Job interviews can easily send your blood pressure soaring through the roof. Especially if it’s a position that you would love to land, you might find yourself tongue-tied with sweaty palms when you sit down to speak with your potential boss. And while most of us manage to control our nerves and appear poised and professional (even if we’re panicking on the inside), sometimes our nerves get the best of us.
People have been opening up on on Quora and Reddit about the most uncomfortable and embarrassing moments they’ve ever experienced during job interviews, either as the interviewer or the applicant, so we’ve gathered some of their painful stories below. These tales might give you second-hand embarrassment, but they may also increase your confidence in your own social skills! So enjoy scrolling through, and be sure to upvote your favorites.
#1
I was interviewing for a cashier job at Target. This was shortly after I had just gotten dentures.
During the interview, the manager asked a question, and while answering him, I felt a sneeze coming on. I held up a finger, indicating I would need just a second, grabbed a tissue, and sneezed…
Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough adhesive on my top plate, so when I sneezed, my teeth flew out of my mouth, across his desk and right into his lap.
This poor man completely lost it. He laughed so hard he was sobbing before he could contain himself.
It could have ended worse. He did hire me, and told me, “You’ll be great for comedy relief, if nothing else.”
Image credits: Kastina Bayless
#2
I called my interviewer "Mom" in my first job interview.
Image credits: J_onn_J_onzz
#3
I was asked ‘Why did you apply for this job, when you have no experience in the department you will work in?. My reply was ‘Why are you interviewing someone for a job they have no experience of?’ Luckily, it caused a laugh amongst the interview panel and it was agreed that I be given a trial. I suspect that I was the only candidate. If someone better qualified came along, I could be move into another area more suited to me.
Image credits: David Pittaway
#4
Back in college, at the end of what was genuinely a decent interview, I stood up and reached out my arms to hug the two interviewers. (To this day I have no idea why I tried to hug them).
They stared me down, which stopped me before I could actually hug them, while the woman on the left slowly but firmly said, "we... don't do that here."
I was mortified. Still kinda am, haha.
Image credits: ababblingsquirrel
#5
Our company was hiring a receptionist and I was conducting the job interview with a colleague.
We met a young woman and interviewed her. It was in the late 90’s. The woman seemed competent for the position and she was nice too. However, something was bothering me and I could feel my colleague felt the same way.
She had a nose piercing on her nostril, some kind of round black stone.
It was discreet but still impossible to miss.
As the interview went on, I couldn’t help but wonder how this person would go to a job interview with a piercing on her face. It was an absolute faux pas and I couldn’t get past it. I personally didn’t mind the piercing in itself, I just couldn’t fathom how someone would make such a mistake, mostly for a receptionist position where she would be the face of the company, so to speak.
Finally, at the end of the interview, I decided to address the matter openly. My colleague was about to do the same, as he later told me.
So I asked her: “The interview went fine and we will definitely consider you for the job, but let me ask you something: don’t you find it risky to go to a job interview with a piercing?”
She looked at me, puzzled.
“A piercing?”
I pointed at her face and said: “Don’t you have a piercing on your nose?”
She frowned and said: “That’s a mole.”
So that was an embarrassing thing I did during a job interview.
Image credits: Laurent Richard
#6
This was for an internship at Morgan Stanley. I had got through to the interview round after clearing the first round written test. It was a coding interview (which I seemed to have forgotten and will be evident shortly.)
The very first question (which I should have been more prepared for) was ' Tell me about yourself '. Again let me remind you it was a coding interview and the dumb*ss that I am, ended this answer with "and I am not as good a coder as I would want to be", in reply to which the interviewer said '' Let us not underestimate ourselves.''.
This is where I should have kept quiet and waited for the next questions or maybe agreed with the interviewer. But this was not to be and I immediately replied back with 'We must also face reality'.
*Awkward silence* followed by a "Hmmm" by the interviewer made it very clear the direction is which the interview was to proceed.
It was as if I didn't want the internship (Let me assure I did want it). However, lessons have been learnt.
1) Be prepared for the usual expected questions.
2) Speak the appropriate amount . No less and more importantly no more.
3) Don't act over smart.
4) Sleep well before the interview.
Image credits: Jainesh Doshi
#7
It’s actually funny and shows how nervous candidates are while facing the interview. I was interviewing a female fresher few years back and she was all sweat. The anxiety was so high on her that when I asked her a question, she was all quiet. I said, “Go ahead” and she got up to leave my cabin. I was all surprised and asked her what happened, she mentioned that you only asked me to go ahead! She mistaken my go ahead to answer the question as leave the cabin. Can’t explain how hilarious the overall experience was.
Image credits: Nitesh Jain
#8
I hadn’t been for an interview for a while, so the clothes I had to wear were a few years old. I had put on a bit of weight in the meantime, so the blouse I wore was a bit stretched across the breast area. Still totally wearable though.
I use my hands a lot when talking. During the interview I must have brushed across the blouse with my hands, because all of a sudden I noticed the man interviewing me had a look of horror on his face. He was fixated on my breasts.
