Anyone can cheer me up about my job interview blunder?

[Hidingnow]

Name changed because I'm dying of embarrassment. I just had an incredibly low moment at a job interview and I'm ready to hide myself away for the rest of the day. They asked me a fairly simple knowledge question and my brain just blanked. I suddenly felt like I was in school being grilled by my maths teacher (it was a very exam-y interview). I just blabbered on and then just ended the misery by saying "Sorry, that was a really poor answer." We moved on, the rest was good, but I don't think it can recover this low point. I must have looked like I had lied about all of my experience to not be able to answer this one simple thing. So that's that. Only a dream job, who cares.

Please share your interview blunders and/or moments when your brain just went blank to make me feel better.

About 35 years ago, I had an interview for a bank in Swiss Cottage, I was late teens and very nervous. My nerves played havoc with my stomach, resulting in an unfortunate accident. I hurried into a fast food restaurant bathroom and cleaned myself up - but could do nothing with my knickers but throw them in the bin.
I had to complete the interview sans knickers with unreliable bowel control. I was NOT focused on the interview and, unsurprisingly, did not get the job.

I had a bf once who told an interviewer to F off, but he didn't abbreviate it. That was the end of his career in any military service.

Once I knocked a full glass of water all over my own artwork that I’d brought (a long time ago - the last interview I went to for that kind of job I presented from my laptop). Ever since then I have never accepted a drink in an interview.

thats no way the worst though. From me or from them.

one time the interviewer said he had been happy to consider part time or full time but as I had so little experience, he’d offer a full time job in the party time salary. I said I couldn’t live on it. He said: can’t you get your boyfriend to support you?

that was considered outrageous then but I guess he was in the vanguard as young people are expected to work for free now to get experience

I was being interviewed for the last round by the CEO and when it came to asking if I had any questions, I asked what he liked about the company and why he's stayed there and not moved on. He started the company 😂🙈 still got offered the role but turned it down because they didn't believe in WFH!

Isn’t there a danger this will just look like OP got home and quickly googled an answer?

No I didn't.......not a bad thing though, the guy that did get it left after 6 months. He said it was a really awful team to work with.

I had one where I was running late so ended up running from the tube. Arrived hot and sweaty and then started hiccuping and could not stop! At all. Couldn't speak really. Utterly mortifying....

Two interviews for different schools an hour apart. First one was ok but second one I crumbed and asked to leave after 5 minutes. I can still remember the pity in their eyes. Had voicemails from both schools rejecting me before I had finished the journey home.

that sucks - I’m really sorry. In the public sector the convention nowadays is to share the interview questions 24 hours beforehand. It is so much better for interviewees and interviewers too - unless you’re interviewing for a quiz show contestant why would the topics of discussion need to be a surprise?!

Update: unbelievably, I got the job!!! It was for the CS, so I got pretty thorough feedback and despite my massive blunder, I managed to score 6s and 7s on all questions. Can't believe it! They said they had almost 500 applications and somehow I got it??

Thanks to everyone for sharing their stories and anyone who's reading this in the future: you might still get the job despite messing up a little (or a lot).

Congratulations

A portaloo with no flush in London? What on earth 🤣🤣

A few years ago a friend of mine had an interview for his dream job with a big well known firm. He woke a little late but got ready quickly and left home on time. On the way to the office he dropped his print portfolio in a large muddy puddle. He stopped off at a newsagent, begged some blue roll to dry it off, and bought a bottle of lucozade to drink.

He arrived just about on time, was sent in for his interview, and just about managed to stumble through it. He felt like he wasn't getting much of a rapport going with the panel but left hoping for the best.

As he walked back through the building he stopped off at reception and asked if he could use the bathroom. She replied with 'Yes I think you should'. More than slightly paranoid now he went into the bathroom and realised that not only had his bottle of lucozade left his top lip and tongue stained bright orange, he'd only shaved half his face before leaving the house that morning 😁

That's not so bad. During an interview this year, I had to keep asking them to repeat the questions and blathered on like an idiot, losing all track of what I was answering. I got the job (and that was for the civil service).

