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Looking for a new job is an adventure in itself. Full of peril. Overcoming challenges. And maybe a few dragons if we’re (un)lucky. But how often do you think about the other side of the interview table? What hiring managers have to deal with can be just as nightmarish as what candidates sometimes face.

And we’re about to show you just how chaotic and bizarre things can get. Hiring managers and recruiters have been sharing their weirdest experiences while interviewing candidates in a thread on r/AskReddit. Their stories, well, let’s just say that they’re likely to make you giggle, facepalm, and raise your eyebrows. All. At. Once.

Check out the stories below, upvote the ones that seriously made you question how the human race still functions, and be sure to let us know about the weirdest interview you’ve ever been in. Whether you were a recruiter or an employee.

Career coach Jermaine Murray from JupiterHR gave Bored Panda some spot-on advice on what (not) to do during your next job interview. According to Jermaine, the biggest mistake that applicants make is not doing enough to highlight their accomplishments!

"They humble themselves when they need to be boasting. If you understand why the work that you were doing was important and how it impacts your org (project) then you should be explaining that to the interviewer without holding back. How did you go above and beyond to make sure things worked? What creative ways did you come up with?" Jermaine said. "Show off."

#1

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) Asked a (male) applicant about a few specific projects he'd done with people I've met. His comments about male collaborators were perfectly normal and respectful. His comments about female collaborators were dismissive, condescending, and inappropriately familiar.

I know there are lots of sexist people out there, but... not being able to conceal it for a 30-minute interview?

UnexpectedBrisket , Sebastian Herrmann Report

#2

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) I asked an applicant what kind of hobbies he took part in, and he told me he collected random things that 'pretty' women threw away. When the interview was over, I called the police and gave his résumé to them.

thetruthhurts1975 , Utility_Inc Report

#3

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) Hiring for a Senior Dev position. Had a telephone interview and she seemed confident and competent so I flew her down for an on site interview. She calls not me but the front desk reception and says she can’t drive in a big city and needs a car to pick her up and she refuses to get the rental car we reserved (before Uber/Lyft). Call is transferred to me and I tell her to take the train (Atlanta, MARTA) no, she says, too scary. I tell her to go to the taxi stand and take that, nope afraid of taxis. She wants a corp limo to pick her up and nothing else will do. She is adamant. I put her on hold, have a chat with my boss who says just send her home, shes too much work if she can’t even handle this. I tell her thank you for taking the time to fly down but not even our own VPs get that treatment and to go ahead and change your ticket to fly home, now. She then starts telling me she will take a taxi, etc. i said please don’t bother it will be a waste of everyone’s time, thank you, goodbye.

Not once when setting up her travel plans did she say she needed assistance getting from the airport. It was explained to her she would pick up a rental car at the airport. She was fine with it. No idea WTF she was thinking but ain’t nobody got time for dat nonsense!

blatentpoetry , Taylor Grote Report

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Mihai Mara
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you were to hire that person you would also have had to hire a private driver.

deborahbrett avatar
Deborah B
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If there was a genuine reason, she should have made it clear at the time the interview was set up: "A rental car won't work for me, and I'm not comfortable taking public transport or risking a gypsy cab in an unfamiliar city. Can we arrange a car service, or prebook a taxi from a trusted company?" As someone who drives an adapted vehicle, and can't use a lot of public transport options due to accessability, I can see how it might be a problem for some people, but you have to be up front about the accomodations you require, and have a plan for how you will manage if you get the job. eg "If I move here, I'll bring my private vehicle, which is adapted to my driving needs, so transport won't be an issue."

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Brooke Weber
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If she needed accommodations for a legitimate disability then, yes, I would agree. This instance, it seems like she wanted the red carpet treatment for a job she didn't have yet. Also, if you don't trust ANY sort of publicly available transport, you probably shouldn't be seeking a job in a big city (or one that requires travel at all).

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Curry on...
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wouldn't be surprised if she had actually brought along a friend and wanted to impress them.

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Marcellus the Third
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She miscalculated that the flight cost would justify the limo cost --- if it had worked she'd have a superstar pay deal... The 'sunk cost' fallacy (we're in too deep, now, must salvage prior investment!) combined with the perception (the entire 'puss in boots' story works like that!) would work out...

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Brandi VanSteenwyk
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can't imagine what She would expect from the company when and if she had been hired and thus, needed to relocate. Thank goodness her true colors were demonstrated so quickly. In this day and age, too much cost can easily bankrupt an independent company.

