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.

Graduate interview for that specified they wanted a graduate (over 25 years ago now). Turned up, first thing from interviewer was he didn’t see the point of degrees, he hadn’t got one nor had his son who worked for him.This was for a chartered profession so graduates were the norm even then. First red flag. He then went on to add that the last girl, a graduate had left, before getting the results from the professional exams; “She didn’t care and wanted to work in music.” At this point, I am a little concerned but too polite to leave. He then went on to say that because last graduate has left, I would have to pay for my own training and exams. 😦He then asked if I lived at home, no I had moved out. He then smirked and said he wouldn’t offer me the role because he felt I would struggle as I didn’t live with my parents 😦. So I told him I was glad he had said that as I didn’t think I could afford to pay for my training and exams. For some reason this really offended him, he had already said the job wasn’t mine (thank goodness) and I had agreed this was fine with me. So he then offered me the job and told me to think about it…..Readers, I binned my application form as soon as I left the building.

This is long, but too weird not to share.

I went for an interview in my late 20s, it was in an office near the Barbican which looked a bit shabby outside but seemed to be something of a tardis inside. There was no receptionist, only a security guard at the door and every room seemed to have little to no furniture, as if it had been entirely furnished from items found at the tip.

On arrival, I was greeted by a woman and taken downstairs to a small windowless basement room. The woman asked me if I’d travelled from far. I said where I’d come from (city outside of London.)
“Are you from there?”
“Yes.”
“And your parents, are they from there?”
“No, they’re from Sheffield and London.”
“And how did they come to move there?”
“My Dad got a job there.”
“And do you have any brothers and sisters?”
“Yes, a sister.”
“And what do they do?”
“They’re at university.”
“What are they studying?”
These questions went on for quite some time, beyond the stage of preliminary social chit chat. Suddenly she produced a set of coloured cards.
“OK, I’d like you to have a look at these coloured cards and tell me which colours speak to you.”
Bemused, I picked out some cards.
“Very good. Now do you have any questions about the job?”
I asked her some questions about the job, by this point I’d been in there for nearly an hour and had not been asked any questions about my experience or ability to do the job. She answered my questions before suddenly cutting across: “OK. I’m going to put the cards out again, and could you tell me which ones appeal to you again.” I repeated the exercise.
She then suddenly ushered me out of the room as if the interview was over. We walked back upstairs and just as I was practically back at the reception abruptly asked, “Do you have to shoot off or do you have anymore time? We’d like you to do a test.” Obviously - stupidly - I said yes, it was just too weird not to.
She then took me to another windowless room, before producing a sheet of paper which looked like it had been photocopied 3000 times with various questions on it. The type of “brain teasers” you see on social media. On her return, she marked my answers before explaining in great detail what I had done wrong on the answers I’d gotten wrong. I assumed that was it, but to my astonishment she then asked me again if I had any more time. We walked through a rabbit warren of corridors before I was to taken to an office to be introduced to someone I presume was the MD. He was an elderly man and looked like something out of Dickens, sitting behind an enormous mahagony desk. He said nothing to me I was ushered in and introduced. The woman left and we sat there for at least two minutes in total silence before he suddenly said:
“The light. It is broken. Could you excuse me a moment.”
He picked up the telephone, and asked for a lightbulb to be sent up. He continued to stare at me for longer then was comfortable, before saying, “Are you aware that you look like a pre-Raphaelite?” He then told me that his daughter also looked like a pre-Raphealite and managed a famous TV personality. That concluded the conversation. I was then taken to another room, stuck in front of a computer and asked to edit a document before finally I was allowed to leave.

Back out on the street I looked at my phone and realised I’d been in there for over four and a half hours. They’d not even asked me any interview type questions. I never heard anything back from them. The whole experience was so bizarre I honestly thought I’d hallucinated the whole experience until a few years later a friend’s new boyfriend randomly turned out to be working there.

I’d be great at that sort of thing!

