Trying to land a job is incredibly stressful, and if you ever feel anxious before a job interview, you are not alone. However, have you ever thought about what it’s like to be on the other side of the desk, interviewing people? If you think that it’s all easy-peasy and chill, you couldn’t be more wrong. Sure, you might be an awesome, polite, and talented applicant… but what about everyone else in the waiting room?
Hiring managers revealed the truth about how stress-inducing their jobs are by shedding light on the most nightmarish interviews they have ever conducted. Keep reading for a crash course in how not to behave if you want to leave a good impression. Got your CV? Ready to give everyone a firm handshake? Let’s dive in.
#1
We (panel of three) were hiring for a help desk position. One dude comes in and he is nervous as [hell] and proceeds to sweat. Profusely. I have never seen a dude sweat just by sitting down, but there you go. By the end it looked like he had just walked through some sprinklers.
He told us at the beginning that interviews made him nervous. Good for him, he knew that this would happen so wore plenty of deodorant and didn't stink out the place. Also good for him, he had worked as a contractor for us before so we knew that this wasn't his normal everyday pore gush.
And good for him, he got the job.
He told us at the beginning that interviews made him nervous. Good for him, he knew that this would happen so wore plenty of deodorant and didn't stink out the place. Also good for him, he had worked as a contractor for us before so we knew that this wasn't his normal everyday pore gush.
And good for him, he got the job.
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56points
#2
I interviewed a guy who in the interview did all three . . .
comment that I was a women, and if I was "actually his boss, or just an HR desk clerk?"
ask if we tested [for illegal substances], and if so, could he take it in "like a week, he should pass then."
when I said that we are business casual his response was "well you would need to provide me with pants, since I only own jeans."
I didn't hire him . . I am still shocked when I think of how bad of an applicant he was.
comment that I was a women, and if I was "actually his boss, or just an HR desk clerk?"
ask if we tested [for illegal substances], and if so, could he take it in "like a week, he should pass then."
when I said that we are business casual his response was "well you would need to provide me with pants, since I only own jeans."
I didn't hire him . . I am still shocked when I think of how bad of an applicant he was.
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48points
#3
I used to manage a Blockbuster and after one particularly awful interview I walked the candidate out towards the parking lot and the alarms went off. It turned out he stuffed three DVDs in his suit jacket before being called back to the office.
He did not get the job. Or Mama Mia, Fool's Gold, or High School Musical 3 for that matter.
He did not get the job. Or Mama Mia, Fool's Gold, or High School Musical 3 for that matter.
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42points
Hiring people is a balancing act. You want to expend as few resources as possible (time, money, nerves, etc.) on finding the best possible professionals with the right soft and hard skills to do their jobs and mesh well with the team. At the same time, you want to make sure that the candidate is actually going to be a good fit, has the right talents, won’t cause problems, and won’t jump ship within a few months. However, you can’t anticipate all problems in advance. And you can’t (or, well, shouldn’t) have endless rounds of interviews and test tasks. Even when you’re hiring a C-suite workplace leader who has a huge impact on the entire company and culture, it’s easy for thorough hiring managers to miss red flags.
Toxic leaders with good technical skills, impressive achievements, and magnetic personalities often make excellent first impressions. So, even after traditional job interviews, you often won’t identify them until they harm team performance, Harvard Business Review emphasizes.
#4
Was interviewing mechanical engineers for a junior position. Typically we will ask candidates about why or how they left their previous job. A common reason for people to quit is a lengthy commute. One particular candidate informed me that his current commute was too long. "How long?" I asked. "There are 37 traffic lights between my home and the office", he replies. "I see", says I. Then he continues unprompted "There are only 15 between my home and your office so that's much better".
I and the other hiring manager laughed our heads off after he left and called him back with a job offer that afternoon. He's a great engineer too.
I and the other hiring manager laughed our heads off after he left and called him back with a job offer that afternoon. He's a great engineer too.
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39points
#5
Not an interviewer, but... My worst interview was while I was in college and working temp jobs through an agency. I live in small, but busy port city near the russian border and I had forklift and warehouse experience so there was always that going on and I was studying business.
One day my dispatcher calls me and asks if I'd be interested in an office job for one of the companies I had done warehouse work. Sure, great! I go to the meeting with their CEO which was held half in finnish (native language) and half in english. It's a breeze. We talk about the business in general, their clients and the owners needs. All's well. I'd be doing warehouse bookkeeping, customs documentation, onsite IT and warehouse supervising. Faaaaantastic!
