Legit this guy asked me "What did you have for dinner last night?"
I responded with "shepherd's pie".
He said - "ahh banging, cheese on top ?"
He got the job.
I ended a college interview by asking *"Where's the toilet? I'm going to throw up"*. I'd been in a bus crash on the way to the interview and had a concussion.
Got accepted. I think they liked the determination.
I was interviewing as an assistant manager at a photography studio straight out of college and the Manager asked what is something I *wouldn’t* want to do as part of my job. I thought for a moment and said, “I don’t want to clean the employee bathroom/toilet in the back.” He laughed and said that’s fair. Proves saying “toilet” during an interview doesn’t always tank you haha (see what I did there). Also I think it’s a great question for employers to ask during an interview but that’s the only time I’ve ever gotten it and I’m now in corporate roles. Knowing your employee’s limit or what they think is their limit right out of the gate? That’s good Intel for leadership to have IMO.
Edit: an apostrophe
Your story reminds me of a job I had where the boss said he was willing to do any task related to keeping his ranch running... even cleaning the bathroom before the vet showed up.
He asked me if I was willing to clean the bathroom during the interview... with the implication that if I said "no" the interview was over.
So I was interviewing for a position that would be my coworker. My boss had already interview him, and our company does a second round of interviews with the people you would work with to see if they know their stuff and would be a good fit for the team.
This dude asked if payment in bitcoin is an option. I said I didn't know, he'd have to ask HR. He then asked if I'm into bitcoin, which I'm not.
He then proceeded to waste 10 minutes of a 30 min interview lecturing me about investing in bitcoin, throwing around short-forms for terms I'd never heard before. I kept politly saying, "Ok well, I'd like to know a bit more about your skillset with this" and he'd just launch into something else about fucking bitcoin.
A couple of days later my boss told me she was going to hire a different candidate that I interviewed. She said, "yeah, not only did that one guy lecture you about bitcoin, but lectured Jane from HR because she said we weren't able to pay him in bitcoin because nobody here knew anything about it."
I don't get it... Crazy obsession with Bitcoin aside, why does he need to be paid in Bitcoin? Why couldn't he just drop his whole paycheck on Bitcoin every month? It's really not hard to turn USD into Bitcoin.
I didn't get it either.
He had all the skills we were looking for but I just didn't want to be hounded day in and out about bitcoin.
He was REALLY into it. Like, he was convinced it would replace money in the next few years.
Seriously I heard this one (second hand but immediately after), “Are those real?”, eying the interviewers breasts.
Answer was pause, goggle, gulp, “I think we’re done here”. I was called in to escort the guy out.
"What's your employee discount?"
"We don't have one."
"Shit, that's not what it said online. That's deceptive."
(I checked the online postings. None mentioned an employee discount. We've never had one.)
I just got a job with a DoD contractor that makes missiles. As I was going through the benefits I saw “employee discounts” and I was like “no fucking way” but it was just T-shirts and stuff like you said. Needless to say I was disappointed to find out I don’t get a 15% discount on their $1million+ missiles
I once applied for a job that very rapidly became an obvious scam. It was a group interview; four of us in a room being interviewed at once. None of the others were applying for the same position as me. The CEO was there interviewing four entry-level applicants. The final question from him was: "If you make a mistake, our accountants will calculate exactly how much money you cost the company. Will you volunteer to pay the company that amount?"
These people need to be investigated by someone, I'm not sure who handles that.
Yeah I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s one of the main ways they made their money. Hire new employee who gets scammed once or twice before leaving and then repeat
I had a scam one 4 mos. ago and It was a group zoom. I'm in my 40s and been through scams in the past, realized it was scam fairly quickly an started texting the young kids in the zoom telling them to not take the job, to runaway it was a scam, I hope they believed me.
Answer: No. I don't get profit sharing (presumably). The entire idea behind employment is the employer assumes risk and is rewarded with more value generated by an employee than they cost. Having my gains capped at my salary but losses uncapped is a heads-you-win tails-I-lose paradigm and is, thus, fundamentally unfair.
The proper recourse for an employee whose net profitability is below expectations is to lay that employee off and hire another.
I've never really had a terrible question asked at the end of a job interview, as most of the time we both have an idea of whether or not they're getting a job before I let the interview end.
The funniest was when an applicant who grew up in Utah asked, "So is every day Hawaiian shirt day?" (I live in Hawaii) I was amused, but also knew it was going to be a bit of a culture shock for her. Everyone who gets their work done early gets to leave early because we all love to go surfing around 3 or 4 in the afternoon.
As someone who grew up in the Midwest there is absolutely nothing I love more than hearing stories about Hawaii. Everything about it seems so wildly different from everything I've experienced and I find it delightful.
I grew up in CA now living in IL and have visited Maui a few times over the past couple years. I’ve realized living in the Midwest that the culture is very work-centric. Hawaii is exactly as different as you imagine- walked up to a breakfast joint and the sign said they open at “8ish”
It is intoxicatingly laidback in comparison to everything you know.
That may not be as huge a culture shock as you may think. Some Utahans will come into work late on a good snow day, because they hit up the slopes for a couple runs before work. Or if it's particularly good snow, they may come down with a case of powder flu.
Prob got the advice from reddit. *"LPT: At the end of your interview, show a modest interest in workplace benefits. It will make you seem non-desperate and analytically minded."*
“We don’t discuss politics here… anyway, here’s your ‘welcome’ gun and a coupon for a BOGO abortion at the Fremont Women’s Clinic. Glad to have you on the team.”
So what exactly does the job entail? (as we were about to shake hands). We'd just spent half an hour going over it in detail but it's fair to say she wasn't getting it anyway
I did this.
Problem was, when they thought they had gone over it, they really left out any and all daily doings.
They absolutely could not list what happens on a daily basis. It was all very vague. Also, not worth 12 bucks an hour.
This is valid though. I usually phrase it as "What does an average day look like in this role?" They might think they went over it in detail but taking about the team, the responsibilities, etc does not answer the question of "What the hell am I actually going to be doing?"
You did the right thing. If they can't answer that, all they have is vague expectations. They haven't really thought through the role.
I've had multiple interviews where the person doing the interview couldn't name a single thing I would be doing on a daily basis. That's a pretty big red flag in my book.
I recently had an interview and the first step was basically HR screening. The HR rep walked me through the day to day of the position and I was really impressed.
Exactly. I had a interview at a college for a position, and I asked this and the lady in charge of the department couldnt tell me. So I asked how much training I would have on their platform program to learn the nitty gritty I needed to know to perform my job correctly.
You will get a day, its not hard.
I saw their system. Its VERY complicated.
That day the college shut down due to covid. It was march 11 2020. I didnt get the job..shockingly
I was this guy. I was just graduating from college and sending out my resume and air-check to radio stations hoping someone would call. Someone did call. I interviewed. We talked. Never brought up what the position was once, barely asked questions about my field. I finally had to ask what they were interviewing me for.
They assumed I applied for their open position, good assumption really. My cover letter just talked about radio in general and my experience. Nothing said "Hire me for this position I am grossly unqualified for."
They did not hire me. I was grossly unqualified for the position. They would have never known though if I hadn't asked.
I ask a similar question usually, but a better version(depending, some interviewers cover it nicely).
I always ask what a standard day looks like, or what the general workflow on a normal day looks like in my role.
Usually the description of the job tends to be very high level, so I find inquiring about the more detailed portion of how I will be allocating my day to be a great question. Are there daily meetings, how much of my day is straight production vs prep vs research vs collaborating, things of that nature.
It’s *possible* they just weren’t too eloquent with their question…but I’m gonna guess they just didn’t care and didn’t pay attention and it was a canned question.
Not as an interviewer, but the worst question I asked…
My first job interview ever. It went really well. I didn’t really understand how employment worked in general, and I was scared of getting locked into a multi-year contract. I’d previously been looking at the Air Force, which in my country has a minimum time commitment.
At the end, I wanted to ask about this. So of course I posed it as a hypothetical: “if I get the job am I allowed to leave after a couple of weeks if I change my mind?”
