AIBU to ask the toughest interview question

[Livingonachair]

What is the toughest interview question you've faced?

Mine was for a job at our sister company where I was asked what didn't I like about the company in terms of process. As I hadn't worked for that part of the company before it was basically impossible to answer as I didn't know the processes!

My worst interview was When the interviewer mis-read my cv and thought I worked for a different company (he’d worked there previously). He Asked me ‘do you know x person’ for approximately a million people (probably about five but felt like a million). Obviously I didn’t know any of them, and he told me I was a liar and didn’t really work there. Once we’d established his mistake, he said I was wasting his time and asked me to leave.

My worst question was to break down line by line the budget for a campaign I’d done a few years before. I couldn’t remember the details and tried to bluff with approximate values but he kept going till I had a £10,000 hole I couldn’t explain. I put my hands up and said, I couldn’t really remember the details and we moved on. I remembered on the train about 3 things I hadn’t accounted for!

Another one from me. Newly arrived in the UK having married a Brit and was in West Yorkshire. Obese, red faced. Leaning back in a chair with legs spread and shirt buttons straining and glimpses of lovely Lardy chest.

'So why should someone like me give someone like you a job when so many of our people are unemployed?'

I was 23 and there was amount of culture shock going on. Way before internet.

If I had my wits about me I would have said 'because I have all the skills you need for your business, and you need the best person for the job' or 'you've seen my CV. If you had no intention of giving me a job why am I here?'

I slunk off and felt miserable and West Yorkshire was never quite the same for me again.

I got asked what superhero I would be and why 🙄 I said I didn't have an answer for that specific question but I could and do use my initiative everyday.
Didn't get, or want, that job!

@looselegs that's pretty weird!

@destinasia very wired! Needless to say, the space suddenly became no longer available!

Some of these are mad!

'So Purple, what is the biggest challenge facing us at the moment?'
Me:
'So basically exactly the thing that is the other internal candidate's area of special expertise then?'

Me: exactly, but I'm loads more experienced & better qualified generally than she is. Best thing all round, is if you give her the job & I'll carry on supporting her as Second as I did to the previous Head of Dept, but I'd like to take over overall responsibility for X please, because that's something the other candidate hasn't had anything to do with before. I'm sure she'd agree that she'd be happy to delegate it.

They went off to confer & ended up offering the Bright Young Thing the advertised job - & she's doing a great job - & arranging a new title & a pay rise for me for taking over the bit I wanted.

So everybody's happy; it's lucky that the other candidate & I are good colleagues & happily play to each other's strengths.

Interviewing for a library position that involved travelling to different branches, I was asked what my husband would think about me waiting for a bus in the dark in remote places . It was the 80's. I don't know the legislation and certainly didn't then, but my outraged reaction ensured I didn't get the job

During my first interview after graduating the panel were all volunteer committee members (all over the age of 70 with some over 80).

All was going fine until I was asked “what are your prejudices?” - slightly gobsmaked I answered honestly that I’m very open minded and that I don’t feel like I’ve got any.

They made it very awkward and pushed for an answer “are you racist? do you like disabled people? do you not like animals?”

After being pushed a bit more I stumbled out “I guess my pet peeve is people who are too proud to accept help” and somewhat dig myself into a hole how I’d hypothetically help people who wouldn’t want help.

'You hear your colleagues talking about you in the staff room, what are they saying?'

I answered with some stock answer but seriously? Nobody is going to give a truthful answer to that:)

'Oh God, Bellatrix has just cooked that weird stinky pasta stuff again'

Oh yes I was also once asked if I had children, and how old they were. Disguised as 'friendly chat type question'

I assume they were assessing how likely I was to breed again based on their opinion on my children's age and how often I had already procreated. I'm sure they didn't ask the men that.

That was only 2 years ago.

Oh yes I was also once asked if I had children, and how old they were. Disguised as 'friendly chat type question'

That happened to me a some years ago. She asked me about my children's interests for some reason and I ended up giving her a detailed explanation of Minecraft.

No word of a lie, I was asked 'what do you like least about my face?'