Untill the last question. The dreaded "What is your biggest weakness?". I blurt out: "Loud Russians." I'm like in a half dream and looking down on myself saying this. I'm just here for the ride. I see the CEO's eyebrows raise. He makes a few remarks and says they'll let me know. Meeting is over. Obviously I didn't get the job where I'd be the first person all the loud russians come to when they enter...
Six months later dispatcher calls again. They are still looking for someone and their CEO doesn't seem to remember me. The picked my CV from a list provided to them and want to meet. "Just don't mention Russians, ok?" 7 years later and I've seen all but one original worker leave or get fired, including 2 CEO's. The owner made me general manager a year ago. Turns out I work well with loud Russians...
One day my dispatcher calls me and asks if I'd be interested in an office job for one of the companies I had done warehouse work. Sure, great! I go to the meeting with their CEO which was held half in finnish (native language) and half in english. It's a breeze. We talk about the business in general, their clients and the owners needs. All's well. I'd be doing warehouse bookkeeping, customs documentation, onsite IT and warehouse supervising. Faaaaantastic!
Untill the last question. The dreaded "What is your biggest weakness?". I blurt out: "Loud Russians." I'm like in a half dream and looking down on myself saying this. I'm just here for the ride. I see the CEO's eyebrows raise. He makes a few remarks and says they'll let me know. Meeting is over. Obviously I didn't get the job where I'd be the first person all the loud russians come to when they enter...
Six months later dispatcher calls again. They are still looking for someone and their CEO doesn't seem to remember me. The picked my CV from a list provided to them and want to meet. "Just don't mention Russians, ok?" 7 years later and I've seen all but one original worker leave or get fired, including 2 CEO's. The owner made me general manager a year ago. Turns out I work well with loud Russians...
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38points
#6
I had one girl who sat for the entire interview in complete silence, she didn't respond to anything, not even telling me her name when I asked. She stared at the floor the entire time to the point I thought she may be deaf. This dragged out for 5 or 6 minutes (mainly because I didn't really know what to do or if she had something actually wrong). I then said ok thats the interview complete, she then stood up and with a big smile said 'did I get the job?'........No dear you did not!
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34points
HBR notes that hiring managers ought to focus on a few core things to spot toxic leaders:
- Identify specific interpersonal requirements for the role
- Draft revealing questions for those requirements
- Define ideal responses and red flags
- Ask follow-up questions
- Develop a personal assessment
- Validate with multiple sources
In short, focus on specific examples of how these workplace leaders handled real situations, not just hypothetical scenarios. Set their charisma aside for now and look for traits like accountability, collaboration, and developing other colleagues.
For instance, you could ask the job candidate about projects that they were part of that failed, and how they contributed to this result. Or you could ask them about others disagreeing with their approach and how that went, as well as how they handled others turning out to be right instead.
#7
Not really a hiring situation, but it is an initial interview. I was giving one soldier, who had a particularly well-known military surname in these parts, the initial platoon commander interview.
I got this soldier to fill out a form with a few stock-standard questions that I could ask further questions from (what are your goals in the army, what are your strengths, weaknesses etc). There was also one particular question: "Where do you see yourself in five years?"
Anyway, PTE X came into the office and sat down, having answered the above question, "Chief of Army."
"That's a pretty ambitious goal for just five years. How do you think you're going to make that happen?"
"Just train really hard."
"You're not even commissioned yet. That'll take, like, two years at least."
"Do you have to be commissioned to be a chef?"
"You wrote 'chief'."
"Oh, I just don't know how to spell chef."
I got this soldier to fill out a form with a few stock-standard questions that I could ask further questions from (what are your goals in the army, what are your strengths, weaknesses etc). There was also one particular question: "Where do you see yourself in five years?"
Anyway, PTE X came into the office and sat down, having answered the above question, "Chief of Army."
"That's a pretty ambitious goal for just five years. How do you think you're going to make that happen?"
"Just train really hard."
"You're not even commissioned yet. That'll take, like, two years at least."
"Do you have to be commissioned to be a chef?"
"You wrote 'chief'."
"Oh, I just don't know how to spell chef."
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33points
#8
Not me, but my Dad told me a great story.
He was hiring for a technical position near London. He has one guy come in with an older gentlemen. The interviewee was in his mid 30's while the guy with him was mid 50's. This person was apparently his Dad.