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Eslamala
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Idiot has no problem flying but is afraid of taxis? How old was she? 11?

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Full of Giggles
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You’re in the wrong here. There’s nothing immature about being content with flying but not a taxi, especially for a woman. On the plane, you’re surrounded by other people. So, if something happens there are plenty of witnesses and people to help. In a taxi, it’s just you and the driver. They can deviate from your course and take you to a place where nobody can hear you scream, nobody to help you, and nobody to witness bad things the cab drive might do to you. And it happens more often than you think to women who get into a cab with a male driver. I know this because my sister was sexually assaulted by a cab driver who decided to take of advantage of her inebriation. And it’s why I’m good on a plane but will never get into another taxi.

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Mickie Shea
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Did the right thing. Hope you reported her too the police.

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Yagi-chan
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Perhaps I’m wrong but it appears she had an anxiety attack and poorly treated anxiety disorder. Perhaps the flight and thought of the interview threw her into a tailspin, then she suddenly came off as entitled but was really suffering from a sudden episode of intense fear or anxiety and possible physical symptoms, based on a perceived threat rather than imminent danger. These people often come off as entitled because they are suddenly immovable. Best thing to do would be to call the airport, find an employed advocate, get her to the ticket counter and rebook her home to be met by a loved one since the nervous system needs time to recover and driving home isn’t an option.

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Jess Hoffman
Community Member
2 years ago

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This was a great story, until I read the last line and the author writes dat instead of that.

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Career coach Jermaine was candid about how vital our body language and tone of voice both are to our success during interviews. They're both "super important" and you "always want to be perceived as confident and capable." Creating the opposite perception can reduce your talents to ashes in some hiring managers' eyes.

"If your body language or tone says otherwise, you destroy the perception of your skills. Once that's gone so are your chances of landing the job," Jermaine from JupiterHR warned.

#4

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) She listed all of her ex-boyfriends who currently worked there and said she couldn’t wait to see the look on their faces when she showed up to work

lovelanguage_sarcasm , Amy Hirsch Report

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Kendra Miller
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If I was hr I might interview her out of curiosity, but definitely not hiring her, the job site isn't a place for extra drama.

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#5

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) I had a guy tell me God had chosen him for the job. But I did not choose him

JediKnightDub , Adib Hussain Report

#6

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) He was naked during the interview, so we declined. When we brought up his video feed, he was laying in bed nude

Boxman75 , Austin Distel Report

"You can teach someone to be a better coder but it's near impossible to teach them how to be a better person. Recruiters will always value personality first, but technical skills are a very close second," the career coach gave us a sneak peek into the exciting world of recruitment and HR. "Hiring managers keep that in mind and try to make sure candidates they like can perform competently. Different things contribute to this bar that aren't based on the candidate but the organization's internal ability to support and develop someone. Once those two elements are present a hire will happen.

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#7

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) A few years ago, I was hiring for a new graphic designer. The guy didn’t have much working experience and was a little odd, but I liked his portfolio so I decided to interview him anyways.

The whole interview was bizarre, but ended with the question “what do you think are your weaknesses?”

He replied “ummm tbh. I have some pretty violent tendencies...”’

Teckun2 , Dave Fayram Report

#8

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) This kid, probably 18-20, started picking his nose, like nuckle deep and digging for gold in the middle of his food service job interview.

Wrapped that up real quick and didn't hire him.

tactics14 , Brittany Colette Report

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#9

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) This one guy was interviewing for a kids job at a school and then casually slips in the conversation how ungrateful children are then tried rubbing it in that they would not be able to withstand PRISON LIKE HE DID

Anees092 , LinkedIn Sales Solutions Report

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Mihai Mara
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Isn't a clean criminal history (no convictions) mandatory for working with children??

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Job interviews can be incredibly stressful. Our heart rates skyrocket, we start sweating, and our tongues feel like cotton wool in our mouths. That’s all part of the process, though, and plenty of HR reps understand this and give us the benefit of the doubt. However, being nervous doesn’t excuse some things, like rudeness.

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According to GCFGlobal, poor manners can give your interviewer the impression that you’re unlikely to be a team player and that you’ll have a hard time retaining customers. What’s more, there’s the underlying assumption that you don’t value the people around you.

#10

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) A graduate sent his résumé in by email, had all the grades — assumably a quality hire. He showed up...but with his entire family

bunny_pony , Hunters Race Report

#11

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) The applicant wrote that can do a backflip on his application. Then, unprovoked, he elected to demonstrate said backflip in my office.

kstamp89 , Will Fisher Report

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James016
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One can argue that he backed up his claim. Unless he botched the backflip and landed flat on his face.

