8 Cringeworthy Interview Horror Stories

Job interviews are the worst, am I right? As an applicant, you are trying to distill the essence of “you” into a 30 minute (or hopefully longer) interview. As the interviewer, you are attempting to discern whether that person is the right fit for your company. As with all elements of human endeavor some do this well and some don’t. Here’s a little taste of the best of the worst…

A candidate was asked the question: “People who know you would say, Suzie is great but sometimes…” The candidate became irate and said she could not believe they would ask her such a question. She said it was totally inappropriate and would not answer. Then, she said: “But, I guess I would have to say that sometimes I overreact.”

After a two hour interview, the candidate was told that the position had already been filled. The interviewer said that since he had the interview on his schedule he didn’t want to be rude and cancel. The kicker is that the candidate found another job and a few month’s later got a call from the interviewer offering him the original job.

A man was interviewing for a position with a family run business. During the interview, he was asked his religious affiliation and how many times he had been married. When it was pointed out that these questions were not appropriate the son of the CEO said it was their company and they could not have a divorced person working for them. A few month’s later the comptroller of that company was found to have embezzled over a million dollars.

A woman interviewed for a waitress job and started talking about her previous experience. The interviewer asked her what her favorite animal was. “Pig”, she replied. “Ah, yes, pigs” he replied. “And what’s your favorite color?” “Blue”, she said. Then, she waited for more questions. None came but she was told to come in the next day for her unpaid training. Shockingly, she never went back.

An interviewee was once asked: Can you tell me ten things you would do with a concrete hedgehog?” The interview went south from there.

A would-be applicant at a new startup arrived not once but TWICE for an interview only to find out that the potential boss had forgotten the keys to the office…both times!

An executive interviewing for a high-level job at a fast-food chain asked this seemingly innocuous question: “Say, you don’t really eat this stuff, do you?”

Finally, under the heading of “having your cake…” A candidate went through several grueling rounds of interviews and landed the job. When it came time for him to report to work he was a no show. Same for day two. Finally, they called the “employee”. It turned out that he had simultaneously taken a job at another company. He went there to work for a few days to “test it out” and wondered if he could do the same here. Uh, no he could not.

What funny, amusing or horrible situations have you experienced during the hiring/interview process? Please share in the comments section below.