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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask about your weirdest job interviews

274 replies

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 13/04/2023 23:30

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.

OP posts:
dottiedodah · 16/04/2023 08:51

Not me but DM many moons ago applied for a job as a School Receptionist ,turned up with about half a dozen other ladies,went in one by one ,a few interviews in and he came out practically snogging a well made up lady.The next woman to Mum stood up ,and shouted to the others and DM "Well we might as well go home now! we all know who is getting this post and why!"Cue embarassed look by Interviewer and the lady shuffle out looking slightly guilty!

LemonLymanDotCom · 16/04/2023 09:04

Went to an interview which was held in the MDs kitchen (his own company, the office was attached to his house). I was offered a cup of tea & when he went to get the milk out of the fridge, I clocked there was a whole baby pig inside. I wondered what I was letting myself in for when I accepted the job.

Stayed there 4 years for my sins - he turned out to be a horrendous boss. Should’ve left when I’d initially seen the (fridge) light.

SpringPop · 16/04/2023 09:08

I went for a job interview for a graduate scheme at one of the big 4 accounting firms.

the man couldn’t stop staring at my boobs. It was so distracting. I kept thinking I had crumbs or fluff on my cardigan. I didn’t get the job.

another interview I had was for a healthcare advertising position. They wanted to know how I was creative in my life. I went totally blank. They felt bad for me and gave Me a clue… they said maybe in fashion? I was very confused as I was wearing a grey next trouser suit 🤣 they told me immediately I wasn’t creative enough for advertising.

FirstnameSuesecondnamePerb · 16/04/2023 09:10

I was asked what animal I would be and why.
I refused to answer, saying that it was a pointless question.
I got the job (that I had all the right experience and qualifications for!)

SpringPop · 16/04/2023 09:10

Also had an interview/trial in a pub where they made me work for free… clean the gents loos, then the guy took me into office to ask about uniform size. What size was I up top etc. it was really quite a Pervy chat. He made out I had the job and was ordering a top for me.

then he ghosted me. No further emails.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 16/04/2023 09:13

dottiedodah · 16/04/2023 08:51

Not me but DM many moons ago applied for a job as a School Receptionist ,turned up with about half a dozen other ladies,went in one by one ,a few interviews in and he came out practically snogging a well made up lady.The next woman to Mum stood up ,and shouted to the others and DM "Well we might as well go home now! we all know who is getting this post and why!"Cue embarassed look by Interviewer and the lady shuffle out looking slightly guilty!

Terrific thread. This one and this one 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. ^ have made me laugh out loud just now.

Can't contribute anything quite as good myself but I was once co-opted onto an interview panel for a very straightforward admin job. We interviewed an older woman who had worked for a large NHS trust for years and years. Judging by her very detailed list of posts there, there had been many reorganisations in that time and she had been moved to a new department on every single occasion, which didn't bode well. My manager asked her a couple of extremely obvious questions:

M: In this job at any given time you would have responsibility for several different tasks which might take some time to complete. How would you keep track of it all?
Candidate [looking dejected and confused]: Well, I mean ... you just do, don't you. I look at what's on my desk and I know what I've got to do.

M: In this job you might sometimes have to learn to use new computer systems and software. How would you feel about that?
Candidate [sighing, shaking her head]: Well, I don't like it, but you just gotta do it these days, so I'd have to, I suppose.

We didn't offer her the job. Poor woman. Poor NHS.

Backtobed · 16/04/2023 09:32

I worked in an industry where you had to audition instead of interview. I went to one once where they were extremely particular and although it seemed totally normal to me at the time but I'm sure most people on here would have been mortified.

First thing they did was take your height and weight and check that these were the same as what was written on your CV (this part was usual).
Then they asked for a full description of any markings on your body- tattoos, piercings, birthmarks etc.
After the audition the successful candidates then lined up whilst a group of 4 analysed your face and body. Like fully walked circles around you looking at you closely, asked you to smile, show your tummy and so on.

