To ask for your bad interview stories?

[luanncountess]

I just had an interview for a masters course in social work this morning and it went terribly. They had sent me documents to read and social work values and a bit about professional accountability. It was a group 'discussion' and I had really prepared but rather than a discussion, they asked questions directed at each person and the question was nothing to do with the documents they sent over. I think that's what threw me off. I am cringing at how bad it went, they had to prompt me to talk and when I did I don't think anything I said made much sense, I was rambling on, I can't really remember as my adrenaline was going so much. I remember saying that just because a child is in care doesn't mean they are 'doomed' 🤦‍♀️ I actually used the word doomed. What is wrong with me? I 100 percent will not have gotten a place on the course which I am a bit gutted about, feel like I've let myself down.

Trying to cheer myself up has anyone had some awful interview stories to share?

My worst experience was a full day of interviews at a big city law firm. It was exhausting, with multiple interviews, group exercises, tests, and even lunchtime was a meet and greet with current trainees. It didn’t go badly as such (although I didn’t get the training contract) but it was so stressful and I ate so little at lunch that I fainted on the train home. I had to be helped off the train and into a taxi by a kind fellow passenger.

I once interviewed at a legal publishing place, which was a very weird interview. I was asked what my parents did for a living. I also was asked to pick my favourite colour and then told what this meant about my personality.

I’ve interviewed some awful candidates too.

@RedBonnet

Being interviewed by the manager of the team I'd be working for. I mentioned a certain (scientific) thing and he said he'd never heard of it. He said he was an expert in the field. I explained it in more detail so it was obvious to the others on the panel that I wasn't mistaken. I knew I wouldn't get the job. Not many men want a subordinate female who knows more than they do (and shows them up in the interview 🤣)

Your post brings up an interesting point. I wonder how many people weren’t successful in an interview as one of the interviewers felt intimidated. I’ve had a couple of interviews where the third interviewer was definitely less qualified and experienced than I (other two were definitely MORE so than me though). Be interesting to hear more stories like yours, @RedBonnet

@MrsSkylerWhite

I was an extremely competent, also very attractive young woman. Well qualified for the role. He interviewed me twice and told me that’s he was not going to hire me because I was “dangerous”.

Context: early 1990s. He was 20 years older than me, 6 inches shorter but clearly suffering from a massive ego,

I was recently married. Now, I would kick up one hell of a stink. Then, it was par for the course and I notched it up to experience.

A year or so later, I was interviewed six times for a role. Eventually told that, whilst eminently qualified, because my husband was a director of a competing company, “pillow talk” was a concern.

I really, really hope things have moved on.

“pillow talk”

industrial espionage i presume , is very common in different industries.

Oooh, I've had some corkers.

One of my first interviews, fresh out of university, was for a trucking company on an industrial estate. But it was one of those secure estates, where you have to go through a barrier, and they're not really designed for pedestrians.
I was asked to park up outside the estate, then told I'd have to walk through the estate to get to this office on the far side... It was raining, I was wearing new shoes... I arrived late, wet, with bleeding feet, in a borrowed hi-viz jacket. Needless to say, I didn't get the job. And I had to hobble all the way back to my car.

Years later, once I was a qualified teacher, I went to one of those all day interviews. I did a teaching demonstration, which I thought went reasonably well, and then went into the actual interview... Teaching interviews are usually 30-40 minutes long... I was in the room probably less than 10 minutes and met with stony faced silence throughout... Never found out why I didn't get the job. But weirdest interview I've ever had for teaching.

Another time I had a coughing fit in the middle of an interview. In the end the head teacher had to stop the interview to get me a glass of water!

@ExhaustedMumma

My worst experience was a full day of interviews at a big city law firm. It was exhausting, with multiple interviews, group exercises, tests, and even lunchtime was a meet and greet with current trainees. It didn’t go badly as such (although I didn’t get the training contract) but it was so stressful and I ate so little at lunch that I fainted on the train home. I had to be helped off the train and into a taxi by a kind fellow passenger.

I once interviewed at a legal publishing place, which was a very weird interview. I was asked what my parents did for a living. I also was asked to pick my favourite colour and then told what this meant about my personality.

I’ve interviewed some awful candidates too.

How funny, I know exactly where you mean at the legal publishing place - I interviewed there too and had the colour thing. It was almost 20 years ago - I wonder if he's still doing it.

Had an interview years ago for a 4 month long temporary research graduate role which fell under two departments. Had lots of experience in the area so was feeling confident. Turned up as the first interviewee and was sat down at a large round table to wait for the panel to arrive. They did, one by one, all seven of them . 7 very distinguished professors in their field. I found it so intimidating I stumbled through the questions and unsurprisingly didn't get the job. Have since had interviews for higher level roles with far fewer people on the panel which was a lot less intimidating which I sailed through!

Years ago I had an afternoon interview. I arrived late morning and went out for a walk for a sandwich and to clear my head before the interview. I got lost and the more I tried and failed to find my way the more panicked I became (this was before mobile phones) I eventually found my way back and was about five minutes late for my interview. I didn't get the job!

Another one was when one of the people on the interview panel was rocking backwards and forwards on his chair and went head over heels and landed in a heap on the floor. I laughed. I didn't get that one either.

@ThisIsEngland

I was going for a promotion at work. I was young, shy and quiet, confident and good at my job, and I worked hard..

I didn't know any of the panel of interviewers so my manager told me to go in and just be myself.

