Worst/bizarre interviews you have ever had...

[Franklymydearidontgiveadam]

I've got a few interviews lined up

Had 3 already this week, one interview I sent my cv, invited for interview during my interview I had to write an application form Inc work history which was painstaking and one I've just had now invloved a game show like quiz.....

I have another this afternoon, i'm drained already!

I had one for a niche role. Lots of prep specific to that niche. Halfway through, the interviewer announced that he didn't think he needed a Head of X, but actually needed a head of Y (related but different niche). At the end, he said it didn't seem like I'd prepared for and interview about Y.

Another one where they got me to do a detailed and in depth presentation, then ended the interview. I asked if they had any more questions and he wanted to know how quickly I could send over the copy of my presentation. He's still waiting...

Oh, and the one where I'd had a phone interview, 2 face to face interviews, a telephone Gallup interview (like psychometric testing). The final stage was 4 interviews with 4 senior members of staff. First three went well. The final one was with the head of department, she opened the interview by asking why my mother hadn't made sure I had gained more leadership experience before I was 30. I left and withdrew myself from the process.

I once did an impression of a dressage horse in an interview.

By request, Joris?? Did you get the job?!

@74NewStreet It was during the olympics and I got slightly obsessed with dressage, interviewer didn't really know what it was so I obliged him. And I did get the job

You thoroughly deserved it after that

An awkward FaceTime interview, I hung up on him by mistake twice!

Another one asked if I was left or right handed...and then carried on.

I was absolutely grilled once on the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, she was giving really strange scenarios and asking me for the statement it linked to on the development matters, saying “well that’s wrong” when I didn’t get the wording exactly right, she wanted to know the indoor space requirements set by the EYFS, and ratio and qualification information, how many staff had to be first aid trained, and safer recruitment rules.
I was able to answer as I had a senior role before having my daughter but I was interviewing for a minimum wage bank staff role in a nursery. They didn’t offer me the job luckily!

A job I once applied for involved two long application forms, followed by two hour-long aptitude tests, and a phone interview. This was then followed by an hour-long face-to-face interview at the state HQ (a two-hour journey from the town where the job was advertised) with an interview panel of five people.

Ok, intense but not unheard of - except this was for a MINIMUM WAGE JOB!

After a (if a do say so myself) blindingly good interview, in which they all but offered me the job, I never heard from them again, despite multiple emails and phone calls. The two phone numbers I had previously contacted them on never even picked up.

All very odd...

Dh was on an interview panel once, and one of the candidates was ex-Forces, and during the interview, he demonstrated the signals used to marshall and land helicopters on an aircraft carrier. He got the job.

Hand signals, that is - sorry.

I was offered a paid "trial shift" instead of an interview once, it was in a sex shop. At the end of the day the owner asked me to give him a massage in the back room! He had a proper table and everything . (I was young and so very naive and it didn't even occur to me to report him.)

I had one (retail position) where the manager enthusiastically told me how the company didn't allow lone working but "that's tough shit because we don't have the budget to have 2 people here all the time so you'll be on your own every morning, the higher ups can't know though" Didn't go for the second interview!

I was asked to sing. I wasn't applying to be a singer.

I had an interview where I was asked to discuss a print out of a zoomed out spreadsheet, tiny font with all the grid lines visible. I'm dyslexic (which I never declare on applications or anything really) and I couldn't read it at all. Rather than ask for a ruler or a bit of paper to keep my place with, I pretended that I could read it. Every single question, I carefully considered the spreadsheet, and then answered some variant of 'I don't know'. When encouraged to give it a go, I went with 'I really don't know'. Unsurprisingly, I did not get the job.

I had an interview where they told me they don't "down tools" at lunch time and someone goes out and gets everyone lunch if you need it. Also that you have to stay late if work needs done. This was for a low paid job when I was quite young, no mention of overtime it was clearly free labour!

I got offered the job and I asked if I cld have time to think it through. She then said what is there to think about. I said well just a bit unsure about this working through lunch and staying late all the time. She then said, well your not the right person for the job and hung up on me 😂 hilarious! I def dodged a bullet!

Was during New Deal (remember that)
Was sent for an interview by Job Advisor (not my usual one, he was lovely but off unwell). Told her I was completely under qualified and had no hope of getting it. She threatened me with severe consequences if I didn't go.
I had no part in the application and was quite surprised they had offered an interview.
Duly went- cost me a bomb by train and then bus. Was invited in and asked about my experience in the job. Said I have none. They looked at me weird. Asked me again. Again answered honestly and said I had no experience whatsoever. I was about 21 at the time and had worked in a shop. This was a very high powered job in banking. I got an E at GCSE Maths.
They had been told I had 3 years experience and an A* at maths GCSE and A'level. I pointed out I was only 21. They had been told 27.
They really weren't impressed at all and seemed to think I was taking the piss. One really was rude and aggressive, had me escorted from the building like a criminal.

