Most Awkward Job Interview Ever!

Piggystardust

My sister lives in London and works for this 'funky' Graphic Design Company who are appartently a pack of arrogant d*cks, particularly when it comes to interviewing people.

As she's a Manager, she's sat in on a few interviews and told me of a few scenarios that would make David Brent cringe.

Their theory or logic is that if you don't fit in with their idea of 'wackiness' you're not a right fit for the company so they'd do things such as:

* Ask the person to take a seat when they walk into the room only there are no chairs. The right candidate would apparently just sit on the floor, no sweat.

* Ask the person to pour some water for everyone but there's only an empty jug on the table and no glasses.

* Ask the person would they mind taking off their hat when they're not wearing one.

And so forth. I think it's kinda funny but also quite cruel!

Anyway, I've just come from a really awkward interview where I'd told the girl already that the company I work for know I'm actively seeking a new job. She asked had I been job hunting long and I said no not at all. She then said so you're actively job hunting but haven't started looking?! I just nodded like a moron. Then she asked me my greatest weakness (I thought my idiocy was already evident) to which I stumbled and said eeemmmmmm I'm really shy. Wtf. Why would I say that?!

Ugh. My other sister panicked once when asked what role she thoght she'd play in the company and said.. eh... an astronaut, I'm really into astrology. She isn't even!

So, any cringey awkward interview tales happen to any of you folks?

Smondie

A company asked me one time what I'd like to be paid?


I panicked a bit and for some reason said, "eh, money!"

Still cringe thinking about it!:pac:

Piggystardust

Piggystardust wrote: »

eh... an astronaut, I'm really into astrology.

Yeah Neil Armstrong was mad for the horoscopes.

andekwarhola

Piggystardust wrote: »

And so forth. I think it's kinda funny but also quite cruel

We obviously have wildly divergent takes on the definition of 'kinda funny'.

Piggystardust

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Yeah Neil Armstrong was mad for the horoscopes.

That's the cringiness of it.. none of it makes any sense. She's actually a very smart girl who's into neither of these things and knows the difference so where it came from we'll never know.

Panic can make you say craaazzzzyyy sh*t!

osarusan

Piggystardust wrote: »

Their theory or logic is that if you don't fit in with their idea of 'wackiness' you're not a right fit for the company so they'd do things such as:

* Ask the person to take a seat when they walk into the room only there are no chairs. The right candidate would apparently just sit on the floor, no sweat.

* Ask the person to pour some water for everyone but there's only an empty jug on the table and no glasses.

* Ask the person would they mind taking off their hat when they're not wearing one.

And so forth. I think it's kinda funny but also quite cruel!

Sounds like a horrible company, with all their wacky zany antics that would achieve nothing other than drive me up the wall.

I don't have any stories myself - some bad interviews, but they were just painful and without even the redeeming quality of making a funny anecdote.

Piggystardust

Yeah, I hate wackiness, even the word annoys me but I would especially hate somebody else's idea of wackiness bestowed upon me.

FTA69

I went for an interview in a pub in Cork (since closed) as a glass collector when I was a teenager and it was a f*cking nightmare. Your man who owned it had actually been done for stalking a woman and was a well known oddball.

We were in his office (the messiest I've ever seen) and your man was very fidgety, speaking very loudly, running his tongue over his gums and breathing heavily through his nose. It was only two minutes into the interview I noticed a DVD case covered in cocaine on the corner of his desk.

He asked me where I was from three times in the space of five minutes and was getting increasingly agitated as things wore on. Half way through I just said "listen mate, I don't think is going to work out regardless. Take it easy" and legged it out. Total and utter headbanger.

_Brian

Had one guy and after initial pleastries he blurted "is there an actual job here or are we all just wasting my time like everywhere else I've interviewed"

I assured him there was indeed a few positions open he was qualified for, but he wasn't successful.


One guy who wasn't on the usual interview panel said he'd lead the next interview, he then proceeded to badger and badger the poor lad until he made him say "I don't know", he said "good, it's important our staff know what they don't know", the guy turned down the offer when it was made to him. I refused to interview with him after that.

Ted111

Piggystardust wrote: »

Then she asked me my greatest weakness

Correct answer is chocolate.

razorblunt

I was conducting an interview once and I can't remember how it came about but I think I was clarifying an answer of his and used a hand gesture denoting a "you just have to hold your hands up sometimes" way and for some reason he reached across the table and high fived me. Barely connected with it too, I just looked at the HR person next to me and he responded with "sorry I don't know why I did that".

Neither did I, neither did I.

donegaLroad

not really awkward, just a waste of my time. I knew the game was up when the interviewer started yawning half way through the interview!

