Back in college, at the end of what was genuinely a decent interview, I stood up and reached out my arms to hug the two interviewers. (To this day I have no idea why I tried to hug them).

They stared me down, which stopped me before I could actually hug them, while the woman on the left slowly but firmly said, "we... don't do that here."

I was mortified. Still kinda am, haha.

My very last question at the end of an interview at one of the largest investment banks was "what's your favorite pizza". I blanked out because I was running on fumes and needed to kill time, but I guess it made me stand out because I got the job.

I was interviewing for a cashier job at Target. This was shortly after I had just gotten dentures.

During the interview, the manager asked a question, and while answering him, I felt a sneeze coming on. I held up a finger, indicating I would need just a second, grabbed a tissue, and sneezed…

Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough adhesive on my top plate, so when I sneezed, my teeth flew out of my mouth, across his desk and right into his lap.

This poor man completely lost it. He laughed so hard he was sobbing before he could contain himself.

It could have ended worse. He did hire me, and told me, “You’ll be great for comedy relief, if nothing else.”

Many years ago, before the proliferation of cellphones, I interviewed a candidate for a Quality Assurance Engineer position. The candidate arrived a little late and was brought into my office. He politely asked if he could use my phone to make a quick call. I obliged and gave him the phone and told him to dial “9“ for an outside line. This smart, clever candidate called his boss to tell him that he is not feeling well and won’t be coming in today. This phone call was made with me sitting at my desk right in front of him.

I terminated the interview right then. Fortunately, he gave me clear examples of his loyalty, honesty and his decision-making ability. Usually, this can take months to reveal. Needless to say, he didn’t get the job.

I was asked ‘Why did you apply for this job, when you have no experience in the department you will work in?. My reply was ‘Why are you interviewing someone for a job they have no experience of?’ Luckily, it caused a laugh amongst the interview panel and it was agreed that I be given a trial. I suspect that I was the only candidate. If someone better qualified came along, I could be move into another area more suited to me.

I hadn’t been for an interview for a while, so the clothes I had to wear were a few years old. I had put on a bit of weight in the meantime, so the blouse I wore was a bit stretched across the breast area. Still totally wearable though.

I use my hands a lot when talking. During the interview I must have brushed across the blouse with my hands, because all of a sudden I noticed the man interviewing me had a look of horror on his face. He was fixated on my breasts.

I’m well past the age when men stare at my breasts. So, I looked down to see what the problem was. The button in the middle of my breasts had come undone. My rather ample bosom was joining in the interview.

I had no idea what to do. I continued talking and did up the button. I didn’t apologise, or comment on it at all. Not normally one to be at a loss for words, this was one occasion when I just couldn’t come up with something to say.

I got the job.

It’s actually funny and shows how nervous candidates are while facing the interview. I was interviewing a female fresher few years back and she was all sweat. The anxiety was so high on her that when I asked her a question, she was all quiet. I said, “Go ahead” and she got up to leave my cabin. I was all surprised and asked her what happened, she mentioned that you only asked me to go ahead! She mistaken my go ahead to answer the question as leave the cabin. Can’t explain how hilarious the overall experience was.

This was for an internship at Morgan Stanley. I had got through to the interview round after clearing the first round written test. It was a coding interview (which I seemed to have forgotten and will be evident shortly.)

The very first question (which I should have been more prepared for) was ' Tell me about yourself '. Again let me remind you it was a coding interview and the dumb*ss that I am, ended this answer with "and I am not as good a coder as I would want to be", in reply to which the interviewer said '' Let us not underestimate ourselves.''.

This is where I should have kept quiet and waited for the next questions or maybe agreed with the interviewer. But this was not to be and I immediately replied back with 'We must also face reality'.

*Awkward silence* followed by a "Hmmm" by the interviewer made it very clear the direction is which the interview was to proceed.

It was as if I didn't want the internship (Let me assure I did want it). However, lessons have been learnt.
1) Be prepared for the usual expected questions.
2) Speak the appropriate amount . No less and more importantly no more.
3) Don't act over smart.
4) Sleep well before the interview.