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.

I went for a weekend job at Etam I was 16.

There was 3 naked manuquins;

I had to dress one for

A wedding
1 for a night out clubbing
1 for a job interview

They said they needed size 10 clothes and size 6 shoes so I went round, got the stuff (the shop was closed!) then the manager went back to the office said to "give her a shout when I was done"

I could not move the mannequins at all off the stands never mind their arms and legs!! Thankfully for me the lovely cleaning lady said "don't worry I'll help you" and she was a pro she had them sorted mega quick"

She was lovely

I went back to the office, got the manager she came out and shouted across the floor "thanks Margaret" and chuckled 🤭 she'd been watching on the cameras!!

She said I'd chosen well and I got the job I was very excited!

I'm so sorry you went through this and I'd be horrified if this happened to me but this has me in absolute stitches 🤣🤣

I'm imagining myself having to shout TOO MANY BEANS into thin air and to be fair I don't think I'd ever recover 🤣 but still, it's hilarious 🤣🤣

Which begs the question... How many beans is too many beans?

Not as crazy as most of these, but in the late 1990s I was looking for a career change.
I saw something that looked interesting, slightly related to my previous career and training, and decided to apply.

I didn't know much about what the job entailed, and when I got invitation to interview I was looking forward to finding out more.

Go to the interview, was greeted by the manager who showed me around the office. Really basic stuff, here's the toilets, the photocopier etc.

Then after the tour , which took about 10 minutes, they thanked me for coming and ushered me out.

I was so confused, and never heard from them again!

He seemed to be pretty happy there. I remember saying that I'd had a weird interview there and he seemed totally non-plussed when I recounted the tale. I think his exact words were helpfully, well I like it!

I've interviewed dozens of people. In one, just before I went on maternity leave to have my, as it turns out 10.5lb baby, and was chatting to the guy with my colleague to put him at ease before we really began.

DS took that moment to do what felt and looked like a barrel roll. Then reversed it! My bump looked like Alien was making an escape. All of us in the room looked utterly shocked, im still not sure who was more appalled. I have never felt so relieved to interview a candidate that could recover from that and totally nail it.

Not as an interviewee but as an interviewer-
had a woman attend to interview for a post in my workplace (NHS). She walked in, stopped and stared at us for a minute then said “well this is more formal than I expected!”. Both of us who were interviewing were in our work uniforms, so I still don’t understand what shocked her so much 😩😂

I went to an interview once where I'd spent hours prepping.

The manager only asked me about two questions in between chatting about his favourite football team which was also my team. So almost the whole interview was talking football.

At the end, I asked him about 3 questions and that was it! I honestly interviewed him more than he interviewed me.

I was offered the job! Then started playing 5 a side with them. It was good money too and a professional role.

I also did that! Didn't pass

Also did this one in an interview
Different people though, I remember two were supermodels and one female was working on a cure for cancer

The guy in the interview with me wanted to save the supermodels
Interviewer "maple, any thoughts?"
Yes, so we are saving the hot women and ignoring the cure for cancer? Excellent
Interviewer had to hold back a grin

I got the job

I was once interviewed by someone with a small terrier seated on her lap. I got the job because, apparently, the dog liked me.

So basically I was interviewed by the dog 😁

I once interviewed a teacher for a job teaching Physics- he spent 18 minutes answering the first question, 20 answering the second question and in the third the Head of department began to look sleepy. We had allowed 40 minutes per interview and could not shut him up. He wasn't actually answering the questions. At one point he was rambling about his journey there on the train. He didn't get the job.

Another job, another candidate, had not put his current employer as his referee. I said we had to have a reference from his current and previous employer as part of Safer Recruitment procedures. He said quite chirpily that that wasn't possible as he had not told his Headteacher that he had applied for the post. I asked where his Headteacher thought he was that day then and he realised he had put his foot in it and said, sheepishly, he had called in sick. I said we could not proceed with the interview as he had been dishonest with his Headteacher and could not meet our Safer Recruitment procedures and we could not appoint him on that basis. 'Absolutely fine, fully understand, probably shouldn't have done it. Sorry' he said and left saying at least he still had a half day off left to enjoy.

He then applied to the school again a year later but was not short-listed, and he rang up to ask why he had not been short-listed. I said he had no A level teaching experience which was an essential on the criteria list and reminded him about his behaviour on the previous occasion and his lying to both his current Head and us. He was again quite chipper, apologised again and said 'Pity because I thought we got on well.' 🙄

I really needed cheered
up tonight and this made me actually laugh out loud so much it’s woken my baby but it’s still worth it😂😂

I don't find that weird at all. They're assessing your confidence and if you have any de-escalation skills. Very relevant to prison work.

I told the truth:

Alcohol - drink twice a week
Mum - is a teacher
Dad - is dead

awkward silence.

I didn't get the job.

I’m crying with laughter - a dance 😂😂😂

When I was around 19(ish), I went to an interview for a company that did both in person and over the phone cold calling. There was a group of us, maybe 3 boys and 4 girls at the interview.