On another occasion I spotted a job in the classifieds: 'Instrument sales person required, nationwide sales' etc.

So I rang up and told them that I had been playing guitar for 15 years and I was a highly competent bassist also, plus I could service amplifiers to a certain degree. The girl on the phone explained that the position was for farm machine instruments, in particular parts for milking machines.

Xaracatz

Had an interview for some retail store when I was 15. It started off with the interviewer telling me that her best friend's daughter was also going for the job. Great start!

It was probably my first proper interview, and I got the dreaded "So what is your biggest weakness?" question.

Me: "Well. I have a terrible sense of direction."

Interviewer: "..." [dead silence]

Me: "Yep. Absolutely awful."

Interviewer: "..." [dead silence]

Me: "I'd get lost crossing the road. I think I got it from my mum."

Interviewer: "O...K..."

To be fair, I took a wrong turn on the way out - thus proving that I wasn't a liar. Still didn't get the job though.

pauliebdub

I've had some horrendous interviews, usually from rude or unnecessarily aggressive interviewers. It's best to put it behind me and laugh about it.

As an interviewer I've also had quite a few strange ones, candidates who appear panic stricken with nerves. Strangest one of all was a candidate who sent her sister in her place as she was sick .

smash

Piggystardust wrote: »

I think it's kinda funny but also quite cruel!

I would consider these actions as 'going full retard'. Sounds like the kind of stupidity that over inflated companies who are caught in a tech bubble would do. They'll crash and burn eventually.

cml387

Sounds like "Perfect Curve", the awful PR company in "Twenty Twelve".

callaway92

Piggystardust wrote: »

* Ask the person to take a seat when they walk into the room only there are no chairs. The right candidate would apparently just sit on the floor, no sweat.

* Ask the person to pour some water for everyone but there's only an empty jug on the table and no glasses.

* Ask the person would they mind taking off their hat when they're not wearing one.

I'd walk straight out the door if some losers started asking me to do shít like that.

Collie D

razorblunt wrote: »

I was conducting an interview once and I can't remember how it came about but I think I was clarifying an answer of his and used a hand gesture denoting a "you just have to hold your hands up sometimes" way and for some reason he reached across the table and high fived me. Barely connected with it too, I just looked at the HR person next to me and he responded with "sorry I don't know why I did that".

Neither did I, neither did I.

Don't keep us in suspense. Did he get the job???

Outlaw Pete

Piggystardust wrote: »

Ask the person would they mind taking off their hat when they're not wearing one.

Many many moons ago now a version of that was tried with me in an interview (Team Aer Lingus, I was 19).

Apparently they say stuff like that to see if you'll assert yourself or just start stuttering.

Anyway I walked in and one of the female interviewers (there were two women and one guy) said 'Could you take your coat off, please?'. I just said 'Sure' and took off an imaginary coat and walked over and hung it a coat rack that didn't exist. Sat back down and said 'Sorry, it's lashing out'. They all just looked at each other and broke up laughing. I got the job too. Was sacked a short while later though, along with a few other lads, for smashing a few hundred used florescent light tubes. Turned out they weren't used at all and just temporally resting in a skip at the back of a hangar. How where we to know.

For Forks Sake

callaway92 wrote: »

I'd walk straight out the door if some losers started asking me to do shít like that.

I'd be looking for an imaginary window to throw them through. I'm creative like that.

Seth Brundle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP0sqRMzkwo

youreadthat

I've only had one annoying interview where I had a test and they gave me 5 mins less than the time I was told and I politely questioned it, even though I was near enough finished, and she got a bit irritable.

Even worse, I had one recently that went really well and they offered me the job but offered a salary that was at best €3000 below market rate. Was gutted.

titan18

Was only out of college and was my first interview but got myself an interview once for a programming role in a company by emailing them after seeing a role that was far senior to me saying I liked the sound of the job and company, but wouldn't be experienced enough, but do they have any junior roles I could apply for as I think I'd be a good fit etc. So, they rang me back with a role and said could I come in for an interview the following day.

Went to interview and they gave me all the standard interview questions, but then gave me a test on the language I'd be using. I hadn't prepared for that and went into a proper panic attack, and every question they asked me was greeted with a blank stare for a few seconds before a lot of hmmms and finally I don't know. Was about 10 questions before interviewer gave up and let me go. Would have known most of the answers and could have talked about them, but just panicked and went blank.

Tasden

titan18 wrote: »

Went to interview and they gave me all the standard interview questions, but then gave me a test on the language I'd be using. I hadn't prepared for that and went into a proper panic attack, and every question they asked me was greeted with a blank stare for a few seconds before a lot of hmmms and finally I don't know. Was about 10 questions before interviewer gave up and let me go. Would have known most of the answers and could have talked about them, but just panicked and went blank.

