12 Experiences That Reveal the Unseen Obstacles You Might Encounter During a Job Interview

Ideal employment: they ask about your education and experience, discuss job details and hire you. Reality: stupid interview questions, inadequate requirements, zero feedback. We put together the juiciest stories about how people got interviewed for a job.

• I was invited to a job interview. I wasn’t looking for a job, but I decided to go — in case something interesting came up.
  I was met by 2 girls who discussed me in a foreign language, even though it was written in my CV that I spoke that language. They said nasty things about me. In the end, they were not interested in my skills and experience.
  They rejected me because I had too bright appearance and I didn’t agree to change my hair color. I was a redhead. I’ve never been humiliated like that anywhere, before or since.
  Told about the interview to the person who persuaded me to go there. The girls got fired. What was it? © Anna Vasilenko
• At a job interview at a large audit firm, the HR manager asked me about my blood type. I said it was O-positive. “It’s bad,” he replied. I quickly finished the interview. You never know what’s going on there. © Nastassja Ne Kinski
• I write CVs for people professionally. One of my clients was rejected after an interview because she was too peppy. Of course this reason was not given to her and I found out months afterwards while talking to a mutual friend who worked there.
  The office culture was quiet and people minded their own business. She was so incredibly outgoing and cheerful, and the team wanted someone more low-key. It does make sense from an employment culture perspective, as she probably wouldn’t have been happy in that environment anyway. © Celia Stangarone / Quora

• I was rejected for a job and given the following reasons: “You seemed very nervous at the beginning of your interview.” “You didn’t use enough buzzwords.” This was an internal promotion, and the above feedback was given to me exactly as it reads there.
  A junior male colleague, who was friends with the boss (it was he and his boss who interviewed me) outside of work, received the promotion. We were the only 2 candidates. © Leanne Hammett Bennett / Quora
• A friend is looking for a job in the travel industry and already has experience in it. She was interviewed at a chain hotel. The HR manager (F58) said that the friend (F45) is not as young for the job as she would like her to be. © Svetlana Koverzhenko
• When I was a fresher, I traveled 15 miles early morning to reach the interview campus. I waited 2 hours in the crowd for my turn. Finally, the screening panel rejected me for not carrying a passport size photo.
  I requested them to allow me to attend the interview. I can submit the photo right after the interview. The campus is far away from the city. There is no chance to go and get it instantly. They rudely rejected me.
  I have my ID-cards and all my educational certificates with me. Nothing could convince them. I agree, they need all the docs to release the offer. But why do they need my photo just for attending the first round of interview. It doesn’t make any sense to me.
  There was also a funny incident. The recruiter asked me who I loved the most. I said my parents. After answering all the technical questions, I was rejected. The HR department said that I love my parents too much. It would be inconvenient for candidates like that to relocate if required. What? © Lakshmi Tadepalli / Quora

• I used to work at a popular local restaurant where the owner would personally interview all job candidates. He had a sharp general manager and a few good managers below that, but he insisted on interviewing everyone, even dishwashers.
  It wasn’t until I had been there a few years that I found out his criteria — after each interview, he would Facebook stalk the candidates, and either cut or hire them based on their music taste. © Steven Dew / Quora
• I went for an interview for a company back in 2012, this was when smart phones were starting to become popular. I still had a Motorola Razr at the time.
  At the time, I had a volunteer job, that paid my travel expenses to get there. They also helped me look for paying jobs while I worked there. The supervisor was nice enough to drive me to this particular interview, and we just talked about jobs and interview stuff along the way. We get to the building, and I go inside.
  I’m seated down, and they explain the job to me for a few minutes. The guy leaves the room, and comes back in. He tells me that he is so sorry, but the position was filled already, and that they emailed 2 hours prior to explain that the position was filled already...I came back outside and explained to my supervisor what happened, she said maybe we should have called them first to confirm the interview.
  I didn’t think that was necessary, it was just a bad move to email me, and not just call and cancel it. Maybe if I had a smart phone, I could have checked my emails at the time, and found out it was canceled. So I was rejected from an interview because they hired someone already, and told me in the worst way possible.© Kai Spangenberg / Quora
• Found a job posting once. At the time, I didn’t have a printer as I couldn’t afford one, and they wanted you to type your answers in and print it off. I rang the company up and explained that I did not have a printer, could I possibly pick up an application form, fill it in and return it, which they agreed.
  I drove the 30 minutes to pick up the form, spent 2 days writing and rewriting the form in a notebook until it was just right. I’m going to point out here that I was more than qualified for the job with a degree and vocational qualifications, and very neat handwriting. In fact, I printed the whole thing so it was legible to everyone who read it.
  I drove back after filling it in and handed it in. I then waited but didn’t hear anything back. After a few weeks, I rang up and asked to speak to the particular department manager for feedback. I was told that I didn’t get an interview because my application was handwritten and not typed on the computer and as soon as this person saw it, it was thrown into the bin without reading it. © Melanie Butson / Quora

• The phrase “we’ll call you back” bugs me. After all, in 95% of cases, no one calls you back. So I thought I was in this 95% and went to another interview to a more modest company with peace of mind.
  3 weeks later, I received a call inviting me to discuss the details of my employment. And I had already been working somewhere else for half a month. I have never felt so upset. © Overheard / Ideer
• The company was looking for a receptionist. I was hired, and it was my first day on the job. The previous employee was surprised at how quickly I learn everything. And then the boss came in.
  He looked at me, said nothing, and left. At the end of the working day, I was asked not to come again, because I didn’t walk well in heels! To be honest, I never learnt to walk in heels. © Mariam Dabaghyan
• I came for an interview for an accountant position. For some reason, the manager talked about his previous employee for a long time. He told me about her faults. And then he said that it would be profitable for both of us if I agreed to date him.
  I was so stunned that I said, “I have 3 children and a husband, sorry, it’s not my option, I’m looking for a job.” To which he replied that it suited him very well. I ran out of the interview very quickly. I blocked the number of this company, I don’t even know if they called me or not. © Ekaterina Makarova

And these people here talked about their most awkward job interviews.