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For most people, a job interview is pretty stressful. Sweaty palms, elevated heart rate, racing thoughts, and confusion about where to place your eyes are just a few possible outcomes. As one discussion on Reddit shows, things can get much spicier.
Recently, a person who goes on the platform by the nickname Arpitaintech posted a question on r/RecruitingHell, asking its members to share the funniest or craziest experiences they've had during these private meetings, and received hundreds of stories.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I had an interview for an engineering position. The lady grilled me about completely unrelated stuff and I finally had it when she said “sell me this pen”. I was like “I’m not a sales person I’m an engineer” and she flipped out and said I’m unqualified and bad at dealing with stressful situations and I calmly said “well I’m dealing with you right now”. She was not amused but her co interviewer was trying not to laugh. The workers in the back looked miserable and I had already decided I didn’t want to work for her at that point.
Paul Gerrard 1 year ago
An engineers should pull the pen apart. Charge per piece. And a hefty fee if you want it assembled
David Martin 1 year ago
I got stopped in the mall by a guy at a phone kiosk; He saw me carrying applications, asked if I was looking for a job, and offered to interview me on the spot. He hands me a pen and says to sell it to him for $50. He turns around, faces me again, and says "Hey, how much for that pen?" I say 50, and he gets all defensive sounding, saying "Whoa, whoa, why is a ballpoint pen so expensive?!" At this point I'm definitely not feeling it and tell him "I dunno, my boss didn't tell me sh*t, he just said it's fifty bucks". Did not get that job
Seadog 1 year ago
This kind of thing happens all the time in business. Letting people make decisions over areas they know nothing about. Bank I worked for in the 80's put a mortgage loan officer in charge of networking the bank and it's branches. She hired some fly by night company out of Florida and as you've already guessed, it all went to s**t before it was even operational. The entire mess went in the trash 3 years later and they started over. The loan officer did somehow show up driving a brand new Thunderbird right in the middle of that fiasco though. Coincidence? Oddly enough, where I work now, the BMS we use is from a company in Florida that is the worst at support and the software is awful to say the least. I often wonder if it's the same group of idiots that ripped off the bank all those years ago.
Gen X Feral 1 year ago (edited)
Oh of course. Stabbbing people is always the appropriate response when they are annoying 😒 Which arm would you prefer?
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#2
Not me but a friend was applying for a Christmas temp job and the last question was "Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?" Her reply was "No. It's a Christmas classic".
She got the job obviously.
Robbie Irvine 1 year ago
the movie has no christmas themes, it just takes place at christmas so there are decorations. I would never consider it a christmas movie. tho it is a great movie.
Julie S 1 year ago (edited)
Die hard came out in July even the people who made it didn't think it was a Christmas movie.
Toothless Feline 1 year ago
Many Christmas movies have been released in the summer. It’s only nowadays that everyone thinks they should be released only in the late fall or early winter.
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nuberiffic 1 year ago
A Christmas movie is about Christmas. Die hard just happens at Christmas. The holiday plays no part in the plot.
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 1 year ago
For me, seeing Hans Gruber fall to his death from the window of Nakatomi Plaza was the sight of Christmas!
We got in touch with Arpitaintech, and the Redditor was kind enough to chat with us about their viral post.
"I am myself a career counselor, and many times while I am talking to a job seeker, I come across situations where they have had a crazy experience during the interview," they told Bored Panda about its origins.
"That made me think of asking this question on Reddit, where everyone would come with an even crazier story."
#3
He asked me all the “wrong” questions.
are you in a serious relationship? do you want kids? are you religious? how do you lean politically?
then told me all about the problems with his marriage and why they’re in couples counseling. says jesus was their saving grace. he kept pushing that i would change my mind on kids once my “biological clock” kicked in. he admitted he was reluctant to hire women because they usually put work second to their families. then also stated he wanted to hire a women to help keep the office neat and tidy.
and last, but not least..
he gave me an offer for an “administrative assistant” role. i applied for a civil engineering position.
David 1 year ago (edited)
So.. inferred from the information given, he puts his job before his family. I wonder how he ended up in couples counseling. /S
Donkey boi 1 year ago
'I want a woman that wants to be a mother, and family maker, but won't want her to take time off for her children and family.' Flipping heck, next he'll be saying he wants a blonde that's brunette!
Annette Jones 1 year ago
if this was in the US - every single thing about it is illegal and should be reported!
Andy Frobig 1 year ago
It feels like this should be reported to somebody besides Reddit/BP, but to whom?
TheForrestGreene (he/they/it) 1 year ago
I might get down voted for this, but I don't really get this. can someone please explain what's going on?
Tom Brincefield 1 year ago
Many of the questions in the first paragraph are illegal to ask in the USA. Then he talked about his personal life, which is not appropriate for a job interview. It got worse from there.
Load More Replies... #4
I was interviewing at a company and they asked where I saw myself in 5 years. I have an answer about moving up in position to maybe manage a small team. They said that's not at all what they're looking for, they want someone in that position for 10 years, so I knew I wasn't a good fit, so I had fun in the rest of my interview with them. The hr person asked how I was comparing companies, I told her at Capital one they had a small tree house, at epic systems they had a huge treehouse. I looked at her very seriously and asked how big their tree house was, you've never seen an adult so sad to say they don't have a tree house.
David 1 year ago
This one made me laugh. Also, who wants to work for a company that doesn't want you to advance at all for 10 years?
Papa 1 year ago
Not everyone wants to keep climbing the corporate ladder. I have a low stress job, doing something I enjoy, and I'm paid well for doing it. I plan to keep doing the same thing until I retire.
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Celtic Pirate Queen 1 year ago
My answer to the "where do you see yourself in 5 years" question has always been, "On a tropical beach having just sold my first novel". Believe it or not, it's almost always got me the job.
Philly Bob Squires 1 year ago
"Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" "In your chair at your desk firing you!"
Colleen Glim 1 year ago
I absolutely hate those kinds of questions! If I looking for a job, it’s because I have an unfortunate eating habit and the grocery store doesn’t take pocket lint and rocks. Just why?!
As the discussion gained more traction, Arpitaintech noticed a few common patterns emerge.
"One of the peculiar themes found across several answers was that many had a gut feeling in the first few minutes of the interview that they weren't going to get the job, yet interviewers kept the interview going for the sake of it, wasting both their and the interviewee's time," they said.
"Also, there were many cases where a person was interviewed for 2-3 rounds, only to find out in the end that it was a fake job. Bizarre, right?"
#5
Was interviewing to the local wine shop-bar as a Marketing Manager. After 2 rounds of interview, they told me that I will receive a questionnaire about my personality for them to learn more about me.
I thought ok.
They sent a 300 questions clinical psychology test. It had questions about relationship with my parents, my fears or trauma. I was really weirded out and refused to proceed as I don’t want a potential employer to have a record of my psychological issues.
Glenn Cuneo 1 year ago
I'd waste their time and pick the most psycho answers possible..... yes I do in fact juggle kittens.... NO, the voices in my head never tell me to order French fries type stuff.
Keith Lancaster 1 year ago
Glenn, you have a sadistic sense of humour and I love you for it.
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Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
I HATE tests like these! IMHO they are 100% male bovine feces. I will not take them, and if a potential employer says I must go through that cräp, I'll move on to the next opening. If you insist on that garbage, you don't deserve me. (Yes, I know that last sentence was rather arrogant; but one must have standards.)
Ilia Bauer 1 year ago
"Are the voices in my bead bothering you?" "I like my men how I like my coffee: ground up and in the freezer." "I don’t get mad, I get evil. No, I do NOT mean 'even.'" "Gone crazy, back soon." "Why kill with kindness when you can use an ax? …named Kindness." "Sorry, I can't go to Hell. Satan still has a restraining order against me." "You shouldn’t bother using honey to attract flies… you need a corpse for best results."
Debra Robinson 1 year ago (edited)
I would quote Buffy responding to Merrick: "Does Elvis talk to you? Do you see spots?", to them...no fukcs given.
#6
I’d put a company CEO down as a personal reference. I’d worked for him a few years earlier before he took the role, and he’d said if I ever needed him as a reference to put his name down.
One of the department heads came in halfway through the interview, he seemed okay and then he read through my resume…
After that he was really stand-off ish and I didn’t know why. He cut the interview short, goes “[CEO] is a close personal friend and I know for a fact he doesn’t give personal references. We will have to verify this information and we don’t accept candidates who lie on their applications.”