I’m well past the age when men stare at my breasts. So, I looked down to see what the problem was. The button in the middle of my breasts had come undone. My rather ample bosom was joining in the interview.
I had no idea what to do. I continued talking and did up the button. I didn’t apologise, or comment on it at all. Not normally one to be at a loss for words, this was one occasion when I just couldn’t come up with something to say.
I got the job.
Image credits: Lin Jefferson
#9
I’ve never had an awkward interview, but my husband has interviewed hundreds of people in his job and has told me several funny stories.
He had one man show up at an interview very sweaty and nervous. During the interview my husband kept smelling the obvious odor of what he thought was freshly passed gas, At one point during the interview, he asked the gentleman if he would like to take a restroom break. The man declined. When the interview was complete the man rose to shake my husband’s hand and then turned to leave. It was then that my husband noticed that the man he was interviewing had fully pooped his pants, as well as the office chair that he was sitting in. To avoid embarrassment, my husband wished him a nice day and the interviewee exited the office as if everything was fine. Needless to say the poor guy didn’t get the job, and the upholstered office chair had to be thrown out with the garbage!
Image credits: Tessa Brown
#10
Many years ago, before the proliferation of cellphones, I interviewed a candidate for a Quality Assurance Engineer position. The candidate arrived a little late and was brought into my office. He politely asked if he could use my phone to make a quick call. I obliged and gave him the phone and told him to dial “9“ for an outside line. This smart, clever candidate called his boss to tell him that he is not feeling well and won’t be coming in today. This phone call was made with me sitting at my desk right in front of him.
I terminated the interview right then. Fortunately, he gave me clear examples of his loyalty, honesty and his decision-making ability. Usually, this can take months to reveal. Needless to say, he didn’t get the job.
Image credits: Hal Harari
#11
The interviewer at the end of the interview asked me to take off my shoes and socks so he could see my bare feet. I asked him why and he said it was for the job.
I felt uncomfortable as I slipped off my dress shoes and peeled off my socks exposing my tan bare feet.
I remember looking at his reaction with a big smile saying nice…very nice. He asked me if he could massage them and that’s when I split. I grabbed my shoes and socks and ran out of the building barefoot and into my car.
Image credits: Michael Fairgate
#12
The one where the interviewer farted in front of me. Not kidding. It was all I could do to keep a straight face.
Image credits: Gayle Arrington
#13
I once went for an interview and halfway through the interview I panicked when I was asked a question and just started smiling and the interviewer got so freaked out that he called me joker's double.
Image credits: ADEBOWALE MALIK
#14
I don't drink. I'm an alcoholic but don't advertise the fact, just say "No, thanks" when offered, and I've hardly ever had a problem with that.
Except for an interview I had for an anthropology job with the owner of an archaeological firm. It was a dinner interview at a Mexican restaurant with him and others from the firm in Shreveport, LA, and he kept insisting that I have a beer with dinner. Each time, each insistence got a little less jokey and a little more forceful. Once he asked me why, but screw him, I didn't owe him an explanation. That was the only time in the evening that I really felt awkward.
Eventually, he said that he couldn't trust a man who wouldn't have a drink with him. I told him that I didn't want to waste any more of his time then and left.
It didn't hurt my feelings or anything, just made me pissed off about the wasted time, and embarrassed for the other people at the table. I'm glad I found out early on that he was an asshole, though. I've had it confirmed from others since then.
Image credits: Dan Brodt
#15
Well it was me giving the interview a guy literally shit his pants 5 minutes into the interview and tried to play it off and the smell of human poop woofted around the 10x8 interview room..:: I had to pretend I couldn’t smell it as he smiled and answered my questions then he waddled down the hallways asking if he could use the bathroom before he left. Needless to say for both our sakes I didn’t call him back. Sucks man I have crohn’s so I get anxiety of an interview can cause major anxiety and diarrhea but dude you explain you have a stomach issue and go take care of it best you can or ask to reschedule. I mean he literally gave one words answers because he wanted out of there.
Image credits: swertityone
#16
I once interviewed for a job at a school and couldn't remember the name of the previous school I'd worked at. I had just moved to a new town and in the nervousness of the moment totally blanked on the name of my previous employer. I started sweating and tanked the rest of the interview. No job.
Image credits: suddenlyseeingme
#17
Last minute HR add an individual to my panel interview — turns out it was my ex. I was offered the job and if I accepted we’d have to formally disclose our previous relationship. Awkward because the reason we broke up — I found out that he was engaged to someone else during our relationship, who was his now wife.
Image credits: the-anonymous-you
#18
In the early days of the pandemic, my friends and I would log onto Zoom calls and have a beer, often using immature names. One time, I logged in as 'Mr. Pee Pee Poo Poo Pants.' A few days later, I had an interview with Deloitte. Changing your name in Zoom isn’t immediately obvious, and I mistakenly logged in as 'Mr. Pee Pee Poo Poo Pants' for the interview.
Needless to say, I did not get the job.