For me at the time, it felt like they just wanted the right people for the job as they were high profile and had strict standards (I was selected) but looking back it was way too extreme. Anyway I didn't go with it in the end as the contract was awful.

Dahliasrule · 16/04/2023 09:39

Once, for a teaching job, I was asked “Can you be a bitch?” I didn’t want the job after that.

FrizzledFrazzle · 16/04/2023 09:44

Had an interview once where I entered to the interviewers sitting at a table. Main guy got up to shake my hand and bumped into me awkwardly. Then proceeded to look past me at the door to the corridor throughout the interview. I was nervous and kept checking to see if someone was behind me. He wouldn't make eye contact and his face was mostly expressionless - no non verbal feedback about my answers at all. At one point he gave me a piece of paper and asked me to read out the question at the top. It was all really disconcerting. The American-style gloomy meeting room with no windows just added to the weirdness.

About 5 minutes before the end of the interview he pressed a button on his phone and it read out the time for him.

At which point I realized that he was blind. Felt like such an eejit.

ilovesushi · 16/04/2023 09:45

The weirdest one was probably me being weird. I dropped a take away coffee on the floor mid interview. Picked up the cup and put in a wastepaper bin then placed the bin over the spill and carried on. The lady interviewing me just stared in disbelief and horror.

pollykitty · 16/04/2023 09:48

I was once interviewed and tested over 3 hours with no warning it would be that long. It was exhausting. The last interviewer was a VP (man) who gave me the creeps from the beginning and then kept asking me if ‘I had any skeletons in the closet’. I said, I don’t know what you mean. He said, ‘well this is a small industry. People know each other. Is there anything you want to admit.’ This was years ago, I didn’t have a huge amount if experience, and it made me feel very paranoid. Like people had been talking about me. I was also mid-divorce and for a minute thought he was talking about that. I just stared at him and said, I am not hiding anything. He went on about people having secrets for ages and then abruptly got up and said Ok, we’ll let you know. And left.

I did get an offer and took the job mainly because of the salary increase. It was a bad decision and I quit a year later. However in the meantime I found out everyone in the office thought he was a creep, he was a terrible VP and fired a few months after I started.

SnuggleBuggleBoo · 16/04/2023 09:54

As a nanny I had one job interview where the little boy (aged about 5) was hitting his dad, and his parents praised him for 'only hitting gently'! Needless to say I didn't accept their job offer.

Allergictoironing · 16/04/2023 10:06

Had a few from both sides of the table. I'll do the "being interviewed" ones here, and the interviewing others in another post in a bit.

Been to a fair number of interviews where an apparently critical skill (e.g. very advanced Excel, including programming in VB) wasn't mentioned on the job description. I should note that though intermediate Excel (e.g. sorting, pivot tables, look ups etc) were common for that role, that was the absolute maximum usually needed..

One where it became apparent that the company had a certain problem, and the "interviews" were really to try to get potential solutions from the candidates. There were 3 people in the interview, one of which didn't speak the entire time and just wrote down everything I said. The questions were all based on a single scenario, for a job that had many elements to it. They took copies of my notes I'd taken in with me, got me to write on a flip chart rather than the whiteboard that was there (silent woman took and carefully folded up all the completed sheets). Every time I gave a decent answer they would all 3 look at each other meaningfully and scribble madly on their notes. I contacted the agent after and commented that's what I thought was going on, and they said I had been the 4th out of 5 candidates so far to say that. They were also interviewing 10 candidates - a massive number as in that industry the shortlist is usually 3 or 4. Then they "withdrew the vacancy due to a re-organisation" the day they'd spoken to the last candidate.