And I was promptly seen to the door, told “don’t call us, we’ll call you” and escorted out of the building.
I got outside, gave [CEO] a call on his mobile, and asked him what gives. I told him what happened, he calls the guy a f*****t, we chat for a bit, and I go about my life.
A few days later I get a call from the weirdo’s recruiting person telling me my references had checked out, they were really keen on hiring me, and asking when I could start.
In the meantime, I’d already interviewed somewhere else and been offered a job on the spot.
I was like… nah, thanks but no thanks.
Cammy Mack 1 year ago
Thank you for clarifying, what a relief. I wouldn't have been able to sleep tonight.
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Seadog 1 year ago
Never assume someone doesn't know the big cheese personally. You might just find yourself looking for a new job. What's bad is when the owner tells you to let him/her know if they can ever help or do anything to get your business. Then when you try, they fail to follow through. Happened to me and it not only cost them a sale but it would've gotten rid of old inventory for them. I just went 30 miles up the road and they were more than happy to get my business and get rid of old inventory and I saved $4000 in doing so. Friendship and business often don't make good bedfellows.
#7
I had an interviewer who told me they almost didn't invite me in because I had a typo on my resume. When I asked him to point it out he said it was my name... (Slightly odd spelling of a common name).
Hans Georg 1 year ago
Our former landlord, when he sold the house to us, was informed by the registry office that he wrote his family name wrong. For decades he did the same mistake. He was a good man.
Load More Replies... Manic Mama 1 year ago
I have a non-english name. 3 different times I've spelled it to people, and they've said "are you sure"? I can only conclude that some people need to get out more.
- 1 year ago
"That can be corrected. So how did you originally spell 'My entire life'?"
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David Martin 1 year ago
More than once, I've been asked if I meant to say Martinez for my last name. Oh, you know what, you're right...I forgot to finish writing and/or saying it
Cydney Golden 1 year ago
I interviewed for a job where the listing had the owner's name spelled wrong. The owner had written his own name wrong.
Modern recruitment and its dead ends can certainly be bizarre. According to a 2024 survey of 1,641 hiring managers:
- 40% of companies posted a fake job listing this year;
- 3 in 10 companies currently have active fake listings;
- Alleviating employee workload concerns and suggesting company growth are the top reasons behind the fake job posting strategy;
- Hiring managers say fake job postings led to boosted revenue, morale, and productivity;
- 7 in 10 hiring managers believe posting fake jobs is morally acceptable.
#8
I was asked to come up with changes for the production process while the interviewer vehemently refused to provide any details about the clients, machines, current processes and products. We spent half an hour of me providing vague explanations to cover as many bases as possible, the interviewer asking to be more specific, me asking for details to be more specific rather than generalizing, the interviewer arguing that providing any informations would make it too easy and me getting back to the first step until the cycle repeated.
It was truly the most bizarre interview that I have ever had. When he asked to be more specific for the fourth time and still refused to provide any details, I had enough and ended it.
Donkey boi 1 year ago
'I would need to specifically look at the specifics to specifically specify the specific specifics that need specifying. Only then could I specify specific specifics to you specifically.'
varwenea 1 year ago
I have asked similar questions in the past, but I frame it differently. The applicant is asked to provide examples of things they did in the past: what was the issue, what are they solving for, what steps were taken/tried/failed/succeeded, what was their role in it, who are their partners, and what was the outcome. They choose the details to share without divulging any trade secrets. For the right candidate, they can explain the details because they were personally involved.
nuberiffic 1 year ago
"well my first step to improving processes here would be getting rid of you"
Justbecause 1 year ago
Ugh i worked at a place like this, very compartmentalised and only bosses got to know the processes. I raised safety concerns and got a drilling about why i knew those practices were in place. They hired me because i was a University graduate and then were surprised when i peiced together there system. I lasted 2 months before i handed in my resignation, couldn't deal with there attitude and couldn't deal with the lack of safety. I will never work in a non unionised workplace again.
#9
“If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?”
I was interviewing for an analyst position so I went for a “decision tree” Got the job
Mike F 1 year ago
Deciduous, I need some downtime once a year to maintain.
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David Morgan 1 year ago
When you get a question like this, always directly ask what they hope to learn from the question. Many of them have no idea, they just listen to morons at seminars, telling other idiots how to 'disrupt' standard practices. A real interviewer will know what their questions mean and won't ask stupid ones - that doesn't mean the purpose is obvious to you, however.
Scott Rackley 1 year ago
All of this. I've sat in on interviews as technical expert. They hired some new guy in HR to help direct interviews. He'd read books on it. Many books. He told us. He came up with questions like this. After the third one of his I went to HR and told them I didn't have time for this nonsense as I could actually be designing things instead of listening to an interviewee explain what color he thought trust was.
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Reta Murphy 1 year ago
I am not a tree, I am a person. Does your company hire that many trees? and get up and leave.
Petra Schaap 1 year ago
a pink christmas tree because im weird fun, shiny, sparkling and full of light :-D do i get the job????
LinkTheHylian 1 year ago
You're hired. As a background decoraction for Barbie 2.
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Cyber Returns 1 year ago
If this interview is any clue to the amount of sh*t I'm going to be taking then I will be a lavatory
#10
I once had an interview for a company which it turns out, was behind charging prisoners families the collect call money when the prisoner called them.
They had a laptop where I was supposed to take a proficiency with Linux test. This was an interview at 7 am btw. My first red flag. I was greeted by a password protected root prompt and not given the password. Iknew the commands by heart to drop to single user via editing the grub prompt and bypass the password protection since I worked in a data center and spent a lot of time doing it. Their faces fell. They were actually disappointed they didn't get to treat me like I was stupid for not being able to pass their little test. I completed the rest of the technical questions from a command prompt with no net access and all manpages removed (but not the info pages, real geniuses these guys) and then I surprised them by asking about the work environment. Which consisted of the CEO sitting where he could see everyone's screens and micro managing every thing that was done. A relatively huge for the time database where they made changes on the live DB because the CEO was too cheap to have a testing environment. Ragged out chairs that were stained, and single underpowered dell system attached to the cheapest monitor they could get. The vibe from everyone except the eric trump clone interviewing me was one of misery.
I needed work badly and I was crushed in a way when I was rejected, but in the end I know I really dodged a bullet. The cherry on top was the way they mentioned being a christian company every 30 seconds. What's more christlike than bullying applicants, robbing the families of criminals coincidentally among the most impoverished, and worshiping wealth for yourself?
But he the owner/ceo was rich so I guess a prosperity gospel church would give him a big ol thumbs up? It's been 25 years and I still think of that place occasionally and shudder.
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
By emphasizing that they were a "Christian" company, they proved that they are anything but Christian. True religion is subtle, and demonstrated with actions.
Cal Bro 1 year ago
Where does it say, or even hint, that "true" Christianity is subtle? That reads like something you've made up because it sounds nice...
Load More Replies... Papa 1 year ago
The part about the 7:00 am interview being a red flag wasn't necessarily a red flag. The former construction supervisor where I work scheduled interviews for 7:15. They worked 7:00 to 3:30, so his theory was "If they can't get her at 7:15 for an interview they won't be able to get here at 7:00 to start work."
Cal Bro 1 year ago
There's a huge difference between being able to turn up to work at 7am and being able to reach peak performance at 7am - something most people would be attempting to do for an interview. Being construction I assume his interviews weren't particularly rigorous, but I don't think it's a great strategy to apply generally.
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GalPalAl 1 year ago
Companies try to get creative with work descriptions to draw you in. The truth is if the employees are unhappy, RUN! Those job descriptions are lies and if the people doing the hiring are so dense and out of touch with reality, There are plenty of other crappy jobs available.
Featherking 9 months ago
Those things are indeed very christian, as a matter of fact. That’s been christianitys MO since it was invented.
Brian Droste 1 year ago
I know I won't get a answer but I am wondering are they still in business? I would like to think someone looked into their business and took action and shut them down.
As for the ones that do happen, "skills are the foundation of any interview and a must-have," Arpitaintech said.
However, the Redditor believes the real focus should be on cultural fit. "A bad attitude is almost impossible to fix, and if someone ends up in a place where they don’t connect with the team or environment, it can cause long-term issues for everyone involved."
#11
Interviewed for a job at Sears. The guy kept me waiting for 45 minutes while he went to get McDonalds. I saw him leave and come back with his food. During the interview he insulted me talking about my “poor employment history” because I only worked over the summers during college and called me fat. As he was finishing up being a d******d to me he paused to lick a spot of ketchup off his shirt. It’s not surprising that Sears went bankrupt if this was kind of guy they had in charge of job interviews.