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#12

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) I interviewed a gal once and while we were talking, I was looking over her resume'. (Please note that English IS her first language or else this wouldn't have humored me so much) Her "mission statement" on her resume' was as follows:

"Along with my detail oriented and organizational skills, I will bring encourage team to work cooperatively and creativity to provide an understanding the visual aspects of our work."

This was for an admin position at a law firm. Not sure what "the visual aspects of our work" entailed in this position, honestly. I read it over about 5 or 6 times, worried that I was having a stroke so I didn't really hear much of anything she said during the interview. I haven't been able to make sense of it no matter how many times I read it. I actually cut it out of her resume' and have it sitting on my desk some 15 years later.

mattweb94 , Gangplank HQ Report

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Demi Zwaan
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That would’ve been a good thing to ask during... oh, I don’t know.. AN INTERVIEW?

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Most interview tips are really just common sense dressed up a bit (pun intended because dressing appropriately is important). Things like arriving on time, greeting everyone present at the interview, and keeping your phone turned off.

Meanwhile, other things are a tad more difficult to get right. Especially when we’re nervous! Our tone of voice and body language say a lot about us and our insecurities. So getting them under control should be a priority if it’s a high-profile interview for an awesome job. You want to exude confidence, so you avoid doing things too quickly, whether it’s rushing out an answer before your lips can keep up or moving your body way too much.

#13

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) While waiting in reception, the applicant wandered into the CFO's office. She was on the phone, so he stood in her doorway and stared at her while she was on the phone

fievelm , Dane Deaner Report

#14

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) Had a candidate who came in and asked how hot my administrator was and asked if she was single or 'open to freaky Fridays.'

gmabarrett , Humphrey Muleba Report

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Kendra Miller
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Part of the interview is checking your "fit", in this case the candidate blew it by blatantly telling the interviewer that he was planning on harassing the female employees.

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#15

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) They answered literally every question, 'I don’t know, man' or 'Can’t think of anything right now.'

WebHead1287 , Phil Hearing Report

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Kendra Miller
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel that, interviews are scary and it can be difficult to come up with a good answer.

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A lot of issues with performing well during a job interview come down to a fear of public speaking. However, practice makes perfect. If you’re dead-set on making an awesome impression, then there’s really no substitute for putting yourself in as many uncomfortable situations as you can so that you can get used to them.

It’s one thing to know the theory of how to behave in an interview, it’s an entirely different thing to put it into practice. And reading about something is no substitute for cold, hard experience. When you’ve seen it all, there’s no reason to get scared. And your body language and tone will show it.

#16

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) I was interviewing a CDL driver candidate and this is how he explained his arrest for domestic violence.

“You know how Cherokee Indians get”

Benedict_ARNY , Samuel Mann Report

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Marnie
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh, wow. Reminds me of my friend's ex-friend whose trial I went to decades ago. He was picked up for giving drinks to underage kids. He had a record for domestic assault. At the trial for the booze, somehow that came up. He says to the judge, "Well, some women are just asking for it, you know?" He literally said that. Then the baillif looked at me with great sympathy, thinking I was his ex. Hell, no.

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#17

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) Me: I see you managed a vegetarian restaurant.

Interviewee: What?

M: It says here you managed a vegetarian restaurant.

I: Oh, I guess I did write that. Not really though. My girlfriend had an art exhibition, and I organized the sandwiches for the opening. They were vegetarian.

This was a candidate that was otherwise pretty impressive seeming, and had been among the favorites for a quite sought after position, the interview had even gone quite well up until this point. Met him later at a party, he had no memory of me.

squirrel_exceptions , Gangplank HQ Report

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Monday
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you're gonna lie on your resume at least remember what you lied about.

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#18

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) "And what do you think you could bring to this role?"
"Hire me and find out."

We stopped the interview then and there. He complained to the CEO that we'd treated him unfairly (he was only interviewing because of a personal recommendation; I think he believed this entitled him to a job). The CEO laughed in his face.

ZeeLadyMusketeer , LinkedIn Sales Solutions Report

So, dear Pandas, which of these stories caught your attention the most? What’s the most nerve-wracking or just downright weird interview experience you’ve ever had? Do you have any tips and tricks for performing well in interviews that you’d like to share with all the other readers? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below. And remember—never let them see you sweat (metaphorically).