Image credits: Raptorchef325
#19
My very last question at the end of an interview at one of the largest investment banks was "what's your favorite pizza". I blanked out because I was running on fumes and needed to kill time, but I guess it made me stand out because I got the job.
Image credits: FinanceLobster
#20
My first year of college, my friend wanted me to work at the same restaurant as her. When I went in for my interview, I hadn’t previously known that it was for the Sushi Bar section and when asked what my favorite roll on their menu was… I had to tell them I’m allergic to shellfish and avoided sushi (at the time).
Image credits: PirateDry3529
#21
I started crying when they asked me how I enjoyed one of my old jobs. It was a really rough time in my life when I worked there and hadn’t thought about it much, so when they asked, a lot of bad memories came at me all of a sudden. Needless to say, I did not get that job ????
Image credits: brineakay
#22
This is a true example of- telling truth doesn’t always help you in job interviews.
Location: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee.
One of my friends had a job interview for an IT company. He has cleared all the technical rounds and now was the time for HR. Clearing all the technical rounds, he was quite confident of being selected in the company. After some basic introduction here is how the HR interview proceeds.
HR- “How do you deal with situations when you face a lot of pressure or you get depressed?”
Friend (without thinking for a minute)- “I sleep”. My friend still not realizing his blunder, was waiting for the HR to respond.
After a minute of silence- HR (laughing)- “I think you are in a lot of pressure, you should go to your room and have a sleep!” Verdict- Not selected!
Image credits: Ritik Shah
#23
During college, I had a job interview after classes. I decided to grab a quick bite before going in. I had on my interview suit and white blouse. The cafeteria just introduced soups to their menu. The person in front of me just got their soup. Wham! Before I knew it, they turned too quickly and I was wearing their soup. I went to the bathroom to clean up. I had yellow chicken fat stained all over me. It was too late to change. I put on my raincoat and went to the interview. Before anything, I told the interviewer about the soup accident. Can I keep my raincoat on? Oh no, I won’t judge you over an accident. I took off the coat. “Wow! You got clobbered!” She apologized and we sat down. Through the entire interview she looked at my stains. I felt very self conscious. She apologized and tried to continue. It was just a disaster. I didn’t get the job and I didn’t care that much. (And I found when I got home I had some mild burns mostly on my chest).
Image credits: Helena Humbridge
#24
Not after but during an interview. I was applying for a position as a research coordinator at a University Rheumatology department. The MD in charge of the program was interviewing me. During the interview he asked me how Iiked working at one of the clinics on my resume. Having completed a Masters in Heath administration not too long before this I gave a compare and contrast of the business model between the one, he was asking about and another clinic I where I had worked. I mentioned that I got an inside picture of the one he was asking about as I had dated the administrator for a time while I was there. He said, “Oh you mean XXX ?” I said “Yes”, at which point he says, “You know he died 6 months ago”. Needless to say, I was rather stunned to hear this and had no idea how to respond other than to ask how he had died. After all of that I did get the job but definitely the weirdest thing ever said to me in a job interview.
Image credits: Alice Rebecchi
#25
I waited in a room.
“Hey, welcome”
I entered the door, sat down.
Two people sat opposite from me.
“you are not wearing a tie?” - them
“No” - me
“Why not?” - them
“A tie is not going to make me perform any better” - me
“I think this conversation has run its course” - them
“……” - me
“I have a few connections who might have an interest in you, I'll email them to you, try them”. - them
I stood up. And left, took the train back home. This was a financial consultancy firm close to Bijlmer Arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Called my girlfriend, (now wife).
“How was it..how was it…?” - her
“uhm.. don't know.. let's go to London, f**k this country ” - me
Image credits: Ross
#26
I was one of several interviewers in a group interview with a young woman candidate for a computer programmer position. As part of these interviews we always asked a few technical questions. Nothing terribly difficult or tricky, just enough to make sure the candidate had reasonable knowledge of the field and was able to put together reasonable answers and express themselves. This particular candidate just froze at the first question, started to get tears in her eyes and without a word walked out of the interview. Definitely awkward!
Image credits: Mark Bodenstein
#27
The first 5 years after I finished high school, I found job interviews to be as scary as going to a haunted house. Mainly because a person never know what to expect and while I am sure you could do some stuff to be prepared, but I am never been convinced you can be completely ready, but one can hope.
The next item is the advice to drop a few cups of coffee ahead of time, the caffeine really helps you get through an interview. As bizarre as this may sound, I am not a coffee drinker but with the interview, I did take in about a half pot of coffee ahead of time. Today I don't drink coffee for any reason. I concluded a good night sleep and a decent breakfast worked quite well for interviews.
So I believe it was in 2010, when I went for this interview for a secretary job. You know, typing, filing, going for food for the boss etc. So this woman executive was the person doing the interview and wanted the secretary at the same time. Anyhow, taking in a few cups of coffee and having the bladder issues I have lived with don't mix well at an interview. So three quarters the way through this interview, I needed to go and ended up losing it right there. I was hoping for a cave nearby, and this lady was stunned. So we finished this interview quickly. Other than a sorry from me, nothing more was said about it.
