To ask for your funniest/weirdest/most awkward job interview experiences have been?

[NightandViolets]

Asking as I’m dipping my toes into the jobs hunt after a long time in my current role and it got me thinking about some very random interviews I’ve had from both sides!

my weirdest moment as an interviewee was when I was blathering on and suddenly the main interviewer got up and left without a word. I carried on and she came back with a tissue then proceeded to take a caterpillar off my shoulder and throw it out the window! She said it had been distracting her! It broke the ice in quite a po faced interview but I didn’t get the job 😉

then from the other side I have had some humdingers but one that really stands out is the woman that brought a book of poetry she’d written to recite to us (the job had nothing to do with creative writing!). She didn’t get the job either!

please share yours and say if you got the job or not as I could do with a giggle 🤭

[Interviewawfulness]

Thank you. It was awful at the time 😔, and not an easy path before or after, but we did eventually have a little girl 18 months later 😀

[BrilliantUsername]

I was just walking up to the door of the company for my interview, too late to turn back as the guy had already seen me approaching through the glass doors, so I smiled and then I felt the splat as I opened the door, a bird had just pooped on my shoulder and it was running down my front.

He did see and got me some tissue and at the end of the interview told me apparently it's meant to be good luck (who knew) and that it had been for me as I was offered the job, it's never been mentioned since.

[earsup]

Temp job at a very woke / pc council education unit...admin role...was asked why I didn't have any language skills in Hindi....I replied that I didnt know it would be essential as never mentioned on the application and stated I already spoke fluent Spanish and good Swahili.....whole panel was odd and far too pc and woke with silly questions about embracing the community etc.....it wasnt an area with many Hindus....all very bizarre....didnt get the job, few weeks later got a call and offered job as previous candidates had turned down job offer....but I had already got a job so refused offer.

[FuckoffeeBeforeCoffee]

Two panel interviews and a task to complete, only for them to offer me not only considerably less than advertised, but also less than my then salary.

Absolute pricks.

[earsup]

Agency also sent me to another super pc/woke council unit....all cropped haired hard looking lesbians....I was offered a drink....I asked for 'black coffee'....all turned on me and glared....and offered me the drink saying...' here is your coffee without milk...'....i did get that job and stayed a year....the joys of hackney council in the late 1980's...!!!....never made any friends there and everyone ignored me....another odd place.

[Fizbosshoes]

One of the first jobs I went for when I was a teenager was for a waitress at a local hotel. When I got there the guy interviewing me took me into a bedroom and closed the door. Then asked if I wanted to sit on the chair or the bed. I chose the chair. (He sat in the bed) I can't remember a single question or how I answered I just remember feeling quite scared. I didn't get the job.

[Fizbosshoes]

Sorry that should say he sat on the bed

[purpledalmation]

It was a long time ago!

I was 16 and thought I'd try for a job in computing. They wanted raw talent lol! There was a big room with us all doing aptitude tests. You know, what comes next in the series etc.

I scored very high and got an interview. I thought it was a bit odd as the other candidates were older and very professional looking.

In the interview this nice avuncular man chatted about god knows what then asked me what my hobbies were, and I replied 'knitting' and pointed to my jumper. He was very sweet, almost patted me on the head like a dog and I didn't get the job.

I went to college and did a bit more growing up.

[TheWhisker]

In the height of the pandemic and the country was locked down. I managed to secure a face to face interview for a small company. The waiting area was also the sales showroom and it was a shit tip!

When I arrived, there were about six other people waiting to be interviewed, all crammed together in a tiny waiting room with no social distancing in place. The woman doing the interviews was also the woman I would have to work with most closely had I been successful, but she was miserable.

Another job I was interviewed by the CEO and it was like he was speed dating me, but interview style. He kept firing questions at me so quickly and expecting an answer as quick as he was firing them at me.

[TheFretfulPorpentine]

@DuesToTheDirt

WTF! What the hell would be a good answer to that one? "Ebony, smooth and dark like chocolate." "Oak, sturdy and reliable." "Balsa, light and great for making model aeroplanes."

Have I got the job yet?

I'd have said 'Birnam Wood, constantly advancing on Dunsinane'.

[AlizeeEasy]

Many years ago was interviewed for an admin job. I was asked the standard question of “why do you want to work here?”

My mind went blank, all I could remember of this company was they sold foot cream so I answered:

”I like feet”

I didn’t get the job and it still keeps me up at night 😂

[L1ttledrummergirl]

One where I was asked what kind of Disney character I would be.

Another where we had to work as a team to move a book 1 metre across the room using only paper and sellotape. Ffs if you're going to use a task like that, at least make it a challenging one. At least we had time for a coffee afterwards.
This one was part of a day of tests, with verbal reasoning being another. I missed one mark on that, and some time spent on a training system doing the job, in which I also completed the tasks.
I always interview really badly though as I get very nervous and I flunked the interview so badly, I couldn't remember anything that I had achieved, helped with, worked as a team in, gone beyond the job description etc. At the time I was on the colleague council, was a union rep and a first aider.
Outside of work I'd become a commiee member to set up a community group, chaired the steering group for our first social event but when asked what I'd done to help people said " I don't know".
I didn't get the job.

