Holy hell, just had THE toughest job interview that I have ever experienced! Come & tell me your interview horror stories.

[Vampiricouncil]

Wow!
2 on the panel with the coldest staring eyes ever.
Absolutely no kindness to be seen!
Just cold hard eyes staring at me barking questions at me…

I was interviewed to work in a nursery by a woman who asked me why I wanted to work with children, and then told me I'd go off them when I have to sit and listen to them talking all day long. I got the job and worked there for 3 months before being invited to interview to become the manager as no one else wanted the job. I left, funnily enough.

DS had a uni interview on Zoom and the panel of 3 left the camera OFF so he was speaking into a void. It was cruel!

I had an interview for a voluntary position within the scouts - I was already a leader this was for a training role in addition to the role I'd been doing. (I'd been asked to take on the role),

There were 3 men who all turned up suited and booted. Grilled me and then at the end told me they'd "let me know". I just laughed and thought "knock yourselves out fellas".

I did complain about them to my line manager, I said that someone who was less confident than me, would have been put off and probably walked away from volunteering.

Ikea. Group interview. 3 person panel, and 6 candidates. In a foreign language. I rehearsed my script ready for the day. First task: “pair up with someone, talk for 5 minutes; then present that person to the panel”. F*. I tried my best. Other candidate kicked off infront of the entire room saying she was short changed by being paired with idiotic me as I couldn’t even speak the language. The whole thing was bloody awful. Never ever again.
I was invited to the interview 24 hours before it occurred & was told everyone present spoke English so not to worry about the language!!!

I got the job, worked there for 3 years. If I went into an interview setting like this again; I would apologise and leave- it says a lot about the company if they expect you to dog fight it out with an audience. You either want my expertise or you don’t!! God it was bloody awful. I cried all evening!!!! You could’ve knocked me down with a feather when they rang you offer me the job. X

I once had an internal interview to move teams in a company I was already at, and was interviewed by someone who seemed to have an indefinable job description - sometimes she did interviews, sometimes she filled in for the branch manager etc. Anyway, we did the whole interview and after I fully answered every question, she'd just stare at me for ages! Honestly, by the end of it I felt like I was in a staring contest!!! Didn't get the transfer, but didn't have high hopes after such an odd experience tbh!

Ooh - also managed to get stuck in one of those interviews for a "marketing" job that's actually sales, where they drive you out to a distant town and you shadow someone doing door to door sales who is selling you hard on the job. Never again but I've never forgotten the experience!

Recent second interview, was going well. Thought it was in the bag etc. Interview starts, new lady who I've not yet met says, 'oh I see you've worked at XYZ company you'll know Mrs. XYZ, she's a very good friend of mine'.

Now Mrs. XYZ was one of the foulest, most sociopathic people I have ever met in my entire life and there is no way on this merry earth I'd want to work with someone who calls her a friend.

The interview was cut short.

My worst one was as when I was leaving the interview room there were two doors, I opened one to leave, walked in and shut it behind me. Unfortunately I had picked the broom cupboard door. I waited a few seconds, opened the door and said to the interviewer, 'yes that all seems in order' and left by the other door.
Didnt get the job

@junglejane66

My worst one was as when I was leaving the interview room there were two doors, I opened one to leave, walked in and shut it behind me. Unfortunately I had picked the broom cupboard door. I waited a few seconds, opened the door and said to the interviewer, 'yes that all seems in order' and left by the other door. Didnt get the job

@junglejane66 🤣🤣🤣 if I was interviewing you, I’d have come in the cupboard, shut the door & offered you a second interview or the job before collapsing in laughter & offering you a coffee!!! Xo

This is outing, so I've reverted to another name. I once attended an interview which required over night ferry travel. I could have flown there far cheaper than the mainland train and ferry combo they insisted on, but hey, up for the adventure. Except for when i got to the ferry terminal I had been booked into a four-berth all-female cabin, with the other occupants also candidates for the same job. Weirdest experience ever, sat in our jammies and trying not to discuss the next day's interviews. And one woman announced very sternly that none of us were to be seasick as she didn't like it, erm ok, will try not to vomit then!
Rocked up to the interview the next day with sea legs, so everything was still felt like it was rocking and tried to make a good impression.

I didn't get the job, but neither did any of the other woman who'd been in the cabin with me.

Went to a graduate recruitment day for RBS after spending 3 years retraining in a particular discipline. The hour of feedback was that I hadn't shown flexibility in roles I would be interested in. Despite the day being the only pathway to work in the discipline for RBS, which also needed further training to be qualified.

An interview in French for another investment company, with only gcse French. Grim.

I gave up after this & all the other sexist & agist bullcrap & never qualified.

I was interviewed for an entry level minimum wage admin job. Hour long interrogation by a panel of four. I wish I'd had the guts to get up and leave! They didn't make any effort to be friendly or put me at ease, don't think any of them even cracked a smile.

Oh & someone died on the train on the way to one of these interviews, that's why I decided life was too short.

My brother trashed the concept of AI at his uni interview (1992), and later found out that the interviewer was a prime mover in AI research

We (board of governors) made someone cry once. She was interviewing to work in the school-based nursery, to be responsible for the 2-yos we were about to start taking. I can't remember the question, but in retrospect it was the sort of thing you'd ask a teacher rather than a childcare/TA: she looked at us blankly for a moment then tears started rolling down her cheeks.

Her application and the rest of the interview was great and we had no hesitation in giving her the job. She's still there, still great, and it's a story that is regularly trotted out six years later...