Mike F 1 year ago
My experience interviewing with Sears (ca 1977) was pretty great. I had 2 interviews in the space of about 40 minutes and the 2nd was a big boss. While we were talking I asked what the ticking noise was I was hearing. Not loud, but annoying just the same. He then tells me that he had heart valve replacement surgery and the ticking I heard was the replacement valve. We had a good laugh and I got the job.
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
If somebody kept me waiting just so he/she could grab some grub, I'd nope out of there.
Geoffrey Scott 1 year ago
No, they went bankrupt because they had the whole home shopping thing already, but refused to recognize change. I mean true one stop shopping.. tools, appliances, clothes, etc..
Seadog 1 year ago
My son went to work for Sears. The job was in the back where they assemble stuff and bring out large items they don't stock on the salesfloor. First day he goes through orientation then goes to join the rest of the guys. He finds them sitting at a table playing cards. He assumed it was just break time so he stood and watched and talked to them a little. He finally asked when they were going to start working and they all said they are working, they're busy. Son went back to the managers office and asked about the work and she also said that they are very busy. My son quit on the spot, told her he came to work, not play games. She couldn't understand why he was quitting.
Joshua David 1 year ago
I worked at Kmart (a sears company) in the 90s and it was the funnest job i ever had.
#12
I slept through an interview, completely forgetting about it. In my defense it was sort of sick. Only realized when I was looking at my calendar that evening. I sent an apology email the next business day.
I ended up getting the job.
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
One time I wrote down the day and time for an interview - on the wrong day. At least I had it down a day early. They interviewed me anyway. I didn't get the job, but at least I did get one that was convenient to public transit.
#13
Not a question but when I tried to get a job that would involve a fair amount of driving, I half jokingly wrote down 'drivers license' under work experience. My interviewer took one look at the application and said "valid drivers license, good. You're already ahead of the other guy".
Mike F 1 year ago
So many people showed up with a suspended license for a transportation job even though it was prominently displayed in the ad.
Papa 1 year ago
A guy applied for a job where I work, and asked the interviewer if the company provided transportation to and from work.
Jeff Gabrisl 1 year ago
Most people who have their license suspended will tell you that they are the best driver you know, and are even better drivers when they have been drinking. There is a reason why their license was suspended, usually it's because they drive 30mph over the speed limit. I have been in a car with those people and it's scary as hell. I'm one of the best drivers I know, because I follow traffic rules, despite having a modified 1979 Camaro designed for road racing.
Onan Hag All 1 year ago (edited)
I always add "CPC" to the letters after my name. It stands for "cycling proficiency certificate", which I achieved at school, aged ten. No one has ever asked what it means. I'm retired now, so no one ever will.
Paul Gerrard 1 year ago (edited)
People r stupid. You say they must be experienced, qualified and residents should only apply etc and some unemployed unskilled russian indian, bukgarian whatever sends a poorly worded application. Not suitable in a single way. Immediate waste bin contents
#14
A potential employer scheduled an interview with my brother... without telling him.
They were upset when he didn't show up, even after he explained the situation. "The best they could do" was to reschedule it for later that day. They did not understand why he was unwilling to immediately drop everything and get on a last-second flight across the country to attend.
He politely asked that they not contact him again.
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
If they are so effed up that they can't notify somebody of the when and where of an interview, they are effed up in other ways, too. Probably no longer in business
#15
While at college I interviewed for a job in a sportswear shop.
They asked me 'what is your biggest weakness?'
For some reason I replied, 'sausage rolls!'.
I didn't get the job!
LinkTheHylian 1 year ago
I have numerous character flaws. In fact, I have so many that I'm the basis for the cast of the Twilight books.
#16
I was desperately looking for a job, anything. So I applied at the dollar store. This is the conversation I had when they called me back:
Them: Hello is this [my name]?
Me: yes
Them: good you’re hired
Me: ok who is this
Them: the dollar store. Bring your direct deposit form. Okay bye
Me: wait!!! What location is it? When do I come in? Who am I speaking to?
Them: [location]. Come on Friday.
*they hang up*
I ended up getting a better job the next day so I never did show up in Friday lol
*Edit: formatting.
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
Good thing too. The person who called you back is clearly a ramp shy of a cloverleaf.
Petra Schaap 1 year ago
well i once got a cleaning job after they found out i speak Dutch. (I am Dutch, and this was in Amsterdam) didnt ask me anything but when can you start.
#17
A lawyer telling me they forged their clients signature to make sure the documents were filed on time. The client didn’t care.
Or the other lawyer who told me they paid a bribe to get documents filed on time.
Who says that in an interview?
Roxy222uk 1 year ago
You, when you report this to the police, or the professional body that regulates lawyers.
Paul Gerrard 1 year ago (edited)
I had a tax adviser tell me he advised a client to falsely report income. He thought he was so correct but was so wrong
#18
"If you were a brick in a wall which one would you be?"
I'm sorry, I didn't know I was interviewing with Pink Floyd.
Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago
I've had so many horrible and unsuccessful interviews in the 40+ years of my soon to end working life but thankfully I will never have to endure an interview with one of these sorts of idiotic questions
Seadog 1 year ago
That is in fact the correct answer. But you better be ready for the next question which is "Why?".
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#19
The interviewer complimented me on something on my resume and I got excited and flustered, went to push my glasses up and stuck my finger right up my nose instead.
#20
My dad was at an interview at a mall when a brawl broke out. People were throwing chairs and pulling guns. There was blood everywhere. My dad thought it would look impressive to the interviewer if he tried to intervene. Spoiler alert, he stood no chance and it did not impress anyone. But he was on tv for it!
#21
The job entailed a lot of filing of papers, so I got asked "How do you best file things in folders alphabetically?"
I was like "Uh... with a folder for each letter, and then put the folders in alphabetical order..."
She said "Good... good..." and jotted down some notes.
Papa 1 year ago
This really makes you wonder about the quality of some of their previous job applicants.
Jaya 1 year ago
As someone who had a summer job at a library, there is actually quite a lot to say about how to file things alphabetically. For instance, how to deal with titles that start with 'The', how to deal with numbers, or foreign languages that use letters that your alphabet doesn't have, or letters that form a letter together (in Dutch we have the letter IJ, which isn't in the alphabet, do you file that under I or under Y), or things that don't have a title on the front (think of the "black album" by Metallica). Super interesting.
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
Sometimes you have to make more than one folder for each letter (A-AL and AM-AZ) and on the other hand combine some letters because they'll have few papers.
Paul Gerrard 1 year ago
I had someone tell me they were very good with excel. They completed a spreadsheet and nothing autocalculated. She used a calculator to enter calculated numbers.
Seadog 1 year ago
Most places give you a stack and have you put them in order to see if you comprehend looking out more than 2 letters to alphabetize them. I applied for a job once where I had to show I knew how to read a tape measure in 32nds of an inch by marking a given measurement on a picture on the application.
Laurie Donaldson 1 year ago (edited)
In the 80s , I got hired by an insurance company where I was temping as a receptionist. They were thrilled to find someone who could answer the phone professionally, connect calls to the right extension, take coherent messages and place them in the correct agent’s message slot. You know, the are minimum of being a receptionist. Given that this was in the Washington DC area, this was incredibly sad.
Geoffrey Scott 1 year ago
After that, I would file vendor receipts by month, and then take an entire quarter, rubber band them, then bankers box them out in the warehouse. Not sure if anyone else figured it out, but no one did ANY of that...hope it went well for them...NOT
#22
I was at an interview for a job at an archival library in London. Three interviewers and I were crammed into a tiny room, and it wasn't going well. I had to take the train in starting at 5 am and I had a bad headache. The interview seemed to drone on.
Then the fire alarm went off. The interviewers tried to ignore it but someone opened the door and told us it was a real incident and we had to evacuate. We went outside and, it being London, the rain was chucking down. I was the only one who'd brought an umbrella so all four of us had to huddle under it. To say it was awkward was an understatement. None of the three said a word during the 15 minutes we were out there, which felt like 15 hours. At one point someone banged on the doors to the library and demanded to be let in, and the arriving fire department had to tell him to calm down.
Finally a couple firefighters emerged from the building to tell us the coast was clear, and we all trooper back in. Amazingly, the three interviewers wanted to go on for another 15 minutes, even though we'd all been in there for 45 minutes already and it was pretty obvious I wasn't getting the job.