I would say this is on the list of the top ten ways, how not to get a job. This gal actually liked me real well, and I got hired in spite of the puddle left in her office.
Image credits: Hetta Jones
#28
Oh gosh. I am cringing already and I haven't even gotten to the story.
It has been my dream for years to work in a Japanese design conpany. In 2013, when my parents moved to Tokyo, I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to start looking for internships at design agencies. I sent out 100 emails, got 30 replies and 10 positive responses. Back then, I had been studying Japanese seriously for about one year and my Japanese level wasn't the best. I am so embarrassed looking back at the emails I sent out then!
In any case, a friendly and quirky designer responded and said I could come for an interview. I prepared what I was going to say, got my portfolio ready, memorized his name and even went to his building a day early so that I wouldn't get lost on the day.
It was a hot summer day in July and I wore a light blue flowery pants (looks better than it sounds) that i had just bought in Harajuku. I also wore strap high heel sandals. At the door, per Japanese culture, I took of my shoes. I don't think they had slippers so I felt a bit awkward in my bare feet.
The designer didn't speak a word of English, and my Japanese wasn't great either. There was a huge awkward silence as he motioned for me to sit down and show him my portfolio. We went though my work and thinking back, I think he just acted interested in politeness.
In Japanese, you rarely say “you”, and rather refer to the person you're speaking to by their name or title. Unfortunatelt for me, I was so stressed and nervous that I forgot his name, and it was super obvious. I couldn't talk my way around that! I was also shaking like a scared hamster.
After awkwardly explaining my work on broken Japanese, it was time to go. He was kind and showed me to the door. I bent over to put my shoes on again, but there was no seat to sit on and as they we're heeled shoes, I had a hard time. I bent down, and all of a sudden, RRRRIP. My pants tore. Right down the middle. Everyone in the office heard it. There was silence for a few seconds and then I quickly ran out of the door, half-heartedlt thanking the designer. I walked with my hand on my butt for a few meters until I walked into the first store I came across and bought the first pair of pants I saw.
Needless to say, I never heard back from the designer.
(The happy ending is that two years later, I landed two internships at famous Japanese design and advertising agencies, and I managed to achieve a level of working proficiency in Japanese! I also never wear strange pants and heels to interviews anymore.)
Image credits: Lindie Botes
#29
I reached for a pen in my computer bag and pulled out a toothbrush!
No more! I still regularly brush my teeth, but I also now clean out my computer bag before job interviews. Toothbrushes now have their own pocket!
BTW, I didn’t get the job.
Image credits: Steve Smith
#30
They ask a question.
Me: what?
They ask again.
Me (what are they trying to ask, oh God, they are looking at me, say something). “I love cats.”
One of the interviewers: “Good but we were asking how you will deal with a child who was holding a gun and threatening to kill everybody.”
Me (shit): “oh, (laugh), well I will not corner him. I will sit down at a comfortable distance and ask him what is going on, why does he want to kill people, what caused him to get to this level. And try my hardest to get enough information out of him in order to use it to calm him down and see if he will surrender the gun.”
One of the interviewer: “good answer, now what how would you feel about working with children prosecuted for sex crimes and murder charges?”
Me (maybe I should have looked at the job description more before applying) “I will not lie, I will be nervous but in the end they are children and not the same level of education and support as other children.”
I did not get the job. I blame my cat commenr. I am kind of glad I did not.
#31
I went for an interview at a prestigious music school in Surrey, England. The founder of the school just happened to be buried on school grounds.
Part of the interview was an orientation stroll around the grounds, with some minutes spent awkwardly standing by the side of the grave in silence and ‘paying respects’.
It definitely interrupted my sales pitch.
#32
I was interviewer, taking an interview for a position of Java Developer for fresher candidates:
Me: Hello
She: Hello Sir
Cutting all unnecessary things, come to the point.
Me: which language are you comfortable with?(I meant to say Programing Language, since she mentioned in her resume Java along with C/C++).
She: Hindi, English, Bangla and Oriya
Me: What?
Me: I meant to say in which language you have expertise?
She: Bangla sir.
Me: What?
Me: Tell me what is Java?
She: I know Java Sir, I read it last night about it.
Me: What?
#33
I forgot which day it was supposted be and I came 2 days late. Did get the job tho.
#34
The owner asked me “where are you” meaning in which city was I located, and I responded “in my room”.
#35
One time someone asked what I would do if there was an elephant in the room and I said “ride it” or something stupid like that! I did not get the job.
#36
Had a brief Zoom interview with a company that has a similarly named competitor.
I got invited to an in person interview. When the interviewer asked me if I knew the location, I said, yes! The one by X street.
She said half-jokingly, "Noooooo, that's X, that's a different company. You're apply to Y company"
I did get the job.
#37
Bye, love you!
#38
They asked me what is my current occupation, I said single. English is my 2nd language btw
#39
Location : National Institute of Technology, Warangal.
It was an IT company known for recruiting in good numbers. I really banked on this one as there are only a meagre opportunities open for Biotech students.