One where I had aced the telephone interview (days before Skype, teams etc were around). Was told they needed to do a very quick F2F just to ensure "you don't have multicoloured crazy hair, and aren't covered in visible tattoos & piercings", as they had rather staid old fashioned clients. I am short & fat, and rather plain. Went into London in a very smart business suit, 2 inch matching court shoes, hair neat and tied back, very light make up, tan tights, new matching handbag etc - perfect for staid & traditional companies. Walked into the hotel lobby we were meeting at, they looked at me as I walked over to greet them & I could see their faces falling. Meeting lasted all of 10 rather awkward minutes - I didn't get the job.

Interviewing for a national financial services company, for a project management role. Was enthusiastically talking about the importance of accurate record keeping, version control and audit trails (part of the job) from both a PM point of view and a legislative point of view, and they were completely dismissive of the entire subject. I called the agency from the car park before even driving home to withdraw.

Most recently, interviewing for a local government role as admin but in a testing area. It had been made clear that there would be some need for collecting & delivering samples around the county and surrounding ones, which I was fine with. Sadly I tested =ive for Covid that morning, so obviously couldn't attend but they were keen to still talk to me so we set up a Teams interview for later that day. Early on in the interview I checked that there would be no heavy lifting etc as I have a bad back and left leg - this was fine. We got to the bit where we were talking about the travel requirements of sample delivery and collection and 2 requirements suddenly appear. Firstly that "out of county" trips may involve staying away for the night, often at short notice. Secondly that I would need to drive their (manual) van due to the size of some of the samples. I said that this would be impossible for me, as a) I need to be very careful what vehicles I drive due to my bad back and b) my bad leg made it exceptionally painful to drive a manual car (nerve damage in the left foot). As this was the case, rather than waste everyone's time maybe we should terminate the interview. They were very miffed that I didn't want to continue the interview despite there being no way I could do the job. They also made sarky remarks on the recruitment website for this local authority about me terminating the interview.

Itakecreaminmycoffee · 16/04/2023 10:10

Oh, these are so funny. The Barbican psychedelic-trip interview and "too many beans" are my favourites.

My worst interview was aged 18 at a very male solicitors office (only had one woman working there). The interview was conducted in a room completely bare apart from a punching bag and a pair of boxing gloves - I was told this was the "cooling off room" for the men to "get out their aggression". Also asked things such as did I have a boyfriend, how many nights a week did I go out and would I get upset by having "sexual comments" made by the men working in the office as "it's inevitable if we have a pretty young woman walking around the office"! 🤮 The interview also involved being touted around the various offices being introduced to some of the men whilst they looked me up and down and made leery comments under their breath to one another. I SO wish I'd had the guts to tell them all to fuck off and walk out, but I was quite a shy 18yo.

I was offered the job and needless to say I declined!

Hedwigharlot · 16/04/2023 10:10

No that weird but a bit unpleasant. Went for a job years ago at a school in the Enfield area. As soon as I pulled up, I got bad vibes. It was squalid and run-down looking. I went in and the staff were very rude to everyone waiting for the interview. One man was particularly rude. I politely tried to make small talk with him because I recognised that his surname was from the area I'm from - an area in Ireland. He responded by saying 'my dad's dead' and staring back at me with a cold, dead look. We were kept waiting ages. I went in to do the lesson and quickly realised the school had massive behavioural issues. They were in Year 7 and were roaring 'you cunt' at each other and refusing to sit down. This was with a senior member of staff in the room who was observing. Lesson went as well as could be expected. Second part of interview was a presentation I had to do. At that stage I was the only outside candidate remaining and there was one internal candidate. It then became obvious I was there to provide the illusion of competition. I was delighted to get out of there. The deputy rang me the next day to tell me I hadn't got the job because 'well, you weren't the strongest candidate' and then in a very offhand way asked me if I wanted feedback. I said 'no' and he was clearly shocked to the core. Relieved to put the phone down and think I dodged a bullet there! Really bad sign of behaviour in a school if Year 7s won't behave with a member of senior staff in the room. Pissed me off because obviously the whole thing was a waste of my time just to get the internal candidate in.