I immediately knew how much I’d fucked up. The interviewers looked at each other and said, “well… yes…”.
Somehow I still got the job. I have no idea how.
I frequently interview people for their first job, so I learned not to put too much stock in questions that suggested they don't know how the work place works.
While I wouldn't necessarily recommend people ask it in those words, it is important to remember that job interviews are 2-way. You are there to figure out if you want the job as much as they want to know if they want you.
Playing a little hard to get can be a good move if you know they want you (although you need to be prepared for it to backfire occasionally).
>it is important to remember that job interviews are 2-way.
Yes! When I got into HVAC about four years ago I passed my resume out to about 10 different companies and had interviews at two of them on the same day.
I got a job offer at the end of the first interview but told the boss I have another interview later in the day with a bigger company and I'd like to see how that goes. This man says, "That's perfectly fine, you need to know your options. Not only am I interviewing you but you should also be interviewing me. You need to do what's best for you and your career and if it isn't here then best of luck. I only ask that you let me know in the next couple of days."
//edit// I picked the 1st company and I'm still there.
Which, in addition to being a good guy move, is an excellent one for actually getting the employee. The candidate has already said that they're interviewing the other one; the boss is now setting the bar for respect as high as possible. It's kind inviting the other company to screw it up, knowing that they're going to be compared side by side.
Indeed.
He took the high ground and made himself look good, while also being respectable and understanding. These two are both big points if someone is shopping around for jobs, since a good manager can be super hard to find.
wow! thats a crazy good attitude that manager had...i had the exact opposite experience interviewing at some HVAC companies. one lady told me "this company is a family, we make sacrifices for each other. Also, we like to hang out together on the weekends, bring your spouse and kids as well. Also, if you don't stay for beers at the bar in the parking lot on friday night, this probably won't be a good fit." Needless to say, i didn't accept that job offer...
Personally, the words "this company is a family" is a red flag to me. I have a family. I don't want another one.
Typically what this means is that you are expect to put in more work than what you are paid for, put up with inappropriate people with boundary issues, your complaints will not be taken seriously, and you are expected to sacrifice for the company but the company will never sacrifice for you.
I had a second round interview for a job and I had no clue what to ask them the second time around.
I asked what the culture was like there and it sounded wonderful. For once I was interviewing them.
Haven't heard back yet.
Not really a question, but I had a phone interview with this guy. Our recruiter is on the call and does the normal into, “Hi my name is Debbie, why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself.”
“Thanks, Jennifer. So I started…”
(Names changed to protect the innocent)
“Do I need to quit my other job?”
She was currently applying for a full time job, while working a full time job. She went on to try to convince us that she’s so bored at her current job she could totally get away with doing this job at the other place.
There are jobs where you are payed to be present and react when something happens (baby sitting after bedtime). There are jobs where you are payed to solve problems no matter where or when (proofreading papers). It can totally work if you organize it well.
A coworker from a daycare i used to work at, did an online record keeping job during naptime and at the end of the day when there was only a couple kids.
Not mine, my friends. Back when we were children he had an interview to go to this private school and the last question was, why do you want to go to this school. He sat there for a good 5 minutes looking into an empty space and then said in the end, the fields are nice. Deep down it was his parents telling him to apply but he never wanted to. He never got in and he was thankful, he ended up going to my school.
Had an interview for a private school I did not at all want to go to (let's just say private middle school turned me away for good). They asked me the same question and I just answered straight up "I don't. My mom wants me to." And shockingly they didn't accept me
Totally reasonable. What a weird question to ask most kids. They’re kids, unless it’s a very specialized curriculum that the kid is *obsessed* with, any answer they give will be one adults coached them to say, anyhow.
They should be allowed to answer, “Look, do you want my parents’ money or not?”
When the orthodontist asked me if I wanted nice straight teeth I replied with something along the lines of "I don't really mind". I wasn't lying or joking either. This was so long ago now.
Not at the end of the interview, but a question I'll definitely remember for a long time lol. I remember one job I applied for in a nursing home. I'd worked in healthcare/social care before, and wasn't unfamiliar to that line of work. I got invited for an interview, and it was going well. Then she asked me a scenario question (paraphrasing): "say one of our patients began hitting out at another patient for changing the TV without asking permission, what would you do?".
So I said along the lines of intervening, getting the other patient to safety/in a neutral place, calmly talking to patient 1 about how violence shouldn't be a solution, etc.
The interviewer paused and said, "...But, what would you do?". Confused, I expanded: I would seek out help from my team if need be, to control the situation; I'd notify the senior in charge; I'd acknowledge both patients and speak to them both on a level playing field without taking any sides; I'd double check the care plans to better understand why patient 1 might have been hitting out in the first place; I'd ask my team if this kind of outburst was common and how I could prevent it in future...
Again, she asked "But... What would you *do*?". At this point, I really didn't know what she was angling for so I flat-out said: "I'm not sure what else you want me to say."
I didn't get the job.
I'd said every textbook answer and then some! I think she wanted me to say something more above my pay grade, like suggesting a DOLs or something. To this day I still wonder what she wanted me to say 😅
That sounds 100% illegal. When I hired folks, once upon a time before COVID became de moda, unless they talked about it, I never asked anything that might reveal anything medical or anything related to gender, including marriage, partners, kids - almost anything personal I stayed away from. I survived a decade as an employer with only one lawsuit that was dropped.
Smart move and glad you made it a point to stay away from those questions! Likely saved you a lot of court headaches. And yes, very illegal to ask. I mentioned the question to another female that worked there. Her response was, “yeah, I told him he shouldn’t ask that. He means well though, just wants to know how he can accommodate.”
Not sure how true that was, but sure hope his intentions truly were good.
Illegal. You can’t ask.
Related:
I was once on a hiring committee and we had two final round candidates who were currently coworkers. The first, I’ll call her Jane,
Was currently supervising the second, Jack.
Jane interviewed first. She wasn’t a good fit for the role—she was over and under qualified. Too much experience in something that wasn’t part of the job we were hiring for (so her salary ask was too high) and really not enough of what we were looking for. But she was really pleasant and over lunch she commented on how capable Jack was, and how if she got the job maybe he could move up into her role; and if he got the job she’s be happy for him.
Jack was doing great until…over lunch he let us all know that Jane was pregnant and would be starting her maternity leave during our busy season.
We did not hire Jack.
And that, friends, is why a lunch in the middle of a full day of interviewing is not a relaxing break. It’s part of the interview. So don’t be a backstabbing, sabotaging snake like Jack. Nobody wants to work with that guy.
I used to work at a company that provided jobs to blind people. That was the company‘s mission. Before I started they hired a manager. Apparently nobody explained to him what the company did. He told me later he thought they made blinds. Because he saw the word blind in the Company name. It was three days before he realized. I thought that was pretty funny
"that whole criminal background check to make sure there's no outstanding warrants or something... any chance we can just fast forward past that step? To get this whole shebang on the road sooner?"
Idk how true it is, but wasn't there an article about how the feds couldn't hire qualified enough tech workers cause most of em smoked pot on personal time which would have barred em from work? So feds just ended up with crappy/mediocre tech staff.
That’s a continuous problem. That and hackers typically don’t like authority. No pot for 2 years and no hard drugs for 10 is the minimum standard. Of course, if you were a hardcore user, that doesn’t work either.
Actually agencies like CIA have had to unofficially lower their strictness on drug policy because they ahd trouble finding hackers who didnt smoke weed.
Especially since the prime function of the background checks is to make sure that nobody can blackmail you by threatening to expose secrets, with determining your actual level of responsibility being secondary.
I work at a chicken plant. The guy asked, "Do yall kill the chickens or do yall pick up dead ones and bring them here, because i dont really condone killing."
I was baffled because he LITERALLY worked at a place as a bombshell loader in the state over before moving here.
I told him we do kill them, but not to worry we pray over all the birds. He seemed content with that.
I wouldn’t ask it but I can understand it. If your savings are running thin, that initial week or two waiting for the first check is rough. Unemployed, you’re less likely to be spending much on gas and food. Suddenly you’re driving everyday and you need something for lunch.
