologised for the shit interview.
The worst was applying for a sales roll with a competitive salary in the leisure and tourism industry...is what the add said. Sat waiting in the office when lots of couples came and went carrying small boxes. A guy in his 50s long grey hair, white suit and shoes basically pushed in front of me "tell him it's Trev he'll see me". Offered the job there and then, "don't work your notice, we don't care about references" pay was commission only. I politely declined. Turns out it's a big time share rip off promising expensive jewellery if people turned up for a presentation....

In one, the interviewer sat on my desk and farted.

One was a phone interview which I did naked.

One, when i was around 19, for a waitressing job, the hotel manager told me id have to wear something low-cut if I got the job. While staring at my tits. Disgusting bastard.

At another interview both owners (a couple) were drunk.

I'm surprised I've ever had a job 😂

Ooh I attract the baddies.

One asked me how old I was last year (57)
My father's rank in the army.
My husband's profession (I said neuro surgeon.
My mortgage amount
Had I ever sued an ex employer (I have)

I sat in a chair that fell apart and they were filming. A 'test' apparently.
And the worst? two managers at the national cancer charity who told me I'd work every Sunday because they didn't have to!

Nothing can be as bad as these, so good luck.

This was in the late 90s. I think they were blue/black. I loved those shoes, haha.

I had also taken two buses out to an industrial estate and had to get back. It was a bloody awful day!

I was being interviewed for a senior position in private residential care for the elderly. I tried to suppress a fart but failed very loudly. She laughed and said "I think you'll fit in very well here!" She never let me forget it in the 12 happy years I worked there.😁

DH knocked a cup of scalding hot black coffee into the crotch of the man interviewing him. Still got the job.