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It’s completely normal to be at least a little bit nervous before going to a job interview. After all, we all want to leave a good impression on others. Especially those that get a vote on what our potential careers might look like.

However, some folks just can’t handle the stress and end up being total nervous wrecks—dripping with sweat, stuttering, forgetting where they even worked earlier, and worse. Meanwhile, some managers and recruiters simply don’t have enough emotional intelligence and end up being totally brutal to the interviewees for seemingly no good reason. Times have changed, and a firm handshake might not be enough to secure a quality position anymore just by itself.

Bored Panda has collected the very worst job interview experiences, as shared by the folks on r/AskReddit in a ton of gruesome threads. Seriously, if you’ve got a job interview coming up, don’t read this, otherwise, you’ll get nightmares… though, on the flip side, these stories might prepare you for the worst that’s possible.

Financial expert Sam Dogen was kind enough to tell us how to leave a positive impression on recruiters, how to avoid being nervous during an interview, and shared why it's important to be humble yet confident. Sam is the author of 'Buy This, Not That: How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom,' which comes out July 19, and is the founder of the Financial Samurai blog. He's been through a nightmare job interview experience himself in the past, having gone through a total of 55 interviews during 7 rounds to get the job he wanted!

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#1

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones I took vacation days to interview, bought my own plane ticket, and paid for my own hotel. First thing the interviewer said was, "I have no intention of hiring you. This is just a courtesy because I knew your brother." I had 8 more hours left in my interview day. It was painful.

They ended up offering me the position many weeks down the road because they couldn't fill the position. I politely declined and got a very passive aggressively worded survey to fill out explaining why I passed.

Edit:

I'm an eye surgeon. This was for a training position at an Ivy League institution.

seeing_red415 , Ben Rosett Report

Final score:
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"Non-technical qualities are hugely important for interviewing well," Sam told Bored Panda, sharing that some of them include speaking with confidence, maintaining eye contact every so often instead of locking on as though with laser beams, sitting up straight, and pointing your feet and body towards the interviewer. What's more, it's vital to maintain good hygiene, have a "radiant smile," be full of enthusiasm, and give a "firm, non-sweaty handshake."

"At the end of the day, your manager wants to hire someone whom they can get along with and trust. The nicer and more competent you come across, the better," he explained.

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We were very curious to find out whether there are any tricks to help someone control their nerves before a big job interview. Sam, the author of 'Buy This, Not That,' told Bored Panda that applicants should remind themselves that everyone's equal outside of the workplace. "If you bump into the interviewer at the supermarket, you have an equal right to be there as they do. If you see the interviewer at a concert or at a restaurant, you're both equal, even if the interviewer is a billionaire!"
#2

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones Went for an interview with Oxygen magazine. Front desk lady...very shocked to see me. Asked me to sit and hurried off.

Hiring manager came out and she too was shocked to see me... Asked to see my resume.

Hands me a name tag with my last name only on it (it's a common female name).

She has me sit in the conference room while the CEO and CTO come back with hiring manager.

They explain that they thought I was a female and apologized for the mix up on the name tag then explained I was not a fit for their "office culture" and ended interview without a single question offered or answered.

About then I noticed the entire office was female. I wasn't even mad... Just kinda laughed and left.

Gotta be the worst one in terms of professionalism.

Syst0us , LinkedIn Sales Solutions Report

Final score:
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#3

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones Guy stared at my b**bs the whole time, asked me how old I was, what my "credentials" were, told me I seemed young to be a director, and then said, "Are there even any men on this team?"

I was the one doing the interviewing, by the way.

dadadawn , charlesdeluvio Report

Final score:
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Squirrel Girl
Squirrel Girl
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

why is bp censoring boobs?!? it's literally just fat on a chest.i might understand if they were censoring a pic but just the word?!?!?!🙄

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Another way to get your nervousness under control is to know your stuff. "The more you know about the company, the industry it's in, and your qualifications, the less nervous you will be," the expert said that doing your research and putting in the effort to learn as much as you can should give you a boost of confidence.

Sam, the founder of the Financial Samurai project, explained the difference between confidence and over-confidence and stressed that it's far better to be humble than to err on the side of arrogance.

