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 🤭
AIBU?
To ask for your funniest/weirdest/most awkward job interview experiences have been?
NightandViolets · 05/02/2023 17:09
DRS1970 · 05/02/2023 17:23
I was asked at interview "if you were a wood, what wood would you be". I said walnut, which may have been wrong as I never got the job.
PalourGamer · 06/02/2023 13:17
Name changed in case I’m recognised!
As an interviewer:
The candidate kept staring at the television on the wall behind me (it wasn’t on!). Not once in a 30-minute interview did he make eye contact - addressed every mark to the blank screen.
Similar to the poster who had a winking interviewer, I had one who I was convinced was flirting. I told myself I must be imagining it, but in the review meeting afterwards (several of us had rotated between different candidates, interviewing them all) two other interviewers said the same thing - one of them male.
I was interviewing someone for a fixed-term contract role and had had a previous incident of a candidate not being made aware the role was FTC. I could see from this candidate’s CV that she was in a permanent role, so I asked how she felt about switching from permanent to FTC. Her reaction couldn’t have been more dramatic. “Oh my God - so after 11 months I’d just be out, just gone, no job?! What would I do?! I’d be out on the streets!” Obviously it was the agency’s fault for not telling her, not hers - but her reaction was just so extreme. She would have panicked in a high-pressure situation.
I knew within five minutes that one interviewee was absolutely useless and would never get the job. Unfortunately, she had a 45-minute slot and three more interviews to come 😬 I had to desperately try to stretch it out, knowing very well I couldn’t possibly recommend her.
As an interviewee:
One of the interviewers asked “So which role are you here for again?” I must have looked taken aback because she said “Sorry, I’ve just come in for one day as I’m on maternity leave; I’m all at sixes and sevens!” Things went downhill from there. They asked about my experience in event planning. I said it wasn’t something I’d done before and they seemed surprised - they said it was a big part of the job. Not so big that they’d actually mentioned it in the ad… Then they mentioned how much time I’d need to spend travelling between their two offices - also not mentioned in the ad. I said “I did say on my application form that I can’t drive”. “Ohhhh… you can’t drive? That’s going to be difficult…” I could understand that there might have been a mistake with the ad (as unprofessional as that would be), but how did they miss that I had none of the experience they wanted and had very clearly said I didn’t drive?
At one interview, I dropped my open handbag in reception, with everything in it spreading itself as far as possible across the floor, including a bag of fruit pastilles and, bizarrely, a Christmas decoration in the shape of a Moomin. It must have been an omen for the rest of the day, as the interviewer was a total bitch. She was looking at my CV and said “You’ve moved around a bit, haven’t you?” in a disapproving tone. I said “Well, not really”. She raises her eyebrows and says “Four jobs in eight years?” She sounded so bloody supercilious that I knew I wouldn’t want the job even if I got it. I said “Actually, if you read my CV, you’ll see I’ve actually only worked for two companies in that time - I’ve had four roles because I was promoted within 18 months in both”. I knew I’d put her back up, but didn’t care at this point.
I had an interview on the world’s least lovely industrial estate, which involved a ten-minute walk from the train station - with the heavens opening just as I got off the train. This was before the days of Uber, so I had the choice of trying to find a local firm and risking being late, or walking through the rain. I chose the walk and arrived drenched. The interviewer didn’t manage so much as a pleasantry (e.g. an acknowledgment I was wet through) or even offer me a glass of water. What he did ask ME for was a copy of my CV, as he “hadn’t had a chance to read it yet”. Cue ten minutes of excruciating silence, before he said he didn’t really understand why I’d applied for the job, as it was based around X. I said “Well yes, and I do have experience for that - but also particularly in Y, and the agency said the role was a mix of the two”. “Well yes, it IS” he said in a very irritable tone, as if I’d somehow got it wrong rather than him.
I promise I’ve had some very good jobs and have hired some great candidates too! 😁😁
WrendaleCountryDogs · 07/02/2023 10:04
I went for a job interview at as a support worker. It was in a purpose built building of self contained flats that had recently opened. When I arrived, I was asked my name and then was shown around the building by another support worker. I thought it a bit odd as I'd not met the manager.
I was shown everything. Laundry room, education room, communal lounge, computer room, gardens, etc. Given indepth information on each area eg you have to book a time slot for computers and you got tokens to use washer/dryers.
I was shown 3 empty flats and was given indepth detail of them including the rent, what bills were included, etc etc.
Eventually as we walked back to the reception area I was asked "how long have you got?" I asked what was meant. "Until your due?" Due what??
The job, which I didn't mention up top, was for a support assistant for young and vulnerable women who were pregnant/had children under 3 years to help them to learn to parent.
I was a size 10. It was a summers day so I had no coat on. I was quite clearly not pregnant. They thought I was there as a potential resident not for job interview!
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PuttingDownRoots · 05/02/2023 17:24
This still makes me angry.
Graduate job, just after university. Theres a small blip in my university results, leading to a lower classification than I like but I still have my Masters.
Interviewer asked what had happened, I told him I had been ill. He persisted, asking what was wrong... PTSD. Still wouldn't let up... so I told the basic truth of... Sexual Assault, hoping he would just move on. He then started to ask more questions before one of the other board members stopped him.
Couldn't wait to get out of there. Didn't get the job, didn't want it.
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