I keep getting asked stupidly annoying things like "can you give me an example of a time you've had to prioritise your workload" and I sit there trying not to say "no, I can't, I really genuinely can't" because I have never had that kind of job.

Those of you who left interviews early or cut them short - how did you do it? I've never been in that situation so can't imagine how to but I'd love to know how you did!

In the aforementioned investment company interview, there were other parts to it and one of the 4 people being interviewed stood up, said "I can't do this anymore" and walked out...

I had one of those many, many years ago as a new graduate. I applied for the job, got through to the interview stage, and was then torn to shreds by the 2 people on the panel who obviously had no intention of appointing me. They had my application in front of them, they knew exactly what my limited career history was, and then asked me questions that there was absolutely no way I could answer with my level of experience. Lots of eye rolling and huffing and puffing from them. It was utterly humiliating.

I sit on interview panels now and never, ever feel the need to act like the dicks they were.

Mine was when I had to do a "manual handling" test - it was not a manual job but there were occasions when you might have to get e.g. a box of files down from a high shelf possibly once or twice a day. So they wanted me to climb a ladder and get down this heavy box, climb down ladder holding it and then replace it.

I pointed out I was in my interview finery of high heels and pencil skirt and if I got the job I would be be wearing more sensible clothes day to day. Yep they could see that but it was a health and safety requirement that I could physically cope with that element of the job. I offered to climb the ladder and then pick up a box from standing height to show I could do both elements. Nope, had had be at the same time. So I clambered up the ladder, picked up the box from about 8 feet up then climbed back down without being able to use my hands because they were holding this giant box, wobbling in my stilletos, then back up all while this manager just stared at me as I nearly broke my neck.

Obviously the role had been h&s assessed but not so much the interview process! 🙄

The one where the interviewer/owner looked at my CV and said “we’re looking for a workhorse, not a show pony”.

Or the one at my old university where they took me to a waiting room, told me they were running late, left me there for 45 minutes, then came and got me and told me the panel had been kept waiting and I’d been in the wrong waiting room. I didn’t get the job and the feedback was they didn’t feel I was committed enough.

Had fun recounting that when they called me for a fundraising appeal!

I once signed up to a temp agency, who kept telling me about this amazing job. I had to hang on in there as they thought they might want to interview me. This went on for about 3 months. They then rang me and told me out of 100 people they'd selected 13 and I was one of them and I'd done well to get that far. Schelped there in the rain miles out of town. To be faced by a panel of 3 scary looking people. The job was definetly not what I had been led to believe it was a marketing job - in which I had no experience at all. Not even sure the panel had read my cv. It was v.painful and awkward Also an interview with a higher education establishment. Came second. Then they rang me up to offer me a 6 months temporary contract but i would have to reapply after that for the same job.... erm... nope!

I have had several awful experiences.

One where the HR lady picked me up from reception at the exact time for my interview, said hello, then instantly saw her fellow interviewer and started chatting/flirting with him. She motioned for me to follow them then we all went to the interview room with her talking to the guy. They talked for TWENTY minutes completely ignoring me. Finally the interview started and I attempted to be chatty engaging etc, all the while hiding how massively annoyed I was. I didn't get an offer and my feedback was that I didn't have enough of a personality. I told the recruiter they were lucky I didn't walk out after 5 minutes (which i should have done)

Many other stories, but they will Just wind me up.

Secondary school. Head of department post.

I wasn’t being interviewed but was part of the task. We 3 ordinary teachers were to teach a short lesson to a selected group of y9 pupils.

The candidates were to observe us and report back their thoughts and feelings about our lessons to the interviewing panel. In addition, when we were given the nod, we were to back out and the candidate take over our lesson.

Sounds crap and complicated. ‘The maths department thought it was a good method when they got their new HOD’. They didn’t - we asked them.

There seemed to be more adults in the room than pupils.

What could possibly go wrong….. well the candidates were never given the nod to take over, they didn’t have the whole procedure explained to them either. We got to the end of our lessons and just stood around.

None came dressed to teach a practical subject and one fainted and was out cold on the floor. The retiring HOD wasn’t involved in the slightest - bad manners there.

It was a shit show from start to finish. We did end up with the best person - more by accident then design. She thought it was a weird method.

Our SMT tended to read books and pick up half baked ideas, initiatives and then present these as the best invention since sliced bread.

Not me (thankfully), but a story DH told me some years ago, when his boss was interviewing for a new secretary.

Boss set all candidates the following task:

"One of your colleagues is approaching his Silver Wedding, and his wife is planning a surprise party (about which he knows nothing) to celebrate their anniversary. A week or so ahead of the party, the Managing Director dictates that your colleague must go to a meeting overseas - the date of which clashes with the planned party. Write a letter to the wife explaining why her husband will miss his own Silver Wedding celebration."

My first thought, on hearing this, is not repeatable. My second thought was how I would deal it.

I would start by asking if this situation is likely to arise in real life. If the answer was No, I would question the whole point of this hypothetical exercise. If the answer was Yes, I would then say that if the Managing Director had put the employee in this position, then he should be the one to take responsibility for telling the wife - then conclude by saying that if this how the company treats their staff, then I wouldn't want to work for them anyway.

I've often thought that one of the most invidious interview questions of all must surely be "Do you work well under pressure?" Answer Yes and you're making a rod for your own back if you get the job; answer No and you won't be offered it.

I got asked if I was planning on having kids any time soon at one interview.

Another sat there with my cv and told me I didn’t have enough experience(internal transfer)- the job description said it was to help build experience!