DRS1970 · 16/04/2023 10:14

I was asked "if you were a type of wood, what wood would you be"... I said Walnut. Which must have been wrong as I never heard from them again. 🙃

OfTheNight · 16/04/2023 10:17

I had a casual interview where the interviewer didn’t ask me any questions. Instead, she spent 20 mins telling me how brilliant she was and how she was massively overqualified for both her role and the role I was interviewing for.

IncompleteSenten · 16/04/2023 10:33

About 28 years ago.
I got there and waited then was taken to the interview room.

Desk with a bloke behind it.
On my side, two chairs. One was a hard plastic one and the other was a padded reception style chair.

So far so weird.

He asked me to sit and I did. (I can't remember which one I chose. I assume they felt the chair you picked told them something about you or some stupid shit like that.)

Then another interviewee was brought in and they sat in the other chair.

Then we were asked fucking weird questions. I can't remember. It was nearly 30 years ago. I just remember thinking are you bat crap crazy? Am I on some TV prank show or something?

I think the look on my face told them exactly how I felt and after maybe 10 minutes they politely booted me out.

You're probably thinking wow, that must have been for a hell of a job. Really important role. Maybe some secret government thing or a high level exec or something.

Nope.
Receptionist.
Part time.

WuTangGran · 16/04/2023 10:34

ilovesushi · 16/04/2023 09:45

The weirdest one was probably me being weird. I dropped a take away coffee on the floor mid interview. Picked up the cup and put in a wastepaper bin then placed the bin over the spill and carried on. The lady interviewing me just stared in disbelief and horror.

Who takes a coffee into an interview?

Baabaa75 · 16/04/2023 10:38

I work in HR and once had someone turn up blind drunk to a 9am interview. He'd bussed in from another city the night before, arrived about midnight with nowhere to stay so went to a bar near our office for 9 hours drinking!

starfishmummy · 16/04/2023 10:41

Can't even remember the job or much of the interview itself. But it was a very hot day and one of the panel pointed out that there was a jug of water if I wanted some. I didn't because I'd got water with me and had been drinking it while waiting.

Throughout the interview he kept going on about this water and how I looked like I wanted some. Towards the end I thought I'd have some just to shut him up!! To which he said "I knew you wanted some!"

Clearly some weird test. I didn't get the job.

CharlotteStreetW1 · 16/04/2023 10:44

Interviewer: "what's your opinion on cyclists?"

I got the job.

User8907 · 16/04/2023 10:45

It's not as bad as some here, but I met an internal company recruiter for informal chat over coffee. He kept scratching his balls, even if we only talked only maybe about 20-30mins.

coeurnoir · 16/04/2023 10:45

I had an interview 2 weeks ago and the man asked me "who'll be home cooking tea for your husband if you're working full time"

I had that question as well in an interview. It was 27 years ago and my first proper job out of Uni and I'd just got married. It's depressing that it is still being asked now.

However, having also lived in Cornwall I can't say I'm surprised that you encountered that attitude 🙄

InSpainTheRain · 16/04/2023 10:51

I'm an IT consultant, usually work in corporates for a period, do what they need and move on. I had just returned from working abroad and didn't get a job for the first 3 months, I was getting a bit concerned as it's usually easy for me to pick up work.

I was invited to interview at a hotel in London for a company based offshore. I imagined a meeting room where I'd meet them and we'd discuss. But weirdly when the guy came down to find me in the lobby I was taken to a hotel bedroom! I was really thinking "At what stage do I feel so uncomfortable with this that I run away?" but as I hadn't had work for 3 months I went with it and entered the room. Walking down the corridor to what were obviously bedrooms I did feel scared though.

It then turned into a perfectly normal job interview (apart from the fact we were in a bedroom) with 3 guys who have me the usual tech interview, were very professional and all good! Turned out that the hotel cocked up the meeting room they'd reserved and they decided to not give me a lost journey - but they didn't explain that. They offered the job later that week, I accepted and turned into a fantastic job which I loved. But that initial weirdness and the being scared was something else!