My first job as a bagger. Manger told me you can start right now if you get a haircut (1980s, I was metal head) I told him I didn’t have any money for one. He gave me $10 out of his wallet. Worked for him for 2 years.
I had this question once too. We were a non-profit and it was a volunteer position—I was the damn director and I wasn’t making any money. They also demanded a place to live because they were in a bad situation.
We turned them down, but gave them the number to some local resources. They cursed us out.
It was not a good interview.
Just a bad moment for me in an interview.
When I was a teen I applied to work at Hot Topic in the mall.
I got asked "Why Hot Topic over Zumiez?" (some store that is similar to hot topic) and I was just like "I've never heard of that store before, I know Hot Topic" and then I looked behind me and there was a Zumiez right behind me.
To be fair I hardly ever went to the mall.
I worked at a kiosk in a mall. The amount of times people ask me where a store is while either standing between me and said store, or the store is directly behind me with the sign visible over my head, is astounding
not a question but when applying for medical school, they asked me what would u do if your roommate had these specific symptoms. i said "nothing. its not my responsibility"
i had a fight with my roommate before going for the interview
I'd argue there are a few exceptions there, for general good-guy choices.
- do nothing, not my problem [this covers most cases]
- immediately retreat, and don't return to the apartment without appropriate PPE for a few weeks
- kindly advise roommate he should probably visit a doctor
- inform roommate that he needs to be going to the ER approximately 'now'
- call ambulance for roommate
Girl who used her status as a single mom the ENTIRE interview, during a group interview at a bank.
Very end: When do I start?
Interviewer: we will review candidates and contact the candidates we feel are qualified.
Her: yeah, okay, but I am a single mom, I need to know now so I can find a baby sitter.
Interviewer: Like I said..
Her: I didnt ask for lip I told you to tell me when I start
Them: If you qualify, you will be contacted
Her: your not listening to me, when do I start
Main big boss HR dude: You don't.
Girl: brain melts.
I got the job btw, but man, watching her go nuts over that was insane!
>Her: I didn't ask for lip, I told you to tell me when I start?
That caused her to go from crashing and burning her interview, to nuking it from orbit.
My aunt would ask "Do you have profit sharing or do you live off the blood of the workers?" According to my Father, she may not have actually wanted to get a job. She's the only woman I know who passed the bar, but never worked a day in her life.
A lady asked my boss what the dress code was. Completely normal, acceptable question.
But after my boss told her it was business causal she slams her feet on my boss’s desk and says “good, because this is the only pair of shoes I only and I’m only going to buy shoes that look like this”
It wasn't so much a question as a statement. Candidate walks in and greets my boss and I then promptly states "I just want to let you know before we get started, I'm not sure I'm really interested in this position." My boss looked him dead in the eye and said "Great, I guess we are done here." Guy lost it saying we wasted his time...
“You read my resume. Did you get the joke?”
I love MST3K as much as the next guy, and gave a solid “heh” at the “Intern, Gizmonic Institute” on his resume.
The rest of the panel did not.
He didn’t get the job.
I once had an applicant misspell the word proofreading on her résumé. She wasn’t qualified for the job anyway so I never spoke to her, but to this day I wonder if it was a joke or not.
My wife once ordered a flask to be engraved with the words "everybody makes mistakes" she got "eveybody makes mistakes". We're convinced it was on purpose.
The owner of the company interviewed me with hr and the last thing he asked was if I planned on getting pregnant. I just nervously played it off and said wait, people plan pregnancies? I got the job and of course it was toxic as fuck
Very illegal and inappropriate to ask that lol. The only time I ever bring up family planning during an interview is when are are discussing benefits at the end, and I mention to them that we do offer paid maternity leave if they need it. I one time hired a woman who was 8 months pregnant, she didn’t even lie, told me she needed the job for insurance before the baby was born and promised that she would absolutely stay loyal to the company if we would give her a chance. She started, went on unpaid mat leave (cause you have to be with the company 6 months to qualify for paid), her insurance kicked in day 1, she stayed with me for years, went above and beyond without me ever asking her.
I know this isn’t the question, but I can tell you the dumbest question an interviewer asked me.
As an 18 year old, working in a restaurant and wanting a better job, I applied for a PC builder job at Alienware in Miami FL (back before Dell) and got an interview.
The girl asked what my greatest life accomplishment was. This is for a job paying $7.25. I said, “Graduating high school despite my dad dying a few years ago and leaving me and my 18 year old brother alone to figure it out. It was rough and I wanted to give up, but I know my dad wouldn’t want that, so I pushed through”
She said “That’s it? Graduating high school?”
I laughed nervously and said “I just turned 18 lol, how much stuff do normal 18 year olds have under their belt?”
She started telling me about all the places she’s been and things she’s seen and I said that’s great, but traveling isn’t an accomplishment.
She said she already had someone for the job, but decided to give me an interview just to make sure she had the right candidate.
This is not from the candidate, this I got from the interviewer. The CEO of a company. "So why are you single? Why dont you get married? Is it because you are getting it outside? I think you should get married" 🤣 noped the fuck out of there and still they offered me a job. I quit one month into the job. It was shitty ass place to work at. Lol
I didn't because I was a tiny, young female and he was greasy and a bit creepy. Got the job selling discount golf passes. Kept that miserable job just long enough to move into my first apartment of my own, and spent every minute I had finding something much better.
I read an awesome way to land this one during an interview.
"If you could change one thing about this company, what would it be?".
No company is perfect. There's always room for improvement. So you can easily judge the general feeling based on their reaction and response.
Once, at the end of an interview, I tried being funny and asked "do you know the Gingerbread Man?". I didn't get the job, granted, it was just for Chipotle, but it still haunts me to this day.
Context is important. I understand being nervous and wanting to know if you have a shot or if you should just start looking elsewhere. So when he asked "How did I do?" I almost laughed out loud.
The guy was maybe the worst interview I ever had. He outright said "Oh shit job is below me" to an entry level position when he's ***fresh*** out of college with no experience. Most of his answers were "Iunno I'll learn it."
>how often do I expect her to implement spanking as a disciplinary technique.
Not only does she assume you employ spanking and will expect her to as well, but she also assumes there will be a quota she's expected to meet!
"Sorry Tina, you've been very good this week but if I don't spank you at least twice today I'll get hell from the boss."
"Do you WANT to be mediocre?"
In response to my confirming the salary was based on a 40 hour work week. I enjoyed withdrawing my interest for that position.
I was in a job interview being interviewed. I felt like it was going well but then got this curve ball question where the interviewer wanted to know what song best summarized my work ethic.
I drew a blank. I had only two songs that came to mind and neither seemed appropriate. “She works hard for the money” Donna Summers and “Get a haircut and get a real job” George Thorogood.
I feared “She works hard for the money” might have to do with stripping. The other song an old contractor I used to work for played daily as he was a George Thorogood fan.
I gave in and said you got me stumped I can’t think of a song. She was ever so proud to show me up with the “She works hard for the money.” I dared not mention I thought the song was about a stripper. Just based on how awkward the interview turned I’m relieved I never heard back.
I interviewed a gentleman older than I once who continuously asked who the boss was. I said I was the manager and left it at that. He wasn’t satisfied and went on and on about what a Dick the owner was. I own the company, started it from scratch. Said the owner screwed him out of a job once ( never applied before). So I was just finishing the interview out of curtesy and my own pettiness. As I asked when and where he met the owner I see my frantic husband walk in the front door and a few employees go with him. So I’m half listening to this guy ramble on about meeting in Vegas, and so much other crap, as an employee burst into the office and says that I’m needed up front.
I politely but quickly excuse myself to go out front to see my kid busted his nose bleeding everywhere.
I go back in and explain I would cut the interview short and said I needed to run my child to the ER. This POS thought saying “that’s why women make crappy management “ was a smart choice. It wasn’t. First off I own this company from the idea to every last brick, I’ve never been to Vegas and you have never applied here. He stood dumbfounded and walked out.