Congratulations, OP.

I once went for an interview at a publishing company (for a summer internship) when I was 19. The big boss had to leave before my interview as his wife was run over, so I had an ‘informal chat’ with one of the managers. She told me to come back next week to have my interview with the big boss. I returned on the Monday morning and was asked to start putting in some data on excel. I thought it was just part of the interview process. I ended up leaving a decade later. It was a running joke that I was still waiting for my interview.

Congrats on getting the job, and wow to be picked out of 500!

As an employer, I interviewed a forehead once. It was a Zoom interview for a tech support job and I mentioned he needed to adjust his camera at the beginning a couple of times, which he fiddled with slightly and then ignored my further attempts to suggest he correct it.

It was incredibly awkward talking to a full screen size fod, I wanted to at least stick googly eyes on it so I had something to go with.

He then made things worse by following up very aggressively on the written feedback I'd given via email asking why he didn't get the job (which was for about 10 different clearly explained reasons politely outlined in the email).

The best update OP! Congratulations.

Well done OP!
I was going to say I have been on an interview panel very recently and even the best candidates made mistakes or faltered during the interview. We made allowances for nerves and pressure.

One interview I was late AND kicked the interviewer. Got the job.

Another interview I spelt the name of the company wrong all the way through the presentation. I got the job. And attention to detail was really important in that role

I either interview exceptionally well or they were desperate.. .

You owned your poor answer. That will have actually done you a favour.

That's really not too bad @Hidingnow , it's just interview nerves!

I once interviewed someone for a job as my deputy. He constantly dropped hints that he could do my job better than I could. I'd be lucky to have him because he'd be able to "help" me do things better and I could learn from him 🙄 He almost seemed to think he would be my trainer and mentor. He was younger than me and less experienced of course.

Not only was it a definite nope from us, but I and my colleague had a good laugh afterwards at his incredible arrogance!

But fluffed answers because of interview nerves are very common and nobody thinks badly if candidates for that. I've definitely appointed people who have given a poor answer to something but performed well in the rest of the interview.

Amazing you got the job, congrats! Clearly well deserved.

i said I didn’t have any stories to share but I’ve just remembered one, not really a big deal but I was told it was a formal interview so I turned up all togged up in my best interview gear, they were all dressed in business casual ready for an informal initial chat. I HATE being overdressed so it really put me on the wrong foot. I had to walk down a long hallway which had long rugs then long stretches of bare wooden floor alternating, all of the women were in flats because of the noise of the floor but obviously I didn’t know about it. So already embarrassed at being dressed far more smartly than anyone else, I had to clip clop along this ridiculously long corridor past all these open doors, kept seeing everyone’s heads turn.
didn’t get it

but around the same time I had an interview I fully thought I’d nailed. Really good vibes, I was feeling confident, even made them laugh a couple of times. Came out thinking I’d nailed it.
Never heard from them again.

you just can’t tell sometimes!

Good story - thanks for closing the loop. It's a great reminder that making a mistake and owning it shouldn't be a negative (if it is, you really don't want to work with those people!). And our own mistakes often seem bigger to us than they do to others.

Hi OP - I’ve just read your update about getting the job. You sound great and I’m so pleased! Good luck with it all! And thanks for posting as it’s been an interesting thread.

Yaaaaay, so happy you got the job!! Many congratulations.

I went for a job interview this week and prepared so hard for all the questions I knew they were going to ask me. What do you know about the company, why do you want to work here, etc. I wrote all my carefully planned answers down and learnt them word for word.

Amazingly, when I got into the interview they asked me the exact questions I'd prepared, in the same exact order! I got right into my stride. Until they asked me a totally unexpected fifth question, at which point I looked up sharply and said "you weren't supposed to ask me that."

Unsurprisingly I didn't get the job.

There's a well worn story about an interviewee that ordered a pizza delivery (for himself only) mid way through an interview because it was lunchtime. I want that one to be true.

🥳🥳🥳