Civil service interview. 9 different stages, maths test was the worst and on the 2 day residential 'interview' with the other candidates we walked in at 9am and they made us repeat a very similar maths test to make sure we hadn't cheated previously nline. I'd had a nightmare 13hrs train journey to the assessment centre due to delays etc the day prior and my tiny room was a sauna I'd arrived in at 11:30 the night before on a ground floor I felt terrified to open the window in. The shitty 6 inch fan I trekked lost to reception to was broken when I plugged it in. I don't remember the exact first maths question but I nearly cried... 😂

God I remember the wet chair interview lady as well, don't blame her for walking out!!

I was asked how does your husband feel about you coming back to work. I was pregnant at the time and had applied for a promotion. Also doesn't your husband mind looking after your baby whilst you are at work. They asked again in another way how my husband feels having to look after our baby whilst I'm at work.
I didn't get the job. It went to a younger, unmarried, less qualified applicant.

Was also asked for different job how much DH earnt, which I said had no relation to me applying for the job and wouldn't tell them.

I got it, and when I commented on the sexist question, I was told they wanted to see if I was hungry for the job

Also, my first ever job:
Them 'what books did you study for English A level?'
Me - answered
Them 'who was your favourite character?'
Me - answered
Them 'what was your favourite quote?'
Me -

Apparently it was to weed out those who lied about their qualifications...

Two awful questions, I couldn’t pick the worst!
One was « what would be the positives for you about not getting this job?»
I laughed and said that hopefully I wouldn’t have to think about that.
( I got the job)
The second was when the interviewer asked my opinion on the other candidates who had been waiting with me in the dining area, with specific reference to appearance, age, weight etc.
I refused to answer the question on the grounds that such things were not relevant and I hadn’t actually given much attention to it.
( I didn’t get the job, but wasn’t too sad about that !).

@lucieee
What did you reply ???

I really hate those interviews where they say, "we've 8 set questions to ask you"

And the first one is....

Tell us about our company
What you think we are trying to achieve
And how you can contribute to that

Fuck off that's three questions 😠🥴

Some of these answers are so sad!

I work in resourcing and prepare interview questions. Whether it’s for an entry level role or senior management, I love giving people an opportunity to really sell themselves and tell us about their professional achievements.

What on earth will asking trick questions or clumsily trying to use pseudo-psychiatric scenarios do other than put candidates off and make the organisation look totally unprofessional?

I was sent by an agency for a part time mail room job back when I was a very shy teenager. The first question I'm asked is "so what made you want to be an IT consultant?" I was so nervous I made up some rubbish which made it obvious I had no idea what I was talking about. Turned out the agency had sent me to the wrong interview. I feel sorry for the person who went to the one I was meant to be at.

I also got asked in a round about way if I was planning on more children and how I planned on covering child care for the ones I have.

So many companies seem to have such a high opinion of themselves! So many ridiculous interview questions!

I went for a teaching job. The first question was 'can you play the piano? Can you learn by September?' I can't play the piano and didn't accept the challenge. I didn't get the job but do wonder if the successful candidate could play!

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the salary question yet.

What salary are you currently on? What salary are you looking for?

For me, the worst questions to ask. They are basically asking you to guess what someone of your experience may be paid for this job, in this location, in this industry. And the current salary question is basically asking what is the least amount of money we can get away with paying you to do the job. (current salary +£2k).

No backgrohnd. No idea of knowing the budget. No idea of how long they have been looking to fill the post (and therefore no idea how desperate they are to throw money at you and hire you).

I hate the question. I always try to deflect and say I'm looking for a competitive salary,or a fair salary and ask what their budget is for the role. Sometimes they will answer sometimes they don't.

But that's the question I dread. I'd rather walk away from a job than know I've been low balled because I'm happy doing the job for a lower amount of money than they were willing to pay.

I had to do a group interview as part of the NHS application process. Part of it involved making a fish out of a range of items given to us and getting it across the room as quickly as possible, working as a team. I didn't get the job as I had asked the group not to use the deflated balloon as I have a real phobia about balloons.