I’ve had a couple - one I’ve posted about before where I was contacted from linked in, asked if I was available to do a specific thing a couple of days a week. Replied yes could do Monday and Tuesday morning and when I got up the interview they wanted a flexible full-timer.

i also interviewed for a laser surgery practice (now defunct) where the uniform seemed to be cut offs and a cropped top.

Cover teacher role, my details had been passed to the school by another school which liked me but gave the role to someone more experienced. So I was rather surprised to be contacted by this random school.But needed a job so went to visit. I got the hard sell and decided I would go for the interview/ observation lesson. Then it got weird…the three days a week dropped to two, I was okay with this (just needed a job) then it was suddenly one day only. At this point, I had arranged cover at my existing school, had prepared the lesson and loads of resources so I was going to go no matter what. (I was finishing my NQT year and still keen). Clearly, there was no job for me but they couldn’t just come out to say it.

Went along, did a weird set of psychometric tests, taught a lesson and went to interview. Was asked how I would establish myself when covering a class. I mentioned setting out expectations of behaviour quickly. How quickly, they asked? In the first five or so minute, I replied. “ Interesting”, said the Head,”It took you six minutes to tell them what you expected.” Game over.

Then it took them a week to tell me I didn’t get the job.

I had to give a presentation to a panel consisting of six vicars and the headteacher. They were not allowed to ask questions. I had used a French word in the presentation: two of them wanted to ask what it meant but the others told them they weren't allowed. I told them anyway.

One and a half days of this and other tasks and they decided not to actually interview any of us. I was fucking furious!

This was for a post in a vets (animal assistant) before I qualified as a vet nurse.

Table of four candidates and a load of scenarios, this one particularly stuck out.

Group of 6 potholers get stuck. Only 2 are allowed to get out alive.
John 34 has 2 children under the age of 5.
Mary 25 is single but is having an affair with John.
James 54 is a minister.
Brenda 65 divorcee but daughter needs her to babysit.
Michael 43 is a blood donor and paramedic.
Justine 31 is engaged but has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Who gets to live? Apparently there were wrong answers..........

My dd went for an interview for an office job and the first question was 'do you like animals?'
Dd replied that she did and had a pet cat.
The rest of the interview consisted of talking about pets and sharing photos of them!
She got the job .

I’d reply that I wouldn’t give up on anyone, but would put a message out on social media to get breathing equipment sent over and get everyone else out in order of how close to the surface they were.
if all equally close, I’d get John and Justine out first, then

You try thrashing that out between four very different people. Your answer about who lives were correct 🙂 well by those assessors anyway!

A couple of years ago I had an interview at a tech company. I got a bad vibe from the guy right from the start. After about 10 minutes he asked me if I had experience in a particular area, I said no, and he finished the interview there.

If they wanted that experience then fine, but why not put it in the ad, and why invite me to interview when my CV was perfectly clear on my previous experience???

When my last company ended everyone was made redundant I went for an interview a few months later and the interviewer was my manager from the company where she had also been made redundant (I was not aware it was her interviewing me until I was in the room)

To make is clear she knows me well and 100 percent knew who I was.

1 question she asked was 'you have a gap of 4 months and are currently unemployed why is that?'

And the second question which really was funny she asked ' in your last role can you describe your manager and what made them good and what made them bad'.

I can honestly say this was the most awkward moment in any interview I've ever had

@TheKobayashiMaru the dealership didn't begin with S did it ?

I met someone who went for an SLT role in a school. 4 candidates, they would call one out and they wouldn’t come back. Finally their name was called and they walked to a door, they opened it and said ‘right do a 15 minute assembly to this hall full of students’. No warning or preparation, just pushed out there.
If they didn’t do well they were sent home.
They said they did okay, and they were interviewed but they were so rattled they didn’t do well.

I went for an interview in Cornwall for a professional position in a big local firm back in the 1980s and was offered the job there and then. They then asked when I could start so I told them that I was getting married in a few weeks time and had a honeymoon booked for two weeks holiday so could start anytime after that.