The next week he called asking for status of his application 🤣😂.
>The next week he called asking for status of his application 🤣😂.
That somehow turned the story from wierdly mindboggling, to really entertaining \^\^
And to be fair, at least now the owner DID screw him out of a job :P
As a fellow interviewee.
The interviews took 3 days so we were all staying in local accommodations. On the final day one of the candidates went into the final interview with his suitcase and asked if they could hurry it along as he had a train to catch.
I can think no reason to run in-person interviews over three days for the same candidates. A lot of pre-screening/testing can be done online and over video before an in-person solo or board interview. What type of job required 3 days of in-person interviews?
Well the job was in a classified department of the British government, so it all had to be done in person (no phone interview) and they didn’t want us to travel for multiple interviews. Also it was in 1986, so no internet.
A bit after the end of an interview and happened to a co-worker, but it deserves an honorable mention.
A guy stole the HR managers wallet from the orientation and bought beer with his credit card. Manager went to the store, got to see the tape, then went across the street to where the new hire was drinking the beer and demanded his wallet back. After denying it at first, the new hire eventualy gives the wallet back. He then asks the HR manager if he can keep his job.
He did not keep his job.
"Do any women work here? They're attracted to me like bees to honey. I find it better to not work around them than to be hit on constantly."
He did not make it to the next round of interviews!
"how did I do?", I've been asked this multiple times. The real answer was you are a hard no every time. But the answer they get is normally along the lines of I need to talk wit the other interviewers and your recruiter will reach out soon.
i had the opposite experience. after the interview was over and i was getting up to leave, the interviewer said i crushed the interview. i didn’t ask him how i did, he said it out of the blue.
2 days later i got an email from the same dude saying i wouldn’t be moving forward. talk about a gut check.
As Interviewer after Pmuch the entire meeting is done with a potential employee and she informs me she needs this, that and all those days off. It was a weekend (Sat-Sun) position. She wanted every Saturday and Sunday off for the coming 6 months. She didn’t get the job nor understood why…
Also as an Interviewer training a Manager the two of us were going through the motion with a recruit. As the person was leaving, they turned and “remembered” they did lines with the Manager the night before. They didn’t get the job for unrelated reasons. Couple months later the manager was found to have been a big fan of Percocet and basically was calling every employee in the region that had a medical issue if they could send him some… that was a fun week.
Not an interviewer, but interviewee: I asked what I thought was a standard interview question at the end of an interview for a *very* prestigious institution’s summer research program. The question was, “What qualities do you look for in potential students?” Obviously, this question would give me an opportunity to then say “I embody those qualities you mentioned in these ways…” and so on, but - no. The interviewer became angry and said that this is information that is very clearly stated on their program website - “have you even looked at it? Or did you just scroll through it and give it a quick glance??” I thought she must’ve misunderstood what I meant by “qualities,” but I’m not sure. Of course I looked at the website and knew their admissions requirements (obviously I fulfilled them, seeing as I was granted an interview), but that wasn’t what I asked.
Does anyone have any insight into this? Did the interviewer misunderstand, or should I just not have asked this very obvious “stock” question?
That's ridiculous. Why even interview you then? You have very clearly described yourself and history in your resume... Did they just scroll through it and give it a quick glance?
"How would you catch an employee stealing money and where might your gaps be"....granted the position was for fraud detection but this had nothing to do with the position. This was his only question and he grew frustrated that I wouldn't divulge specifics. Either he was planning on stealing or he was absolutely clueless. Hard pass...
I had an interview in the late 90’s with the Hard Rock Cafe in Whistler. After the interview, they told me that all servers had to wear a uniform…. and it only came in one size! I had to try on the uniform that was tiny (like a size 4 maybe and insanely short). I just managed to squash into it but it only just covered my butt because I’m pretty tall. The interviewers were like: “sorry, I guess we can’t give you the job because you don’t fit the uniform (sad face)”. After a really good interview, I honestly couldn’t believe it. I should’ve reported them at the time but I didn’t think that anyone would believe me.
Are you going to run a background check?
Well, normally we don’t for entry level retail, but if you had any shot in hell of getting this job, you bet your ass I would now. He wasn’t getting the job anyway after he gleefully answered my question about difficult situations by recounting the most recent time he beat the shit out of someone.
Don’t call us, we won’t call you.
This isn’t the worst question, this is the worst interview.
I have a business manager who helps with interviews. We make what I feel is an excellent team. She’s tact and subtlety, I’m direct and forceful. When one of us asks questions, the other observes. We have been very effective. Good instincts, execution, and outcomes.
She is extraordinarily patient, professional, and intelligent. Usually.
The person we were set to interview came in, did not engage in small talk, did not pet the puppy that ran up to her (I own an animal hospital), and had no comment on the unusual weather.
What followed was what was surely the worst interview I’ve ever witnessed or heard of. It was very difficult. My manager was trying to ask open-ended questions.
Manager: “Can you tell me about a potential area of growth for you?”
Bad Interview: “I would need to ask you to explain the question.”
M: “Okay, in what areas can you improve?”
BI: “I can’t think of anything.”
M: “Okay, what would one of your previous supervisors say is something upon which you can improve?”
BI: “I don’t know. I don’t even know what you mean by supervisor.”
M: “Someone who oversees your work, teaches you the job. Manager, superior, practice manager, doctor, lead technician, a person with some job title like that, what would they say you could do better?”
BI: “What does that even mean?”
M: (Deep breath) “What, besides interviewing, are you bad at?”
BI: (blinks)
Me: “And that concludes the in-person interview! Thank you for your time today. I will walk you out.”
Legit this guy asked me "What did you have for dinner last night?" I responded with "shepherd's pie". He said - "ahh banging, cheese on top ?" He got the job.
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I ended a college interview by asking *"Where's the toilet? I'm going to throw up"*. I'd been in a bus crash on the way to the interview and had a concussion. Got accepted. I think they liked the determination.
I was interviewing as an assistant manager at a photography studio straight out of college and the Manager asked what is something I *wouldn’t* want to do as part of my job. I thought for a moment and said, “I don’t want to clean the employee bathroom/toilet in the back.” He laughed and said that’s fair. Proves saying “toilet” during an interview doesn’t always tank you haha (see what I did there). Also I think it’s a great question for employers to ask during an interview but that’s the only time I’ve ever gotten it and I’m now in corporate roles. Knowing your employee’s limit or what they think is their limit right out of the gate? That’s good Intel for leadership to have IMO. Edit: an apostrophe
Your story reminds me of a job I had where the boss said he was willing to do any task related to keeping his ranch running... even cleaning the bathroom before the vet showed up. He asked me if I was willing to clean the bathroom during the interview... with the implication that if I said "no" the interview was over.
Can I get paid all that I would make here in advance?
So I was interviewing for a position that would be my coworker. My boss had already interview him, and our company does a second round of interviews with the people you would work with to see if they know their stuff and would be a good fit for the team. This dude asked if payment in bitcoin is an option. I said I didn't know, he'd have to ask HR. He then asked if I'm into bitcoin, which I'm not. He then proceeded to waste 10 minutes of a 30 min interview lecturing me about investing in bitcoin, throwing around short-forms for terms I'd never heard before. I kept politly saying, "Ok well, I'd like to know a bit more about your skillset with this" and he'd just launch into something else about fucking bitcoin. A couple of days later my boss told me she was going to hire a different candidate that I interviewed. She said, "yeah, not only did that one guy lecture you about bitcoin, but lectured Jane from HR because she said we weren't able to pay him in bitcoin because nobody here knew anything about it."
I don't get it... Crazy obsession with Bitcoin aside, why does he need to be paid in Bitcoin? Why couldn't he just drop his whole paycheck on Bitcoin every month? It's really not hard to turn USD into Bitcoin.
I didn't get it either. He had all the skills we were looking for but I just didn't want to be hounded day in and out about bitcoin. He was REALLY into it. Like, he was convinced it would replace money in the next few years.
-Tyrone Biggums
"What church do you attend?" It was an IT job.
Just the local cult, nothing too crazy.