"Being humble and confident is better than being overconfident. Nobody likes overconfident people. They are often unpleasant to work with. Instead, the trick is to speak with confidence and humility," he said. "For example, you can point out some award or accomplishment on your resume as a learning moment where a lot of luck was involved. This shows humility. But you can confidently say that you will happily try again to see if the win wasn't a fluke. This is an example of confidence and humility."

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#4

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones I had a really big opportunity for a job with Siemens corporation sometime after I graduated from college for a technical job that would have paid alot of money. It was a multi-interview job and I actually got interviewed by 3 different people. Each one I was a nervous wreck but somehow nailed them and just stayed confident.

Finally they send me for the final interview at their headquarters so I show up prepared, early, suit and tie, certs and paperwork, etc. I'm sitting in this fancy lobby waiting for the interviewer to come get me and another dude walks in dressed for an interview just like me. I figured he was here for another job so we had a friendly chat while we waited for our interviewers to show up. This was clearly an older, more experienced guy.

Finally interviewer shows up and is surprised to see us, saying they accidentally scheduled our interviews for the same time. So he takes the older gentlemen and tells his employee to take me and we would be interviewed separately. At this point everything is falling apart...I'm not being interviewed by the man I showed up to talk to. Instead this employee dressed in a T shirt takes me downstairs to the cafeteria and asks me a handful of quick questions in a very unprofessional setting before letting me go.

It's like they decided who to hire before the interview even began. It was a huge let down.

KGhaleon , LinkedIn Sales Solutions Report

Final score:
106points
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#5

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones Applied to work at a vet clinic. Veterinarian did the interview while spaying a cat, apparently one of the cleanest and quickest surgeries they do. I fainted. Was not offered the job (after I woke up).

Remembers_that_time , Yerlin Matu Report

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#6

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones Interviewed someone for a servers position in a club, she said she couldn't work weekends or past 8pm. We're a nightclub that's open from 7pm till 2am

CanineRezQ , lex Voulgaris Report

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He noted that we have to accept luck as an important factor in our lives and our successes: "It's important to never attribute all your success due to your own hard work and skills. Instead, be humble to recognize that a lot of success and tremendous wealth is due to luck. Once you accept luck, you tend to naturally be more humble and appreciate more of what you have. Because if you can get lucky, you can also get unlucky!"

It’s important to keep in mind that it’s not just you who’s being interviewed: you’re checking to see if the company you’re applying to gels well with you, too. You’ve got to be true to your standards and avoid showing that you’re desperate (even if you might be). There really are plenty of opportunities out there, and you shouldn’t have to settle for low pay, a toxic atmosphere, and micromanaging bosses just because you think you might not be worth anything better.

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Career coach Jermaine Murray suggested to Bored Panda a while back that being too humble is the biggest mistake that any job applicant can make. You have to highlight your wins, your achievements, your accomplishments. Nobody else will do it for you. At least, in Jermaine's opinion.

"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 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? Show off,” he suggested.
#7

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones Wanted to work at H&M, got interviewd by the worst person ever. One question was and I am legit not lying, "What is your favorite color and why?" I answered "baby blue because it's calming and not to harsh to the eyes." My interviewer then said Oooh, sorry! Red is what we were looking for. And then proceeded to show me the exit.

JamesDelRey , ernand De Canne Report

Final score:
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Ivo H
Ivo H
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why interview humans, if they are looking for color?

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#8

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones 1.) I walked in as the HR lady farted 2.) it was a small office with no windows 3.) I asked her questions about their employee retention rate that she couldn’t answer 4.) the fart stayed the duration of the interview 5.) I hope the fart got the job, because I didn’t want it

RedShadowIV , Brian Fitzgerald Report

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#9

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones I was 23 at the time. The manager of the company interviewed me. He was old enough to be my grandfather.

He asked if I had a bf and if he was jelaous.

He told me that there were going to be thee options for me: The first one was to work from home, the second one was to work from the office, the third one was to go on "business trips" with him twice a week. The 3d option was with the highest pay. He told me that I look like a smart girl and the third option would be the best for me.

It was clear he was hiring a personal escord.

He was such a creep and made me feel so uncomfortable.