I had reached the TAPS (Training and Placement Section) building much ahead of time as I had given my Dad’s contact number instead of mine in the application. After the initial rounds were done, my dad received a call saying that I had cleared them and now it’s time for the interview.
When I reached, there wasn’t anyone except for me. After a couple of minutes, the placement coordinator arrived and informed that the interviews were scheduled 45 minutes later. I was too lazy to go back to the hostel and waited there. The recruiters reached the place and noticed me waiting outside. Since I was the only one who happened to reach earlier, they had decided to take my interview.
Two recruiters ‘X’ and ‘Y’ vs ‘Me’ X: Tell me about yourself. Me: * I gave the prepared answer* They had asked about my final year project, a few basic concepts in C++, what I know about their company, etc. for a while.
X: Talk about this water bottle you see on the table. Me: *water bottle?
Oh God, help me with this sales pitch. - thoughts running in mind* I immediately asked their permission to drink water to buy some time to gather my thoughts. I spoke about the manufacturing company, volume of the bottle, uses of water, blah blah blah. I had noticed a smile on X’s face and I felt relieved. I had a sense of joy that the interview had been great till then.
Y( holding my ID card ): You seem to have given your sister’s photograph for the ID card?
Me: I don’t have a sister, Sir. That was taken 4 years ago.
Y: Okay. Who’s handsome, me or X? *Both X and Y are in mid-40s*
I blurted out, “ neither ”. I had no clue why I said that, but it was too late. That was the end of the interview. I knew that I had ruined it at the very last minute and remained quite nervous till the result was announced. Verdict : Got the job! :)
#40
I was sitting in an interview for a job at Freescale semiconductors.
Having cleared all technical rounds , I was in final HR round which I thought would be way too lite. But to my surprise, it only turned up to be most screwing one. interviewer: tell me about yourself.
me: blah blah blah (interviewer impressed ) interviewer : so you had your last internship with Nvidia, how was it ?
me: pretty good , I learnt a lot and enjoyed working there.
interviewer: is freescale better than Nvidia? if so how?
me: i didn't try working at freescale, so I can't compare.
interviewer: still as per market sentiments!
me : (as i was in freescale's interview , I had to support it anyway!) freescale sir !
interviewer: tell me 5 good points about Nvidia !
me: blah blah blah
interviewer : tell me how Nvidia keeps it's employees happy?
me: blah blah blah interviewer : so if Nvidia is this good, why are you applying for freescale ??
me: Nvidia didn't offer any job to me.
interviewer: so if it offered, you wouldn't have sat for freescalee?
me: It didn't offer sir, I would have definitely chosen freescale !
interviewer : so if it offers in future, surely you won't miss that good company !
me: Sir , I will still choose Freescale ! ( in mind: Oh God ! why did I speak good about Nvidia to this guy !)
interviewer: I don't think Freescale is that popular as Nvidia. Why will you choose an not so popular one over Nvidia!
me: (in mind : if the HR himself doesn't feel that his company is good enough, why is he still working there !! ) Sir , as I said, I am a Freescale's fan !
interviewer: any questions?
me: (in mind: sir why don't you leave your job from freescale to join Nvidia ! ) no sir !
interviewer: thanks, we will inform later about your selection.
#41
My would-be boss kept showing her underwear during the interview.
I was in school and wanted to pick up a flexible-schedule job during the evenings so I could get a little extra cash. Yeah I thought paying for food and electricity sounded like a good plan, so I found myself at a restaurant applying for a waiter position. Easy enough. The application looked more like a pre-school coloring page than an actual application but whatever, I just wanted that sweet $2.12/hr + tips. So I sucked it up and waited for the interview.
What I got was a stereotypical ‘90s punch drunk big hair gum-smacking 30-something trying to look like she was 20-something asking me the typical questions that has nothing to do with th job. Fine. Let’s just get this over so I can pinch my indentured servitude card and make some cash to support my macaroni and cheese dinners that would surely follow.
Unfortunately as she sat down on a barstool next to me, I immediately noticed her underwear was on display for the whole restaurant to notice! I tried to twist a bit so as to be somewhat of a gentleman but she kept snapping her fingers at me.
*snap* “…hey sweetheart, I’m over here.”
So the interview was a bit awkward and although I wasn’t really focused on her (or her panties for that matter), I still got the job. Lucky me.
#42
I’m an awkward person, so every job interview I’ve ever had has been awkward.
But I’ll tell you about the most awkward.
It was seven years ago, and I had returned from Japan just a month prior. I had posted my resume and was contacted by a recruiting firm that specialized in Japanese speaking jobs. The position was advertised as Office Manager (it wasn’t, but that’s a different story) in a company 20 minutes from home. I was so nervous that my Japanese wouldn’t be good enough, that they would notice my seven-month- pregnant belly and dismiss me, worried about my lack of experience in an office setting. Still, they invited me in for an interview, so the recruiter must have vouched for me.