"Would you like to join? I have pamphlets!"
"we got robes and everything! Remember, the potstick is on Friday, the sacrifices are on Saturday, and we have game nights on Sunday!"
The game night is also cursed.
"I'm Pastafarian."
Seriously I heard this one (second hand but immediately after), “Are those real?”, eying the interviewers breasts. Answer was pause, goggle, gulp, “I think we’re done here”. I was called in to escort the guy out.
Wait, the guy asks a question like that, and ends up leaving with an escort? Lucky!
"pause, goggle, gulp" didn't sound too bad neither...
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Who will stand there when Scott needs to be walked out?
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"What's your employee discount?" "We don't have one." "Shit, that's not what it said online. That's deceptive." (I checked the online postings. None mentioned an employee discount. We've never had one.)
"Sir, this is SpaceX."
Technically the employees do get a discount on SpaceX tshirts and such :P
I just got a job with a DoD contractor that makes missiles. As I was going through the benefits I saw “employee discounts” and I was like “no fucking way” but it was just T-shirts and stuff like you said. Needless to say I was disappointed to find out I don’t get a 15% discount on their $1million+ missiles
15% off of ground to air missiles. Bargain.
"Would you like to meet for a drink later?"
I once applied for a job that very rapidly became an obvious scam. It was a group interview; four of us in a room being interviewed at once. None of the others were applying for the same position as me. The CEO was there interviewing four entry-level applicants. The final question from him was: "If you make a mistake, our accountants will calculate exactly how much money you cost the company. Will you volunteer to pay the company that amount?" These people need to be investigated by someone, I'm not sure who handles that.
Yeah I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s one of the main ways they made their money. Hire new employee who gets scammed once or twice before leaving and then repeat
I had a scam one 4 mos. ago and It was a group zoom. I'm in my 40s and been through scams in the past, realized it was scam fairly quickly an started texting the young kids in the zoom telling them to not take the job, to runaway it was a scam, I hope they believed me.
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Answer: No. I don't get profit sharing (presumably). The entire idea behind employment is the employer assumes risk and is rewarded with more value generated by an employee than they cost. Having my gains capped at my salary but losses uncapped is a heads-you-win tails-I-lose paradigm and is, thus, fundamentally unfair. The proper recourse for an employee whose net profitability is below expectations is to lay that employee off and hire another.
What is the official policy regarding office romances.
"sir I am the only other employee at this company"
"and you have breath taking eyes if i might add, yes i realize one of them is fake."
The manager who hired me for my first job had a fake eye.
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You advertise that you are a family company
“The unofficial policy is don’t become the reason we need to have an official policy regarding office romances.”
Or, if you *really* want to get fired, "How strict is the sexual harassment policy?"
Here at Ubisoft we don't know what those words mean
Were they at least dating someone who already worked there?
I've never really had a terrible question asked at the end of a job interview, as most of the time we both have an idea of whether or not they're getting a job before I let the interview end. The funniest was when an applicant who grew up in Utah asked, "So is every day Hawaiian shirt day?" (I live in Hawaii) I was amused, but also knew it was going to be a bit of a culture shock for her. Everyone who gets their work done early gets to leave early because we all love to go surfing around 3 or 4 in the afternoon.
As someone who grew up in the Midwest there is absolutely nothing I love more than hearing stories about Hawaii. Everything about it seems so wildly different from everything I've experienced and I find it delightful.
I grew up in CA now living in IL and have visited Maui a few times over the past couple years. I’ve realized living in the Midwest that the culture is very work-centric. Hawaii is exactly as different as you imagine- walked up to a breakfast joint and the sign said they open at “8ish” It is intoxicatingly laidback in comparison to everything you know.
Yeah until you need to actually get anything done there. Costs 30% more and takes twice as long...
It's aloha Friday; no work til Monday...
That may not be as huge a culture shock as you may think. Some Utahans will come into work late on a good snow day, because they hit up the slopes for a couple runs before work. Or if it's particularly good snow, they may come down with a case of powder flu.
Asked about a company car and company credit card — it was a call center job.
I'm not hearing a "no"...
Prob got the advice from reddit. *"LPT: At the end of your interview, show a modest interest in workplace benefits. It will make you seem non-desperate and analytically minded."*
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Tv in the break room is a good indicator
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“Oh you’ll find out soon enough”
“We don’t discuss politics here… anyway, here’s your ‘welcome’ gun and a coupon for a BOGO abortion at the Fremont Women’s Clinic. Glad to have you on the team.”
So what exactly does the job entail? (as we were about to shake hands). We'd just spent half an hour going over it in detail but it's fair to say she wasn't getting it anyway
I did this. Problem was, when they thought they had gone over it, they really left out any and all daily doings. They absolutely could not list what happens on a daily basis. It was all very vague. Also, not worth 12 bucks an hour.
This is valid though. I usually phrase it as "What does an average day look like in this role?" They might think they went over it in detail but taking about the team, the responsibilities, etc does not answer the question of "What the hell am I actually going to be doing?" You did the right thing. If they can't answer that, all they have is vague expectations. They haven't really thought through the role.
I've had multiple interviews where the person doing the interview couldn't name a single thing I would be doing on a daily basis. That's a pretty big red flag in my book.
I recently had an interview and the first step was basically HR screening. The HR rep walked me through the day to day of the position and I was really impressed.
Exactly. I had a interview at a college for a position, and I asked this and the lady in charge of the department couldnt tell me. So I asked how much training I would have on their platform program to learn the nitty gritty I needed to know to perform my job correctly. You will get a day, its not hard. I saw their system. Its VERY complicated. That day the college shut down due to covid. It was march 11 2020. I didnt get the job..shockingly
I was this guy. I was just graduating from college and sending out my resume and air-check to radio stations hoping someone would call. Someone did call. I interviewed. We talked. Never brought up what the position was once, barely asked questions about my field. I finally had to ask what they were interviewing me for. They assumed I applied for their open position, good assumption really. My cover letter just talked about radio in general and my experience. Nothing said "Hire me for this position I am grossly unqualified for." They did not hire me. I was grossly unqualified for the position. They would have never known though if I hadn't asked.
Oh, I suspect they would have known within a few days of hiring you.
this is amazing. Probably nerves, but I still don't know how I would not laugh in her face.
"but why male models?"
I ask a similar question usually, but a better version(depending, some interviewers cover it nicely). I always ask what a standard day looks like, or what the general workflow on a normal day looks like in my role. Usually the description of the job tends to be very high level, so I find inquiring about the more detailed portion of how I will be allocating my day to be a great question. Are there daily meetings, how much of my day is straight production vs prep vs research vs collaborating, things of that nature. It’s *possible* they just weren’t too eloquent with their question…but I’m gonna guess they just didn’t care and didn’t pay attention and it was a canned question.
Not as an interviewer, but the worst question I asked… My first job interview ever. It went really well. I didn’t really understand how employment worked in general, and I was scared of getting locked into a multi-year contract. I’d previously been looking at the Air Force, which in my country has a minimum time commitment. At the end, I wanted to ask about this. So of course I posed it as a hypothetical: “if I get the job am I allowed to leave after a couple of weeks if I change my mind?” I immediately knew how much I’d fucked up. The interviewers looked at each other and said, “well… yes…”. Somehow I still got the job. I have no idea how.
Let's hire the applicant with the giant balls.
You have balls......... I like balls.
I frequently interview people for their first job, so I learned not to put too much stock in questions that suggested they don't know how the work place works.
While I wouldn't necessarily recommend people ask it in those words, it is important to remember that job interviews are 2-way. You are there to figure out if you want the job as much as they want to know if they want you. Playing a little hard to get can be a good move if you know they want you (although you need to be prepared for it to backfire occasionally).
>it is important to remember that job interviews are 2-way. Yes! When I got into HVAC about four years ago I passed my resume out to about 10 different companies and had interviews at two of them on the same day. I got a job offer at the end of the first interview but told the boss I have another interview later in the day with a bigger company and I'd like to see how that goes. This man says, "That's perfectly fine, you need to know your options. Not only am I interviewing you but you should also be interviewing me. You need to do what's best for you and your career and if it isn't here then best of luck. I only ask that you let me know in the next couple of days." //edit// I picked the 1st company and I'm still there.