Overall_Writer_6648 , Charles Büchler Report

Final score:
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Boards Of Panada
Boards Of Panada
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sure that guy looks old but he’s in the top 10 best paid old creepy Stock Picture Models in the biz!

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"If your body language or tone says otherwise [i.e. that you’re not confident], you destroy the perception of your skills. Once that's gone so are your chances of landing the job," Jermaine explained that you have to be as confident as can be.

Something that recruiters look at very closely is your personality. Technical skills alone might not be enough to secure a good position at a prestigious company.

"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 said.

"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.”
#10

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones During college I applied for a bunch of jobs at Ikea. I got an interview followed by a rejection email. A week later they called me for another interview. I got another rejection email. They interviewed five times for five different positions. I got rejected all five times. I'm still salty about it two decades later.

[deleted] , dy Novantino Report

Final score:
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#11

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones My mom raises chickens … and during COVID one of them got sick (not COVID). She had it inside to feed water hourly to try to nurse it back to life. My mom has to run an errand so I’m in charge of this chicken for the afternoon.

I was on a phone screening with a candidate for a position in my office and this chicken starts having a seizure and dies on the middle of this phone call. I look over and it’s laying almost like it was crucified.

The candidate heard the commotion and asked if everything was ok … Which I relied “yeah, the chicken just died”.

She withdrew her application the next morning.

Edit: it was an office job at a NYC school. no farm experience required. Poor girl.

poniesgalore , William Moreland Report

Final score:
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#12

I got a call from our reception desk that someone was here for an interview for a recently opened position. I go out to meet the person and it's an older woman (60 or so). I told her didn't have her on my calendar but I could do a quick interview. We go into a conference room and I ask if she has a resume. She goes apesh*t on me saying first I try to blow her off by saying she didn't have an appointment and now I've lost her resume. I spend a good 5 minutes trying to calm her down before I give up and tell her the interview is over, get up and open the door for her to leave.

Turns out she was the mom of one of my co-workers who'd come to have lunch with her and had done it as a prank on me.

Yangoose Report

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Shannon Andrew
Shannon Andrew
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Depending on your sense of humor and relationship with said co-worker, this is hilarious. But you have to be in the right type of enviroment.

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Meanwhile, Kierra, a cloud engineer and a data analytics consultant who helps people pivot into tech roles in the job industry, told us that recruiters look for people who show an interest in the company and the interviewer, and have a willingness to learn.

"This means one should have a few questions to ask after every interview. Asking which projects should someone in the role expect to work on and what the interviewer likes about working for the company,” she gave some advice to Bored Panda.

"The best way to build confidence is through practice. If you’re familiar with a skill set that a company is hiring for, you’ll have fewer jitters. This means working on meaningful projects that are similar to the tasks one would expect to perform in a role,” she said that you could work on some fun side-projects related to the position that you want so you have something to talk to during your job interview.

"Also, you do not need to know every single item that a company lists on a job description. I say if you know 70%, apply, and if you’re selected to interview… go and study the fundamentals of the items that you don’t know from the job description and understand how they would be used for the job role," Kierra said.

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"This way, if you’re asked about the items, you can show that even though you don’t have working knowledge, you still understand the importance of it. No one knows everything before they join a company so showing initiative to learn something new before the job interview goes a long way!"
#13

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones Back when I was about nineteen years old, I applied for a part-time position at a mall outlet near my house. I got through the first round of interviews just fine, despite having absolutely zero retail experience. In fact, I apparently performed well enough that the assistant manager wanted to give me the job on the spot... but because she didn't actually have the authority to do that, I had to wait until later in the week to meet with her supervisor.

"Don't worry, though!" she told me. "It's really just a formality at this point. You know, to make sure you're not, like, a serial k**ler or something." She gave me a look of mock suspicion. "You're not, right?"

"Only in videogames," I replied, and we both laughed.

It was fairly encouraging, and when the date of my second interview rolled around, I was in high spirits. I showed up to the outlet about fifteen minutes before I was supposed to meet with the manager, got brought into office behind the storefront, and spent the first half an hour or so filling out a long questionnaire about my personality. Once that was finished, I met with the manager himself, who proceeded to ask me some very run-of-the-mill questions.

