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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask for your interview fuck ups

186 replies

Biggybigbiggles · 23/03/2024 14:28

I have two interviews on Monday, my first in 12 years and I'm shitting it. I have horrible imposter syndrome!

Can you regale me with your funny interview fuck ups so I can cheer myself up should I make a tit of myself?

OP posts:
Tel12 · 23/03/2024 16:22

Had a presentation. Ushered into the room which was already packed so they got to watch me faff about with the equipment. CEO of this multi national then asked me a question that I completely mangled. It gets worse but I'm cringing just thinking about it 🤭.

Moonflower12 · 23/03/2024 16:24

I had massively 'bigged up' my previous role in the industry. The previous role had been at the company my mum owned and I'd done casual filing etc for her.
Unfortunately for me, the interviewer was my mum's old secretary who knew I'd just swanned about.
It was a very uncomfortable situation and I didn't get the job!

SummerGardener · 23/03/2024 16:28

The interviewer was sat with her back to a huge picture window overlooking the high street, and there was so much going on.

My gaze kept drifting from her to the scenes outside, I had to keep snapping back to attention!

I got the job...

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 23/03/2024 16:28

I had a boyfriend who told the interviewer Fxxx Oxx.

A bit niche, but I told a soils testing laboratory that I saw my future in rock mechanics.

TheForgetfulCat · 23/03/2024 16:34

Note to self and interview panel: do not schedule an interview for 10.45am. On the 11th of November. When the employing organisation does not just observe the two minute silence but precedes it with a lengthy tannoy announcement.

My education in a Quaker school came in extremely handy!

Sunnysidegold · 23/03/2024 16:35

I had an interview after many years of being out of work due to staying at home with my kids

I was rather nervous. Went in, exchanged pleasantries and they asked how I was, I said I was really nervous. They were so lovely and said not to be, but I found my nervousness really ramped up to the point where I answered every question with "um, I'm really nervous" and then would stumble out some sort of answer.

At the end I got up to leave, told them I was sorry for being so nervous....

They phoned the next day to say I'd been unsuccessful and I forced myself to ask for feedback. They were so sweet and said "you seemed very nervous, but best of luck"

RenoDakota · 23/03/2024 16:37

Many, many years ago I had an interview for an English Literature degree and somehow managed to say I didn't like poetry. Was rejected, not surprisingly.
Got into the same uni the following year though, after taking the interview process a bit more seriously.

pambeesleyhalpert · 23/03/2024 16:37

I was asked how the interviewer knows I'm not a paedophile. I said I'm not- she said but how do I know that.. I said I promise I'm not.
She was looking for a DBS check.

She was also batshit crazy

misseckleburg · 23/03/2024 16:38

When my brother was younger, he overheard and family member talking about being 'well endowed'. He asked them what it meant and they brushed it off as 'taking care of their appearance'.
Cue a few years ago, he had an interview for a Saturday job at m&s. When asked about his strengths he spoke about how he takes real pride in being well endowed. I chuckle every time I think about it.

Greenpolkadot · 23/03/2024 16:43

misseckleburg · 23/03/2024 16:38

When my brother was younger, he overheard and family member talking about being 'well endowed'. He asked them what it meant and they brushed it off as 'taking care of their appearance'.
Cue a few years ago, he had an interview for a Saturday job at m&s. When asked about his strengths he spoke about how he takes real pride in being well endowed. I chuckle every time I think about it.

😂😂😂
You've made my day..

JustDiscoveredBueno · 23/03/2024 16:44

My worst one was as an interviewer. It was a firm I'd never worked for before and knew nothing about. They were advertising for a position, so I called them up (back when jobs were advertised more in the paper), said I wasn't interested in the job long term, but could provide temporary support until it was filled. I basically just wanted a more interesting temping role to fund some travels. They said they were looking for someone permanent quite quickly, but their HR department needed a bit of support for a couple of days. I assumed office admin. We agreed a rate.

When I got there, there were only about 20 employees in total. I was told that they were interviewing that day for another role and given my degree, could I join them. I said yes, expected to just take notes and maybe be given some info. I was just shown where toilets and coffee were and then called into a meeting room. There were back to back interviews all day and I was part of the panel. I felt such a fraud. It reminded me of primary school when you hadn't been paying attention and teacher calls your name and asks a question. To this day, I don't know what they were thinking.

ANiceBigCupOfTea · 23/03/2024 16:45

I once went to an interview for a role I was (in hindsight) absolutely unqualified for.
I was given an excel spreadsheet with information on it and three questions to go and answer after 10 mins or so prep.
I didn't have a scooby doo. The interview was on Teams and I was tempted to just leave the meeting 😂

Funfuninthesunsun · 23/03/2024 16:50

I knocked a glass of water all over the table and papers. Got the job.

