In light of Halloween, a job search engine has shared some horror interview stories from candidates and employers.
Adzuna, has gathered the worst stories from candidates and employers when interviews take place with people stating they had to sing a Kylie Minogue song or pitch themselves on a hotel bed.
Lizzi, a social media manager from Leeds said:
I went to an interview that was an absolute car crash. After I left I found some keys on the stairs so I went back up to hand them in and heard them slagging me off, so I hid the keys and left.
Andrew, director of a sustainable construction company in Winchester said:
I remember having to sing Kylie Minogue I should be so lucky at one! I left my dignity and the job offer at the door! I was fresh out of university interviewing for a sales and marketing role and eager to please, otherwise I would have walked out.
Helen from the North West of England said:
I once went to a retail interview in a hotel. When it was my turn, the interviewer beckoned me into the interview room apologising profusely because the conference suite had been double booked. We did the whole thing in a twin room and I had to sit on a bed!
Holly, HR professional from Brighton said:
I used to work for an owner of a business who turned up to an interview late, took one look at the (reasonably senior) candidate and then yawned loudly and argued the whole way through the interview.
When I asked him why he behaved so badly during the interview he said he did not like the guy’s eyebrows! I have never been so embarrassed doing an interview before, so eventually I took the lead, got a lot of eye contact and encouraged the candidate to address me instead.
Lee, owner of an online builders merchant said:
We were hiring for one role at my company and I was already running late due to a significant amount of roadworks.
I took a detour to try and bypass the traffic and at one T-junction, a couple of miles away from my office, I admittedly jumped out a little hastily which aggravated an oncoming driver who was going faster than he should have been.
The driver in question proceeded to beep, flash and tailgate me to show his annoyance for the rest of my journey into work, until it became clear we had both just pulled onto the site car park.
It got more awkward when I got out of the car and he just sat in his.
I went inside and a couple of minutes later was told our first interviewee had arrived. Yup – it was him. It was an awkward interview, particularly when I asked him how he managed pressure or stress. And no – he didn’t get the job!
Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.
- Darius McQuaid
- Darius McQuaid
- Darius McQuaid
- Darius McQuaid