"Let's suppose," he said, "you knew one of your coworkers was stealing from the register. What would you do?"

I thought about it for a second. "Well, what's the company policy?" I asked. "Would I be expected to confront them? Document the behavior? Would it be best to just report it to you?"

"Just tell me what you would do," the man replied, looking a bit impatient.

"I'd report it to you."

The manager nodded and made a note on his clipboard. "What's the most that you've ever stolen? Give me a dollar amount."

"Uh," I stuttered, caught off-guard. "Is that really a question you can ask?"

"I'm just looking for a dollar amount," the man replied.

I racked my brain, trying to think of any petty thefts that I might have committed over the course of my life. I'd occasionally repurposed traffic cones, but never actually stolen one. Hell, the one instance of shoplifting that I'd been a witness to had left me feeling so guilty that I'd gone back the next day and returned the item in question.

"Zero," I finally said. "I don't think I've ever actually stolen anything."

A look of disapproval darkened the manager's face. "I see. Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Really." The disapproval fell even deeper into a suspicious glower. "Go ahead and answer that question again. Just give me a dollar amount."

The situation, as I'm sure you'll agree, had gone from bizarre to patently ridiculous. I wasn't even sure that I wanted the job at that point... but I didn't have any other prospects lined up, so I decided to keep playing the game. Maybe, I thought to myself, it was a test to see if I'd change my answer.

"Zero," I said again.

The man put down his clipboard and looked me in the eye. "Do you actually want this job?" he asked, mirroring my own thoughts. I nodded in reply. "Then you'll need to be honest with me. Just give me a dollar amount."

"Sixteen dollars," I replied, sarcasm creeping into my tone, "and forty-two cents."

All at once, the disapproval evaporated from the manager's face and was replaced by a satisfied smile. "Well, that's not so bad!" he said cheerfully. "What was it?"

"A toaster." I'd just said the first thing that came to my mind, not even bothering to imagine what $16.42 would actually purchase. The answer only seemed to further endear me to my once-irate interviewer, and against all odds, I made it through the entire conversation. I may have even been offered the job, but when I received a telephone call asking if I was still interested in working there, I told them that I'd already accepted another position.

For the record, that was also a lie.

TL;DR: I lied about being a toaster thief.

RamsesThePigeon , Daniel Salgado Report

Final score:
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Shannon Andrew
Shannon Andrew
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He was stealing and needed a scapegoat, he would use your 'confession' of previous theft as evidence

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#14

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones A couple hours into the interview/intro training, I was given paperwork to fill out for my new dog grooming job. Which would have been great except that I had applied to be a cashier and had never owned a dog, much less groomed one. When I brought that up to the trainers, they didn't seemed concerned at all. They said there were no cashier slots, that opening must have been left up by mistake, but dog grooming is fun and I'd like it. They seemed surprised when I left the paperwork on the table and congratulated them on wasting all of our time. Never shopped at that pet store again either.

Sporkicide , alektas Report

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#15

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones Interviewed for a florist as a teenager. I’m quite small and so the owner kept telling me I’d struggle lifting the buckets filled with water and flowers.

He then gave me a tour and showed me the storeroom, told me to pick up a bucket to get an idea of how heavy it was.

Since he had kept going on about it I severely overestimated how heavy the bucket would be and basically flung it above my head and drenched us both in icy water and flowers.

EDIT: No, I didn’t get the job. I don’t think it was because of the bucket though. He told me he would arrange a trial for me the next week but seemed super spacey. He called me the wrong name about 5 times during the interview so I wouldn’t be surprised if he just...forgot he wanted to hire someone.

thatone-there , Kate Darmody Report

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august is mentally unstable
august is mentally unstable
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

damn, that sucks :( i probably would've done the same thing, I'm super clumsy (and it also would've broke my heart bc that's my dream job 💀)

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#16

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones The interviewer was just stone cold, I tried to work in some small chit chat to break the ice but the most I got was a smirk. Then came the technical questions. I botched every question and each time he gave me a hard “no” then proceeded to condescendingly explain why I was wrong. Luckily I landed a job with a different company shortly after but man that interview really destroyed my confidence

JustBeenRevoked1 , Scott Graham Report

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Shannon Andrew
Shannon Andrew
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That guy was on a power trip. Probably smug about how he was and had a laugh bragging to others. Really the opposite of what an interview is supposed to be

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#17

I was actually the interviewer. Hiring someone as a cashier and I asked them what they liked least about the last place they worked and the guy said, "My f**king boss was an a**hole. One time I punched that f**ker right in the side of the head because he wouldn't let me take my break when I wanted"

I ended the interview and thanked him for coming in.