The manager of the company was an asshole. He said "okay, we'll send the two prettiest girls (they were both skinny, long blonde hair etc) out to do a test run in the local high street because they'll get more people talking to them, the rest of you just do whatever"

I went home 😂

I did pass but the whole thing was an utter shit show. I was offered 2 jobs, then have one offer withdrawn; the offer for my preferred prison! I took the other job anyway as it was more money, it was another year before I started. They're badly run, bullying between staff id rife. The grown kids of senior officers are the worst bullies and rule breakers. I quit soon after completing my training. Never again!

Once went for a summer job doing cold call sales. The interview involved me (and the other candidates) trying to sell double glazing to people (presumably other staff) on the other end of the phone, while another guy walked round the room hitting us on the head with a giant inflatable banana. It was to test whether we could continue selling even though we were surrounded by distractions.

On the opposite side of the desk, I've conducted lots of very odd interviews!

1. Zoom interview with a chap who came on the call and judging from his surroundings was on a beach somewhere. He had no shirt on, sunglasses on his head and had zoomed in from his holiday. Hadn't occurred to him to get dressed and do the interview in a hotel room or anything. 😂

1. Another candidate who had a side hustle running an internet radio station and pre-interview managed to find out the names of the people on the interview panel. He got through to one of us on the phone (while doing his show) saying 'you're live on air now...tell me, why is XYZ a good place to work?' He thought it would be a funny prank for his station but it wasn't.

When I was 29 I was being interviewed by the young director (his Dad's business) and an older female colleague. As we entered the office he made a joke about the the doorcode was his ex's birthday.
Then as the interview drew to a close and he got to the bit with 'if we offer you the job blah blah'and he accidentally said 'if we have a relationship..." but didn't notice what he had said. I looked over at the woman who didn't bat an eyelid.

Quite a few teaching related ones here.

Mine are both from teaching - on both sides of the desk.

My first job. 1982. All the candidates were invited to a buffet the night before. ‘To get to know other staff’. The interview was the next day. No trial lessons, no meeting pupils.
So I attended, chattered, didn’t spill drinks, talk with my mouth full etc.

Interview next day went fine and was offered the job.

Found out later that you got the job at the buffet, you could talk yourself out of the job in the interview day but not in.

You were also billed for the buffet.

30 years later. Head of department interviews. SLT had read a book and decided this was the way to appoint. They’d done it before for Maths and they’d said, “it was great”. ( fact check, they said it was crap)

So we 4 teachers had to prepare a 20 minute practical lesson. (Fortunately we’d been able to pick our pupils and so had nice ones)

We were to teach this lesson with the candidate observing along with a member of SLT.
At a certain point we were to be taken ill and unable to complete the lesson. The candidate was then to take over (with no notes other than a brief lesson plan) They were to be judged on their observations and their teaching skills once they’d taken over.

However no one had explained this fully to all the SLT on the interview panel. We all got to the end of our 20 minutes without being given the nod to feign illness and withdraw.

One candidate fainted. A complete farce. The best candidate got the job - but more by luck than judgement.

A long time ago I worked for a prestigious international organisation abroad.

Upon returning to the UK DH and I were living out in the sticks briefly while we were looking for work and hoping to move to London.

I got an interview for a job in London. 4 hour round trip to get to the interview. Got there and the interviewer blithely told me the position had gone to an internal candidate but he wanted to talk about my work with said organisaiton and for me to give him tips as to how to get a job there himself.

I was unimpressed. And still pissed off about it to. In retrospect I should have asked them to recompense me for my time and train fare but I did not.

My current job interview went really well, but there has since been quite a few comments about the role and what ‘I’ had told them/discussed in the interview.

it’s been five months and now I’m utterly convinced they think I’m someone else! 😂

Went for an interview about 20 years ago. Going OKI thought then I asked if there was anything else I needed to know. The woman said "We allow no smoking here. Not at all". I said "Oh that's fine I don't smoke" (and I do hate it) but she carried on! "If you're ever caught smoking on company premises you will be disciplined and likely terminated!"

She was scary. I didn't get the job.

Amazing thread, this has had me laughing out loud! I don’t have anything anywhere near as good as some of these.

My first ever interview was for a job in a shoe shop where I was only asked about my favourite books and nothing else. I did actually get offered the job but turned it down as it paid £2.50 an hour (in the early 2000s).

I also had an interview in a shop where the lady interviewing was the only person on duty so she just asked me questions on the shop floor in between customers and when the phone rang she asked me to get it for her and see if I could help 🫤

Finally, on the other side of the table as an interviewer I’ve had two candidates who just cried all the way through (even though I don’t think we asked anything scary or unusual!) and couldn’t calm down no matter how hard we tried to be nice to them and offer time out/tissues/water etc. Still makes me feel a bit sad for them 😢

Completely bonkers owner of a hotel during a very fun summer in Dublin when I was 21 (decades ago). I walked in off the street for a chamber maid advert in the window. I was asked what my name was - told her and she said “well we already have one of those so it’s impossible for you to work here” We compromised that I would change my name - so I spent a summer with a totally different name and had a great time!