I was interviewing once and the candidate just stood up mid way through and walked out. No explanation. Weird.

Telomeres · 23/03/2024 16:51

Dying at well endowed 😆

anonima · 23/03/2024 16:56

misseckleburg · 23/03/2024 16:38

When my brother was younger, he overheard and family member talking about being 'well endowed'. He asked them what it meant and they brushed it off as 'taking care of their appearance'.
Cue a few years ago, he had an interview for a Saturday job at m&s. When asked about his strengths he spoke about how he takes real pride in being well endowed. I chuckle every time I think about it.

Oh my god, I'm dying 😂

For one of my first interviews after being a SAHM for a couple years, I was so focused on being on time and dropping my son off at a relative's house that I didn't realise I'd left the house in my scabby trainers. Thankfully there was a giant desk in the interview room that I could hide my feet under!

VerityUnreasonble · 23/03/2024 16:57

I once answered a question in an interview for something really specific to the job role with "actually I don't know much about this but I did watch a Louis Theroux documentary". Got that job.

Another job I showed up for the interview and the first question they asked me was "we noticed you put a preference for full time, you do know this role is part time?" I did not know but was too embarrassed to admit I'd failed to read the advert properly so (badly) pretended I'd love part time. Didn't get that.

Kath85 · 23/03/2024 16:58

I answered all questions and at the end rolled my chair out from the table but didn’t realise how close I was the wall so crashed into it and tipped onto the floor. The worse bit was it was a big company and a big lump immediately came up on my leg and they wouldn’t let me leave until they had held a cold compress on it for about 20 minutes 🙈 I was mortified and they offered me the job but I couldn’t face going back 😂

GoldenCrab · 23/03/2024 16:59

I had been temping at a job i loved for 8 months and then the role became permanent. They had to interview to follow procedure but the job was already mine. I had worked here 9 hours a day, 5 days a week for close to a year, ate lunch with the managers daily, ran errands together. When they interviewed me, i burst out crying as i dont like pressure 😂 i was so embarassed and they were are laughing their heads off cos they couldnt understand why i was crying 😂 but i still got the job!

takealettermsjones · 23/03/2024 17:01

The well endowed story is winning so far!

Not a massive fuck up but probably a common one... In one of my early interviews I was really nervous. Each and every answer was very short, dwindled off into mumbling, and then finished with "so... yeah" and my best attempt at a confident smile (reader it was not confident at all)

Didn't get the job 🤣

Liverpool52 · 23/03/2024 17:09

At a hideous group interview for a sales assistant role at WH Smith when I was a student:

Them: and if the product wasn't available what would you try and sell the customer instead.

Me: nothing because my pet hate as a customer is sales assistants trying to force stuff on me that I don't want.

I already knew I didn't want the job after some wanky group exercise where we had to build a contraption to get an egg from one side of the room to the other so I wasn't going to go to the effort of making up what they wanted to hear.

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 23/03/2024 17:16

Me aged 18

Interviewer - so tell me about your hobbies - you've written here that you enjoy badminton.

Me - oh I just put that cos I thought it looked good, I don't really play it, I just go to the pub with my mates.

I'm not sure whether that contributed to me not getting the job, or the fact that I told them I didn't like audio typing .... interview for a post as audio typist!

AccidentallyFabulous · 23/03/2024 17:19

I don't think anything is going to beat 'well endowed' but ...

In my interview for the job I have now, I was asked what my biggest weakness it. I started to talk about how I'm a bit of a worrier and can tie myself in knots a bit about doing my job well. About half way through this wittering I suddenly - out loud - went 'OH GOD I'm doing the 'I'm a perfectionist' thing! That's not what I mean!' and then went further round in circles trying to explain myself.

The man who is now my manager just grinned at me and said not to worry, he knew what I meant. Having worked for him for a couple of years I know he really does.

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 23/03/2024 17:21

misseckleburg · 23/03/2024 16:38

When my brother was younger, he overheard and family member talking about being 'well endowed'. He asked them what it meant and they brushed it off as 'taking care of their appearance'.
Cue a few years ago, he had an interview for a Saturday job at m&s. When asked about his strengths he spoke about how he takes real pride in being well endowed. I chuckle every time I think about it.

One of the funniest things I've read 🤣

Dontcallmescarface · 23/03/2024 17:22

I had an interview in 2020 via Zoom. All was going well until, out of the blue, I sneezed with such force that my head shot forward, knocked the camera off the monitor. If that wasn't bad enough the camera had landed at an angle that gave the interviewers a lovely shot of the inside of my left nostril. Still got the job though.

Trystand · 23/03/2024 17:23

Not a work interview one but an interview for a student visa.

My cousin applied to study in Canada. He managed to get an interview.
Interviewer asks him if he was planning to return home once his student visa expired (meaning basically not staying illegally).
My cousin said no. 🤦‍♀️