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#18

In the midst of a nine month stint of unemployment I went down to a job fair at the local Dairy Queen. When I got there, they sent me to a room with everyone else applying (about two dozen people) and sat me down to take a basic manners and math test. About halfway through the woman across from me goes, 'Hey, what's the answer to number 7?' Number 7 was what is ten percent of $5. I refused to give her the answer. The hipster kids sitting next to her told her .50 and sneered at me. Moments later, a fight broke out behind me when some random woman tried to cut in line to be interviewed. Neither were removed and both were interviewed.

Eventually, I was asked to meet the manager to interview. I got the job one minute later because I was wearing khakis and a blue button up shirt.

A week later I was fired for going home to my grandma's funeral.

DustyBosie Report

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Michael Largey
Michael Largey
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would have given the woman who asked about Question 7 the wrong answer - and plausible wrong answers to everything else she asked me. If I got the job, I wouldn't want to have to depend on a co-worker who was both dishonest and stupid.

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#19

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones Fresh out of college, I was looking for my first teaching job. I applied at a small district for an elementary school position.

I walked in, expecting the principal and a few teachers. Instead I had the superintendent of the district, some high-level admin, and every single elementary school principal in the district. Probably 15 people in all. They peppered me with questions for 45 minutes.

I had zero experience, just my student teaching. I did not get the job.

edgarpickle , kyo azuma Report

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Isaac Harvey
Isaac Harvey
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If their standards are this high, it’s probably for the better.

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#20

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones I applied for a job in a Planetarium, the interview was conducted in a big dome.

Problem was, another part of the Planetarium staff was doing fire alarm tests during the interview. The dome amplified the sound so much, it was deafening. The interview staff acted like nothing was going on. We had to shout so we could hear each other.

Quaternaire , Gonzalo Kaplanski Report

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#21

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones Applied for a programmer job with a company that wrote insurance industry software. Had 3 different interviews with different people on different days. Was told to come in on Monday at 8am.

Quit my day job.

Reported on Monday... "Hi, what's up?"
"Reporting for duty!"
"Oh?"

... I mean, it's one thing to string somebody on, letting them think they're accepted. Or you can say "we'll give you a call", and figure they'll get the message. But when you TELL someone to report for work, then pretend you didn't have a job for them... THAT'S LAME.

[deleted] , Alex Robinson Report

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Adi A.
Adi A.
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't you have to be presented with an offer, sign a contract...?

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#22

It was right when the recession hit and I was laid off a month prior. I went in, the interview was going great and then the interviewer asked me if I smoke and I said "sometimes, not really." She then says the employer will not hire someone that smokes and I say "well, I don't smoke at work or take smoke breaks or anything" and she literally turned to her computer and acted as though I disappeared into thin air. After 30 seconds I finally said "so, I guess I should go then" and she literally refused to acknowledge me so I just left.

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#23

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones Copying mine from a long-ago thread...

In a med school interview....

Tell me about your ideal woman.

I start with personality, intelligence, and so on.

No, I mean physically. How big are her b**bs?

After that interview I withdrew my application there.

Flaxmoore , Damir Kopezhanov Report

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#24

I was kept waiting for an hour because the department head was on a lunch break. The company scheduled the appointment. Not a good start. I was about to walk out when they called me in (nobody else was there but me).

Why do you want to work here?

You can't really say for the money so I said I like the work etc and to close off I say I heard it was a fun place to work.

Do you think this is a playground she replied? That you'll be able to slack off? This went on for about 1 minute and she kept getting louder. I stood up, laughed and left. No wonder they are constantly looking for new people.