And no, I didn't get the job, which at that point was something of a relief.
#23
My interviewer noticed that I majored in International Business and she said that she didn’t finish her degree in International Business because she got cheated on by her ex husband. She said hasn’t gone back to school because she has 3 kids now. Essentially it turned into a venting session.
Bruh f**k that interviewer, it turned out to be a ghost job because the posting has been up for 6 months now.
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
Ghost jobs ought to be illegal! BP had a posting about that recently.
#24
I once interviewed for Costa Crociere (cruises) for an analyst position.
I arrived at the entrance desk of their HQ 15 minutes before the interview and checked in. Waited for around 20 minutes then a very gentle guy came, led me to a meeting room and started asking me about my hobbies to brake the ice. Around 10 minutes in he asked me: “how would you describe your style?”.
“My….style?”
“Yes…your cooking style”
“Normal…I guess. I can cook some decent stuff but I don’t really love cooking so much”
He was expecting another candidate for a sous-chef position that did not show up and confused him for me. While the guy I actually had to meet came to the reception later and was thinking I left after checking in.
StumblingThroughLife 1 year ago (edited)
Hopefully the op realised in the interview and stated she'd come for the Analyst position? She/He didn't mention that, so... It reminds me of many fiction novels where there is a blatant withholding of info that would clear all the angst/misconceptions by Chapter 3, - although I get why they (the authors) do that, lol.
Mat O'Dowd 1 year ago
We could consider the ice slowly sliding and they both had to brake, in order to bring it to a halt... Nah, just a misspelling :-)
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#25
“You want a beer?” No lie, just like that. I hesitated because I was not expecting that, but he opened the fridge and it was filled with beer- half Budweiser, half coors light.
I passed on the beer, still have the job.
Robbie Irvine 1 year ago
I would have declined if they only had budweisser and coors light as well
Pencil McGovern 1 year ago
Conversely, I was hiring bartenders and one shows up for her interview. She tells the bartender who she is and he intercoms me in my office. In the 30 - 40 seconds she had to wait for me, she ordered a drink. So I had to stand there waiting for her while the bartender makes it. She didn't tip and when the interview was over, she left her now-empty glass on the table. She didn't get the job.
#26
Midway through the interview I decided I didn't want to work with these people.
So I pivoted to talking about my favorite movie, The Exorcist, complete with sound effects.
Amused panda 1 year ago
I saw your comment as I was scrolling a little too quickly, and read it as 'You sure did'. Then I backed up thinking, what, did the interviewer just comment?
Load More Replies... Nicky Shrimps 1 year ago
Sure. If so, you wasted everyone's time including your own. Womp womp.
Just stopping by 1 year ago
As if the company hasn't wasted any of the other interviewees time?
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#27
This was actually a few weeks ago! It was for a corporate receptionist position and I was interviewed by the loss prevention guy or whatever. First red flag was him telling me that the position falls more under loss prevention and they only post it as “receptionist” because they “get the wrong types of people” if they post it otherwise. Ok……..
Then he goes on to tell me he isn’t like other hiring managers and that his style is unique. He tells me he only asks one question to his interviewees. He then proceeds to ask me “do you love to win or do you hate to lose?” It was bizarre.
Then he talked about himself for the entire rest of the hour. Literally all about himself, his job duties, stories from past work experiences, literally anything and everything about himself.
Then he asks if I have any questions for him. I had prepared a long list of potential questions they would ask and thoughtful responses I could give. I also prepared a few questions for the interviewer. When I asked him those questions he sat and waited for more. I told him how I had been prepared for him to ask me questions and had only prepared a few for him. He told me if he was doing his job right that he wouldn’t need to ask a lot of questions.
He also was drinking a can of soda the entire interview. It was so freaking weird. I got the sense that he already knew who he was going to hire and was just going through with my interview as a formality. So he wasted my time and energy preparing for an interview that basically never happened.
Mike F 1 year ago
Personally, I would have gotten up and walked TF out when the whole "love to win..." was tossed out there because I worked in that kind of environment and it was miserable. 0/10 wouldn't do again.
Tom Brincefield 1 year ago
"Neither. I try to win and enjoy when it happens, but if I lose, I have a chance to learn.
Load More Replies... #28
I was meeting a friend's brother for a freelance opportunity. I didn't want a job at the time cuz I'd recently quit one and needed my schedule on my own terms.
This guy suddenly starts trying to stress-test me. Obviously I'm doing incredibly well, but I'm like, "Sir, isn't this a freelance opportunity?"
He kept saying that "the job is not hard" and then made me tour the whole office, and then low-balled me. Finally he gets me to meet the CEO person, and I mention that this is a very surprising interview. They're like, we have a contract already and to save face I gotta tell them I'll think about it, but I had to reprimand the guy later cuz not only was it a very low offer it came with an unpaid probation - on a 6-day working week.
Another time these people made me come in for 4 interviews, the 4th was meant to be just 20 minutes according to them, and it ended up being a 1.5hr surprise online test. Then they low-balled me, too. Literally had the VP beg me to join and had to sternly decline for wasting my time.
A third time they made us sit out for 90 minutes as a "stress test". I left as soon as they told me I'd "passed.".
Papa 1 year ago
Sitting outside is not a stress test. It's a test to see how much chicken s**t behavior of theirs you will tolerate.
Seadog 1 year ago
They were looking for puppets, not people who can think for themselves.
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XanthippeⓐWulf🇨🇦️️🇬🇧 1 year ago (edited)
I don't understand why the OP went to the first interview if he didn't want a job in the first place. Isn't that a waste of their time as well as yours? Does this whole thing come off as a weird brag to anyone else, or is that just the way my brain is processing the words?
Zaineb Bookwala 1 year ago
OP didn't want a full-time job and wanted to set their own hours. The job was advertised as freelance, hence OP applied for it.
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BROmanicus85 1 year ago
I was already working in a management position for a company, leading a team, for at least 5-6 years. A friend arranged an interview for a project manager role at her company and I decided to go... In the end, who knows what could happen?! I get to the interview with the head of HR and the Office Manager. I respond to their questions flawlessly and manage to dodge the HR Manager's questions about the work environment, salary, etc. at my (then) current job. They ghosted me but my friend told me a couple of weeks later they didn't want me because they were expecting me to be more enthusiastic and engaging with them... And I was like, "isn't that THEIR job, as interviewers?! I wasn't aware I was interviewing to take Steve Harvey's place!"... Stayed at my job for a couple more years and landed a managing job at another (much bigger) company and am quite well right now!
Tim Douglass 1 year ago
I'm pretty sure that in most of the US at least unpaid training or probation is illegal.
#29
I applied as a mechanic, the service manager got a call from one of the technicians saying his computer wasn’t working. The manager said “you’re a f*****g mechanic, you fix things, figure out how to fix it” and then tried to laugh with me about how ridiculous it was.
I did end up working there for 2 years and that tech had issues with his computer until he left.
Same manager, different position, told me “when I see a customer walk through those doors I don’t see a face. I see a dollar sign. I see a paycheck.” I did not last much longer there.
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
That manager's quote says loud and clear "I am a capitalist pig." (My apologies to pigs.)
Seadog 1 year ago
Place my sone worked would shut down the entire production line to reboot a PC which would mysteriously freeze up several times a week. About 3 weeks in my son just happened to be at that spot and asked them why they just did do (some procedure to fix it instead of rebooting)?. Now he had only taken a computer class in high school so whatever he told them was something very basic yet they had no idea what he was even talking about. He showed them what to do and things were up and running in seconds instead of minutes and without shutting down the entire line. They never could/would learn what to do. They'd pull him off whatever he was doing every time it froze and even as he was leaving after turning in hos notice, they had him come do it again, then continue to escort him out. They shut down 3 weeks later, which was why he left, someone higher up the chain put a bug in his ear they were closing.
#30
One time I wrote my resume in Latex, but I forgot one line break, so some of the text overflowed and was unreadable. The senior engineer interviewing me teasted me about it, deservedly so, since I listed Latex as one of my skills.
arthbach 1 year ago
LaTeX is a markup language for typesetting documents. It's similar to HTML. (This is an extremely simple description, and is therefore not accurate.)
Reset Game 1 year ago
The first sentence had me hoping they were being literal. That they wrote out their resume in liquid latex 😅
StumblingThroughLife 1 year ago
I thought it meant the latex polymer at first, instead of the editor, lol, thinking Whaaat?