The only interview I've had where I didn't get the job included a surprise maths test- maths is not my best subject in normal circumstances but I was already nervous and it came as a surprise so it did not go well- I could see her looking at my answers and thinking "wtf?". I honestly felt like saying I'll just leave now. But nope, we politely proceded with the interview process and at the end she said "best of luck in your job search" with pity in her eyes and a tilt of her head
Got my dream job a month or so later!

The Backwards Man

I know a fella who only gives new starts the once over at 7am on a Sunday morning (it's for shift work). Weeds out a lot of the ones that aren't suited for the job before they start.

Conall Cernach

I had an interview a few weeks back that was a bit of a nightmare. It was for a clerical position with an ETB (Education & Training Board) so "wee buns" I thought as I've about 15 years of office admin experience. Anyway I arrived 10 minutes early and was shown down a corridor to a chair and told to wait. The corridor was an internal one with no natural light and the lights were on a motion sensor so every now and then they'd go off leaving me sitting in the dark until I'd stand up to get them on again.

Anyway I was called into the room with 2 interviewers who were behind a desk and I was asked to take a seat with a separate, smaller table in front of me. It turned out that the position was for a panel that would supply local schools with clerical staff rather than a position in the ETB itself. This was not mentioned anywhere in the job description. I was asked questions like was I familiar with MS Word and Excel and having confirmed that I was very familiar with them, even giving examples, I was asked the same question again a couple of minutes later. When asked did I have any questions I asked what sort of length the contracts would be, if they'd be for the school year or if they'd be just for a few weeks at time. The interviewers just repeated that it was for a panel and didn't address my question at all. I really got the impression that they didn't know what the craic was themselves.

I left knowing that I hadn't a hope of a job and the very next day I got a letter in the post confirming that I didn't make the panel.

razorblunt

Collie D wrote: »

Don't keep us in suspense. Did he get the job???

Ha ha, sorry to say he didn't, he actually interviewed well apart from that, I think it was quite literally a brainfart. He did go through to the 2nd round but didn't make it past that.

razorblunt

callaway92 wrote: »

I'd walk straight out the door if some losers started asking me to do shít like that.

On a similar note, a colleague once said he was asked a situational question of "you walk into a room and see your child holding a hammer, what's the first thing you do?".

He said his reply was "I'd be having a bloody strongly worded conversation with my wife as I'm firing blanks down there".

conorhal

callaway92 wrote: »

I'd walk straight out the door if some losers started asking me to do shít like that.

Which is the right answer, since clearly they only hire two kind of people, obsequious employees that they treat like servants and dudebro's who they can high five every time they make one of their obsequious employees crawl for them. Either way a horrible work enviornment you'd be better off avoiding.

Speedwell

Have you ever heard of those two-interviewer interviews that are sometimes called "tag-team interviews"? I had one of those in the US in the 90s. I was interviewing for a graphics director post in a print shop near Atlanta, and the lady on the phone told me to ask at the desk for "Robert Rechsteiner". Oh, yes. When I got to the office, demurely dressed with my CV in hand, in walked these two HUGE guys in T-shirts with the sleeves ripped off, tattoos, and biker gear. Introducing "Rick and Scott Steiner (TM)", y'all, the famous professional tag team wrestlers known as "the Steiner Brothers". They had gone into a side business with Ray Traylor Jr., stage name "The Big Boss Man". Rick told me afterward that my eyes opened up wide as dinner plates and I looked like I was going to literally back through the wall. He asked me, "Do you know who I am", and I managed to squeak out, "No, sir, but I hope you're my next boss", since I hadn't the first clue about pro wrestling. He laughed. I got the job. (It was not a terrific gig, unfortunately.)

Blitzkrieger

Piggystardust wrote: »

And so forth. I think it's kinda funny but also quite cruel!

I think that's an excellent way to get the worst candidate possible. A job interview works both ways; you have to convince the best candidates that your company is somewhere they'd like to work. I'd walk out on that bull****.

Not the worst interview I've had but I once had an interview for IBM. I spoke to some employees there and had some doubts about the place already, but nowhere's perfect, right? The manager said he didn't have an opening for the role advertised anymore, but wanted to interview me for a different role instead. Why the **** did he bring me in for an interview if there was no vacancies? I had no interest in the bull**** other role he was talking about, which was a new role he was trying to bring to the group and seemed fairly poorly defined in an area he seemed to know little about. I tried not to get pissed off with him for wasting my time, but he knew I was and he got embarrassed and didn't seem to know how to continue with the interview. I walked out of there thinking I'd dodged a bullet.