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Rosemary Warren
Rosemary Warren
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a personal rule for just about any appointment: I wait 30 minutes after my arrival , and if I'm still in the waiting room, unless there is a major situation, I give up and leave. Rescheduling depends on what kind of mood I'm in, how desperately I want to see the person. If you have issues with time management with a visitor, what will you be like when you hire me?! No thank you. (And this applies to virtual interviewing too. I don't have email on the laptop I use for video meetings (on purpose to focus). Changing the meeting ID 4 times in a 15 minute period, especially after I've connected, is a very good way to p*ss me off.)

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#25

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones person came in for her interview and started dictating her own rules before the interview had even started

she didnt get the job

Ahshalon_Tenisk , LinkedIn Sales Solutions Report

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Shannon Andrew
Shannon Andrew
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sounds like a certain former president we all know, except he got the job the first time

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#26

A store I wanted to work at had walk in interviews, which they said started at 4pm. I thought that meant they were running continuously. So I rolled in at 4:15, got told the interviews were over but the manage might be able to squeeze in one more. Already not a great impression of me.

Then for some reason I just could not answer her questions. "What are your greatest strengths?" "uhm........" "why do you want to work here?" "well, I uh...um..." "what were your responsibilities at your last job?" "Uhhhhh..." Like I just blanked for some reason, I was totally ill-prepared.

Walked out of there absolutely humiliated. Still got hired tho, and 6 months later I was assistant manager lmao

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#27

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones Got an interview for a job as a floor manager at a gigantic steel foundry. I have some background in metallurgy so I thought it’d fit. It paid $90k and I was qualified resume-wise. I got there, turned out it was a group interview with three other applicants, to hear the pitch. If something messes up, the company loses $100,000 (some shockingly high amount, I don’t remember if it was exactly 100k) per hour and it’s your sole responsibility to fix it. They said you’d have to be on call 24/7 to handle anything that comes up. I got to the solo part out of curiosity and the interviewer they put me with said something to the effect of “I know this job sounds bad, but actually it’s even worse.” I was desperate for a job because I didn’t land one straight out of college, but I was glad not to hear back from them after the interview..

Kersikai , Mimi Thian Report

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#28

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones I showed up in person for a phone interview. I have NO idea how I got myself in that position. I looked up the address on my own and everything.

I sat around waiting to be interviewed for 1/2 hour because the interviewer was in his office trying to call me. Of course, my phone was off.

I wasn't offered another interview, and rightfully so.

NotCleverNamesTaken , Averyanovphoto Report

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#29

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones Was doing the whole long-term unemployed thing. Applied for a job that was being advertised by a recruiter.

Surprisingly, got an interview.

When I got there it quickly became clear to me that they were asking questions I didn't understand about things I'd never done.

Now, when I decide to point this out to them, the interviewer naturally asks why I listed them on my CV if I never had experience with them.

The answer of course, is that I didn't.

The interview has a copy of my CV on the table that shows these particular skills listed out on it.

Now, I'm quite surprised at this, because the copy of my CV emailed to the recruiter doesn't have these particularly skills on it - and I naturally show that copy to them.

I was the third person that day who obviously didn't know what they were talking about, and the first to actually admit it.

This did not lead to a job - as I was missing the skills I'd actually need to do the job at all. It did lead to a free lunch and the bus-fare home, which was nice.

DartzIRL , Van Tay Media Report

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Milady Blue
Milady Blue
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Did you go through a "headhunter" who set up the interview? My brother had one send him on an interview, after said headhunter did a little creative writing on his resume. That headhunter was treated to a spectacular cussing out when he asked if my brother got the job.

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#30

People Share Their Worst Job Interviews, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Entertaining Ones Door to door coupon book sales. Dude asked me like 2 questions then started getting ready for a team meeting in the next room. They had music blasting and he starts shadow boxing, bobbing and weaving and throwing punches like a madman. Then he goes into the next room and everybody is cheering like he was a conquering hero. I was like ffs it’s just coupon books. Job lasted a week

DanFlaylen , Austin Distel Report

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

Those door to door sales jobs where you only get paid in commission end up being like since kind of cult. I worked for one once for two days. You weren't allowed to not smile or be negative in anyway. In the morning meetings they would all cheer for the managers and clap and pat each other on the back. I noped the hell out of there. Weirdest job experience of my life.

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