What is the strangest thing that has happened to you in a job interview? (job application, hiring)
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I have one for you guys but it involves an exit interview
See back in my hay day, I was not exactly known for being lenient, i ran my line perfectly and the boys fell in line, we chewed up the slackers and crapped them out i was even known for sending a few boys running home crying to mama!
well everyone fell in line except for this slackjawed dolt called Gary, see old gary had a listening problem, dunderhead was deafer than a doornail! I used to give him all the good jobs, because I could get away with cracking wise about him with out him hearing.
so one day old gary gets me fired up, now this is 1972, before hr we had personel, so i had more leeway to deal with those turtles than we do now, but anyhows, this gary idiot comes stumbling in after messing something up, I lost it, he set us back three days on the line, messed up 80 parts , 80 nearly finished tube ice parts! I lost it!
I grabbed him by the shirt and slapped the back of his head. His eyes swelled up real bad and I knew he was gonna cry, i felt like a total hell, old gary goes running to personell, and that made me go from feeling bad to feeling mad because I always gave this gibblethead the cake jobs
Anyhow, personell calls me in, i tell the guy i say " jim, go ask the rest of those boys out there if I dont ive gary the cake " sure enough all the studs and duds on my team told him gary gets the cake job, so jim gets mad at gary and feeling embarrased decides to can his ass for lying.
Guess who got to sit in there in the exit interview
Guess who got to coyly smile at gary when he recalled the ' slap heard round the world ? '
And lastly, guess who gave old gary a parting kick in the pants when he was being escorted to his vehicle?
Old gary went to turn around and my fat butt had bolted as soon as that mystery kick to the pants had landed
most memorable work event in my life, shoot I almost cried laughing so hard thinking about it again after all these years
I had a voice mail left yesterday for a local retail, part-time job interview. It was late in the day, so I planned to call them this morning and let them know I had accepted another position.
I opened my email today, mid-morning, and had a corporate ''rejection email'' from the same company.
Weird!
Once I interviewed for a job that was a perfect match for me and which I would have really loved. Interview went great and the interviewer said I was the best candidate for the job he'd interviewed. Got back home the next day and give him a courtesy call to thank him for his time and express my continued interest in the job. That's when he kind of went blank for a moment, then said the boss had decided who he wanted before they had even advertised the job. They had only held interviews so they could say to HR that they had interviewed at least three people for the position.
I mean come on. I don't mind not getting hired for a job, but don't waste my time on a phony interview just to CYA yourself to your HR.
I work in a hospital and this happens ALL the time here. Management once spent an hour trying to dissuade me from a position I was perfectly qualified for according to my education and background with the company. I heard through the grapevine that mgmt had a friend in mind and sure enough, that's who was hired... Said friend lasted about a year and then took off. I was asked "Will you apply?" and I said "no, thanks." 6 months later I resigned [... and now, I am back :/ bills to pay lol]
My interviewers painted her nails the entire time we were in the ventless little office! She said "Sorry, I just hate chipped nail polish so I like to keep mine perfect." I think she eyed mine.. luckily, I had just done mine for the interview.
I did get the position. I still believe it had everything to do with my nails. I keep them nice to this day - 5 yrs later - even though I never see the interviewer but once a year or so when she pops in to the office I am at.
I know this thread is about interviews, but that reminded me of "Norman", a boss I had many years ago who was such a tighta** he'd literally time peoples' bathroom breaks. Seriously - as in stand outside the bathroom looking at his watch. Anyone who went past 5 minutes got a 'talking to'.
I worked for a call center when I was pregnant with my oldest child. At 6 mo. pregnant, I was not really showing, so people didn't know unless I told them/talked about it. It was a "rule" to raise our hand when we needed to use the restroom, which I understood they wanted coverage for the phones, BUT, I was pregnant so it was unpredictable! Finally, I'd had enough and started exiting the queue with my phone line and going when I needed to. After about 3 times of this, I was "talked to" about this, so I informed them I was pregnant and could not wait for someone to come relieve me when there were other callers logged in anyway. They weren't thrilled to learn they had hired a pregnant lady, BUT on the good side of things, they were willing to "rehire" me after I had the baby (no FMLA due to not working long enough) since I closed a lot of sales. I did not go back.
Oh oh ok.... One more! This was at a college in Florida. I was in my mid-20s and applying ALL over for jobs through Careerbuilder and similar sites. Well, I got a call back after about 4 weeks from the local private university, but I missed the call and it went to voicemail. I called the manager back, probably a few hours later at most, and introduced myself and said I was returning his call. He said "I honestly don't remember calling you... Are you sure? Where did you apply from?" So I somehow wiggled my way past that and he scheduled me for an interview. I went in, and since he didn't recall my information suddenly, he had me fill out an application during the interview... like, as he is asking questions I was writing on the paper app and answering him. Multitasking? Check, I guess. Before I had completed the paper app he said he was thoroughly impressed and wanted to offer the job to me - this is a prestigious university so I definitely accepted the offer. Later, at the end of my own schooling, I submitted resignation because I needed 2 weeks of internship and they would not allow me 2 weeks off. Since I trained my replacement so well, they told me "come back after your internship...." So, I did. But, I also graduated at the same time and was promptly offered a job in the field I got my degree in (health information management / medical records), so again I submitted resignation. 5 years later, I left the first job I landed out of college and needed a part time position to keep me afloat while I was a stay at home mom... and that place at the university was ready to once more hire me on the spot, but the hours just didn't work out for me this time. Went from someone who was apparently not memorable in the span of a few hours to someone who they really seemed to like after 5 years. . . I know this isn't bizarre like some of yours, but it was kind of odd at first to me.I'm in Florida though, so the crazy stuff to you guys is prob. not so crazy to me. The normal stuff is what seems odd. hahah
The story above reminded me of another interview. It was for a big company and they created a new role and department. I had done one round of interviews but the last step was to meet the VP who was not local.
The job sounded awesome and was my path out of a dead end job during a recession so I really wanted it. Great pay and perks.
She came into my interview really cranky. She apologized but was totally brusque. She said I have been flying all day, my flight was delayed. I have already had 4 interviews and not in a great mood right now. So basically you better wow me.
She went through the standard interview questions. I have loads of energy and I am known for being cool under pressure so I wasn't super nervous.
At the end of the interview she said she had a great time, and I wowed her. I got the job. It didn't turn out to last long but I learned a lot and it helped my resume. Never talked to her again after that interview. Lol.
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