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Original poster

The worst thing that’s happened in a job interview..

71 replies

Mum233 · 13/07/2021 14:32

The thread is prompted by being in a coffee shop recently and next to a table where someone was being interviewed. Halfway through the interview he leaps up from the table (the candidate), runs to the toilet and then appears ten minutes later with sweat literally pouring out of his head. This then happened again. He then tried to keep going and it was awful. He looked so ill and I felt so sorry for him.
What’s the worst thing that’s happened to you in a job interview?

OP posts:
Imnotcrazyjustdrunk · 13/07/2021 15:51

Once interviewed a man who had a streaming cold.
I went to the admin office to collect him and take him to the interview.
Usually, I'd introduce myself and shake hands. This time he blew his nose, loudly and snottily, into a hankie, coughed into his hand then put same hand out for a handshake.
I politely declined.

Another time, a colleague had to step out for 45 seconds to get a new pen. The applicant leaned over the table and asked me chumily how I thought he was doing and how was the interview going.

Another time I caught someone lieing, blatantly. Ended the interview and asked them to leave.

butwhatcanwedo · 13/07/2021 15:53

I went for an interview in a lovely brand new sleek Karen Millen suit with a pencil skirt with side slit.

As i sat down the skirt ripped all the way up almost to the top of the side slit with a loud noise. I carried on and did the whole interview but it was very awkward as neither of us mentioned it. I didn’t get the job.

Sinuhe · 13/07/2021 15:54

... mine is from the interviewers point of view.

We where renovating/ building new offices in a bog standard warehouse unit and nearing completion.
We had scheduled interviews over several days in a porter cabin just outside.

All good and nicely set up. But on our last interview day, we opened the porta cabin with the candidate in tow only to find it empty but for one wonky chair.

Needless to say, the candidate got the chair, I conducted the interview leaning against the wall, while my colleague took notes on the floor!
Sadly the candidate didn't get the job - wasn't great at "going with the flow" ..

It turned out, the workmen decided to move the furniture into our new office space- to determine electrical socket points.

SRS29 · 13/07/2021 15:57

@OverByYer

I know someone who sat through the interview with their legs tightly crossed. They ended up giving themselves a dead leg. When they got up to leave they promptly feel to the floor.
Not in an interview but did this in a very important meeting with my boss.....and the offices all had glass walls! So embarrassing but just laughed it off whilst dying inside!
Ooof · 13/07/2021 15:59

@burritofan

Cried. The full wobbly lip, hot face, raw throat, shaky voice lead-up to it too. Aaargh.
Ah me too so I feel your pain. Mine was a zoom interview and I’ve vowed never to do one again
Bumblebee413 · 13/07/2021 16:01

I was interviewing for the trust that I worked for, which is named in the honour of a deceased child. When I asked the interviewee why they wanted to work for us, they replied that they were a massive fan of the inspiring work that they (the deceased child) had (n't) done and wanted to work alongside them. So awkward. If they'd just googled the name of the place they were applying for....

Bargebill19 · 13/07/2021 16:03

I am not interested in fashion in the slightest. For some reason I decided to go for a job managing a high fashion high street retail outlet. I must have been insane.
Didn’t get the job.

WTFisNext · 13/07/2021 16:05

I was scribing for an interview a couple of years ago. One of the candidates claimed to be multilingual, with conversational fluency in French, German and Italian being listed on their application.

Unfortunately for them the interviewing manager was a Dutch national (and scarily clever woman). She tried greeting him in German, switched to French then segued into Italian. He failed to respond to any of the salutations making his claim more than dubious even I could have responded to the Italian one

He was a deer caught in the headlights before a single formal question had been asked so when the interviewing manager asked in English "Would you like to continue?" he declined and left the room.

Being multilingual was nowhere near the job specification so lying about it on the application form was just the height of stupidity.

Mrspoopoohead · 13/07/2021 16:05

I travelled to London not knowing I had a stomach bug. I started the interview and had to excuse myself to go to the toilet at which point I literally shat my pants. Said pants were disposed of. I managed to finish the interview but was then violently sick in the toilets on way out. God I must have stunk on the train home! I didn’t get the job!

isamonster · 13/07/2021 16:05

The time I interviewed with an ageing South African guy who had a 'me and' photo wall behind him with pictures of him shaking hands with the great and the good...

While I waited for some paperwork I needed to fill in afterwards, I heard him say to the woman who would have been my boss: "Now I've met that silly bitch, know Christian is our man!"

My now not future boss had to go down in the lift with me, knowing i'd heard every word. Oh and a recruitment consultant rang me about six weeks later to offer me an interview for the same job. Clearly Christian didn't stick around.

MummyJ12 · 13/07/2021 16:14

I went for an interview with another local authority. We’d recently spent a lot of time on emergency planning procedures for a pandemic (which we thought may be avian flu at that time) so when I was asked what challenges I felt that local authorities were going to face in the near future, I banged on about the potential for a pandemic and they thought I was completely nuts! Obviously didn’t get the job. Then a couple of years later Covid hit. Harrogate, where I worked was fully prepared and was a site for a (ok, not really used) nightingale hospital. I wonder if they still think I’m bonkers at the other local authority?!