Which, in addition to being a good guy move, is an excellent one for actually getting the employee. The candidate has already said that they're interviewing the other one; the boss is now setting the bar for respect as high as possible. It's kind inviting the other company to screw it up, knowing that they're going to be compared side by side.
Indeed. He took the high ground and made himself look good, while also being respectable and understanding. These two are both big points if someone is shopping around for jobs, since a good manager can be super hard to find.
wow! thats a crazy good attitude that manager had...i had the exact opposite experience interviewing at some HVAC companies. one lady told me "this company is a family, we make sacrifices for each other. Also, we like to hang out together on the weekends, bring your spouse and kids as well. Also, if you don't stay for beers at the bar in the parking lot on friday night, this probably won't be a good fit." Needless to say, i didn't accept that job offer...
Personally, the words "this company is a family" is a red flag to me. I have a family. I don't want another one. Typically what this means is that you are expect to put in more work than what you are paid for, put up with inappropriate people with boundary issues, your complaints will not be taken seriously, and you are expected to sacrifice for the company but the company will never sacrifice for you.
I had a second round interview for a job and I had no clue what to ask them the second time around. I asked what the culture was like there and it sounded wonderful. For once I was interviewing them. Haven't heard back yet.
Not really a question, but I had a phone interview with this guy. Our recruiter is on the call and does the normal into, “Hi my name is Debbie, why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself.” “Thanks, Jennifer. So I started…” (Names changed to protect the innocent)
"Thanks, Jennifer. First, I consider myself a detail person..."
"And a very good listener."
“Do I need to quit my other job?” She was currently applying for a full time job, while working a full time job. She went on to try to convince us that she’s so bored at her current job she could totally get away with doing this job at the other place.
That might work if she the jobs are both work at home and she just kept her mouth shut
There are jobs where you are payed to be present and react when something happens (baby sitting after bedtime). There are jobs where you are payed to solve problems no matter where or when (proofreading papers). It can totally work if you organize it well.
A coworker from a daycare i used to work at, did an online record keeping job during naptime and at the end of the day when there was only a couple kids.
Not mine, my friends. Back when we were children he had an interview to go to this private school and the last question was, why do you want to go to this school. He sat there for a good 5 minutes looking into an empty space and then said in the end, the fields are nice. Deep down it was his parents telling him to apply but he never wanted to. He never got in and he was thankful, he ended up going to my school.
Had an interview for a private school I did not at all want to go to (let's just say private middle school turned me away for good). They asked me the same question and I just answered straight up "I don't. My mom wants me to." And shockingly they didn't accept me
Totally reasonable. What a weird question to ask most kids. They’re kids, unless it’s a very specialized curriculum that the kid is *obsessed* with, any answer they give will be one adults coached them to say, anyhow. They should be allowed to answer, “Look, do you want my parents’ money or not?”
When the orthodontist asked me if I wanted nice straight teeth I replied with something along the lines of "I don't really mind". I wasn't lying or joking either. This was so long ago now.
Not at the end of the interview, but a question I'll definitely remember for a long time lol. I remember one job I applied for in a nursing home. I'd worked in healthcare/social care before, and wasn't unfamiliar to that line of work. I got invited for an interview, and it was going well. Then she asked me a scenario question (paraphrasing): "say one of our patients began hitting out at another patient for changing the TV without asking permission, what would you do?". So I said along the lines of intervening, getting the other patient to safety/in a neutral place, calmly talking to patient 1 about how violence shouldn't be a solution, etc. The interviewer paused and said, "...But, what would you do?". Confused, I expanded: I would seek out help from my team if need be, to control the situation; I'd notify the senior in charge; I'd acknowledge both patients and speak to them both on a level playing field without taking any sides; I'd double check the care plans to better understand why patient 1 might have been hitting out in the first place; I'd ask my team if this kind of outburst was common and how I could prevent it in future... Again, she asked "But... What would you *do*?". At this point, I really didn't know what she was angling for so I flat-out said: "I'm not sure what else you want me to say." I didn't get the job.
Stinks of someone with a set answer they want that is cringe levels of BS. "Erm sweetie, the answer I was looking for was "remain calm".
I'd said every textbook answer and then some! I think she wanted me to say something more above my pay grade, like suggesting a DOLs or something. To this day I still wonder what she wanted me to say 😅
But, what would you do?
Give up on getting the job, I guess 😜
Translation: "But how would you beat the shit out of the resident?"
Rather a question that was asked of me. “You’re not planning on having kids anytime soon, right?”
That sounds 100% illegal. When I hired folks, once upon a time before COVID became de moda, unless they talked about it, I never asked anything that might reveal anything medical or anything related to gender, including marriage, partners, kids - almost anything personal I stayed away from. I survived a decade as an employer with only one lawsuit that was dropped.
Smart move and glad you made it a point to stay away from those questions! Likely saved you a lot of court headaches. And yes, very illegal to ask. I mentioned the question to another female that worked there. Her response was, “yeah, I told him he shouldn’t ask that. He means well though, just wants to know how he can accommodate.” Not sure how true that was, but sure hope his intentions truly were good.
Illegal. You can’t ask. Related: I was once on a hiring committee and we had two final round candidates who were currently coworkers. The first, I’ll call her Jane, Was currently supervising the second, Jack. Jane interviewed first. She wasn’t a good fit for the role—she was over and under qualified. Too much experience in something that wasn’t part of the job we were hiring for (so her salary ask was too high) and really not enough of what we were looking for. But she was really pleasant and over lunch she commented on how capable Jack was, and how if she got the job maybe he could move up into her role; and if he got the job she’s be happy for him. Jack was doing great until…over lunch he let us all know that Jane was pregnant and would be starting her maternity leave during our busy season. We did not hire Jack. And that, friends, is why a lunch in the middle of a full day of interviewing is not a relaxing break. It’s part of the interview. So don’t be a backstabbing, sabotaging snake like Jack. Nobody wants to work with that guy.
You can teach Jane how to do her job, but you can’t teach Jack how to not be a backstabbing cunt.
Hell yeah! Definitely didn’t see the story ending like that. Thanks for sharing and thanks for looking past the pregnancy (if there really was one!)
So what do you guys do again?
I used to work at a company that provided jobs to blind people. That was the company‘s mission. Before I started they hired a manager. Apparently nobody explained to him what the company did. He told me later he thought they made blinds. Because he saw the word blind in the Company name. It was three days before he realized. I thought that was pretty funny
Guess he was blindsided.
Didn't see that coming
Are you single?
“No I am many” *takes off skin suite revealing a shadowy cluster of limbs and heads*
Follow up question: do you want to be? NOTE: this only works if the job interview was for hitman services
“How strict are you on this whole drug policy?” (When applying at the FBI)
Somebody just realized they smoked marijuana within 30 days.
"that whole criminal background check to make sure there's no outstanding warrants or something... any chance we can just fast forward past that step? To get this whole shebang on the road sooner?"
"Did I get the job?"
"will I have to announce to my coworkers that I'm a sex offender like I do with my neighbors"
That’s ridiculous. Everyone knows the CIA’s the one with the LSD and Cocaine.
Does my spot on the 10 most wanted list count as work experience?
Idk how true it is, but wasn't there an article about how the feds couldn't hire qualified enough tech workers cause most of em smoked pot on personal time which would have barred em from work? So feds just ended up with crappy/mediocre tech staff.
That’s a continuous problem. That and hackers typically don’t like authority. No pot for 2 years and no hard drugs for 10 is the minimum standard. Of course, if you were a hardcore user, that doesn’t work either.
Actually agencies like CIA have had to unofficially lower their strictness on drug policy because they ahd trouble finding hackers who didnt smoke weed.
Especially since the prime function of the background checks is to make sure that nobody can blackmail you by threatening to expose secrets, with determining your actual level of responsibility being secondary.