Got a phone call the next morning demanding I go to Jobcentre to speak to the advisor I had been sent by.
She then was rude as hell about my wasting the companies time and I had lost them a client and lots of people possible jobs. I calmly (I was petrified) pointed out I had explained I had no experience and she had applied for me and I knew it was pointless going but she threatened me if I didn't. I said it had cost me a considerable amount to get there for nothing but to be treated like scum.

She called her manager in as I was making "false statements" on her.

Manager comes over and I'm in tears. Other woman explains her side. Then I said mine. I said there as no way I would have said I was 27 and I have Discalculia so no way would I feel able to work with numbers.

I was told to call the company and ask for feedback. I did in front of them both and the guy was rude again calling me a timewaster.

Luckily my usual advisor was back the next week and he said it was on his screen I was due to be sanctioned over this bloody interview. He blocked that and stuck up for me.

Was the most ridiculous situation ever.

I responded to a job advert online, completed a long application form for that specific role, and 2 face to face interviews and completed a written assignment, look over a month in all.

The last interview was very positive and the interviewers were talking about potential start dates, my job title and specific projects I would be working on, so I thought I had bagged the job.

I then heard nothing for the next 2 weeks. I tried calling but never got to speak to anyone related to the job. Eventually I got a very short email thanking me for my interest, but they had no vacancies for my job level at that time...

Why the hell waste my and their time on 2 long interviews and all the written work.. bizarre!

I had one for a receptionist job at the local council. I was told there would be an aptitude test. The job description was answering phones and emails, buzzing people in, getting them to sign in, occasional photocopying and filing. Very basic stuff. They only wanted 5 A-C grades at GCSE and a “pleasant manner in communication”.

I was put in a room with an ordnance survey map and a list of about 20 towns and villages. I was asked to list which towns were in the county, and what Council each belonged to (they could have been in three different councils). I was then asked to draw a map of the council borders. Then I was asked to find out things like “What is the highest point of elevation within the council’s borders? What is the lowest point? Based on the map, which towns and villages on the list will be most likely to be affected by the following; flooding, high winds, snow? Which town or village is the most likely to have the highest income from a) agriculture b) industry c) technology.” and other similar questions. I was shut in a room and made to do this task under exam conditions. It lasted an hour. Some of the villages on the list were tiny in very faint writing and the map was massive. There were also two other maps from 20 and 50 years previous which were to be used in a task where I had to compare each to the current map and suggest which changes might have taken place and the impact on the local environment and infrastructure as a result of what could be observed from the map.

After about 15 minutes, I popped my head round the door and politely asked if there had been some mistake as I was interviewing for the receptionist job and I wondered if they were also interviewing for another role that same day that was more Geography or Town Planning based. I was sneeringly told that it was important for a receptionist to have a good idea of the local area and issues affecting local people. I was also told that as I had an A in GCSE Geography I shouldn’t find this problematic and that it was that which had drawn them to my application. Bizarre as at this point I also had just graduated top of my class from University with a non Geography related degree, had As at A Level (never took Geography), mainly A*s at GCSE in my other subjects and past admin and reception experience. But it was my GCSE Geography that really interested them .

The whole thing was bizarre and left me feeling like they were just taking the piss out of me. I think I had a lucky escape.

Was interviewed by a guy who only had one leg. I was only aware of this when he got up from behind his desk and proceeded to hop across his office only to trip-up , lose his balance and go flying through the glass office door ( luckily not breaking it ) , crashing head-long into the water cooler and gathered multitude chatter away in the larger office outside. The water container thing went flying, bouncing off a nearby desk , smashing the laptop of the person working there. It then rolled across the floor and started bouncing down the stairs at that end of the office. At that point , seeing everybody seemed to OK , I quietly left. When I got outside I couldn't hold it in any longer and freely admit to being helpless for a good ten minutes. I still have the pics on my phone. I politely declined the offer of another interview.

Years ago I went for public sector job, there were 4 people on the interview panel. The lead interviewer started the interview by saying to me in a dismissive manner that “they had to interview me because I fulfilled the criteria of the job.” One of the other interviewers looked a bit surprised but didn’t say anything. I did the interview but needless to say I didn’t get the job.

These days I would just walk out.

Applied for a specialist chemical assistant role.

Went out of my way to do research.

Did a trial run of the route.

Pored over the website of the employer.

Memorised huge chunks of chemistry.

Went through the safety procedures with a fine tooth comb.

Got to the interview to find they had literally just been taken over by their commercial rivals, a management team from the new employer were performing the interviews, had no idea about the place they'd taken over and all my research was for naught.

Dire.

You took photos?

To Charlotte

Long ago, I interviewed to work in a women's DV charity. One of the questions was simply, "How would you disseminate information?" No further details (to whom? Internal or external? What information?) I was young and nervous and just floundered.

Another question was, "A woman comes to you for help after escaping an abusive relationship. She has her young child with her but is clearly on drugs. WWYD?" I answered that, unless she was behaving in a way that was distressing or endangering the child, or in need of immediate medical treatment, I would treat her as anyone else and report my concerns later. I got marked down because it was a trick question The answer was: she wasn't on drugs, she was just very stressed and sleep deprived and I should have considered that.