Have you ever drank before a job interview?

OK I get you now but what does that have to do with how much or often you drank 10 years ago?

It doesn't have any context or relevance.

Anyway back on topic I never deliberately drank before an interview but I'm guessing I wouldn't have passed a breathalyser (from the night before) in a lot of them.

An old boss of mine used to do interviews at the pub over pints. His theory was people were more honest after a pint or 2.

He didn't trust anyone who didn't drink alcohol. He was a strange fella to put it mildly.

Did it once and would do it again, crushed the interview, calmed the nerves. And no, you couldn’t smell it off me as I had brushed my teeth before I left.

You'd be surprised how often people roll into interviews after a couple of pints. I've been through several recruitment processes over the years from junior positions to management and each time there was at least one person who smelled of booze, either from the night before or as some sort of dutch courage.

Not directly before an interview but I went clubbing with mates the night before an interview for a summer job when i was about 20. I had 4 or 5 drinks which was about 1 drink per hour. Next morning I got suited and booted, arrived in time etc. The interview went ok in my mind but looking back I reckon the smell of my breath and the red eyes must have been a give away.

I applied to the same company for jobs over the following 10 years and never heard back from any application. There was even a 3 month work placement as part of a course I was doing several years later and of the 8 applicants, I was the only one not selected for placement.

Can't be trusted

Drank a bottle of this stuff once to settle the nerves before a second round interview - it worked as i was offered the job!

I feel like it's time to crack out this anecdote again...

When I graduated from college, I went to London with friends for 6 months. Spent most of the time there doing casual work, but we had a great time.

So we were coming back to Ireland and I was looking for a 'proper' job in my industry. Spotted an advertisement, sent in my CV and got called for interview.

The only problem was they wanted to do the interview on the morning I was flying back from London. They were based out near the airport so I was thinking that it would work out perfect to go straight there when I got back into Dublin.

Of course, on our last night in London we hit the town. My earlier promises to myself to take it easy went out the window after a couple of pints. 6 hours later I'm E'd off my head in a club with my GF saying that we need to get going if we're going to make our flight. To this day I still wonder why we hadn't organised our packing before heading out - I'm putting it down to being young and stupid.

We dash back to our apartment and frantically pack our stuff. I realise I have nothing remotely appropriate to wear to the interview.

We head out to the airport, on route I stop in a cheap menswear store and, in a very flustered state, buy, what I later realise are, an incredibly ill matched shirt and trousers. They also don't match the shoes I have. Not only that, they're about 2 sizes too big and I've no belt. I should mention, that the extent of this only hits me when I get changed for the interview in the toilets of Dublin airport. My GF bursts out laughing when I emerge.

I'm also at this stage, in the jaws of the comedown from hell. I can't remember when I've last eaten, I haven't slept for 36 hours.

My sister meets me at the airport to drive me over to the interview. She bursts out laughing when she sees me too.

I walk into reception feeling like a complete spa. I kinda have to hold my trousers up by hand to stop them falling down. The secretary looks at me initially as if I'm some escaped lunatic but I explain I'm here for the interview.

There's two guys interviewing me and the first question they ask is the kind of simple question a first year on my college course would know. Obviously designed to put me at my ease.

My mind goes, quite literally, blank. I know I know the answer but I can't bring it to mind. After 30 seconds I have to say 'sorry I just can't recall that'. I can see the two of them exchanging a glance wondering 'WTF' as one of them explains the answer to me, like you would to a dimwit.

My already fragile confidence nosedives completely.

I try not to remember the rest of the interview. They keep it mercifully short. I can barely string 2words together and I just want to stand up and say 'listen, this has been a terrible mistake, can we just finish up'.

I leave, still holding up my trousers, desperately trying to preserve what little dignity remains.

'How'd it go?' my sister asks brightly when I get in the car.

'Just drive' I say.

Obviously I don't get the job, and despite working in a small industry, never bumped into the 2 guys again thank Christ.

I know my dad had a few vodkas before his matric Uni exams. Guess it was high pressure, strange town and all that. He got on well.

I've always hated flying so I always have a couple of them just in case. They're very small dosage.

There was a snooker player (Bill Werbeniuk) who consumed a several pints of lager before his matches and drank around a pint per frame during the matches. Apparently he had been advised by doctors to drink alcohol to counteract a tremor he had (if I recall correctly). Late in his career he also started taking beta blockers.