Disastrous job interview - any advice, sympathy or funny stories please?

[oddso]

I've just come out of a job interview that can only be described as a complete car crash. I'm genuinely embarrassed by how awful I was. I'd prepared well but completely panicked in the room.

It was for a role I really wanted and where availabilities are very very rare. I've had rather a rubbish year personally and I hate my current job. I was really hoping I'd get this job and it could be the start of things getting better for me.

I haven't told anyone I've even been applying for jobs so I'm turning to Mumsnet. Does anyone have any wisdom to share, tips for getting over the disappointment/anger at myself, or otherwise just funny interview anecdotes that will make me feel better please?

Had a man interview last, was mine to lose. Well I lost it. Two others have come up which will be fine to get me out of here. I am better prepared.

Once managed to tick my skirt into my knickers. Surprisingly, didn’t get that one either.

Tis a numbers game.

I turned up the day after my interview:/ I was pregnant so blame baby brain.

I had to present three campaigns I'd worked on in the alloted time, I got so carried away talking about the first campaign that I ran out of time to talk about the other two.

Well, I had a truly disastrous interview a few years ago. It was for my dream job. I wanted it so badly and I just felt it was a car crash. Personally, I made it out the door and beelined across the street to the nearest pub and downed a large glass of wine at 1pm on a Thursday!

They called next day and offered me the job. I've been there ever since.

In my personal experience of being on the other side, doing recruitment, being in interview panels: they are all a car crash. No one really interviews well. But if you are the right person for the role and they already have you in mind as a top candidate, the interview won't sway them from offering you the role. They will almost always go into the interviews knowing who they want. Even if you have a great interview, and there is someone more suitable, they will get it. But if you are perfect in terms of experience and qualifications, and you come across as easy to work with, engaged, a good team player, even if the interview itself was rubbish, you are still very likely to not have knocked yourself out of the top spot. That's just my personal experience in my industry.

As for funny stories, I once interviewed for a position and the interviewee sat down at her desk after letting me in and the button flew off her shirt, hit me, and her boobs (in bra, thankfully!) popped out. Fortunately, she was more traumatised than me and we managed to laugh off what an awkward start that was, and she found a jumper quickly. I did actually get the job then too, but I didn't take it in the end, so thankfully never had to see each other again!

Thank you all - at least I managed to show up on the right day and not have any clothing mishaps!

I've had a few interviews before where I felt they went badly and somehow I got the job / progressed to the next stage, but this one was bad on a whole new level. I had a bit of a cry when I got home (slightly pathetic but I did really want this job) and now I think I've come to terms with it a bit more, so I'm reluctant to get my hopes up again.

Unfortunately I had to dash straight back to work or I would have been on the wine at midday too! Although I am working from home so maybe I'll crack open a bottle 😂

I once called the interviewer the wrong name, was corrected and then called him the same wrong name again 😂 didn't get that job but was offered a role with them 2 months later

•The one where the view of Bristol harbourside was more interesting than what the interviewer was saying (I was sat facing the window).
• The one where I told the agency no sales jobs and they sent me to a designer handbag company and the job turned out to be international sales.
•the one where they were interviewing for multiple roles with multiple applicants. They tried interviewing me for a secretary role rather than a customer service role.

I can go on...

I was once in an interview with person A , it was all normal, usual questions, going quite well. Then she asked person B to join us. We carried on with the interview but person B was just glaring at me , not interacting or asking questions. After a couple of minutes , person B grabs their files, leaves the desk and walks off muttering it was a waste of their time. I didn't know what to do with myself , I didn't know what I had done wrong. Person A looked sheepish and embarrassed, and I welled up and was trying my hardest not to cry. It was the most awkward thing of my life. I emailed afterwards asking for feedback, never heard back from them. Still wonder to this day what I did wrong. Although, silver lining for me , the company went bust within a year . I replayed the whole conversation and I swear I didn't say or do anything ridiculous lol.

Another occasion.... I was sitting in on an interview , and when asked why they had left their previous job, the candidate explained in really really explicit detail. Appreciated their honesty but bloody hell we didn't need the TMI version.

How rude does someone have to be to openly declare the interview a waste of their time?! Although I suppose that's better than ending up working there and discovering that kind of culture when it's too late

OP is there a way you could email the employer, say thanks for their time, and say that you panicked inexplicably and didn't give your best side by a long shot - but thats life and you were glad for the experience and thankful for any feedback. Your CV is obviously great if they took the time to interview you and even the greatest people can have a total off day sometimes!

The rude person possibly had one of their mates lined up for the job and resented someone else being considered, so made their feelings known to person A and didn't care about your feelings at all.

Most interviews I've had, not great. My very first, years ago, the guy fired questions at me to keep me on my toes, sort of abrupt. My house had a name, so he bolshily queried how it couldn't have a number? Thing is, I got the job and there was I thinking I'd powered thru it but no, he was an arse when I was working there too. It's a case of, be careful what you wish for.