The interview seemed to go well until I said 'I want to spank you all for your time" whilst trying to push my wheeled chair back from the flimsy table... Only to realise the chair didn't have wheels ani I pushed the table over into the interviewers. Sadly, the table had a big jug of water and lots of biscuits. I then laughed until I snorted like a pig laughing, and ran out.

I got the promotion! Fuck knows how!!

That genuinely made me laugh out loud

I attended an interview for a psychology teacher. The head met us all early in the day and told us he had a really good psychology question to ask us. (He wasn't a psychology specialist! ) in the interview he was obviously excited about his question. It was in the early days of big brother. He said imagine I have given you time off to go on big brother, how would you come across and how long would you last. I replied that was my worst nightmare and wouldn't go on in the first place. He was quite cross and insisted that i imagine I was there.i told him I would sit in a corner and read praying to be voted off! I didn't get the job! Can't think why.

I had a candidate who answered her phone in the interview and sat there saying "yeah, I'm in an interview right now" while me and the rest of the panel were sat there like .

Then there was the guy who went off on a rant about "too much PC nonsense" in response to a question about equality and diversity.

I was the OP on this board but name changed. I got a place on the course!

I used to work in recruitment and my colleague was recruiting for a role that required a French speaker. She put a great candidate through to be interviewed by the company. The interview questions were in English but the candidate had to answer in French. Well this guy had told a major porky and couldn't actually speak the language. Did he fess up? Oh no, he answered the questions in English but put on French accent to try and fool the interviewer

@luanncountess1

I was the OP on this board but name changed. I got a place on the course!

Ah, congrats OP, that's good news 👍

Went to an interview for my first ever job, I wasn't feeling very well but was really really interested in the job as it was related to photography.

Anyway I thought I'd be okay and I was actually handling the interview quite well and then I was sick in a bin during the interview

I didn't get the job

I once hit someone’s car in the car park on the way out 🙈

Went for a software job years ago. Hours long interview, lunch at the office, tour of the office, met all the staff. Feedback was that I had all of the skills except one minor skill, The other shortlisted candidate was lacking in the major skills.
They asked me post interview to research and write a paper on how I would learn this skill. I swotted up on it, researched courses etc, stayed up all night and wrote a several pages long paper.
Sent it in to them. That was about 15 years ago. I'm still waiting to hear if I got the job! I chased it up several times, and they were "still deciding"
Probably not I think because the company went bankrupt several years after.
Couldn't have happened to a nicer company! Fuckers.

I was re-interviewing for the job I already had (going temp to contract for an administrative role) which was shitty enough, but I heard a rumour that one of the young men on the panel had a habit of asking applicants weird questions for fun, to try to make them uncomfortable. He asked a colleague of mine if she'd had enough sleep that night, that kind of thing. The other person on the interview panel was a very nice, very professional older lady.

Context - a few years prior, I'd helped to run a semi-famous adult store for a two years (running sales and helping manage the team, etc.). I'm not ashamed of any aspect of that job, so it's stated matter-of-factly on my CV. Part of the attraction of our store was live pole dancers every weekend.

Anyway, this dickhead interviewer saw this on my CV and thought he'd struck gold. At the end of my (very good and ultimately successful) interview, he asked "I noticed you worked at [Shop]. When you worked there, did you do... everything?". I was onto him, so I calmly rattled off a list of my regular duties, but he kept pressing "So, like... did you do EVERYTHING there?"

I let him push me for a minute, then replied with "Oh, you're asking me if I was a pole dancer!". You should have seen the older lady's face as she glared at him. I continued "No, but I helped manage our dance team at the weekends. SO YOU'VE BEEN TO OUR SEX SHOP, THEN? What did you think? Did you get anything while you were there?"

Amazing how many people have thought they could use my work history to embarrass me when I happily polished butt plugs in public for years.

@luanncountess

Yeah the documents that they sent was 125 pages long, I read them from start to finish, highlighting, taking notes and then the questions were - probably quite simple to others - nothing to do with any of it. I feel like I over prepared and should have just went in relaxed as the questions were actually quite simple but really threw me off as just not what I expected. Ugh keep cringing

These stories are doing the trick though

If it was a group of other candidates in the discussion presumably they were in the same position as you, they would have studied all the paperwork and been thrown by the interview style. Good luck, it may not be as bad as you thought, sometimes the interviewers are interested in how you react when thrown a curved ball.

I can't tell you how pleased i was to find this thread! I had an interview for a Masters at a very prestigious university yesterday, and I genuinely feel traumatised by how poorly I performed. I literally went blank several times, rambled incoherently while panicking, and completely forgot to mention THE most crucial and relevant element of my experience.

I don't think i've ever been more nervous before an interview, more humiliated during, or more devastated afterwards. Reading other people's stories is keeping me sane! :-)

OP, have you heard from the uni yet?

Everyone keeps telling me to 'wait and see', but when you know, you know!

I went for my dream job with the Premier League and i had a written task to do before the interview and was sat in the board room to do it.

Next to me on the table was the premier league trophy that Chelsea had just won for the first time in my lifetime - I'm a massive Chelsea supporter.

All i could think about was Jose Mourinho and so many of my Chelsea hero's would have been in this room and might have sat in my chair and i got all flustered and made schoolgirl error of not checking the time and getting distracted.

I knew i had messed up before i even went into my interview so even though it went OK i knew i would not get the job - and i didn't.