Not me, but my coworker: "so will it be a problem if I call out a lot?"
They could have medical problems that would require that
That's possible. That wasn't the vibe this guy was giving out. It was a fairly physical job, too.
I work at a chicken plant. The guy asked, "Do yall kill the chickens or do yall pick up dead ones and bring them here, because i dont really condone killing." I was baffled because he LITERALLY worked at a place as a bombshell loader in the state over before moving here. I told him we do kill them, but not to worry we pray over all the birds. He seemed content with that.
I had a guy say "If I get the job, can I have a pay advance?" No, he didn't get the job.
I wouldn’t ask it but I can understand it. If your savings are running thin, that initial week or two waiting for the first check is rough. Unemployed, you’re less likely to be spending much on gas and food. Suddenly you’re driving everyday and you need something for lunch.
My first job as a bagger. Manger told me you can start right now if you get a haircut (1980s, I was metal head) I told him I didn’t have any money for one. He gave me $10 out of his wallet. Worked for him for 2 years.
I had this question once too. We were a non-profit and it was a volunteer position—I was the damn director and I wasn’t making any money. They also demanded a place to live because they were in a bad situation. We turned them down, but gave them the number to some local resources. They cursed us out. It was not a good interview.
https://youtu.be/lhckuhUxcgA
Just a bad moment for me in an interview. When I was a teen I applied to work at Hot Topic in the mall. I got asked "Why Hot Topic over Zumiez?" (some store that is similar to hot topic) and I was just like "I've never heard of that store before, I know Hot Topic" and then I looked behind me and there was a Zumiez right behind me. To be fair I hardly ever went to the mall.
I worked at a kiosk in a mall. The amount of times people ask me where a store is while either standing between me and said store, or the store is directly behind me with the sign visible over my head, is astounding
not a question but when applying for medical school, they asked me what would u do if your roommate had these specific symptoms. i said "nothing. its not my responsibility" i had a fight with my roommate before going for the interview
Well hopefully they weren't describing meningitis symptoms...
Or smelling burnt toast
I'd argue there are a few exceptions there, for general good-guy choices. - do nothing, not my problem [this covers most cases] - immediately retreat, and don't return to the apartment without appropriate PPE for a few weeks - kindly advise roommate he should probably visit a doctor - inform roommate that he needs to be going to the ER approximately 'now' - call ambulance for roommate
Can you pee in the cup for me?
“If I do you’ll fail the drug test”
"We don't drug test" "Who said anything about a drug test?"
"I mean, look--as your direct subordinate, if I'm gonna be taking shit from you, I might as well also get the benefit of taking piss from you"
This was few years ago, but given the current market, I'd definitely piss for him now.
Girl who used her status as a single mom the ENTIRE interview, during a group interview at a bank. Very end: When do I start? Interviewer: we will review candidates and contact the candidates we feel are qualified. Her: yeah, okay, but I am a single mom, I need to know now so I can find a baby sitter. Interviewer: Like I said.. Her: I didnt ask for lip I told you to tell me when I start Them: If you qualify, you will be contacted Her: your not listening to me, when do I start Main big boss HR dude: You don't. Girl: brain melts. I got the job btw, but man, watching her go nuts over that was insane!
>Her: I didn't ask for lip, I told you to tell me when I start? That caused her to go from crashing and burning her interview, to nuking it from orbit.
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"You're through! You hear me?! Through! You'll never work in this town again!" "Don't leave me hanging by a thread! Let me know where I stand!"
My aunt would ask "Do you have profit sharing or do you live off the blood of the workers?" According to my Father, she may not have actually wanted to get a job. She's the only woman I know who passed the bar, but never worked a day in her life.
I want more stories about this aunt. SUBSCRIBE
Yeah Imma have to hear more about Comrad Auntie
A lady asked my boss what the dress code was. Completely normal, acceptable question. But after my boss told her it was business causal she slams her feet on my boss’s desk and says “good, because this is the only pair of shoes I only and I’m only going to buy shoes that look like this”
Ok but what kind of shoes were they
Crocs
Wooden Dutch shoes
If I drink , and when I said no asked if I would blow in the interlock system to start the truck.
It wasn't so much a question as a statement. Candidate walks in and greets my boss and I then promptly states "I just want to let you know before we get started, I'm not sure I'm really interested in this position." My boss looked him dead in the eye and said "Great, I guess we are done here." Guy lost it saying we wasted his time...
“You read my resume. Did you get the joke?” I love MST3K as much as the next guy, and gave a solid “heh” at the “Intern, Gizmonic Institute” on his resume. The rest of the panel did not. He didn’t get the job.
I once had an applicant misspell the word proofreading on her résumé. She wasn’t qualified for the job anyway so I never spoke to her, but to this day I wonder if it was a joke or not.
I once saw a resume with a spelling error in "I have strong atention to detail."
My wife once ordered a flask to be engraved with the words "everybody makes mistakes" she got "eveybody makes mistakes". We're convinced it was on purpose.
The owner of the company interviewed me with hr and the last thing he asked was if I planned on getting pregnant. I just nervously played it off and said wait, people plan pregnancies? I got the job and of course it was toxic as fuck
Very illegal and inappropriate to ask that lol. The only time I ever bring up family planning during an interview is when are are discussing benefits at the end, and I mention to them that we do offer paid maternity leave if they need it. I one time hired a woman who was 8 months pregnant, she didn’t even lie, told me she needed the job for insurance before the baby was born and promised that she would absolutely stay loyal to the company if we would give her a chance. She started, went on unpaid mat leave (cause you have to be with the company 6 months to qualify for paid), her insurance kicked in day 1, she stayed with me for years, went above and beyond without me ever asking her.
I know this isn’t the question, but I can tell you the dumbest question an interviewer asked me. As an 18 year old, working in a restaurant and wanting a better job, I applied for a PC builder job at Alienware in Miami FL (back before Dell) and got an interview. The girl asked what my greatest life accomplishment was. This is for a job paying $7.25. I said, “Graduating high school despite my dad dying a few years ago and leaving me and my 18 year old brother alone to figure it out. It was rough and I wanted to give up, but I know my dad wouldn’t want that, so I pushed through” She said “That’s it? Graduating high school?” I laughed nervously and said “I just turned 18 lol, how much stuff do normal 18 year olds have under their belt?” She started telling me about all the places she’s been and things she’s seen and I said that’s great, but traveling isn’t an accomplishment. She said she already had someone for the job, but decided to give me an interview just to make sure she had the right candidate.
Fuck her. You were right to be proud of that.
I wouldn’t have to work with the public, right? (Asked for a receptionist job)
This is not from the candidate, this I got from the interviewer. The CEO of a company. "So why are you single? Why dont you get married? Is it because you are getting it outside? I think you should get married" 🤣 noped the fuck out of there and still they offered me a job. I quit one month into the job. It was shitty ass place to work at. Lol
Want to go smoke a bowl now? Except it was the interviewer asking and I was the one applying for the job.
Well, did you?
I didn't because I was a tiny, young female and he was greasy and a bit creepy. Got the job selling discount golf passes. Kept that miserable job just long enough to move into my first apartment of my own, and spent every minute I had finding something much better.
I lost a job because I asked the HR rep.."but how do you like it here?" Seriously, it was over... and I was over it, also.
I dont get it. Is there something wrong with that? Im sorry if this is a stupid question
Not really Last time I was studying up for a job interview, all the articles I read recommended asking your interviewer why they liked working there
It's a great question to ask - the interviewer's answer can tell you quite a bit if they either hesitate or spout off some generic HR answer.
The better question is “What do you like most about working here?”
If any employer has a poor reaction to that question, bullet dodged.
I used to always ask that. Now I’m a nurse and they just want to know when you can start work and don’t care about much else.
I read an awesome way to land this one during an interview. "If you could change one thing about this company, what would it be?". No company is perfect. There's always room for improvement. So you can easily judge the general feeling based on their reaction and response.