Another 'hang on to your smile' interview was a bloke explaining to me why in the job they were offering they were paying the barest minimum. Like, okay, why are you telling me that, then? Didn't get that job anyway.

And another where - I'm a bloke - a David Brent without the charm, steel souls on his shoes type, asked if I had any problem working for a woman - she would have been a chief sub and me the sub-editor on a trade magazine. Of course I said no and everything, but having not got the job I later thought of the sarcastic rejoinders I could have made. I mean, he conducted the entire interview on her behalf while she just sat there in an insipid way, no presence at all. Couldn't she ask any questions herself? I wasn't working alongside him anyhow.

I preferred to work freelance, if they don't like you they don't rebook you.

Well, as expected I didn't get the job. I saw it coming but I'm still feeling rather crap about it now. I'm trying not to take it to heart but it's been a huge confidence/self-esteem knock at a time I'm already feeling rubbish about myself.

Official feedback was that they think I have a lot of talent and would be a great cultural fit for the team, but I'm too inexperienced. Supposedly they would have liked to progress me to the final stage of interviews but had another candidate they preferred. All this feedback came from a recruiter so I think it may have been toned down a little.

At least they rejected me at 5pm on a Friday so I can open the wine this time!

The one where the feedback was “not enough sector experience”. I had been exclusively in the sector for more than 20 years and was so gobsmacked I asked the HR bod if she was talking to the right person .
The one where the director spotted a typo in my cv and brought every question back to it - how had the typo got there, what should it have said (it was obvious, like tge instead of the), what a shame because it was the only typo spoiling the cv etc etc. This was for a senior manager role. His insistence on it flustered the other interviewer and the whole thing sort of degenerated from there.
The one where the CEO who was leading the panel rolled her eyes at one of my answers .
sympathies OP!

It is a supposedly tactful trick to let the interviewee know they haven't go the job by suddenly picking up on stuff like that, personally I think it's a bit shitty. A woman did that at an Oxford Uni interview I went to, huffily asked if I'd seen any movies by all these great talents - this was for a History place though I'd have listed cinema as my interests.
At the end as I stood up I thought I ought to thank them for their time - the other two younger interviewers were pleasant - but I didn't bother, thinking, why am I thanking you when you've basically just let me know I've failed to get in? I mean, you find out via the letter anyway. Not sure if that was the right response or non-response but there you go.

I interviewed for a job and it was something to do with designing manuals for computers (I'm a graphic designer). Pretty dull but I really wanted out of my then job.
So I was first interview by a person who had a sheet of questions and asked a few. Then after that she sent another person in, who has the same sheet of questions and picked a few to ask. Then a third person. I was now on hour three, had not been offered a glass of water or a visit to the loo and as they had all picked one of the same questions I was getting confused thinking 'haven't I just said this'? Just before interviewer number four came in I asked if I could use the rest room - they said due to security they had to escort me and I got the impression it really put them out to have to do this. Anyway got through number four. By this time I didn't want the job as it was so stupid and a waste of my time to answer the same or similar questions to four different people. I wasn't offered it but I wish I had just thanked them and left as soon as i realised it wasn't going to work for me anyway (somewhere mid second interviewer).

It's from the old days OP, and I'm afraid a funny anecdote rather than proper help.
Them: "why do you want to be a programmer"
Me "I don't, I thought this was for a marketing assistant"
Them "Oh" (awkward shuffling)
Me " I could probably turn my hand to being a programmer though"
I got the job. Became the worst programmer ever.

On a more practical note, just write it off as gaining experience at interviewing, you will be agonising over it, beating yourself up, and they will simply not remember you tomorrow. I am sure there is not a person alive that hasn't had a bad interview, and as others have said, you might have dodged a bullet too. There will be more chances for you xx

I once had a job interview that went really badly, and I'm normally really good at interviews.
Got back to the car, looked in the visor mirror, to find staring back at me the biggest bogey I'd ever seen hanging out my left nostril. It was absolutely enormous.
There were 3 people interviewing me as well!!!!😂😂😂😂
( i didn't get the job)

Commiserations OP.

My husband had a presentation and a job interview for an academic post a number of years ago. His contract was running out and he was keen to get a permanent post. He phoned me from the University the day before - lovely University, great department, convivial etc - all visiting interviewees (bar an internal candidate) were being taken for dinner and the candidates were staying in the dorms. That was the 6.30 phone call. The phone call after midnight was rather different - food poisoning. Everyone. Grim.

Bless them, they all banded together to help one another. DH was first on in the morning so he was to wake the next candidate and make sure they were up and that candidate would wake the next person and so on. I was lined up at home to phone DH to make sure he was up himself!

Internal candidate got the job.