The more senior interviewer then said that I should have told them I was getting married before they offered the job as they didn't approve of married women working in senior positions and they thought I should give up work after getting married!

Another one I’ve remembered - recruitment for a small opticians chain in the late 90’s for pre-registration optometrists - ie post grads, but still training.
weird symbol/colour based personality tests, for students who are taught to think methodically, critically and use evidence based study to come to conclusions. Lots of hand raising and looking around the room.
The group was bought out by Boots a few years later.

I've had loads of bonkers interviews over the last 15-ish years. Some particularly memorable ones:

• The time I interviewed for an internal role with people I worked with every day, and they insisted I pretend I was a totally outside candidate who'd never met them before. I slipped up once and mentioned a project we worked on together for one of them, and she told me we'd never worked together before with a stern look.
• The time an interviewer asked me about my hobbies, and I told her all about the volunteering I did at a local natural history museum doing art workshops and handling tables. The she told me it didn't count as a hobby and asked me for my real hobbies so I said I like to to practice yoga, but then she told me that wasn't a real hobby either, so I panicked and said I played tennis and that seemed to pass muster.
• The most recent was when I had to do a 20 minute presentation, which bordered on free consulting, only to learn that Teams had frozen on the first slide and while I thought I was presenting a very thorough slide deck, everyone spent 20 minutes staring at the same slide and no one said a word 😐

I was once asked what my dad did for a living in an interview! In 2010!

“When I was 16 I was interviewed at a pharmacy for a sales job. I was sat on a high stool in the back of the shop. I don’t know what happened but I woke up on the floor, I had fainted and then spent 40 minutes throwing up while I waited for my dad to come and get me. I got the job- his knows how.”

This just gave me the giggles 🤣😂

Blimey - that must have been a head twister, OP.

What was the job you'd applied for?

Is the hotel still in business?

From the interviewer side
I recently interviewed a candidate who started crying part way through answer to first question and didn’t stop - wouldn’t take time out to compose themselves either
During Covid I interviewed someone in a pub beer garden (pub was closed as was all hospitality so there was no one about and we sat quite a few feet away from each other
A few months later I did same in Tesco car park which worked just as well
Met another at a local beauty spot when you weren’t allowed to sit on park benches which were taped off so I took 2 fold up camping chairs - they fell through seat and got tangled up in the legs and wedged in to frame which I had to pull off them
All 3 got the job!

Went for a job interview for a shop assistant in 1991, was asked why I had applied as they wanted a man!

I love this. Completely bizarre, it's like one of those films that wins all the cool awards.

I had a nanny interview with a famous singer.

She was in the midst of recording an album, and the interview was at the studio, which happened to be a little cottage at the back of a big house in West London.

I was taken through to the kitchen, where she was cooking a meal for the staff. She explained that they took turns cooking when they were recording; and this particular night was her turn. I ended up helping her chop veg as we spoke.

She was lovely, but it was undoubtedly the weirdest interview I've ever done.

More annoying than weird but many years ago I was asked to attend an interview in Geneva (travel costs paid for). It was to be a three hour panel interview for the job title of xyz.

So we start with the general questions, run through my CV etc. It then moved to specific questions about a completely different type of role in that industry than what I applied for and what I had been asked to interview for.

Not wanting to bs my way through questions I didn't know the answers to, I asked is this an interview for the role of xyz or are you considering me for a different role. There is a massive awkward pause and they clarify like I am an idiot "no this is an interview for the job of "abc title". Pulling out a print off of the interview invite I reply that I had been invited to interview for the role of abc.

More awkward pauses followed by apologies of there must have been some kind of mistake. Eventually transpired the interviews for the xyz role had taken place a month previous and the role filled. By their mix up I had been invited to the abc interview by mistake but still with an air of annoyance like somehow it was my fault.

In short I took two days to travel to Geneva and back to spend 20 minutes in an I nterview for the wrong bloody job.