The guy who was actually there to be interviewed never spoke, but the man in his 50's comes in and the first thing he does is start trying to negotiate about pay. He'd come in on the assumption that of course his son was going to be hired, and now they just needed to hammer out the details on what his son was going to get in terms of pay and benefits.
My Dad told them that if the older man was willing to wait outside he would be happy to restart the interview but since the interviewee's Dad was not going to be working there he had no reason to speak to him. They declined this offer and left.
He was hiring for a technical position near London. He has one guy come in with an older gentlemen. The interviewee was in his mid 30's while the guy with him was mid 50's. This person was apparently his Dad.
The guy who was actually there to be interviewed never spoke, but the man in his 50's comes in and the first thing he does is start trying to negotiate about pay. He'd come in on the assumption that of course his son was going to be hired, and now they just needed to hammer out the details on what his son was going to get in terms of pay and benefits.
My Dad told them that if the older man was willing to wait outside he would be happy to restart the interview but since the interviewee's Dad was not going to be working there he had no reason to speak to him. They declined this offer and left.
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30points
#9
I work for a retail company and we had a hiring fair for positions in stores in our area. They were all front-line customer service gigs between $8-10 an hour and our advertising was very clear about who we were and what openings we had. I had this well-dressed middle-aged man come in with a briefcase, a leather satchel, and his laptop. He immediately demanded to speak with whomever was in charge because he was led to believe this was a massive regional job fair for a variety of companies.
During the interview, he started by telling me that I shouldn't even start talking unless I was prepared to match his current job's $60,000 salary. I reminded him that these jobs were entry-level jobs that paid accordingly and he told me that I had five minutes to "Wow" him into accepting a job. This whole time, he's setting up his laptop, a notepad, a cup of pens, and a calendar like this was his freaking workstation. I give him a cursory rundown of the job and he lets me know that he'll settle for $45,000 in salary, but he can only work 7am-4pm because that's when his mom is available to drop him off and pick him up. I let him know that we would keep his information on file in case a position more fitting what he was seeking opened up in our company to force a conclusion to this. He stops me and says he'll take an entry level job if I let him use my phone to call his mom to come pick him up.
And that man worked his way up to manage an entire market of stores.
Nah, I just let him use my phone and never called him back. We hired a handful of high school and college kids.
During the interview, he started by telling me that I shouldn't even start talking unless I was prepared to match his current job's $60,000 salary. I reminded him that these jobs were entry-level jobs that paid accordingly and he told me that I had five minutes to "Wow" him into accepting a job. This whole time, he's setting up his laptop, a notepad, a cup of pens, and a calendar like this was his freaking workstation. I give him a cursory rundown of the job and he lets me know that he'll settle for $45,000 in salary, but he can only work 7am-4pm because that's when his mom is available to drop him off and pick him up. I let him know that we would keep his information on file in case a position more fitting what he was seeking opened up in our company to force a conclusion to this. He stops me and says he'll take an entry level job if I let him use my phone to call his mom to come pick him up.
And that man worked his way up to manage an entire market of stores.
Nah, I just let him use my phone and never called him back. We hired a handful of high school and college kids.
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28points
What is the most stressful, awkward, or weird job interview you’ve ever been to? On the flip side, who is the most nightmarish job candidate you’ve interviewed for a role at your company?
What advice would you give anyone new to the job industry who feels incredibly overwhelmed and stressed about landing their very first job?
Share your perspectives and worst work stories below.
#10
I interviewed a guy to work as a manager selling internet, home phones, mobiles etc. the job wasn't overly hard but you had to memorise a lot of product info that updated (or changed completely) monthly and the targets were expected to be met but were impossible to meet (ie 25 people enter the store in a day but we are expected to connect 80 services a day) ridiculous.
Anyway this guy came in and I asked him why he wanted to job. He said 'Well I really just wanted something super easy where I could kind of do nothing. I mean you guys don't look like you work very hard. Also there are some hot chicks that work here and I'd like to get to know them.' I asked him what made him think that the job was easy and he replied 'well the thing is, I'm really [freaking] smart.'
I literally looked around to see if I was on some candid camera show.
Anyway this guy came in and I asked him why he wanted to job. He said 'Well I really just wanted something super easy where I could kind of do nothing. I mean you guys don't look like you work very hard. Also there are some hot chicks that work here and I'd like to get to know them.' I asked him what made him think that the job was easy and he replied 'well the thing is, I'm really [freaking] smart.'
