We’ve all been in a situation where we walk into a job interview with our hopes high, only to crumble under the pressure. It’s an experience we can learn from in order to finally land a position that’s perfect for us.
Others, however, never seem to figure it out, and the results can be pretty entertaining for the folks in charge of hiring. I know I’ve made plenty of mistakes in the past while trying to charm the boss into offering me the job, but I’m feeling much better about those flubs after reading about these epically awful interviews.
It’s clear these applicants were never taught about plain common sense. Even if they didn’t want to be in the line of work they were interviewing for, there was no need to be as rude as some of the people in these horrible examples.
Have you ever witnessed a job interview this bad? Let us know in the comments and please SHARE with your friends!
[H/T: Reddit]
Thumbnail source: Flickr
1. Video Store Stealing
“After one particularly awful interview, I walked the candidate out toward 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.” — nicmccool
2. Dealing With Parents
“I had a woman come in with her son for a preliminary interview. He was in his mid-twenties, and she wouldn't let him speak. She wanted to conduct the interview for him. I asked him what his goals are and she speaks up and says, ‘His goals are to…’ I cut her off and told her that I would like to hear it in his own words. She was extremely fidgety while he was talking and kept adding her two cents, like, "he also does this," "he wants to do that," "He's good at this."” — Reddit User
3. Too Much Confidence
“I work for a retail company and we had a hiring fair for positions in stores in our area. I had this well-dressed middle-aged man come in with a briefcase, a leather satchel, and his laptop. 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.” — Rawlz
4. Not Enough Confidence
“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 boardroom 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.” — 50_MillionYearTrip
5. Business "Casual"
“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,’ asked if we drug tested, and if so, could he take it in 'like a week,' when he should pass.
"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.’” — okname
6. Too Much Honesty
“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 literally looked around to see if I was on some candid camera show.” — Tj08
7. Way Too Much Honesty
“CopDad: So any history of mental problems?
Candidate: Nope.
CopDad: Drug use History?
Candidate: Errrr….
CopDad: It's fine. If we disqualified everyone who tried a bit, no one could be a cop. Just be honest because this will be asked again with the polygraph. Ever smoke pot?
Candidate: A few times back in college. Wasn't really my thing.
CopDad: Cocaine usage?
Candidate: About 5 minutes before the interview in the parking lot
CopDad: I'm sorry?
Candidate: You know, just to steady the nerves a bit.
CopDad: I think we are done here.”
— Drunken_Black_Belt
8. Extra Moisture
“We (panel of three) were hiring for a help desk position. One dude comes in and he is nervous 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.” — spankybottom
9. Redundant Resume Reading
“I was hiring for a position in my office. It was a final-round interview, and if I liked the candidate, she'd get the job. I meet her and, like most candidates for jobs, she brings in a copy of her resume. I sit her down and ask as an opening question, "So, what caused you to take interest in this position?"
"The girl smiles and says, "Well, I have a lot of experience that I feel I could bring to the table, which is on my resume." She then looks down at her resume and proceeds to read it to me. Verbatim and in its entirety.” — Reddit User
Have you had an even worse interview experience? Let us know below and be sure to SHARE with your friends!
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