#31
I got told I was going to do an interview over chat, which turned out to be with an "AI chat bot", not an actual person. The chatbot asked me 30+ questions, and I answered them all with a fair amount of detail. Afterwards, I received an email that had analysis of all my answers and what it told them about my personality etc. Their analysis was complete garbage, and clearly seemed to work off trigger words rather than actual analysis of the entire response. They noted at the end of the document that it was the analysis and not my responses that would be sent to the company that was looking to fill the role....
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
When I interview, I want to speak with a genuine human being, not a blasted robot. Personality tests/assessments are 100% unrecycleable garbage. At least bulls--t can be used for fertilizer.
Seadog 1 year ago
Yes and I absolutely despise recruiters. I've only ever had to deal with recruiters once and it went so bad the company stopped using them shortly afterwards. More than 1/2 the people they hired were for the wrong position/shift. Makes me wonder how many good applicants they passed over.
Load More Replies... Scott Rackley 1 year ago
I'm not interviewing with a robot. That tells me everything I need to know about your company.
#32
During the summer break for college, I applied for a general position at a Taco Bell in my small town of about 6000. (Yeah, this story will be great...)
Manager calls and sets up a time for an interview for about 12:30 on a Wednesday. I get there at 12:20 and they say to get a drink and we'll be with you shortly. 15 minutes later, they say that they're too busy, come back tomorrow about 1.
I go back the next day at about 12:50 and the manager says get something to drink and I'll be out there momentarily, we're just finishing up from our lunch rush. That was the last time I saw her. I sat, waiting in an empty dining room with a scarce few cars in the drive-thru, for two hours before I got a refill and left.
Kalikima 8 months ago
I went to an interview at my local Taco Bell once. It turned out to be a group interview with 9 other people. 3 came in their jammies, 2 came with a parent. The manager looked at my resume, said "you'll never be happy here, and you won't stay" like no kidding, this was desperation, not a career path. Needless to say, I didn't get the job. But one of the jammies people did.
#33
I went into an interview with a known gaming company, and the JavaScript I wrote as the interview process as a test was used on their production web site. I didn't get the job, but a friend said they used his CSS to style text boxes during his tech interview. None of the agencies here in LA blacklisted them after many candidates told them interviews were free work.
Papa 1 year ago
The company would assign tasks to applicants to see if they could do the work, then the company would not hire the applicant, but use his or her work without compensating them for it. Does that help?
Load More Replies... #34
Years ago I applied to a major hospital system to be their Director of Volunteer Services. The hospital had recently appointed a new CEO and he had created this position. I was mid-20’s, Masters degree in a related field, served on the board of the city’s nonprofit that coordinated volunteer services and had about 5 years of experience coordinator volunteers for my employer.
My first interview was the HR screen. It went perfectly! My second interview was with the VP who would be supervising this new position. Her first statement to me was “I don’t know why they are making me interview you. You are clearly not qualified.” I replied that I certainly did not want to waste her time and that if she’d prefer we could end the interview. She declined and said she’d go through the process because she felt obligated. So we spent the next 30 minutes with her asking me questions, me replying as professionally as possible knowing this was for show.
The next day the AA for the CEO called and asked me to come meet with him. I was shocked. I explained the interaction with the VP. The AA said the hospital was going through a culture shift and the CEO would still like to meet me.
I was offered the position by the CEO in that meeting. I took it and spent the next 6 months navigating the hell this VP created for me on a daily basis. It was like I was a child involved in bitter, divorcing parents. I took a new job shortly after and never looked back.
Maartje 1 year ago
I have actually had this happen. Interviewed with HR recruiter. Interviewed with District Manager. Was called back by recruiter, who told me that the DM didn't want me, but that he was going to send me to the VP of the company because he felt strongly that the DM was wrong. I interviewed with the VP and got the job, worked for them for 10 years. The DM did not last.
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#35
Not me, but my husband was asked who he voted for and his personal feelings on his daughter's ability to, one day (she was only like... 7 months old at the time), get birth control without his permission. He told the guy that his personal opinions on such things didn't seem relevant to an accounting position. He didn't get offered the job.
Julie S 1 year ago
Why would his daughter need his permission to get birth control? It's none of his business.
Pencil McGovern 1 year ago
Because Republicans. Prior to 1965, it was common for women to need permission from their husbands to get birth control. And until 1972 it was illegal in many places for unmarried women to get it at all. Project 2025 is a blueprint for a return to that time. That's why Harris, et al keep saying "We're not going back!" [U.S.]
Load More Replies... #36
I interviewed for a position at an agency that did comms and tech work. The office allowed pets and half way through the interview the owners dog came into the interview and bit me. The owner barely even acknowledged that it happened. For some reason I still finished the interview, but when they called me back for a final interview I declined. The guy acted like I was being completely unreasonable for not wanting to go back in.
Victoria Silvas 1 year ago
THE DAMN DOG BIT YOU!?!?!?! WELL GOOD FOR YOU IGNORE THE A@@HOLES IN YOUR F&^%$*G LIFE!!!!
Seadog 1 year ago
Worked for a pet friendly facility. As long as it's customer or owners pets. Beyond that it becomes an issue. One worker had to give her dog away because it couldn't be left at home all day and 1 customer complained that people were paying more attention to the dog than them. So she was told to never bring the dog to work again. The owners dogs however, poop all over the place because they expect everyone else to take care of them and take them out as needed because you know we don't have anything better to do. I even witnessed owner yell at the receptionist to "shut that dog up!" It's HIS dog not hers, and he has a door he could've closed if the barking was that big of an issue. I lost some respect for owner that day.
#38
Weird series of questions:
Interviewer (picks up phone): what’s your wife’s number.
Me: um, she’s in the US and it’s 2 am there. Why would you want to call my wife?
Interviewer: is your mother also in the US?
Me: yes. Why?
Interviewer: well, say I would call your wife or mother. What would would they say is your most annoying habit?
#39
Completely technical interview. Then at the end of the interview, they asked me if I was a fruit or a vegetable, what would I be and why. I laughed, and asked them to repeat the question. They did, quite earnestly. I said I would be a granny smith apple, since I was a little tart, but once baked into a pie with other apples, I was delicious. It was a group interview over the phone. They murmured that it was a good answer and thanked me for my time. I did not get the job.
#40
Had an interview with the CEO. We do a little intro but then he says that hes “not like other bosses”, he doesn’t ask questions during the interview, he expects the candidate to. So I play along and he’s impressed, brings in a VP so they can skip the 2nd interview. I leave, knowing I made a good impression but that I would never work there. I had an offer in my email before EOD but they lowballed me so I didn’t even counter.
He just wanted to feel special with someone letting him talk, which is the key to most hiring managers. But getting to know a candidate this way is ineffective af.
Seadog 1 year ago
A place my wife worked, candidates had to pass her office. All she did was see them walk by, no exchange or personal contact with these people in any way. When they left she would tell the director to hire or not hire them. Every time they hired one wife told them not to, it never worked out. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Director would never listen to my wife about anything. Her attitude has led to many workers leaving including my wife.
#41
I was being interviewed by a certain cell phone service provider. The interview was going great, the manager was really nice and charismatic but the last question really stuck out to me. “If this company implemented a policy that you thought was morally wrong, would you still follow said policy?”. I answered no and I said that if I thought the policy was wrong on a moral level that I would likely quit the job. That’s when I was dismissed from the interview. Needless to say, I don’t use that provider anymore...
Panda Cat 1 month ago
I had a university lab position that usually had flexibility for when I worked and provided for some creativity in running the lab. Not here. I had to leave at exactly 5:00 even if the last sample would finish at 5:15 and all I’d have to do is set the sample tubes aside to clean the next morning. Instead, I spent an hour+ tearing down and an hour+ resetting the system the next day. The project was looking at the effects of acid rain with the theory that soil structure would buffer the acid. We were in Illinois and the soil came from Maine in large glass tubes. The grad student in the lab ran the samples and they were as acidic on the way out as on the way in. The PI decided to break down the structure so I sifted and repacked the tubes so finally the soil buffered the acid. That’s not what the grant was for because it implied they’d plow the forest to “fix” the soil conditions.There wasn’t enough work to keep me occupied but I had to be there from 8-5:00 and do nothing,
#42
I had one call me to come in after a phone interview. So, I go in person. It was for an insurance sales position. I get to the office, walk in, and a lady greats me at the door. The office was just a hallway of other offices with doors, no open layout. I tell her I am there for an interview. Immediately, the sales manager (not the owner I am supposed to interviewer with slams his office door). I am thinking damn, it was 2 seconds convo, and we weren't even loud.
