What’s the worst that could happen in a job interview?
For a candidate, arriving late, being overcome with nerves or not preparing properly can all make the experience feel less-than-positive. For an interviewer, being faced with a completely unsuitable candidate can make the whole thing feel like a complete waste of time.
But trust us; things can get much, much worse.
Feast your eyes on these real-life interview shockers that we’ve encountered over the years: stories that take the phrase “bad interview experience” to a whole new level…
A little Dutch courage
We offer candidates support to help them perform as well as possible in future interviews. In one case, however, our candidate probably had no clear perception of his interview performance.
Following an interview, the employer phoned to let us know that the candidate was clearly inebriated – slurring his words and reeking of strong spirits throughout. Naturally, we then reached out to the candidate to get his views.
“Brandies and a few beers later, those nerves were gone.”
It turned out that nerves had got the better of him, and he’d decided that the best way to calm himself was to head to the nearest pub for some Dutch courage. Brandies and a few beers later, those nerves were gone – replaced with confidence and the belief that he’d get away with it. That wasn’t the case, though, and it was a no from the interviewer for the role, which was with the Metropolitan Police.
If you’ll just let me finish
One of our longstanding clients had a very bad stutter. This meant that a deal of patience and understanding was needed when speaking with him, which we always made candidates aware of in advance.
Generally, this wasn’t an issue: any decent person will understand that great communication involves both self-awareness and awareness of the other person involved. Sadly, in one interview, this just didn’t happen.
The client’s feedback revealed that the candidate finished off every single sentence and question he, the interviewer, started – and often answering his own (wrong) interpretation of the question. At the end of the interview, when the client began to summarise, the candidate interrupted again, agreeing (before any feedback whatsoever from the client) that it had been a brilliant interview and that he’d be in touch – clearly assuming that the job was in the bag.
It wasn’t. The client described the interview as being the rudest and most bizarre he’d ever experienced.
Are you coming back?
Some things – like fire alarms going off during an interview – are completely out of our control, and while they can really disrupt an interview’s flow, they must be taken on the chin. The (literal) alarm bells started ringing early on in an interview for one of our team members. As the interviewer was the company’s Fire Marshall, the interviewed was paused.
The entire company headed outside, and in the end, the fire service allowed everyone back into the building. The candidate headed straight back to the interview room, ready to pick up where they’d left off, and waited for the interviewer to return. And waited…and waited… In the end, he left the interview room to ask someone when the interviewer’s marshalling duties would be complete.
“They’d forgotten that they were mid-interview, and had gone home.”
They’d been completed a while ago, it turned out: in all the commotion, they’d forgotten that they were mid-interview, and had gone home. Proof that it’s down to both candidate and interviewer alike to make sure the interview experience is a positive one.
Keep certain views to yourself
Between a successful interview and the candidate’s start date, it’s unlikely that anything will go wrong. But it does happen.
A case in point is one candidate who’d secured a directorial role at a new firm. Gardening leave stipulations meant that she wasn’t able to join the firm immediately, but a meet and greet drinks evening was organised so she could get to know her new team.
It was clear that she was a very different person to how she came across in the interview. The more the drinks flowed, the more vocal she became, sharing thoughts and opinions that turned out to be extreme, to say the least.
The team she was inheriting made their views on her behaviour and beliefs very clear. She was called into HR the following day to hand in her notice for the job she’d never actually even started.
You know it’s a bad interview when…
The disasters we’ve covered above are bad enough, but we’d also like to give a special mention to these gems we’ve also heard about:
- The candidate had to sit on an exercise ball – in a full suit. There’s a time, a place and an ideal outfit for when exercise balls make an appearance – and it’s not in a job interview. Being a trendy startup is no excuse – interviewees need seats.
- The interviewer asked about boobs. The candidate’s ideal boobs, in fact. For every conceivable reason, this is wrong.
- The candidate couldn’t stop sweating. Being interviewed in the height of summer can play havoc with your carefully groomed appearance. Choose your outfit wisely and set off in plenty of time.
- The interviewer left the interview. If you’re planning on bluffing your way through a question you’re not sure about, only do so if you can do it with confidence. One interviewer saw right through a candidate’s failed attempt, and simply walked out and left.
- The candidate pretended to be a sports fan. Badly. You’ll want to find some common ground with the interviewer, but blagging your love of something when you clearly have no clue is not the way to do it. We call this the Cameron effect.
- The candidate cried throughout the interview. Anxiety isn’t nice – and it can be hard to control. In one interview, the anxiety-stricken candidate burst into floods of tears under pressure, and proceeded to blame their allergies. Honesty is always the best policy.
- What’s your favourite animal? Ice-breaking questions are fine, but a good interviewer needs more up their sleeve. Spending half an hour talking about dogs, as one candidate experienced, does not make the right impression.
- If you’re nervous about your next face-to-face interview, take solace in the fact that it could be worse. Much worse. The key? Prepare well, try to relax and definitely lay off the brandy beforehand.
Ready to shine in your next interview? Take a look at our jobs page – your dream role may be just around the corner.