On the morning of the interview, it was raining. Not refreshing summer rain, not even cats-and-dogs rain, but torrential, can’t-see-2-feet-ahead-of-you-why-are-these-windshield wipers-so-useless rain. Add up the rain, the nervousness, the pregnant belly, and the fact that I hadn’t gotten used to driving on the right side of the road again, and we had a real issue on our hands. Luckily, my dad whom I was living with, offered to drive and wait in the car during the interview.
We arrived too early, so I sat in the car and chatted with my dad to kill a little time. Minutes later a Japanese man appeared at the door, opened up an umbrella, and jogged out to the car. Uh-what? My dad put the window down, and the man happily urged us BOTH to come in. My dad gave one of those little hand waves and mumbled something about “I’ll wait here,” but the man absolutely insisted he come in as well. We shrugged and ran through the rainy parking lot and into the building.
My dad took a seat in the foyer. Well, he tried to take a seat in the foyer. But again, the man insisted he come with us into the conference room. That man turned out to be the president of the company, and that turned out to be, hands-down, the most awkward interview I ever had- the president, two managers, me, AND MY DAD. I think the whole time the managers were wondering “why the hell is this guy here?” but they didn’t question their Japanese boss.
I got the job, by the way, so naturally, my dad takes credit for it.
#43
There was a guy at a job I had in college who wouldn't take no for an answer. He was weird and annoying, told all of his friends we were dating even though they knew I'd been with my boyfriend for like 3 years at the time (small town), and he told me that he wanted to take my last name so he could be Ryan Ryan.
About a year later I was at a job interview. She kept saying that I looked familiar but I had no recollection of her. She finally placed it and her demeanor changed immediately.
You know my son Ryan!
Ryan ‘Callahan'?
No, Ryan ‘McGregor'. And you're the little tr*mp who tried to cheat on her boyfriend with him.
(Nope) I didnt try to defend myself or argue. I just got up and left. You can't defend yourself against someone's precious son.
#44
I had an online, on-camera job interview earlier. It is the third and final interview after passing the qualifying exam.
The final interviewer read my CV and asked if I was related to this person (she mentioned a name). She told me that it is a rare surname; people can easily remember it. I told her that the name she mentioned was my older sister. She said that they were batchmates at the same school.
And then she proceeded with the actual job interview questions. I did ace the job interview, and all went well. But at the end of the interview, she then asked me, "Why are you so serious?"
I teared up and blurted out, "Because my sister has been diagnosed with cancer." I kept on crying. ???? And she was very apologetic that she brought up my sister's namee I told her it was okay, and I’m sorryas well.l My sister completed her cancer treatments a week ago, and we are hoping for the best results from her PET scan in 2 months to see if she is cancer-free.
I am so embarrassed that I do not think I can accept the job offer without being reminded of my mistake. I would even see the interviewer daily at work because she is the mentor. I knew that she was just trying to have a rapport to ease the anxiety during the interview, but she was caught off guard by my response.
I handled my emotions very unprofessionally, and it is eating me up. I should’ve just said that I am nervous. I wish to forget this incident.
Image credits: Sash
#45
I have had several, most of them after I decided I could no longer accept that I was a victim of the interview process. I tired of going to interviews seeing interviewers pass out from lack of sleep (yes, it really happened), having an apparently really good interview trashed because one individual sitting in a corner got up and said he thought I was incompetent ( the looks on the other interviewers said differently), of facing up to 50 interviewers ranging from board members to children.
Lit was after I started interviewing the interviewers and the businesses that things started getting more awkward. The one interview I'm thinking about I walked in and sensed something I could not define, and still can not. They started off on their pre printed questions. I was polite, but as we went through the the motions I realized they had not intention of considering me for a position I was highly qualified.
On the spur of the moment I decided I had nothing to lose, again. When an opportunity arose I rose from my sear and took control of the interview. I walked behind the interviewers on the other side of the room. I referred to the empty chair as if I was still there. I crouched down beside several and spoke directly to them.
The reaction was as expected. They froze in place.. They sat rigidly staring at that empty chair, unable to do anything. I worked the room for about as long as I felt necessary to get my points across and, yes, intentionally make them uncomfortable. After I was done I sat down and let them complete their interview process.
I did not get the job. But, it was probably one of the most fun interviews I had/gave, or did.
#46
it is actually funny
i went on an interview where a friend of mine forwarded my resume, considering that i wanted to switch being on my probabtion period as i didnt liked the enviroment and behavious of management towards senior developers. so i went there firstly i didnt knew the place and they didnt gave me clear instructions any way .. like come here and call me i will tell u then where to go .. any how i went there .. the place he told me was prohibitated and i end being interogated by poilce. after i was released and called him he told me to come other way around and theres the gate for the building .. now it was 42degress out side and due to all this scenario i uncuffed my sleves
now when i went in for interview for a postion of programmer a finance guy was taking interviews .. he seemed bithered by my ucuffed sleeves and at the end of interview got personal ... tells me that my uncuffed sleeves are making me so unprofessional .. if i was there asking for his daughters hand for marriage, although he is not married and dont have a daughter but still he wouldnt approve of me for his daughter if he had one ..
after the interview i was shocked .. man why in the whole world i would ask his imagineable daughter's hand for marriage.. later on i found out he was friend of the manager from my organization due to whom i wanted to switch in the first place
btw being a programmer i am encouraged to wear clothing in which i can comfortably work so in any interview my clothes are always out of question..