Then, the owner comes out of his office and takes me back to his office. We sit down, and the first thing he does is pull out a self-help book. Slams it on the desk and rambles for like 15 minutes about how the book turned his life around and all this stuff, not even asking me anything about me. Then he finished up and was like we are a team here (red flag word). Asks me how I handle negativity, and I'm like I generally ignore it and keep doing my work and try to stay positive. Then he is like how do you sell. I tell him, I like to get the information I need and make the phone call as smooth as possible and as short as possible. He then tells me that is wrong, I should keep the customer on the phone as long as I can. Like wtf?
#43
Had a panel interview one time where each of the 5 people interviewing me had a very different idea of what I was interviewing for. The manager asked me, "after hearing more about the position, do you think this position should be full-time or part-time?" They even asked me what I thought the position title should be and what the pay should be. I said I thought I was interviewing for a full-time communications job. Needless to say I tried to wrap it up as quickly as possible. Never heard back from them.
#44
It was an in-person interview with the tech support manager and the Vice President of a small local ISP.
It was going well, or so I thought. About 20 minutes into the interview, the VP said they'd be right back, and they both left the conference room. 10, 15, 20 minutes go by, and I'm just sitting there waiting. I get up and go ask the receptionist if they're coming back, and she said she doesn't know but she'll go ask. She comes back and tells me she doesn't know where they are.
I give it another 25 minutes, and then I go back to the receptionist and let her know that I'm guessing that I failed the interview, and let her know I'm leaving.
An hour later the VP calls me and asks where I am, which was *an hour and 45 minutes* after they left me sitting alone in the conference room. He asked me to come back to finish the interview, because they wanted to hire me. I asked why they left me in there so long, and he replied they had an "emergency" client call to take care of. I took the job. Like an idiot.
Months later they laid me off xmas week because the guy who had quit wanted his old job back.
#45
"Do you have a girlfriend? Why did you broke up with your old girlfriend? "
In a technical interview with a few senior employees of the company, when I replied " I don't see how this is related to the job I'm applying for" they all got defensive and were like " For example, we are all married, we're asking if you have any social problems"
I was seriously confused and still unemployed afterwards.
Victoria Silvas 1 year ago
AAAAAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH JUST GET THE LIVING HELL OUT OF THERE AND LEAVE THAT B***H!!!!!
#46
Not me, but wife was asked if she knew how to bake... This was for an accounting job.
Apparently the office is pretty big on 'treat days', so they wanted to know if she'd bring stuff
#47
Was asked what I was doing the year between graduating HS and starting college, which told me they hadn't bothered to read that I was a foreign exchange student in Ceuta, Spain from 1990 to 1991 so I just told them I was in a war zone, which was kinda the truth.
HangryHangryHippo 1 year ago
Just in case someone is confused about Ceuta, it's an autonomous Spanish city geographically located in Africa.
#48
Most of my adult, "professional" interviews have been pretty normal, downright cliche even.
I'll never forget one of my first interviews as a teenager, though. It was at a Blockbuster video (yes I'm that old). The manager took my handwritten job application and sat me down in his little grungy office in the back of the building. He didn't bother asking about my previous experience or anything. The vast majority of the interview was him presenting some sort of candy or snack and saying "sell this to me." I got the impression they had a massive overstock of candy and other movie snacks, and that was his only concern at the time.
I didn't get the job.
#49
They asked what's important in customer service when dealing with stakeholders and high end clients.
I said "setting expectations and overperforming based on that"
Somehow, one of the interviewers brought up his ex and how he did that but she still broke up with him.
The other 2 interviewers were shocked and I said that sucks.
Got the job cuz I think the other 2 felt awful for me.
#50
I wasn't expecting a multiple position, and multiple people interview.... I was told I wasn't picked because I didn't make enough eye contact... which making eye contact with multiple people overlapping questions was difficult so...
#51
Interviewer: “I see you graduated from [school] in 2013. Did you know a Ms. Jane Doe?”
Me: “Oh yeah, I know her! She was in my first year classes.”
Interviewer: “Ms. Doe interviewed yesterday. Why should we hire you over her?”
I basically responded with “You should hire us both, ideally.” Then I said why I’d be good for the job overall.
Neither of us got the job.
Pencil McGovern 1 year ago (edited)
"You should hire us both, ideally." I'd never ask someone that (idiotic and mean-spirited) question but that answer tells me OP is a team player, secure in their qualifications and an optimist. I'd hire them on the spot.
Scott Rackley 1 year ago
They didn't want someone who wouldn't screw their friend over. Basically a test to see whether you would screw over the customer.
#52
I was interviewing a potential employee with my supervisor and the last question he asked her was “How are you with dealing with....stupid people?” It was completely out of left field and informal based on the questions we were previously asking. You could tell the question threw her but she answered. And she ended up getting the job.
Pencil McGovern 1 year ago
A supervisor acknowledging that customers can be stupid is a good sign.
Seadog 1 year ago
Exactly and if this is a retail or customer service job of any kind, you will be dealing with many stupid people.
Load More Replies... #53
My friend had an interview at Panera which ended up being three separate interviews and she said they made them sit in a circle and talk about the texture of bread and how it made them feel....
tarryn norwich 1 year ago
I went in for an interview at Panera and they hired/ had me work my first training shift that day... and Yes, they are weird about bread lol.
#54
You obviously have a great resume. Why haven’t you gotten another offer yet? Is something wrong with you?
Scott Rackley 1 year ago
"Can you point to where on the resume it says how many offers I have?"
David Morgan 1 year ago
You allegedly have a good company. Why haven't you filled your staffing shortfall yet? Is something wrong with you?
Steve Robert 1 year ago
When I had just graduated from university, I was interviewed by a company that made printers. First thing they do is give me some kind of intelligence test. I take the test. The interviewer looks at my score, and says I'm probably too smart for the position. I agree, and walk out.
Panda Cat 1 month ago
I had a similar experience in a molecular biology lab, I almost begged to be hired because I really wanted the job and hoped it would expand over time,
Load More Replies... Victoria Silvas 1 year ago
YEAH IDIOT CAN YOU AT LEAST USE YOUR DAMN EYES OR SOMEHTING?!?!?!?!?
#55
Did you have a close relationship with your father? I'm a woman (engineer) and this was a totally out of left field question.
Glenn Cuneo 1 year ago
"Well that's none of your f*****g business"-- you know, the standard answer.
Lost Penny 1 year ago
I'd just start sniffling (quivering lips and all), look away, and quietly say: "He passed away 2 weeks ago, it still hurts so much... I apologize..." after which, I would abruptly leave, stumbling over a chair on the way out.
Scott Rackley 1 year ago
"Did you have a close relationship with professionalism? What happened?"
#56
Very low stakes job while in school...
I was asked a question and my reply was "great question, I asked that one last year when I was on the interview panel".
Crazy was they were filming a police/SWAT tv show outside our building during one set of interviews so some poor guy had to concentrate while there was a fake riot going on outside the window.
#57
"What is your opinion on wealthy people?"
I was 22, fresh out of college, and my first interview was working at a private, small bank. I wasn't expecting that question.
Lost Penny 1 year ago
🎵"Lifestyles of the rich and the famous, They're always complaining, always complaining, If money is such a problem, Well, they got mansions, think we should rob them!"🎵
#58
I woke up early to get my exes car out of the snow so i could get to the interview but it was practically frozen solid. I literally call the place (Ann Taylor Loft) and they’re like ok. It ended up being so bad I needed 4-5 to dig/push while I hit the gas. When I got there the interview started normally, until one interviewer decides to start berating me about leaving early/nonstop harassing me about getting there late. It was so incredibly rude and invasive I thought about walking out (I was younger, if it happened now they would’ve had a problem lol) but I stuck it out anyway. It was probably the only place I ended up emailing HR to remove/pull my application for.
#59
I was being interviewed for a IT Helpdesk job at a bank a number of years ago and was asked "Why are manhole covers round?". I was later told after answering wrong that it was to see if the person would say "I don't know" (Correct answer) or just try and BS their way out of it.
David 1 year ago
A round manhole can not fit down the hole no matter which way you turn it. A square manhole could. Easier to set in place since they are always lined up. Probably stronger. Those are three I came up with before googling - and they are correct but there are a couple of other reasons. So, "I don't know" is not the "correct" answer.
