A job interview can be a serious test for your psychological stability. Strange behavior from your possible employer, awkward questions, and nerves — all of these things make job interviews very hard to forget, even many years later.
We have read the stories of people who were in an awkward situation when they were looking for a job. They reminisced about their craziest and most absurd job interviews.
1. At my very first job interview as a teenager, they asked me if there was anything about myself I’d like to tell them. Meaning like skills, experience, etc. I said “no” and that was the end of the interview. I still cringe 30 years later. © DookieRebelGirl1039 / reddit
2. I was handed a sheet of questions I would be asked. When I was told that the position required a person who is very detail-oriented, I decided to demonstrate that quality by pointing out a minor grammatical error on the question sheet. Turns out one of the gentlemen interviewing me wrote the sheet. Whoops. Still got the job, though. © bewildered_forks / reddit
3. I didn’t have enough experience but I still went to the interview and did poorly, and I knew it. However, the worst part was that they burst out laughing the moment I walked out the door... I could hear them laughing the whole walk down the echoing hallway. I could hear them mocking my responses. I cried all the way home. © DragonsReverie / reddit
4. Got asked where I see myself in 5 years. So I told the interviewers I see myself blowing out the candles to my 5-year-work anniversary cake. I started laughing before I could finish the joke. They didn’t laugh at all. It was an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before they moved on to the next question. But I still got the job in the end. © derger808 / reddit
5. Mid-interview, I apologized and said I might be in the wrong place, walked out, and then confirmed with job posting and receptionist that it was, in fact, the right place and walked back in. More than 15 years later, the humiliation still makes me cringe but I am actually very proud of myself for walking back in. © WeddingElly / reddit
7. They described themselves as a progressive and fun workplace, etc. It was a moving company and I was looking for a quick job after college. Turns out that they cleaned out apartments where mentally ill people lived. I never needed a suit with a tie. © BoogieToSomeMarvin / reddit
8. I had one job interview where I hit it off really well with the interviewer, who was the owner of the company. At the end of the interview, though, he said, “Look, I like you a lot, so I’m going to level with you: You don’t want to work here. Just trust me.” 6 months later I saw in the paper that he was a massive fraud who had embezzled so much money through a welfare-to-work scheme that he had abandoned the company, skipped town, and was wanted by the police. None of his employees had been paid for months, and they weren’t going to be. So he really did do me a favor by not hiring me, but wow! © FearlessLingonberry / reddit9. They asked me what my strengths were. I said I was funny. I made a joke. No one laughed. I still got the job. © NotMyCabbagesAgain / reddit
10. I had an interview for the job of an autobiography article writer. It turned out that the employer wanted a book written about himself. As a test, he asked me to write a chapter about his childhood “in the style of Jack London.”
12. Before the interview, they asked me my date of birth. When I came to the meeting, the owner of the company showed me some printouts of astrological maps and started talking about how much we matched at work. I couldn’t even understand if it was a joke or not. It turned out that he was serious and I was hired.
14. I was told the wrong day and time, and after the interview, they told me they had already hired someone and basically interviewed me so they could get out of work for an hour or so. © Tyrfin / reddit
15. I guess when they asked, “If you could be any animal, what would you be?” I failed to see its relevance to anything. My answer was spider by the way, I love spiders. © defaultrunescapelad / reddit
17. When I was very overweight, a yogurt shop asked me in my interview if I would lose weight over a 30 day period, because this wasn’t the image they wanted for their company. © 80srockinman / reddit
What has been the most memorable job interview in your life?
Based on material from reddit.