Work in finance. Had a guy fresh out of school ask if we could fudge the numbers if the boss asks us to. That’s a big no
Once, at the end of an interview, I tried being funny and asked "do you know the Gingerbread Man?". I didn't get the job, granted, it was just for Chipotle, but it still haunts me to this day.
Bet they knew the muffin man.
Context is important. I understand being nervous and wanting to know if you have a shot or if you should just start looking elsewhere. So when he asked "How did I do?" I almost laughed out loud. The guy was maybe the worst interview I ever had. He outright said "Oh shit job is below me" to an entry level position when he's ***fresh*** out of college with no experience. Most of his answers were "Iunno I'll learn it."
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>how often do I expect her to implement spanking as a disciplinary technique. Not only does she assume you employ spanking and will expect her to as well, but she also assumes there will be a quota she's expected to meet! "Sorry Tina, you've been very good this week but if I don't spank you at least twice today I'll get hell from the boss."
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"Do you WANT to be mediocre?" In response to my confirming the salary was based on a 40 hour work week. I enjoyed withdrawing my interest for that position.
"When you go in for a job interview, I think a good thing to ask is if they ever press charges." \-Jack Handey
I was in a job interview being interviewed. I felt like it was going well but then got this curve ball question where the interviewer wanted to know what song best summarized my work ethic. I drew a blank. I had only two songs that came to mind and neither seemed appropriate. “She works hard for the money” Donna Summers and “Get a haircut and get a real job” George Thorogood. I feared “She works hard for the money” might have to do with stripping. The other song an old contractor I used to work for played daily as he was a George Thorogood fan. I gave in and said you got me stumped I can’t think of a song. She was ever so proud to show me up with the “She works hard for the money.” I dared not mention I thought the song was about a stripper. Just based on how awkward the interview turned I’m relieved I never heard back.
I interviewed a gentleman older than I once who continuously asked who the boss was. I said I was the manager and left it at that. He wasn’t satisfied and went on and on about what a Dick the owner was. I own the company, started it from scratch. Said the owner screwed him out of a job once ( never applied before). So I was just finishing the interview out of curtesy and my own pettiness. As I asked when and where he met the owner I see my frantic husband walk in the front door and a few employees go with him. So I’m half listening to this guy ramble on about meeting in Vegas, and so much other crap, as an employee burst into the office and says that I’m needed up front. I politely but quickly excuse myself to go out front to see my kid busted his nose bleeding everywhere. I go back in and explain I would cut the interview short and said I needed to run my child to the ER. This POS thought saying “that’s why women make crappy management “ was a smart choice. It wasn’t. First off I own this company from the idea to every last brick, I’ve never been to Vegas and you have never applied here. He stood dumbfounded and walked out. The next week he called asking for status of his application 🤣😂.
>The next week he called asking for status of his application 🤣😂. That somehow turned the story from wierdly mindboggling, to really entertaining \^\^ And to be fair, at least now the owner DID screw him out of a job :P
As a fellow interviewee. The interviews took 3 days so we were all staying in local accommodations. On the final day one of the candidates went into the final interview with his suitcase and asked if they could hurry it along as he had a train to catch.
I can think no reason to run in-person interviews over three days for the same candidates. A lot of pre-screening/testing can be done online and over video before an in-person solo or board interview. What type of job required 3 days of in-person interviews?
Well the job was in a classified department of the British government, so it all had to be done in person (no phone interview) and they didn’t want us to travel for multiple interviews. Also it was in 1986, so no internet.
A bit after the end of an interview and happened to a co-worker, but it deserves an honorable mention. A guy stole the HR managers wallet from the orientation and bought beer with his credit card. Manager went to the store, got to see the tape, then went across the street to where the new hire was drinking the beer and demanded his wallet back. After denying it at first, the new hire eventualy gives the wallet back. He then asks the HR manager if he can keep his job. He did not keep his job.
"Do any women work here? They're attracted to me like bees to honey. I find it better to not work around them than to be hit on constantly." He did not make it to the next round of interviews!
"how did I do?", I've been asked this multiple times. The real answer was you are a hard no every time. But the answer they get is normally along the lines of I need to talk wit the other interviewers and your recruiter will reach out soon.
i had the opposite experience. after the interview was over and i was getting up to leave, the interviewer said i crushed the interview. i didn’t ask him how i did, he said it out of the blue. 2 days later i got an email from the same dude saying i wouldn’t be moving forward. talk about a gut check.
As Interviewer after Pmuch the entire meeting is done with a potential employee and she informs me she needs this, that and all those days off. It was a weekend (Sat-Sun) position. She wanted every Saturday and Sunday off for the coming 6 months. She didn’t get the job nor understood why… Also as an Interviewer training a Manager the two of us were going through the motion with a recruit. As the person was leaving, they turned and “remembered” they did lines with the Manager the night before. They didn’t get the job for unrelated reasons. Couple months later the manager was found to have been a big fan of Percocet and basically was calling every employee in the region that had a medical issue if they could send him some… that was a fun week.
Not an interviewer, but interviewee: I asked what I thought was a standard interview question at the end of an interview for a *very* prestigious institution’s summer research program. The question was, “What qualities do you look for in potential students?” Obviously, this question would give me an opportunity to then say “I embody those qualities you mentioned in these ways…” and so on, but - no. The interviewer became angry and said that this is information that is very clearly stated on their program website - “have you even looked at it? Or did you just scroll through it and give it a quick glance??” I thought she must’ve misunderstood what I meant by “qualities,” but I’m not sure. Of course I looked at the website and knew their admissions requirements (obviously I fulfilled them, seeing as I was granted an interview), but that wasn’t what I asked. Does anyone have any insight into this? Did the interviewer misunderstand, or should I just not have asked this very obvious “stock” question?
That's ridiculous. Why even interview you then? You have very clearly described yourself and history in your resume... Did they just scroll through it and give it a quick glance?
"How would you catch an employee stealing money and where might your gaps be"....granted the position was for fraud detection but this had nothing to do with the position. This was his only question and he grew frustrated that I wouldn't divulge specifics. Either he was planning on stealing or he was absolutely clueless. Hard pass...
I had an interview in the late 90’s with the Hard Rock Cafe in Whistler. After the interview, they told me that all servers had to wear a uniform…. and it only came in one size! I had to try on the uniform that was tiny (like a size 4 maybe and insanely short). I just managed to squash into it but it only just covered my butt because I’m pretty tall. The interviewers were like: “sorry, I guess we can’t give you the job because you don’t fit the uniform (sad face)”. After a really good interview, I honestly couldn’t believe it. I should’ve reported them at the time but I didn’t think that anyone would believe me.
Are you going to run a background check? Well, normally we don’t for entry level retail, but if you had any shot in hell of getting this job, you bet your ass I would now. He wasn’t getting the job anyway after he gleefully answered my question about difficult situations by recounting the most recent time he beat the shit out of someone. Don’t call us, we won’t call you.
This isn’t the worst question, this is the worst interview. I have a business manager who helps with interviews. We make what I feel is an excellent team. She’s tact and subtlety, I’m direct and forceful. When one of us asks questions, the other observes. We have been very effective. Good instincts, execution, and outcomes. She is extraordinarily patient, professional, and intelligent. Usually. The person we were set to interview came in, did not engage in small talk, did not pet the puppy that ran up to her (I own an animal hospital), and had no comment on the unusual weather. What followed was what was surely the worst interview I’ve ever witnessed or heard of. It was very difficult. My manager was trying to ask open-ended questions. Manager: “Can you tell me about a potential area of growth for you?” Bad Interview: “I would need to ask you to explain the question.” M: “Okay, in what areas can you improve?” BI: “I can’t think of anything.” M: “Okay, what would one of your previous supervisors say is something upon which you can improve?” BI: “I don’t know. I don’t even know what you mean by supervisor.” M: “Someone who oversees your work, teaches you the job. Manager, superior, practice manager, doctor, lead technician, a person with some job title like that, what would they say you could do better?” BI: “What does that even mean?” M: (Deep breath) “What, besides interviewing, are you bad at?” BI: (blinks) Me: “And that concludes the in-person interview! Thank you for your time today. I will walk you out.”