Dave Reekie 1 year ago
First off the idea that around manhole cannot fall through the hole is wrong. ,most countries other than the US use a square manhole with two triangular covers . The best answer is that they use less metal to cast than square ones
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Carla Phillips 1 year ago
Cause pizza is round and a round manhole cover allows for the most efficient delivery
Panda Cat 1 month ago
You can build a fire under them at your worksite and grill a pizza. (That’s actually a thing with some heavy earth moving equipment although it isn’t pizza.)
Load More Replies... David Morgan 1 year ago
I think if you swap "correct answer" for "real answer" it would be more accurate. Companies know that people who can't admit when they don't know/have the wrong information can be really problematic, especially if they have any authority.
#60
Why did you say good morning when you know perfectly well it's afternoon
Jane Doe 1 year ago
I had a boss tell me to think about if you've had lunch yet, then say good morning or afternoon. I took it to heart straight out of college. Came in handy one time, when I got a the same question as OP. I said, "sorry, haven't had lunch yet, so I'm behind." Got an, "oh, well, then." Why do people ask this? You deserve to have the awkwardness returned. Just trying to acknowledge you exist.
Glenn Cuneo 1 year ago
When I go to a local Navy base (Retired Army here) I call everyone "cap" just because I can.
Lyoness 1 year ago (edited)
I love how random this comment is. Thanks for the giggle. Edit because "comment" has 2 m's, not 3.
Load More Replies... #61
Interviewed for a Ruby/Rails programming job. The lead developer was Indian and she had a thick accent so that made things worse. Everything was going fine until she asked me "What do you know about gem?"
And I said "Ok gem, sure. What about them?" Ruby gems are just what Ruby devs call software libraries.
She repeated, "Tell me about Gem."
I said "Ok, which one?"
"Gem."
"Um...what gem?"
"So you don't know gems?" Then she went on to explain what gems were. I was so frustrated that I cut her off with a bit of attitude and said "I know what gems are, I'm asking what about gems do you want to know about?"
It just went downhill from there and needless to say I didn't get the job and, while I was sad at first, I'm now glad I didn't.
XanthippeⓐWulf🇨🇦️️🇬🇧 1 year ago (edited)
Idk that I'm with the OP on this one. If the interviewer is asking about "Gem" and you are uncertain which one, but know what they are, why not simply give the definition of a gem so the interviewer knows you understand what they are? OP could have talked about Rubygem.org, and then said "Is there anything specific you would like to know about a certain gem like Nokogiri, or Rubocop, or linecook, or Ahoy?" There are literally thousands of gems out there, and it seems clear to me that the interviewer only wanted to know that the OP was aware of the concept of gems. Instead I feel like the OP got wrapped up in the interviewer's "thick accent" and assumed she wasn't asking a clear question. She was; OP overthought it.
#62
I had a interview for a logistics company here in Pittsburgh. After 3 interviews memorizing all 50 states for a states test,math test,and company knowledge test. I passed all of them with a score above 90% and they still said no to me.
I got let go from my last job because of things out of my control. Forgot to mention the also wanted references.....I guess none of my references vouched for me.. it's been really hard to get interviews after being laid off. I do have a 6 months emergency fund while working and deciding to restart my marketing agency again.
David 1 year ago (edited)
Why the hell would you be expected to pass a "states test"? I did that for something like 7th or 8th grade geography. I'm retired in my 60s and have never needed it since then. A decent working knowledge of our states is good (and I have it) but even before internet I knew how to use a map.
Papa 1 year ago
OP said it was for a logistics company, which I believe means they're involved with shipping material or products. Maybe the offhand knowledge of relative interstate distances would be helpful?
Load More Replies... Panda Cat 1 month ago
Give me a plain map of the US, Canada, South America, and I’ll label it as quickly as I can write. Give me the shapes of the states and a few confuse me. I can label most, if not all of Europe and Asia and I can do the same but I can’t do all of Africa or Central America or all the little island nations. I’ve used Algebra twice recently, and can do technical drawings on paper. Why? Because I’m a weirdo. Can I get a job? Nope.* Those are just fun little things I can do so if someone wants to avoid people with … what’s the term? an intellectual void, here I am. Heck, I even awarded myself a Masters in ingenuity from a Diploma Mill. *snicker* *there are extenuating circumstances …
Seadog 1 year ago
My son had to take a test when applying for a job. He scored so high he got a letter of commendation from the governor to use when applying for jobs. He did not get the job. Turns out, the worse you do on the test, the more likely you are to get the job because starting pay is determined by the test score. He has never used that letter.
#63
My funniest experience in an interview, was forgetting which interview this was. I can't remember what gave it away, but they caught on to this and asked.
#64
I had just gotten out of the military and I was interviewing for a job at Purina with this middle aged guy. I didn't have much in my military background that was applicable on the technical side, so I was trying to talk to my other skills and experiences. One of the things I did as an AWACS crewman was fly escorts for the president. I thought that sounded pretty impressive so I brought it up and kinda bragged a bit
Hoo boy.
This guy starts going off about how I "don't want to hear his opinion on the president" (guess who it was at the time...) and all that b******t.
Glad I didn't end up working there. Would've hated smelling like dog food every day anyway.
#65
Oh man I got a few. But I'll share the one that sticks out the most.
Rewind to 2014. I'm working as an attorney at a boutique law firm that limits its practice to overtime and minimum wage claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act. I want a bit more upward mobility and and more diverse area of practice, so I'm on the hunt for a new firm.
I score an interview with a more general law firm located in a swanky local city next to a high end luxury outdoor mall. Real estate here is all easily in the millions, even for a s****y 2/1 house. But it's closer to where I live and right near a stop on our county's above ground public train.
Initially I was expecting an early morning interview, but this firm surprised me: 5 pm, dead center in the middle of rush hour. Rush hour in a major metropolitan area. While I could certainly use the train to get there from my house, I would be coming from work, alllllllll the way on the beach, which was far away from any rail stop. And they were insistent on this time.
No matter. I managed to come up with a good excuse, had all my clients taken care of, and hit the road early, successfully walking into the hopeful new firm's office exactly on time. So I checked in with the front desk, and the kind secretary directed me to wait outside. So I obliged.
And I waited. And I waited. And I waited. And I waited. 45 to 50 minutes pass, and the secretary came out to go home. She spots me, I shoot back a nice smile, and she realizes that I was never called in. She apologizes profusely and says the firm is real busy, but she'll go back inside to get someone to assist me.
About a couple more minutes pass, and an attorney comes out to greet me. He directs me back inside to his office and we sit down.
"So, I_count_to_firetruck, I'm sorry but the managing partner is busy right now. You can wait here for him. If you would like to know any questions about the firm you're welcome to ask me."
I ask some basic stuff, and he eventually gets back to work. I pull out my smart phone and read some news waiting for the guy.
Another 45-50 minutes pass. Yet another guy comes and herds me to yet another office. This man was clearly younger than me.
"Hi! I'm the managing partner's son who works as a paralegal. I'm going to law school right now but I know a few things about the firm if you wanna ask! My dad will be ready soon."
I try to make small talk with the guy but to be honest I'm a little weirded out at this point. The firm was INSISTENT on 5 pm and so far it was nearly 7 pm and I still hadn't interviewed yet.
And lo and behold... ANOTHER NEAR HOUR PASSES AND THE MANAGING PARTNER FINALLY MATERIALIZES. At this point we're pushing 8 pm for a 5 pm interview.
The managing partner takes me back to his office and sits me down. He looks over my resume and tells me briefly he was aware of my then-current firm. Now, before I go any further, I should mention my current firm was a minority owned and run operation: the minority being a very peculiar brand of messianic Orthodox Judaism. No, I am not aware the specifics but I need to mention this for what's about to happen.
After looking at my resume and referencing my firm, the managing partner comments (and I'm paraphrasing from a decade old memory here):
"I'm always impressed by the tenacity of the Jewish people. Your employer can bleed blood from a stone and make it rain where the well is dry."
I know he meant it as a compliment, but couching it around my boss' faith was a... Weird choice. But then the direction changes.
"That being said: why should I hire you? Let's be honest: your current firm is a f*****g mill and your resume is a piece of s**t"
At this point I'm a littl slack jawed. I don't really understand what's happening. It's not that I think my resume was some bastion of excellence, but it's more... Why are we here? Why bother to offer an interview? Why bother to make me drag myself down here? Why waste your own firm's resources?
Then he continues:
"But you know what? I see a diamond in the rough here. Why don't you send me a sample of your work tonight, and we can see if we can take things from there?"
And with that, the interview was over.
