Share your (not great) job interview stories

[Ensay]

I would have walked out. I was looking for a job when I was in a job I did not mind but wanted to better myself, so I had quite a few interviews.

I actually think that's a really good idea because it allows you to hone your skills without the pressure. I've sometimes considered doing it myself.

A colleague of mine used to go for interviews on a semi regular basis, not because he wanted to leave but because he wanted to use it as leverage to get a pay rise or make other demands. It was your classic "these employers are biting my hand off, but I'd love to stay here, so how about we discuss what you'll do to keep me?" scenario. Obviously he didn't use those exact words, but that was the gist of it. The annoying thing was it worked.

He did eventually leave when he was headhunted by a manager who had recently left. Few of us were sorry to see the back of him.

 

[House of Tea]

I actually think that's a really good idea because it allows you to hone your skills without the pressure. I've sometimes considered doing it myself.

A colleague of mine used to go for interviews on a semi regular basis, not because he wanted to leave but because he wanted to use it as leverage to get a pay rise or make other demands. It was your classic "these employers are biting my hand off, but I'd love to stay here, so how about we discuss what you'll do to keep me?" scenario. Obviously he didn't use those exact words, but that was the gist of it. The annoying thing was it worked.

He did eventually leave when he was headhunted by a manager who had recently left. Few of us were sorry to see the back of him.

It was at the time. I started off full of nerves, but ended up not even getting nervous the more interviews I had. I could tell within minutes whether I wanted to work for them but every interview was a learning experience. Confidence is key. To interviews and everything else for that matter. The reality is, unless you are really desperate for a job (which is a different experience completely) you are never going to see the panel again so it doesn’t matter if you make a tit of yourself. What struck me at the time is how unprofessional/rude/unprepared some interviewers were.

 

[witchofwestbyfleet]

Not so much the interview but I guess another one that counts was an interview I had to reach by walking through a dangerous industrial estate, I risked getting run over by lorries multiple times!! I'd been told that the job required "own transport" which I thought sounded a bit suspect - it didn't involve driving and the office was only a short distance from a train station. I didn't have a car and if asked, would have said my bike was my own transport. Well getting there was pretty nerve-racking, I still remember it with dread ... but even if I had a car, I'd still have had to walk through the industrial estate, there was nowhere nearby to park!

 

[Princess of Scots]

When I was 16 years old I went for an interview at a local bowling alley. The job description wasn't specific, general assistant so it said. I'd imagined it'd be helping with booking in lanes and sorting out the shoes.

It was for the children's entertainer. After answering standard questions I was asked to blow up a balloon. I told them, I couldn't. Interviewer told me to try and I ended up gagging so much in front of him, eyes streaming.