To ask about your weirdest job interviews

[TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl]

Last year I interviewed for a job in which I had to give a 15 minute presentation about a successful social media campaign I’ve run. It wasn’t for a social media job (and there was nothing about social media in the job description) or anything like it! But I do have social media experience so I accepted the interview with a view to asking in the interview about it.

The end of the (weird) interview - not long after I presented the 15 minute task all about my successful campaigns - went as follows:

Interviewer: Any questions?
Me: Yes, how does the role involve social media?
Interviewer: It doesn’t [looks at me like I’m an idiot]. We actually have a social media officer who manages our channels.
Me: Ah I see, I suppose I just presumed with having to do a social media presentation?
Interviewer: What do you mean?
Me:….Well the presentation task was ‘Describe a successful social media campaign you’ve managed’
Interviewer: Yes. And? Sorry I don’t know what you’re getting at.
Me: [Confused stare]

It went on like this for a bit longer. Still have no idea why I had to do that presentation.

I was offered the job. I said I will have a think and sleep on it. The (same) interviewer got really shirty saying I shouldn’t be going for interviews for jobs unless I was going to accept them.

I declined the job.

@Laiste WTAF??

some great ones there.

Thought some of my interviewees were a bit odd, but I have never had those. Mainly just blatant lies or bullshit. Doing a teams interview with the interviewee in the car was interesting

I was invited to an interview at a location that was fairly local to myself. It was about 50 miles away from home. A 2-day interview was planned, comprising of a detailed assessment task one day, dinner with staff and an interview/ presentation test the next day. Upon reflection, it was very over-the-top grilling for an entry level graduate position, and I have no idea why I bothered to attend as that should have been a red flag from get-go. However, the employers insisted everyone attending stayed the night in the on-site staff quarters. It was a maisonette with a communal lounge, and adjoining guest bedrooms. I asked if I could go home and come back the next day, but the employers were insistent that we all stayed. I decided I didn't want the job as I didn't like the vibe coming from other staff over dinner on the first night, and a few mentioned they were leaving soon. I got the feeling it was not a great place to work and the Head of Department did a fine impression of Miranda Priestley (Devil wears Prada).

Turns out, all the candidates were observed in the accommodation by covert CCTV after dinner to see how we conduct ourselves outside work hours. Another candidate rang me a week afterwards (we exchanged numbers as work in the same field) to say one of the staff members had let slip they knew something about her child-care arrangements that she was only discussing over the phone inside that building to her husband. They didn't offer her a job, implied her child care arrangements would be problematic and when she queried that, one of the interviewing panel admitted to the staff quarters being filmed. She then complained about breach of privacy, and there had been some sort of inquiry. It was very big brother and I always thank my lucky stars that I never ended up working for them. I sent a gleeful email weeks later to the Head of Department thanking her for her invite and updating her with my new appointment.

OMG - how many of these weirdos are there?! Except for the fact your interview was at an estate agent's I would think we'd interviewed with the same creep! (I was desperate enough to take the job - massive mistake, lasted about 4 months before I couldn't hack the comments and "fun" stories about his many brothel visits!)

Oooh I had another one. The role was advertised as full or part time.

Her first question was "Would you be happy working 40 hour weeks? With overtime on top?"

I replied with "No thank you, I was hoping to discuss the possibility of part time!"

She dismissed me from the interview! I had never felt so humiliated. Her colleague was quite angry at her as the role was very niche and I was probably the only person in the county who had the skills.

I complained to Head Office who replied and apologised. They said the role was definitely suitable for part time candidates and asked me to go for another interview with a different person. I declined.

There's no way I'd ever work with that bitch. 😐 (she would have been my manager!)

whaaaaat?

As an interviewer:

The guy whose eyes kept closing mid-sentence until he eventually nodded off.

The man who brought a gigantic hot chocolate to the interview with him. Whipped cream and all.

The woman who kept eating those fruity Fox’s Glacier sweets throughout the interview. Would literally dip her hand into her handbag, scoop a few out, and pick what she fancied.

I attended an interview where the male manager became increasingly aggressive as he asked questions. Every time I answered a question he dismissed my answer and it descended into him telling me how I couldn't do the job. It was a generic admin job at a brewery and I had plenty of experience. I was thoroughly confused and the woman who was also interviewing look very uncomfortable after the first couple of questions. I still don't know what I'd done to offend him.

Some of these have made me spit out my tea 😂😂

Interviewer had her 2yo on her lap the entire time, every time I tried to answer a question or talk about my role he would scream for attention or his iPad.
It was so distracting my mind went blank, didn’t say any of what I’d wanted to.

Even more bizarrely, I got the job. Quit after three months as it was, to put it bluntly, fucking awful. Should have taken the BIG RED FLAG for what it was.

I was asked how my periods were and did they cause me to be absent from work !
Very strange question in my opinion

@WestOfWestminster that is the funniest thing I’ve read in years, I am crying with laughter!

I went to a recruitment day for the prison service the strangest part was the role play. It was all done in a Holiday Inn. You had to knock on a door and when you were invited in an actor would start shouting at you and you had to calm them down, get information out of them and call out any unacceptable language all while being filmed. It was fucking weird!

Not that bad. Had a graduate interview, there was about 5 of us from all over the country.
It was obvious that internal candidate would be getting the job from the off, literally talking about things the role required ‘well obviously Louise knows how to do all this already to a high standard’.
They asked everyone where they had travelled from. I was about an hour/2 hours away, as were most. ‘Louise’ was local and one young guy had travelled over 400 miles. So they interviewed Louise first, us localish people next and the poor lad last! He was getting a train home that night and it was already fucking late. And obviously he wasn’t going to get it anyway.
it was so rude and inconsiderate. Louise got the job.

