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Original poster

Your worst, funniest, most memorable job interview?

30 replies

foreverscrollingnetflix · 15/01/2023 20:42

I had a flashback to mine, it was a group interview and the two men doing the interviews were dicks and so full of themselves. For example one turned up late, in a convertible sports car and instantly starting telling people about the crazy weekend he’d had.

They passed everyone on the first round and the second round we had to give them an inspirational speech. They didn’t put me through to the next round, and as I left I said “thank you for your time” genuine and with a smile and neither of them even acknowledged me.

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BestMammyEver · 15/01/2023 20:43

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PlaitBilledDuckyPuss · 15/01/2023 20:47

Worst was when I had a total mind blank - I couldn't think of anything to say, not even the weakest, waffliest of answers, not even an answer to a question they didn't ask - I just sat there like a dummy. Needless to say, I didn't get the job.

Celia24 · 15/01/2023 20:48

Nothing major but I went in for an interview and as I sat down at the table thunder and lightning went off overhead. 😂

Thankfully the hiring manager wasn't superstitious and I got the job.

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catmademedoit · 15/01/2023 20:54

I was the interviewer on Teams

Had already apologised that I had my granddaughter at home as her mum had gone into labour early

Promised she was occupied busy and aware not to disturb ... until

She went for a wee .. locked the toilet door inside and started screaming .. I'm running around like a nut case trying to turn lock from outside with a knife , a penny and finally with a fat screwdriver

Felt terrible

Trez1510 · 15/01/2023 21:04

Was asked a question, responded and chairperson said "Well, thank you very much Trez1510."

It was the end of the interview. I was so relieved the ordeal was over I jumped out of my seat, saying 'Thank you very much for your time!!" as I bounded to the door. Once there, I began scrabbling about trying (unsuccessfully) to open it.

The chairperson then, very gently, said: "Trez1510, we can see how nervous you are, but do you realise that was the first question and there are more?"

I sidled back into my seat, settled myself, answered the rest of the questions and got the job.

BotterMon · 15/01/2023 21:17

After 10 minutes I realised the interviewer (male) was rather arrogant. Half way through his mobile went off with a vomit inducing ringtone of his daughter's voice saying "Daddy it's Mummy calling" and he answered it. The height of rudeness and I realised I really didn't want to work anywhere near him.

I'd driven 2 hours to meet him and couldn't wait to get out of there.

42isthemeaning · 15/01/2023 22:23

This happened 30 years ago when I was 18 and looking for a part time job whilst studying.

I applied for a job in a carpet showroom. I was asked to try on a uniform that was several sizes too small. I had to come through to show the interview panel of two men.

Humiliating and thankfully I didn't get the job.

JudgeRudy · 06/04/2023 21:59

catmademedoit · 15/01/2023 20:54

I was the interviewer on Teams

Had already apologised that I had my granddaughter at home as her mum had gone into labour early

Promised she was occupied busy and aware not to disturb ... until

She went for a wee .. locked the toilet door inside and started screaming .. I'm running around like a nut case trying to turn lock from outside with a knife , a penny and finally with a fat screwdriver

Felt terrible

I had a Teams interview which involved sharing some slides and YouTube clips. I had them all open on tabs but when I went to share the 30sec clip it had defaulted back to the begining of the whole video and I shared an advert. In my panick I then opened the next clip which did exactly the same. Panic set in and somehow I ended up sharing my whole YouTube history on the right whilst playing a video of Mr Pimple Popper!

Feedback said IT skills not great. Had a 2nd interview 3 months later and got offered the job - 2 of the panel were the same!

FawnFrenchieMum · 06/04/2023 22:10

When I was younger, I worked in a call centre for a bank, I wanted to transfer into the branch. Entry level role was a casher and then next level was a customer advisor. I applied for the advisor role, when I asked why I thought I was more suited to that than a cashier. Instead of saying some crap like I was used to advising customers but other the phone, I wanted to help people blah blah blah. I said, I don’t want to work with cash, the idea of counting money scares me to death 😂
I worked for the bank for years. Same woman interviewed me for a fairly senior role a good few years later (I didn’t get that either!), I always wonder if she remembered me from that day.

Nimbostratus100 · 06/04/2023 22:16

fell over entering the interview room and broke my arm

Morewineplease10 · 06/04/2023 22:28

The one where I asked reception where the loo was, didn't listen to the answer, and then walked very confidently into a cupboard!

Didn't get it...

Fenellapitstop · 06/04/2023 22:33

Went for an engineering job when I left the raf over 20 years ago, I was trained as an aircraft mechanic. As soon as I spoke to the interview who was the company owner he admitted 'I was never going to give you the job, I just wanted to see what a woman mechanic looked like' which was nice

hiredandsqueak · 06/04/2023 22:34

I attended a interview for a civil service role that I didn't want. I'd filled the application form with lies detailing my love of sports and various sporting acyivities and achievements. Got there and two of them interviewing were sport mad and asked me about an event at the weekend. I didn't have a clue so made up some more lies about the full on sport team weekend I'd participated in meaning I had unfortunately missed it.
At another point we ended up talking about me watching a police raid at the neighbours and describing how the police went knocking at the front whilst I watched the two lads climbing out of the window and making away over the train lines. There was lots of laughing as I regaled them with tales of exploits on a council estate.
I was bitterly disappointed to be offered the position, manager later said out of the 52 interviewed he could only remember mine and the other person's interview so we got the roles.
It was a drag having to pretend that the endless sports talk was interesting, I had to crib each weekend sports fixtures and results so that I didn't look completely disinterested.