#19

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) To start the interview, I asked him to tell us a little bit about himself. Thirty-five minutes later, he stopped talking

DefinitelyYoda , Leon Report

#20

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) We have a very simple “pre-employment” test. If you have been in our industry for more than a year you should get 100%. Some times we even give it as an “at home” test.

We had one guy that took his test home had it for over a week. He brought it to the formal interview and got 90% of the questions wrong. Even though according to his resume he was an all star and knew everything.

He had an excuse for every wrong answer to even the most widely known questions in our industry.

It would be the equivalent of saying you have been laying sod for 20 years, and then put the green side down.

He didn’t get the job.

ejsandstrom , Samuel Mann Report

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Raine Soo
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This would not have been the first time that an applicant lied about his credentials.

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#21

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) I had a video interview with a candidate. They were clearly in a large room/bedroom, with most of it visible in the background, but it was clean, so I didn't mind. In the back right corner was a closed door. A few minutes into the interview, I saw the door open slightly. Some dude poked his head in and then closed the door. About 30 seconds later, I saw the door slowly open again, only this time the dude came crawling out the bottom. He continued to crawl across the floor, making his way to the opposite side of the room. I assumed he thought he was out of the camera's focus, but he was visible. He got to the far end of the room and turned to fiddle with something — ass in the air facing the camera.

xantyrn , Dylan Ferreira Report

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Kendra Miller
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Did ass-in-air-guy or candidate ever realize that the interviewer could and did see everything?

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#22

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) He showed up late. Then, he started checking his hair in the front camera as I was mid-sentence!?

teabunny25 , Standsome Worklifestyle Report

#23

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) A man told us all about his mom’s Alzheimer’s, talked [bad things] about our company, and got upset when we didn’t offer him the position on the spot. It was a wild ride.

Sharkattackr , Christina Report

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Raine Soo
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just like in the dating world, is the other person going to go on a date with you, after you've insulted her/him?

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#24

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) A lady walked in to the office with sweat pants on, a nice blouse, and sunglasses. We asked her to take the glasses off and she declined saying florescent lights hurt her eyes. We gave her the interview questions anyway. We asked what her strengths and weaknesses were. She gave us nothing but weaknesses. She couldn't stand still for "more than 5 minutes and really didn't like talking to people". She applied for a cashier position.

ItsSarahMarie , Christina Report

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Kendra Miller
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Probably not, but maybe she is trying to escape an abusive relationship. Going after an entry level job, no confidence talking/working with other people, not able to list even one good think about herself and obsessively focused on her faults. Plus the sunglasses could be hiding a black eye. I'm probably reading to far into it.

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#25

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) I once received a resume that was just a list of around 20 places someone had worked with the reason they had been fired next to each one.

QuietCornerGirl , Van Tay Media Report

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#26

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) Once had the spouse of a prominent Soldier tell us that she was obviously the most qualified and if we didn’t select her, she would go to the IG and the General. She wasn’t selected.

[deleted] , Daria Pimkina Report

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Kendra Miller
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is this really how someone wants to start a new job? Scare tactics and bragging? Seriously.

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#27

Applicant stated during the job interview that they didn't read the job description and had no idea what this position was. And they were an internal applicant... so we pretty much stopped right there.

DougieSloBone Report

#28

My wife was interviewing an early college student for a (paid) internship at a pharma company and he just stared at her breasts the whole time. She was not displaying any cleavage or skin, he just stared.

Draxtonsmitz Report

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Marnie
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had that exact thing happen to me 15-20 years ago. I was a developer, interviewing an college-age intern. I was wearing a sweater. Nobody ever stared at my breasts, so I particularly noticed it. He looked up once in a while. But honestly, he still gave a great interview. He was a kid, so I didn't really hold it against him, and recommended they give him the job. He did very well (and he didn't do the staring thing after that).

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#29

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) Probably the one who when asked why they hadn't declared their previous convictions which showed up in pre employment screening checks.

"those don't count they are my deadname crimes"

learnercentric , COD Newsroom Report

#30

Hiring Managers Share The Times They Thought "What's Wrong With This Person" (30 Stories) My manager and I were doing this interview. When I called the applicant in, he gave me a huge hug and proceeded to talk to me like I was his best friend.

tittyelf , kennejima Report

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Aurelia!
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Okay, but some people are just super affectionate, depending on their personality and the part of the world they come from. I don't see this as an issue necessarily, although I understand how in some contexts it could seem unprofessional.

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