16 Awkward Job Interviews People Would Want to Erase From Their Memory

Estimates show that it takes about 100 work hours and 4 weeks to find and hire an employee. However, this number is not fixed, and it varies depending on the industry and company size. No matter the job, though, interviews often are awkward from all sides and people end up leaving with a wonderful story to tell. So, let’s hear these 16 stories that we wish don’t happen to us.

• I hadn’t been for an interview for a while, so the clothes I had to wear were a few years old. I had put on a bit of weight in the meantime, so the blouse I wore was a bit stretched across the breast area. I use my hands a lot when talking.
  During the interview, I must have brushed across the blouse with my hands, because all of a sudden I noticed the man interviewing me had a look of horror on his face. He was fixated on my breasts. The button in the middle of my breasts had come undone. My rather ample bosom was joining in the interview.
  I had no idea what to do. I continued talking and did up the button. I didn’t apologize, or comment on it at all. Not normally one to be at a loss for words, this was one occasion when I just couldn’t come up with something to say. I got the job. @Lin Jefferson / Quora
• I started a new job last week. In the final round of interviews, I go to shake the VPs hand and confidently call him the wrong name. “Thanks for meeting with me, Bob” — his name was not Bob. I noticed as soon as I said it. I brought it up again when they offered me the job, and HR laughed. @simp4snacks / Reddit

• I was interviewing a female fresher a few years back, and she was all sweat. The anxiety was so high on her that when I asked her a question, she was all quiet. I said, “Go ahead” and she got up to leave my cabin.
  I was all surprised and asked her what happened, she mentioned that you only asked me to go ahead! She mistook my “go ahead” to answer the question of leaving the cabin. Can’t explain how hilarious the overall experience was. @Nitesh Jain / Quora
• This happened to one of my friends. Her marriage was fixed, shortly after her M.Tech exams. She went for an interview for the post of Assistant Professor in one of the top private engineering colleges in Bangalore. To be more specific, it’s in the outer ring road.
  After the interview, she was selected and the interviewer, the HOD, asked explicitly whether she had any plans to have a baby soon. If any plan is there, then do not join. Or, if joined, postpone family expansion for the next 2 years. For my friend, it was a kind of question which she never expected, that too from educated folks. @Lakshmi Priya / Quora
• “Sell me this pen.”
  “Wait, hold on, is this a sales job?” because I couldn’t sell ice water to a man in hell. Apparently, that was a question they were trying to adapt for a non-sales job, but I refused so adamantly they found me inflexible to work with. I did not get the job. @DrArtificer / Reddit

• I was one of several interviewers in a group interview with a young woman candidate for a computer programmer position. As part of these interviews, we always asked a few technical questions. Nothing terribly difficult or tricky, just enough to make sure the candidate had reasonable knowledge of the field and was able to put together reasonable answers and express themselves.
  This particular candidate just froze at the first question, started to get tears in her eyes, and without a word walked out of the interview. Definitely awkward! @Mark Bodenstein / Quora
• I’ve never had an awkward interview, but my husband has interviewed hundreds of people on his job and has told me several funny stories. He had one man show up at an interview very sweaty and nervous.
  During the interview, my husband kept smelling the obvious odor of what he thought was freshly passed gas. At one point during the interview, he asked the gentleman if he would like to take a restroom break. The man declined. When the interview was complete, the man rose to shake my husband’s hand and then turned to leave.
  It was then that my husband noticed that the man he was interviewing had fully pooped his pants, as well as the office chair that he was sitting in. To avoid embarrassment, my husband wished him a nice day and the interviewee exited the office as if everything was fine. @Tessa Brown / Quora

• I applied for a position in a mental health facility. The first question out of the administrator’s mouth was, “So, why do you want to work in a nuthouse?” It only went downhill from there. @Wendy Brown / Quora
• I once responded to a Craigslist job posting and I went to interview with a company that just fired almost their entire team. It was a small company, and I was looking to do programming work.
  The guy seemed pretty friendly and talked about the kind of work I’d be doing, which was completely different from the ad. Red flag #1.
  In the end, he offered minimum wage part-time work and said, “After 3 months, we can talk about increasing your salary.” Red flag #2.
  Don’t imagine that a company starting you at a minimum will move up very much from your original salary. He also didn’t read my email, which stated that I was only looking for summer work, so I wasn’t going to be around for 3 months. Anyway, I told him that I’d think about it.
  The next day, I wrote an email saying that I decided to reject his offer. He responded with something like, “Well we already found a guy that was better than you!” @Lewis Nakao / Quora
• That happened recently during a Silicon Valley software engineer job interview. The interviewer said, “We’re a youth-oriented culture.” After he said that I got up and left without saying a word. Man, was he ever surprised! (I’m 64 years old.) @Steven Ussery / Quora

• I reached for a pen in my computer bag and pulled out a toothbrush! No more! I still regularly brush my teeth, but I also now clean out my computer bag before job interviews. Toothbrushes now have their own pocket! @Steve Smith / Quora
• There were so many people for the interview and the MD was taking the interview right in front of everyone. I was hella scared but did my best and then this boy’s turn came, and he was super nervous and literally sneezed out his nose making a bubble. He was so embarrassed that he immediately left the place. Everyone was laughing but inside. @ARie Shrestha / Quora
• I was interviewing for a remote role, and I felt dumb as hell when I reassured the interviewer that my apartment was quiet and private for the job’s phone calls. Not even a minute later, someone rang the doorbell as my Google Home was screaming “SOMEONE’S AT THE BACK DOOR.”
  I apologize and get up revealing my pajama pants and I answered the door because I was right next to the door. My neighbor literally only goes to our door once or twice a year. I tried to reassure the interviewer that this never happens but....his response was “I thought you said your place was a quiet undisturbed place?” @xxmidnight_cookiexx / Reddit

• The interviewer at the end of the interview asked me to take off my shoes and socks so he could see my bare feet. I asked him why, and he said it was for the job. I felt uncomfortable as I slipped off my dress shoes and peeled off my socks, exposing my bare feet.
  I remember looking at his reaction with a big smile, saying nice...very nice. He asked me if he could massage them, and that’s when I split. I grabbed my shoes and socks and ran out of the building barefoot and into my car. @Michael Fairgate / Quora
• I was once asked the standard “What are your weaknesses?” and I thought for a minute and said: “Male dancers”. When the laughter died down, I gave them some stock answer. @cheap_dates / Reddit
• I was interviewing for a cashier job at Target. This was shortly after I had just gotten dentures. During the interview, the manager asked a question, and while answering him, I felt a sneeze coming on. I held up a finger, indicating I would need just a second, grabbed a tissue, and sneezed.
  Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough adhesive on my top plate, so when I sneezed, my teeth flew out of my mouth, across his desk, and right into his lap. This poor man completely lost it. He laughed so hard he was sobbing before he could contain himself.
  It could have ended worse. He did hire me, and told me, “You’ll be great for comedy relief, if nothing else.” @Kastina Bayless / Quora

Job interviews can be all sorts of weird, and sometimes recruiters ask the most off-putting questions that people just don’t know how to answer. Has anything absurd happened to you?