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I'm pretty introverted and reserved, but I also joke a lot. So...with interview questions, sometimes, I without thinking, say things to be humorous, partly because it's such an uncomfortable situation being interviewed.
I was asked to say a time where I was proud of something I accomplished. So I said I had an idea that turned out really well and better than expected. Then I said I tried something else and it went horribly. The interviewer laughed.
Anyway, ..seems good...or no. I only do this once or twice in an interview.
You should pay careful attention to the interviewers before adding in the jokes. Uptight, hurried, focused interviewers may take it wrong...that you are not taking their time seriously. More relaxed or casually conversationial people might be OK with it. I've done it a few times, but only with interviewers I had a lot in common with even though I didn't know them personally. The jokes were impersonal quips with people who had done the job I was interviewing for, things all of us could commiserate over and appreciate. I didn't joke about a job that would be new for me. That to me says insincerity, bravado, sarcasm. Also nothing about people, politics, the usual red button stuff that's off limits in social situations. It might start off with something true or factual, then the joke got added at the end, sort of the same thing you did.
I think as Sockeye66 said, it's important to know your audience but in general, a good piece of humor can separate you from the other corporate drones with no personality.
I think as Sockeye66 said, it's important to know your audience but in general, a good piece of humor can separate you from the other corporate drones with no personality.
Definitely agree with the other posters on knowing your audience but yes, there is no harm at all in having a sense of humor if the interviewer is receptive.
I did tons of interviews over the years as HR and still do tons of them as a hiring manager. I know that people are nervous and/or trying to be on their best behavior since they really want the job but I like to see them open up and be themselves.
I'm pretty laid back in interviews and have had candidates say funny things which have made it more interesting. Sometimes they have planned it and other times it's been spontaneous.
One of the most off-the-cuff funniest moments was when I was part of a panel interview in a kind of cramped conference room with a candidate for a sales director job. The candidate was sitting to the left of me and was the calmest, smoothest guy you would want to meet. The interview is going along great and then the COO at the other end of the table asks the candidate a question which the candidate does not hear. The candidate goes to lean forward which knocks over his coffee all over my paperwork, laptop, and lap. He suddenly blurts out, "Oh **** I guess I am fired before I am even hired for destruction of company property!"
Normally I can keep a straight face through anything but I ended up laughing with the rest of the people in the room.
We did end up hiring the guy. Not because he was so funny but because he was the best. We couldn't hold the accident against him...and I did get a better laptop out of the mishap
One of the most off-the-cuff funniest moments was when I was part of a panel interview in a kind of cramped conference room with a candidate for a sales director job. The candidate was sitting to the left of me and was the calmest, smoothest guy you would want to meet. The interview is going along great and then the COO at the other end of the table asks the candidate a question which the candidate does not hear. The candidate goes to lean forward which knocks over his coffee all over my paperwork, laptop, and lap. He suddenly blurts out, "Oh **** I guess I am fired before I am even hired for destruction of company property!"
Normally I can keep a straight face through anything but I ended up laughing with the rest of the people in the room.
We did end up hiring the guy. Not because he was so funny but because he was the best. We couldn't hold the accident against him...and I did get a better laptop out of the mishap
Great story! Great save!
Can I tell one? Please?
Yes? OK, thanks!
I was interviewing for a field biologist job along with several other candidates. Part of the "interview" consisted of a demonstration of our skills by launching the agency's 25' boat trailer. The tow vehicle was a massive, sulking 4X4 pickup. Turning radius of a haywagon drawn by draft horses. They selected the boat ramp with extreme cruelty. Now over the years, I've become firmly convinced that boat ramps have free will and ulterior motives. Some give no trouble no matter how stupidly you behave on them. Others bide their time with silent malice, waiting for the perfect moment to make you look bad in front of the taxpaying public. Particularly if you are wearing a uniform with agency placards on the vehicle or boat so they know who to call to bail you out. Anyway, my turn came to conquer the beast. It put up a brave fight. After an agonizingly slow fail at launching the trailer the truck's front axle slid off the edge of the ramp burying the front end in an exposed mix of salt-crusted mud, kelp, and general marine slime. I sat there in the tilted cab pinned against the steering wheel, mortified and cursing, forgetting about the interviewer who almost ended up lying across my lap as the truck settled into the muck.
"Oh that's OK, don't worry. I should thank you. We all hate that truck and kept hoping for an excuse to return it to the motor pool in exchange for something better. You just provided the excuse."
Last edited by Parnassia; 06-22-2018 at 03:20 AM..
I don't crack jokes at a job interview - but I do behave in a pleasant and professional way. If I see they are easy going and cracking jokes, OK, I'll join them in cracking my own jokes.
If the interviewers joke, it's important to match the mood (laugh along, etc.) If you don't, you'll look like an oddball, and it can work against you.
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