I literally looked around to see if I was on some candid camera show.
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25points
#11
I used to manage a restaurant. The other manager hired a girl from Hooter's cause he thought she was cute and all. Well, I am counting the money from the day before and getting the deposit slip all filled out in my office. An employee comes in my office and says she is here for training. I grab the paperwork she needs to fill out, and grab my bank bag. I walked up and gave her her paperwork. I realized I forgot a document so I went back to the office, but I slipped up and left the bank bag on the counter by the register. It was only her and I up there, as this is about 9am. Well, I leave and go to the bank to deposit the deposit and guess what? I am 40 dollars short. So I'm like, "I dropped 40 somewhere" and head back to work. Can't find it, ask her if she saw it and she says no. So I watch the security cameras and sure enough [she] opened the bag and stole it. She had literally been there under 5 minutes and stole from us. I called the cops, they came and arrested her. Found 3 pill bottles in her purse, and she had 2 warrants out for her arrest. She was 18, and had been to jail before. She didn't even tear up, and called me a [jerk] for calling the cops.
tl;dr: girl stole from us before she even filled out her paperwork for employment.
tl;dr: girl stole from us before she even filled out her paperwork for employment.
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24points
#12
I work for a chemical company that hires local college students every semester to do routine lab work for us. We have a fairly constant stream of candidates, but this was by far the worst. The interview in question occurred three days before Halloween that year, and coincidentally was the same day as our Halloween office party.
Our office manager had hired a psychic for the afternoon events. So when a young woman showed up in black lace, a black corset, black eyeliner, and spider themed jewelry, we just assumed she was the entertainment. Nope! It was our candidate. Okay, so after the initial awkward exchanges, we rolled with the punches. The non-professional presentation was bad, but not enough to outright dismiss her. Plus it was nearly Halloween, so we let it slide. Got her into the interview room and sitting with some engineers ASAP.
After about 30 minutes, a cop shows up and asks if we've seen a girl dressed in all black matching her description. Why, yes, officer. She's here on an interview, is something wrong?
Turns out she had taken a cab to our building but didn't have any cash on hand. So when the cabbie let her out she decided to do the responsible thing and book it inside without paying. The cop removed her from our building mid interview, escorted her to the nearest ATM, and made her withdraw cash to pay the cabbie. Then he brought her back and left her with us.
My colleague was so completely flabbergasted by the whole thing, that she just finished the interview and sent the young thing on her way.
Our office manager had hired a psychic for the afternoon events. So when a young woman showed up in black lace, a black corset, black eyeliner, and spider themed jewelry, we just assumed she was the entertainment. Nope! It was our candidate. Okay, so after the initial awkward exchanges, we rolled with the punches. The non-professional presentation was bad, but not enough to outright dismiss her. Plus it was nearly Halloween, so we let it slide. Got her into the interview room and sitting with some engineers ASAP.
After about 30 minutes, a cop shows up and asks if we've seen a girl dressed in all black matching her description. Why, yes, officer. She's here on an interview, is something wrong?
Turns out she had taken a cab to our building but didn't have any cash on hand. So when the cabbie let her out she decided to do the responsible thing and book it inside without paying. The cop removed her from our building mid interview, escorted her to the nearest ATM, and made her withdraw cash to pay the cabbie. Then he brought her back and left her with us.
My colleague was so completely flabbergasted by the whole thing, that she just finished the interview and sent the young thing on her way.
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23points
#13
Had a guy show up 40 minutes early for an interview, obviously crazy nervous. 30 minutes later me and my team greet the guy, and you could tell by the fantastic handshake the nerves were still there, and this may not go well.
Motioned him to the board room to do the interview, we sat down and before I had even asked the first question, he had barfed **all over the table**.
Funny thing was he was one of the better applicants, so he did get a call back.
Motioned him to the board room to do the interview, we sat down and before I had even asked the first question, he had barfed **all over the table**.
Funny thing was he was one of the better applicants, so he did get a call back.
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23points
#14
Back in the 80's I was an employment interviewer for a Major US bank. I have a number of great stories. Here is one of my "Favorites". For clerical typists (remember it was the early 80's) you had to type 40 wpm to qualify. Young women would come in every month, take test, fail miserably (18 wpm or so), we would politely tell her she failed and she should practice more. On about her 8th or 9th visit, I was the lucky interviewer to again tell her she failed. Well. She totally freaked out, lurched across the desk, grabbed me by the throat and started screaming that it was my fault she could not get a job. Once security dragged her away, the on site medical tossed me a valium and sent me home.