#47
Oh that’s easy: the worst interview experience I’ve ever had happened at Microsoft in August of 2002.
I interviewed with three different teams that day. I arrived at 8:30 am and left the campus at 6:30 pm. I spent the entire day standing at whiteboards. Even during a short lunch I was asked to solve problems on napkins.
Several of the people who interviewed me never introduced themselves. They just walked into the room and started asking technical questions.
But the part that made it a horrible experience was this: right before lunch a guy walked in and said, “We are trying to understand why you’ve been unable to solve any problems today.” I was absolutely mortified. I thought I had been doing relatively well. If I hadn’t been so young, so nervous, I would have walked out. But it had always been a dream of mine to work at Microsoft and I wasn’t going to just give up. That said, I was a total wreck throughout the rest of the day. The following week I received offers from two teams (I chose the Visual Studio team).
After joining the company I learned that I had done extremely well during my interview. The “you’ve been unable to solve any problems” thing was done intentionally to weed out weak candidates. Again, if I hadn’t been so nervous it would have occurred to me that if I had really been doing that poorly they would’ve cancelled further interviews - no reason to waste engineer time if there was no chance a candidate would be hired.
After my interview I went back to hotel and called my wife. I’m pretty sure I cried during that call. I spent the next 4 days in a funk - I felt like an absolute failure.
I don’t think that type of tactic would fly today (at least I hope it wouldn’t).
#48
Interviewer: So you are working in Afghanistan right now doing network security?
RC: Yes, I am and have been for the last six months.
Interviewer: Other that being in a war zone, I’m sure the pay is great, why are you seeking other employment?
My phone vibrates loudly with an incoming text message: “Offer from Iraq with XXX company for $385K a year. When can you start?”
I was so excited I just started typing away and told my friend (he referred me for the job in Iraq) that I can quit my current job and be there in 2 weeks.
It wouldn’t have been so embarrassing if I didn’t mutter the actual words I was reading and typing (in my hyper-excited state).
Interviewer: Well I guess I can’t match the offer so thanks for coming in.. As he gets up to show me the door…
I probably got blacklisted by that company.
#49
Almost forgot about this one. I needed to bring in extra income as the business I ran was slowing down. What could I do as I had no real qualifications? Then I saw an advert for prison wardens. I could do that I thought. Maybe make life a bit more bearable for those incarcerated. Yeah I know, I can be a bit gullable. No qualifications needed it said. Too good to be true I thought. So off I went for an interview at the local prison in Edinburgh. Sailed through the first two tests. Even almost beat all the other twenty applicants. The came in interview. Th there were six of them. All stones faced and smiling me facing them. I only remember the question that sunk me.
" What would you do if you and another warden were on your rounds and he got jumped on and attacked?"
"Well I would do my best to protect him",I replied.
Wrong. I was supposed to run away and get help. Did not seem a very gentlemanly thing to do I thought. i often get flashes of inspiration. Sometimes they are funny. Sometimes they get me into trouble. On rare occasions I manage to keep them on the inside. However after what seemed a long pause by the panel I said.
" Well as John Wayne would say, A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."
Well that was the end of that.
#50
This happened to one of my friends. Her marriage was fixed, shortly after her M.Tech exams. She went for interview for the post of Assistant Professor in one of the top private engineering colleges in Bangalore. To be more specific, its in the outer ring road.
After the interview she was selected and the interviewer, the HOD asked explicitly whether she has any plan to have baby soon. If any plan is there, then do not join. Or if joined, postpone family expansion for next 2 years.
For my friend, it was a kind of question which she never expected, that too from educated folks.
#51
That happened recently during a Silicon Valley software engineer job interview. The interviewer said “we’re a youth-oriented culture.” After he said that I got up and left without saying a word. Man, was he ever surprised! (I’m 64 years old.)
#52
I was applying for a sales position at a well-known national outdoors equipment co-operative. I was over-qualified for the position and had an eye to moving up in the company. I showed up on time for my interview, and then proceeded to wait awkwardly for 20 minutes with one interviewer while the other (and main) interviewer was running late. When he finally arrived, he was obviously preoccupied (perhaps he'd forgotten about the interview). He informed me the company had recently adopted a new interview format and that this was his first interview post the change, which became apparent once I realized he was conducting the process from an instructional packet he had never seen before. After posing a few awkward questions, he started repeating questions and then saying, "No, I already asked you that..." It was a half-hour slow-motion trainwreck, which the other interviewer and I could only sit and watch in appalled disbelief.
When I got the call a week later telling me I hadn't gotten the job, I replied, "No, your company failed the interview."