EnchentButteler · 06/04/2023 22:39

That would be when the interviewer was sharing their screen when they switched windows and I could see the behind the scenes chat about me. It wasn't good. I didn't get it but at least I know the real reason why! As opposed to the fobbed off reasons you usually get.

earsup · 06/04/2023 22:52

I had intvw for temp job in customer services at a fridge company, just started and an angry cusomter burst in complaining and shouting...interviewer offered him a coffee and told him he would sort out problem shortly....after a few mins i was offered job and told that angry customer would be my first task the next day....very strange set up....managers all lovely but never ever did any work so my role was awful, lots of abuse over non refunds etc but i stayed for the contract.

Throwncrumbs · 06/04/2023 22:59

First job on leaving school, went in sat down, chatted to interviewer, really friendly, felt it was going well, he asked me when I could start( was in 1979) said I when it suited them, the following week was decided, I was so excited, stood up, went to shake the guys had only to realise that he didn’t in fact have a right arm! How I failed to notice in the entire time I was there I will never know….lots of faffing around and blushing ensued. Started the following Monday. Never forgotten it!

goodkidsmaadhouse · 06/04/2023 23:03

Straight out of Uni I worked in a very competitive role and had to go through several rounds of interviews, testing, etc. For my final interview I sat down ready for an extremely formal 15 minutes and the first question the guy asked me was "when did you last get pissed?"
A few years later he was my boss and we had a good chuckle about it. He said that anyone that got to that stage had already impressed enough so he just wanted to find out if they would be fun to work with.

CharlotteDoyle · 06/04/2023 23:03

When I was a teenager I interviewed for a temp job in a big corporation. For some reason, I thought that I should smile as much as possible throughout the interview (probably something my mother told me!) so I sat there with a constant, weird forced grin on my face nodding away at whatever the interviewer was saying, with my cheeks hurting and just praying it would end. Major cringe when I think back. Still got the job tho!

Worse was the university interview where I stood up at the end and realised that I had been sweating from nerves and had very visible crotch sweat stains on the front of my trousers. They did not accept me

Gufo · 07/04/2023 06:16

A weird one was when I checked in at reception and they ticked me off their list. It was a paper list and done in front of me, so I could see the full list of interviewees - including two others from my current company. Awkward! And probably non-gdpr compliant. One of my colleagues heard the following week she hadn't got the job and mistakenly assumed I had and told a few people (so the list was clearly visible to all interviewees). Also awkward as I didn't get the job either.

In the interview itself, the panel chair also kept texting towards the end of the interview. I think it is because we were running late so he was sorting that (benefit of doubt) but still rude.

Lucky escape and paid £8k less than a new job I accepted a month later 🥳

Crumpetdisappointment · 07/04/2023 06:21

the man was so rude, refused to shake my hand
the women made me a coffee afterwards!

Crumpetdisappointment · 07/04/2023 06:23

oh an i turned up early and they were looking through my application, one of them said Well I dont want her

KatherineJaneway · 07/04/2023 06:31

In the middle of an interview, the interviewer suddenly switched from asking work based questions and asked "How often do you see your family?" I just looked at her like WTF, none of your business. I didn't get the job.

ReformedWaywardTeen · 07/04/2023 07:24

Age 18, went to an interview in a clothes shop. I was already Saturday staff at another clothes shop and before that had worked (probably illegally looking back) in a sweetshop from age 14 to 16 (didn't want a paper round so did that instead for 12 hours a week).

Two interviewers, one a young guy (god he was gorgeous actually) and some stern, Trunchball like older woman who looked me up and down the second I walked in and clearly didn't like me.

So she asks me about current role and I explain that I've worked there doing x and y etc, standard stuff. She asks why if its so good working there am I happy to jump ship to them?

I calmly said that actually, I would have been happy to stay on but wanted full time as my circumstances had changed regarding school but they didn't have any full time positions available.

Now baring in mind she had a reference from my boss at the time that was glowing, she goes on to suggest maybe I'm just not great and that is why I'm not being offered full time.

Literally couldn't wait to leave and was chuffed she behaved that way in the interview because no way would I have wanted to work for her all the time, she would have been a nightmare.

I did however get the other younger guys number, he was her son and we very briefly met up. I bet she would've been livid.

Iminpatchinghell · 07/04/2023 07:53

I’ve got loads! I’ve been the interviewer quite a few times over the years. I did a series of interview at the job centre. One young kid froze and couldn’t say anything, I really tried to encourage him and use his CV to help him answer the questions, but he was so nervous I just couldn’t get more than 3 words out of him.
Another lad, I asked if he had any criminal convictions, turns out he’d been to prison for manslaughter. Found the story in the local paper after he’d left! He wasn’t right for the job anyway.
I interviewed an older man in our offices and he absolutely stank, pretty sure it was a tactic to purposely not get jobs as he got interviewed again a few years later by some colleagues and told them he had to go to interviews to keep his benefits. I was distracted during the interview as he had a fly stuck in his hair which was flailing around. His CV was brilliant.
I’ve had a couple of bad interviews. One where I left my bag in the room and had to come
back in. They were deep in discussion and didn’t look happy to see me
back. Didn’t get that one.
The other one, it lasted for 2 hours and the interviewers clearly got on well and liked me. So it was like a very long casual chat. They offered me the job but I was so put off I didn’t accept it.

tokyotea · 07/04/2023 08:21

I had one where the boss was sitting in a massage chair the entire time. That was a little bizzare.

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