No, I clearly did not get the job. But would I have accepted? Also no.
Jane Doe 1 year ago
I had to google that. Learning this made reading the entry worthwhile. thanks! :)
Load More Replies... Victoria Silvas 1 year ago
GOOD FOR YOU AT LEAST THE A*****E F*****G LET YOU LEAVE WHILE THEY MADE YOU WAIT THAT F*****G LONG AND THIS BITHCFACE DECIDES TO CURSE AT YOU I'M HAPPY YOU LEAVE HIS S****Y A*S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#66
"If you could be any of the original 150 Pokemon, which one would you choose?"
I said Ditto, because I could be any of them, but that was a lie. If I could be any Pokemon, I would be Pidgeot.
Donkey boi 1 year ago
I always liked Rapidash & Charmander, But rather see myself as Magikarp.
What do you think ?
Lyoness 1 year ago
I once went to an interview where I spent the first 15 minutes calming the interviewer down because she said she was "too nervous" to start. Once she'd relaxed the interview seemed to go well and she said so too, then dropped the bomb: They already had an internal candidate they were going to hire, they'd only had me come in to give the interviewer some experience. I was livid.
Brian Hawley 1 year ago
I once interviewed for a job where after beating around the bush for a while the interviewer basically hinted that he and his friends were robbing the company and would I go along with them. I thought it was a test and said no. Didn’t get the job. And it wasn’t a test. Read in the paper a few months later that they had all been jailed.
Lowrider 56 1 year ago
I just recently found out that my employers daughter stole 9 million dollars from the company. Unsurprisingly, she's not in jail has never been charged. She has singlehandedly brought the company to the brink of collapsing.
Load More Replies... Justin Tyme 1 year ago
An interviewer asked me "If you could be any kind of cow, would you be a chocolate cow, a vanilla cow, or a strawberry cow?" I answered "I'm not going to play this" and walked out.
Hakitosama 1 year ago
"I'm a country girl and if you breed those kind of sh*ts here I'm out !"
Load More Replies... Justin Tyme 1 year ago
I applied for a job at a large healthcare organization. The one and only time I got a response from them was when they sent an email telling me I was not being considered for a job because I didn't show up for the scheduled job interview. And I thought "Uhh, what!?"
Justin Tyme 1 year ago
An interviewer asked me how old I was (which is an illegal job interview question in my country). I asked if my age was relevant to the job. The interviewer told me it was not. Then I asked "So then why did you ask me?" I did not get hired.
StrangeOne 1 year ago
I used to have a "warehouse" sales job. It was basically hawking cheap junk to anyone on the street, and even soliciting to businesses. Once I was done with training with someone, which was only a couple days, I was set out on my own. We were supposed to walk to our areas, which could be 30 miles. (Wish I was exaggerating.) Businesses in the immediate area were well acquainted with these solicitors. Turn over was high. Some guy in his car stopped to tell me to quit, as he sd that job made him homeless and broke. Since I made only $20 in that week I believed him. A couple other businesses I went into, just to buy something for myself and not sell to them (I was never comfortable doing that.) the owners would offer me a job. One mgr asked if I had a boyfriend. I declined this offer despite it being an auto shop that did decals and whatnot. Apparently the guys there hit on single females.
michael reid 1 year ago
I went for an interview once where the guy just talked about all the reasons his marriage broke down and all the different effects of his divorce. I started talking about my experience briefly during a gap in the conversation but it quickly turned back to the subject of his personal relationships. Anyway I got the job and 5 years later I'm still here.
Seadog 1 year ago
I've had 2 interviews that didn't go smooth. First one used recruiters. Not sure what their issues were other than being racist as hell. I was applying for full time and had years of experience in the field. Another applicant only wanted part time, nights, as he was a nurse. Yep, gave him full time and me part time. All worked out though because he quit in no time flat and the store we trained at saw enough in me after a couple weeks that they gave me their full time opening. I eventually became manager. That company stopped using recruiters shortly thereafter.
Seadog 1 year ago
The second was a competitor that had been after me for years. We're a small town (entire population for the county/city is 55k) competition is fierce (13 stores within 8 miles of each other not including outside delivery companies in the field). I get fed up with BS where I am and decide to meet with them. They took me to lunch, I told them what I could bring to the table in terms of sales and what I need to make it happen in terms of staff. They come back with less money and nowhere close to the personnel and payroll to cover the job AND.... me and the rest of the commercial sales team have to also cover in store sales. And this folks is why that company's commercial sales suffer and I told them so. Rather than staff the store appropriately, they just used the commercial team as store staff. So I went to another competitor and 70% of my customers followed. When you have this much competition in an area this size, people don't buy from brands, they buy from people, that made me leader
Load More Replies... 
Lyoness 1 year ago
I once went to an interview where I spent the first 15 minutes calming the interviewer down because she said she was "too nervous" to start. Once she'd relaxed the interview seemed to go well and she said so too, then dropped the bomb: They already had an internal candidate they were going to hire, they'd only had me come in to give the interviewer some experience. I was livid.
Brian Hawley 1 year ago
I once interviewed for a job where after beating around the bush for a while the interviewer basically hinted that he and his friends were robbing the company and would I go along with them. I thought it was a test and said no. Didn’t get the job. And it wasn’t a test. Read in the paper a few months later that they had all been jailed.
Lowrider 56 1 year ago
I just recently found out that my employers daughter stole 9 million dollars from the company. Unsurprisingly, she's not in jail has never been charged. She has singlehandedly brought the company to the brink of collapsing.
Load More Replies... Justin Tyme 1 year ago
An interviewer asked me "If you could be any kind of cow, would you be a chocolate cow, a vanilla cow, or a strawberry cow?" I answered "I'm not going to play this" and walked out.
Hakitosama 1 year ago
"I'm a country girl and if you breed those kind of sh*ts here I'm out !"
Load More Replies... Justin Tyme 1 year ago
I applied for a job at a large healthcare organization. The one and only time I got a response from them was when they sent an email telling me I was not being considered for a job because I didn't show up for the scheduled job interview. And I thought "Uhh, what!?"
Justin Tyme 1 year ago
An interviewer asked me how old I was (which is an illegal job interview question in my country). I asked if my age was relevant to the job. The interviewer told me it was not. Then I asked "So then why did you ask me?" I did not get hired.
StrangeOne 1 year ago
I used to have a "warehouse" sales job. It was basically hawking cheap junk to anyone on the street, and even soliciting to businesses. Once I was done with training with someone, which was only a couple days, I was set out on my own. We were supposed to walk to our areas, which could be 30 miles. (Wish I was exaggerating.) Businesses in the immediate area were well acquainted with these solicitors. Turn over was high. Some guy in his car stopped to tell me to quit, as he sd that job made him homeless and broke. Since I made only $20 in that week I believed him. A couple other businesses I went into, just to buy something for myself and not sell to them (I was never comfortable doing that.) the owners would offer me a job. One mgr asked if I had a boyfriend. I declined this offer despite it being an auto shop that did decals and whatnot. Apparently the guys there hit on single females.
michael reid 1 year ago
I went for an interview once where the guy just talked about all the reasons his marriage broke down and all the different effects of his divorce. I started talking about my experience briefly during a gap in the conversation but it quickly turned back to the subject of his personal relationships. Anyway I got the job and 5 years later I'm still here.
Seadog 1 year ago
I've had 2 interviews that didn't go smooth. First one used recruiters. Not sure what their issues were other than being racist as hell. I was applying for full time and had years of experience in the field. Another applicant only wanted part time, nights, as he was a nurse. Yep, gave him full time and me part time. All worked out though because he quit in no time flat and the store we trained at saw enough in me after a couple weeks that they gave me their full time opening. I eventually became manager. That company stopped using recruiters shortly thereafter.
Seadog 1 year ago
The second was a competitor that had been after me for years. We're a small town (entire population for the county/city is 55k) competition is fierce (13 stores within 8 miles of each other not including outside delivery companies in the field). I get fed up with BS where I am and decide to meet with them. They took me to lunch, I told them what I could bring to the table in terms of sales and what I need to make it happen in terms of staff. They come back with less money and nowhere close to the personnel and payroll to cover the job AND.... me and the rest of the commercial sales team have to also cover in store sales. And this folks is why that company's commercial sales suffer and I told them so. Rather than staff the store appropriately, they just used the commercial team as store staff. So I went to another competitor and 70% of my customers followed. When you have this much competition in an area this size, people don't buy from brands, they buy from people, that made me leader
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