#53
One time I accidentally showed up to a phone interview. The hiring manager saw me anyway and didn’t act too weird about it, but he also didn’t call me back, so…
#54
In my view the most awkward interview I had conducted was when an applicant that has a very impressive resume came in for an entry level position in my department… Impressive as supposedly completed his doctorate degree..
The person seems to be very intelligent, knowledgeable and familiar with a lot of different subjects as we started in the interview processes.. Somehow everything changes when I started to systematically start questioning the details of how and the why’s of things as listed in the resume…Things and subjects of what was already known subjects in his resume which he repeatedly discussed at the initial opening of our conversation during the interview process..
It appeared that he was well versed with the listed subjects yet when we went down to the very foundational reasonings somehow he got disconnected? It seems all of sudden he got confused, it appears as if he has an amnesia!
An awkward moment which in my mind the real reason why it happened was being a sharp fellow, he just memorized everything without really have any thorough understanding of what he wrote in his resume? I believe it was done solely to impress some people!
#55
There was a really cool company I wanted to work for in Dubai about 16 years ago. I noticed they had an opening for an accountant as well as an executive assistant to the CEO. As I was qualified for both I applied for both, with slightly different (but true) CV’s. Though I wanted the EA job more than the accounting one I was willing to accept any job just in order to get into the company (don’t remember the name but they had acquired rights to impart executive education in Dubai on behalf of Stanford, Harvard and Wharton so yea, they were awesome and I felt I would have the chance to learn a lot there).
I was called for an interview and was fully prepared and confident I would rock it. I was interviewed by the CEO and he was clearly satisfied with all my answers. One of the last questions he asks me was ‘why I wanted the job’ to which I end up saying some nice digestable crap like I graduated with specialization in accounting and was looking for a chance to utilize my skills. To which he kind of freezes and I felt something amiss.
With the interview coming to an end, I asked him how I did. He said great except for the last question. I didn’t understand him and asked him why, to which he said the interview was for an EA and he didn’t really want someone interested in accounts for that position.
I realized I had fucked myself over! I had somehow assumed the interview was for the accounting role and not EA. For the next several days I was emailing and calling their office to see how I could make up for my big mess but there was no getting out of that one.
Waitago eh!
#56
I applied for a position in a mental health facility. The first question out of the administrator's mouth was. “So, why do you want to work in a nuthouse?”
It only went downhill from there.
#57
The interview had loooong periods of silence and he never made eye contact. It felt so personal it was like being stuck in an elevator with an ex-mother-in-law.
Later I found out that he was forced to interview me to “Prove” that pending charges of sexual harassment against him by a former employee couldn’t possibly be true.
#58
Almost at the end of my 40 minutes long HR interview….
HR: What are you strengths?…
Me: Proactive, Optimistic, have leadership qualities, pretty good at communication skills….(blah, blah, blah…)
HR: Okay great (grinning)…And what are your weaknesses?
Me: __________ (blank) :|
HR: So do you think you have no weakness at all…that you are perfect?! (grinning again)
I swear I don’t know why I was so blank on this question and I couldn’t recall any of my weaknesses…But I knew I had to answer something. Get in the game again! (to myself)
Me: Well it’s not that…to be honest, I think there are actually so many of them, I really can’t pick and describe few at this moment…
Interviewer laughed at this time now and we both were smiling for several moments. Well done Amey! (to myself) :P
HR: Okay Amey, so I’ve done with the discussion. I really have got the positive feedback about you. Salary should not be an issue here. But we will inform you if you’ve got selected for the position. Do you have any questions for me?
Me: Well yes. I was considering this as a formality round, just for the salary discussion and other things. Do we still need some final call on my selection?…
She was stunned to get such direct question from me. But then she smiled again and said.
HR: Of-course…it is a FINAL round. I’m sure after going through 3 tough rounds, you’d been expecting to end on a good note now. So let me tell you this. You are confirmed with us, but salary approval should come from HQ. Once I have it, we can start the procedure. Does that make you happy? :)
Me: Sure it does. Thank you! :)
Needless to mention, I got the offer! :D
#59
I was 5mins early for my interview and the interviewer is late by 15mins ????
she said she's in a hotel having a vacation. While she's asking me questions, she keeps on talking to her friends and it sounds like she's already drunk.
it was so awkward coz while I was speaking, I had to pause from time to time coz the interviewer is interrupting me bc she drunk.
#60
I have one from the other side, I was the interviewer. It was an entry level job, the kind business majors get entering and crunching data in Excel right out of college for a year or two. It wasn't a particularly hard job at the entry level, we really needed bodies because the company and team were expanding quickly, and everyone was a temp for three months before being hired full time, making it easy to fire them if things weren't working out. So the floor on who we would take was pretty low to begin with.
Another manager spoke with him briefly while he was waiting for me. She was one of the nicest people I ever met, she would hire anyone, to a fault. On my way in she grabbed my arm, looked me in the eyes and just shook her head solemnly, without a single word. That was my first warning.
First off it was a warm summer day, and the HVAC in the interview room wasn't great. He wore a full wool suit, which I appreciated. But he was on the huskier