I have one to share. I will admit to being young and new grad that I completely missed the giant red flags.

So the MD spoke about the company being like family and a close knit family that puts "the family" above everything in their lives. I nearly asked what even there own family ? 😵‍💫

We all were expected to have lunch in the communal break our room at the same time. At the same table.

I was asked if I wanted kids and if I needed to tell him so that it could be discussed 😵‍💫 I was 21 so pretty horrified. They said they expected total honesty and many people didn't make the cut and they were fine with people quoting due to not being able to hack it.

They fired off quick fire questions like chose cat or dog, lose your eye sight or become permanently deaf. Then they offered me the job on the spot and I was so shocked trapped in a room with this overly animated man who had been semi yelling barking questions at me for a hour. He literally wouldn't let me leave the room until I said yes. Then punched the air yelling yesss (when I agreed)

All very concerning but I push it to the side and needed the work. 3 years there were the most punishing I have ever experienced - it was supposed to be a 9-5 job but you would be called out in front of the team if you arrived later than 7.30am and finished earlier than 6pm. Sometimes they just decided that lunch break wasn't happening and we needed to push through. Public reprimands and firings.

Several members of staff had mental breakdowns (one who actually tried to take his life) and they would ridiculed in the team meeting for being not up to standard.

I stayed in part because my team were lovely and I didn't want leave them unprotected. It seemed they had found all the young people with boundaries issues or people pleasers and just ground down their will power and self esteem so they didn't leave. After doing 60+ weeks and nearly losing my dear friend and colleague (because of the work pressure) I handed in my notice.

My boss didn't talk to me for a month (had to give 3 months notice) and then tried to not pay me for my last months work.

Madly the md pulled me into the meeting room and tried to get me to stay when he realised he needed 3 different people to replace me due to the sheer workload. It was like being at that first interview again. Luckily I was older and wiser and declined.

On Glassdoor the reviews are still to this day a massive warning sign to anyone who looks at them. Including someone commenting that the md pulled them all into a meeting to ask about the Glassdoor reviews and who was being a traitor 😵‍💫

Scary to think this many years on they are still preying on the vulnerable.

I was asked at an interview whether or not I was planning on having children I was only in my 20s and not very confident, so I didn’t say anything about it being illegal. I didn’t get the job apparently it was because I was ‘bubbly’ enough when we all know it was because I was of child baring age.

Nowhere near as weird as some of these but I went for a Saturday job in chain clothes shop when I started uni.

It was a group interview that took half a day in a random basement working in small teams doing tasks to “survive on a island”, WTF?!

I didn’t get the job. I’d been working in restaurants and retail since I was 15 including a year as a weekend supervisor in a flipping clothes shop!

About 15 years ago I went for an interview , I thought it was odd as the 2 woman interviewed me said they’d never known anyone to be in a job more than a few month. Anyway I thoughts the interview went ok but I got a weird vibe , I was in my current job then 8 years . I wasn’t working id just been made redundant .
I got home and a message was left on my landline to call back so I did and it was when would you be able to start . I was probably too honest and it was the start of half term and I said something like oh after half term when my dc goes back to school . The line went silent and was abruptly ended . I was livid that they were keen until they found out I had children. I left it a week and emailed asking for feedback, I was accidentally copied in with can you reply and give her some excuse why we don’t want her . Lucky escape if you ask me what surprised me more that this was from woman too .

1985 and one of my first job interviews, a government dept job as a clerical assistant, I was asked if I had a boyfriend and if I had plans to have a baby. I was 18, nearly 19. . I got the job, lasted 18 months, and hated the job. I left when I had my son!

You win the thread!!

Had an interview at a very successful family run business and the director said to me 'you'll hear all the 'isms' here (meaning sexism, racism etc) but it's not meant in a bad way'
Erm ok, I'll pass thanks.

Applied for a position as a peripatetic music teacher (cello). most of it consisted of my explaining how I would introduce diverse music styles into my teaching. Since my background and training was entirely classical (i.e. dead white European guys) this didn't go well. final straw was when they asked how I could use IT as a teaching aid. My suggestion that mobile phone pictures of relevant hand shapes and positions was received as if I was suggesting taking nude selfies of the children. Didn't get the gig-not that I would have wanted it anyway.

Nothing as weird/awful as some of these!

I went for an interview for a post 16 pace in 2009 (so not in the dark ages!). The interview was to be with a tutor from the course.

I arrived in good time at the building. No one on reception/no bell to press. Waited a bit but no one arrived or passed, so I politely knocked on an office door and explained who I was and why I was there. Person was nice but knew nothing about the interview, but rang the person interviewing me.

She eventually came down, no apology and said 'right, we'll have to find somewhere to sit' and we wandered around the building to find an empty spot 😮 ended up perching on the edge of a desk which was piled with papers!

Interview started and she said her only concern was she didn't think my subject was really taught at post 16. I politely pointed out that a large college nearby had a large cohort and had already offered a placement for me. The subject is absolutely taught at post 16 so I was quite confused at this point.

We ended with her saying they would let me know if I was through to the group interview stage. I was convinced I wasn't but got an email a few days later inviting me!

I declined the 2nd interview and did an 11-18 PGCE instead 😁

Was asked my the ops director at the second stage if i was easily offended, said no.

Got the job and was soon being asked thongs like had I ever done it with a black man by the OPs director and his cronies at dinnertime.

This was a major aviation company beginning with 'V' and not known for its commitment to EDI!

Thongs a bit of a Freudian slip there. I meant things, but they may as well have asked about thongs.