Wrotten · 13/07/2021 16:16

I had an interview at a pub. We were sat at a low table and she asked me to fill out an application form. I had to lean forward to reach the table and she complained that she could see down my top. It wasn't a low cut top, it was slightly loose and I obviously hadn't expected to be horizontal!

I didn't get the job.

She was a knob on The Hotel Inspector too.

MyView2 · 13/07/2021 16:20

I was interviewing a candidate for a job and as I tried to set him at ease and explained a bit more about the job I threw my hands in the air and accidentally knocked a full glass of water all over him. He was very gracious with his soaking and we offered him the job.

Tempusfudgeit · 13/07/2021 16:28

My Dad was attending for his vicar training interview in the 1960s. Arrived at the Cathedral very nervous, walked into a room with a panel of stern Bishops, tripped over the threshold and fell flat on his face. He got in 😀

Forgothowmuchlhatehomeschoolin · 13/07/2021 16:29

Went for a 2nd interview at a car hire company at an airport ....they asked if l had any questions and l asked if they get many foreigners- what l meant to say was do you get regular customers....course they get foreigners - what a lemon.
Reader, l didn't get the job!

Tombero · 13/07/2021 16:30

They had to stop the interview to tell me my blouse had unbuttoned. I was showing a lot of cleavage. Since then I don’t wear button up tops to interviews. I didn’t get the job. Blush

OhEff · 13/07/2021 16:34

I sneezed with such force I gave myself a nosebleed. I was permitted to excuse myself to the bathroom. Unfortunately it had come on with such force my shirt was covered in blood. I went back in, finished the interview and got the job. An important part of the job Was keeping calm under pressure, apparently I showed that very well. But I never lived it down the entire time I worked there.

Turdibacious · 13/07/2021 16:54

I think I've posted this before under another name but I once had an interview that I felt had gone really well. I went to the loo before I left the building but couldn't find my handbag (I don't normally use one). I realised I'd left it under the table in the interview room and the receptionist had to interrupt the next interview to get it for me. I was by then so flustered that I forgot to hand in my visitor's pass and the poor receptionist was chasing me down the street calling me back!

Weirdly, I didn't get the job.

Bunnyrun5 · 13/07/2021 17:17

Many years ago I had a panel interview for a social worker position. The panel was two men and two women it started well I thought but then noticed them exchanging strange glances at each other. I was about to start answering the next question when one of the females asked me to step outside a moment. She then told me my blouse was undone and I was revealing a lot of cleavage! I was mortified had to go bd k in the room and instead of just carrying on I said, out of nerves, I thought that would guarantee me the job 😮
They laughed awkwardly I did get the job and one of the panel ended up being my manager. He had a good sense about of humour and when we got to know each other he told me the open blouse definitely got me the job!!! Cheeky chap

StrangeToSee · 13/07/2021 17:25

My hands were shaking so much I poured a whole glass of water over my blouse. Then had to pretend it hadn’t happened and carried on soaking wet 😳🤦🏻‍♀️ It threw me so much I could barely answer the questions and the interviewers were trying so hard to pretend they hadn’t noticed either 😂

StrangeToSee · 13/07/2021 17:29

I’ve also interviewed someone who completely froze up and couldn’t/wouldn’t answer any questions. The poor man walked out in the end. I thought I’d somehow scared him so much he couldn’t speak! I was so relieved when the next candidate came in and started chatting.

Wrotten · 13/07/2021 17:34

Someone went into the back of my car and wrote it off, right outside the premises of where I was being interviewed.

I got the job but they offered me less money for more hours than my current job. I declined.

Royalbloo · 13/07/2021 17:38

I was staring at the art work while he left the room. When he came back he asked what I thought of it and I said, "I'm not a huge fan of generic office art."

Then he told me his wife had painted it and she hated it too so he bought it to work! Oops!

titchy · 13/07/2021 17:44

I turned up suited and booted. 24 hours early Blush Still got the job!

TheSunIsStillShining · 13/07/2021 17:45

First interview of my life, back in 1997: interviewer asked about my favourite website. Hadn't even seen the internet as such before. But went with Rolling Stone. Surely they had one and the 50+ man would not be familiar with it. I was interviewing for a webmaster job :) (that I actually got)

second interview of my life: started out in light beige corduroy jeans and white shirt. Got a flat, so I changed the tire. Got another flat a few km later, had to wait for AA on a god forsaken road. Walked for more than 30 mins in the middle of nowhere to find a public phone as my mobile died (1999). Had to reschedule for 2 hours later as guy was flying out later that evening. Got there totally oily, jeans ruined forever, shirt looked like I was working in the mines for hours. Thought I had no chance, so shrugged and had a lovely, relaxed interview. and got the job.

There was only one time I stood up and left mid-interview. They asked about me wanting a kid in the next 6 months and my sexual preferences. Didn't bother answering or saying bye.