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23points
#15
Interview went great, got to last 2 questions about test [for illegal substances] and background search. He said all was great, and don't expect any problems. After the interview, during small talk walking to the car, he informed me that he just got out of prison for stealing payroll money from his previous employees, at a little over 1 million dollars.
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22points
#16
My mother was a hiring manager for a car repair shop, and she as quite a few. My favorite is the one that, who after the interview was walking out of the back office still talking to my mom, spotted a rather chubby girl coming into the shop. She says "ew, what a pig." Little did this interviewee (already deemed incompetent as she had asked my mom if they would pick her up for work if needed) know, this chubby girl was my sister.
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22points
#17
I did the hiring for a bar that I worked at for a while. Basically I would do the initial interview, give the owner my thoughts, he would do a quick meet and hire them based on my opinion. I wrote "NO" on several applications, most often because they thought it being a bar, the interview process was casual. I interviewed many many people who would swear constantly, or would laugh about how they handled customers who needed to be cut off. One admitted to illegally pouring them only the mixer (no alcohol) then telling them it had alcohol in it and charging them as if it did just so that she didn't have to actually cut them off. Another said she didn't think she could handle working unsupervised. At least a half a dozen of them interrupted the interview to check their phones or answer calls.
Bottom line, guys, a bar is still a business. You still need to treat the interview like an interview. I was the only employee for over a month because I couldn't find anyone that seemed like they could handle the job. I finally found one and she and I are good friends now. It's not rocket science but you do need to show some professionalism.
Nothing will compare to the girl who immediately after the interview proceeded to get drunk with her friends at the bar (normally totally okay) and then tried to walk around in her bra. I definitely didn't recommend her.
Bottom line, guys, a bar is still a business. You still need to treat the interview like an interview. I was the only employee for over a month because I couldn't find anyone that seemed like they could handle the job. I finally found one and she and I are good friends now. It's not rocket science but you do need to show some professionalism.
Nothing will compare to the girl who immediately after the interview proceeded to get drunk with her friends at the bar (normally totally okay) and then tried to walk around in her bra. I definitely didn't recommend her.
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22points
#18
I had one guy apply for a video editor postition and include in his portfolio the intro cinematic for Lionsgate Studios, just in a slightly different tint and his name where it should've said Lionsgate. He claimed he created the entire thing from scratch.
Also had a guy show up 45 minutes late to an interview for a sales position. We had all waited for him long enough that we headed towards the elevator to grab lunch. As we're about to get in, the guy comes out and proceeds to blame our office manager for giving him [wrong] directions (we were located in a very visible, centrally located building, one of the easiest places to find in my city, and I heard her give the directions - they were spot on). When we told him we were not going to interview him, he jumped in the elevator with us and proceeded to insult our office manager further in front of both her and two of our executives as if that would make us change our mind. 33 stories later, he was escorted away.
Also had a guy show up 45 minutes late to an interview for a sales position. We had all waited for him long enough that we headed towards the elevator to grab lunch. As we're about to get in, the guy comes out and proceeds to blame our office manager for giving him [wrong] directions (we were located in a very visible, centrally located building, one of the easiest places to find in my city, and I heard her give the directions - they were spot on). When we told him we were not going to interview him, he jumped in the elevator with us and proceeded to insult our office manager further in front of both her and two of our executives as if that would make us change our mind. 33 stories later, he was escorted away.
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18points
#19
Interviewing Veterinary Technicians and noticed there was quite a long gap (a few years) between the applicant's college graduation and passing her state license exam. When I asked her about it, her response was "It was pure laziness."
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18points
#20
We once had a candidate so desperate to go toilet whilst we left them in a room to do their test, they [did it] out of the 3rd floor window. 20 minutes into his second stage interview I was interrupted by a call from the office opposite reception. "Erm, Do you know someone went "toilet" out of your window?" After a 2 minute discussion I went back into the room. I couldn't blindly ask him so I asked if he had opened the window. He moved his chair away, stared at me for 2-3 seconds and ran out of the room. Never saw him again.
My manager gave me the task to explain to the cleaner what happened.
My manager gave me the task to explain to the cleaner what happened.
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17points