[Fruitbatdancer]

I interview people a lot, (big team) I am well known for getting bizarre ones!
the one who talked about his sister the whole time and talked me through a day in the life (I didn’t ask!) including great detail about putting his pants on!
the one who after being rejected started stalking me on linked in sending first begging then agressive and rude messages and did the same to client the role was head of account for!
the one who (mid covid so on zoom) passed out mid call! Panic attack. The video was on but he’d fallen, shot it was awful, I suddenly thought what on earth do I do, luckily his daughter was in house and came in to calm him down/ pick him up.
ive had a lot of criers which I don’t mind as much as shows passion and some I just feel for. I don’t let it cloud judgement, depending on role!
oh but my favourite one is my brother, interviewing in a factory and this guy pulls a machete out of his sock and pops on the desk where it just sits allninterview 😱😱😱

[TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl]

Mine is quite recent. Remote interview in my home office over Zoom, my son had apparently left a toy in the room. It was a farting ninja. I ignored it at first as I was answering a question but then I had to say I’m so sorry my sons farting toy keeps going off I’m just going to remove it from the room.

I got the job 😆

[containsnuts]

I once had a full day interview with group activities and challenges including being shut alone in a windowless room to complete a written task (they called the room the 'cell'). This was for what was basically an entry-level admin job, not head of CIA! I didn't get the position. They did write to apologise and they said there would not be a repeat of this interview style.

[Shouldweno2]

Graduate assessment day.

We had to play a risk board game. It was massive board on the table, we had pieces/ dice etc - we worked in pairs - making decisions on investments and things. About 12 people in total playing. 3 invigilators. No discussion over why we were playing the game. I didn't know how we were being assessed, I thought it was like a collaboration thing.

I was very excited and animated during the game and I knocked over an entire jug of water across the whole board game.

I got the job. Later told that risk taking was my development area (nothing to do with collaboration) but they were so taken by coolness under pressure, and the fact that other than getting some tissues to clean up, and break to apologise to everyone - I kept on playing.

I just really enjoyed the game! Haha.

[Dummycrusher]

I work in customer research. One of the most important things for research is getting the right people to interview - there's no point in asking vegans about what they look for in a pork pie, or teenagers about what amenities they'd like to see in a retirement home.

I went to an interview for a very expensive wireless breast pump. They asked me how I would approach a research project and I talked about how I would get breastmilk-feeding mums from high income households to do the research because they were presumably the target audience. They kept on questioning me about that bit and looked a bit unimpressed when I said that because of the high price point they would presumably want feedback about the product from people able to afford it, in particular because it might give them some hints about how to tailor their marketing. The guy who would have been my boss sniffily said that their products were for all women (yeah mate, reckon women on the dole are going to buy your £350 breastpump?!) and that they didn't focus on marketing because their products spoke for themselves (the arrogance!!!!). I think the look on my face probably gave it away that I thought he was a complete idiot and that I didn't want to be managed by somebody who didn't even understand the basics of customer research. Then I pointed out why they should be tailoring the sample and he hastily moved the conversation on. In the rejection feedback they said that i "wouldn't fit in with the culture" (of stroking head of product's ego and not pointing out when he is talking out of his arse)

[WhiteNoiseMoreToys]

For the interview of my current job, the CEO joined my video interview and asked “if I offered you the job would you take it?”

my brain said “play it cool, don’t look desperate”

so I said “Hm, I guess so.. ?”

Queue an exchange of awkward looks and him asking me why I hesitated.. I owed up and told him “I don’t know why but I thought I should play it cool and not seem desperate.. but of course I would love the job” 😂

I was pretty embarrassed.

[crazycatladyof6]

Got stuck in a revolving door with the interviewer. I was so nervous I got in the same very small (meant for one person) compartment as him and we got stuck

[watchesrubber]

I once interviewed a chap on zoom and as soon as came on, we could see he was outside and there was a loud whooshing noise behind him. We asked him where he was and he explained he was working a summer job at a beach bar in an overseas resort (the whooshing sound was the Sea).

We decided to persist with the interview and about 5 minutes in, he pauses while a man in the background starts shouting at him. He tells us it's his boss and he'd bunked off from work to do the interview and his boss had just discovered him round the back of the building. The boss kept shouting so he had to end the call.

Not surprisingly we didn't offer him the job. 😂

[crew2022]

@crazycatladyof6

Got stuck in a revolving door with the interviewer. I was so nervous I got in the same very small (meant for one person) compartment as him and we got stuck

So funny!! Did you get the job and how long did it take to get out?

[crazycatladyof6]

@crew2022

So funny!! Did you get the job and how long did it take to get out?

It was actually worse than it sounds. My handbag strap was over my shoulder but the actual bad bit was in the compartment behind and so kept banging on the glass as we tried to move. It was one of those revolving doors that stops if it detects it’s touched something so kept stopping. We had to try and pigeon step our way out. He’s a big man and I have a fairly ample bosom which was rubbing against his back. Very awkward! We eventually got out and he just looked at me as if to say, you are so weird. I just giggled and said, oh well, at least it broke the ice.

we went to the interview room where I kept giggling cos all i could think about was the door. He then said to me (it was 2002) I don’t think we can give you the job. I asked why that was. He said, ‘because you would be working with men’. I was like, ‘er ok and why’s that a problem?’ ‘We’ve never employed a woman before and you know what men can be like’. I just said ‘I’m 27 years old and I’ve been around men before. I think I’ll be ok’
git the job. They told me later they thought I’d last 3 weeks. Left after 8.5 years
woukd never get away with that now!!

[sjpkgp1]

1990 at big corporate "So SJPKGP, what makes you want to be a computer programmer"
SJPKGP, obviously surprised as I thought I as going for a position as a marketing assistant but response was "some bullshit that I made up on the spot",
Got the job.

[GG1986]

I took a sip of water in an interview once and it went down the wrong way and I spent at least 5 minutes coughing and spluttering all over the table. Never been so embarrassed, they kept asking if i was OK and I couldn't answer!

[SunshineAndFizz]

They handed me a muffin and told me to stand up and sell it to them for 30 seconds. It wasn't a sales job.