Foreigners Who've Moved To The U.S. Explain Which Social Customs Were The Hardest To Adjust To
This is gonna take some time.
Coming to America is quite the journey... no matter how one gets here. There is always an immediate culture shock. You may even arrive here speaking the language but the way of life can be daunting for most. We a unique group of people. We can take some getting use to. The social norms and customs may always be a hurdle. Everyone is just always gonna do their own thing. When in doubt, ask for details.
Redditor u/TrustMe_ImDaHolyGhst wanted to discuss with everyone what are some of the ways getting use to life in America can be tricky by asking..... Non-americans who moved to the US, what are some social customs that have been the hardest for you to get used to?All Thumbs
Thumbs Reaction GIFGiphyAccording to my parents, it was people giving them thumbs up.
In their country of origin, thumbs up = middle finger in the US. So they kept jumping thinking they were being flipped off by random people. Took years for them to get used to it and understand no one was trying to insult them.
Be Car Still....
A friend of mine is Russian. Her parents came to Russia and was still getting used to America. In Russia when you are pulled over by the police you get of the car and walk over to them. Her dad got pulled over and so he got out and started walking towards them. He didn't know you are supposed to stay in the car. He learned that lesson very quickly.
Edit: He didn't die they didn't even shoot at him. He did get arrested though.
Kiss Me....
Not hugging, kissing on cheek or handshake when saying hi to family. I'm from South America.
I was an RA when some Cuban exchange students came for the summer (Canada). They reeled me in for a kiss when they showed up and I was like WTF IS HAPPENING?! Just like hauled me right in aggressively. It was cool but totally took me a while.
I Wanna Dance
the muppets dancing GIFGiphyI still don't know how to get invited to parties, so there's that.
Also the drug TV ads with the long disclaimers while showing video of happy people living their lives. Really weird.
What. The. Fudge.
Carpet everywhere. I thought at first I had that beige, slightly too fluffy standard issue carpet in my first apartment because it was cheap and in a sh!tty area. Moved to a nicer place, still carpet. Visited relatives who have a really nice 5BR house in the best part of town: the same carpet! Add to that what someone already posted, that people don't take their shoes off, I am still bewildered. And don't get me started on carpet at high traffic public spaces, like banks, offices, and even /airports/! What. The. Fudge.
TMI....
Saying "hi how are you?" to strangers and nobody actually answering the question.
The size of food serving when going out to eat.
Thanksgiving and black friday.
And lastly, the fact that every form I have to fill out, they ask my race.
I guess these are not technically social customs, or maybe they are, but I find all of the above very strange. Ugh, I'll never get used to living here.
So many differences....
Sales tax not being included in the price (got pretty used to it after 4 years, but it still occasionally caught me off guard).
Healthcare bills.
Tailgating on highway (even people complaining about tailgaters were themselves often tailgating).
Porch sitting, people sitting on their porch and watching passers by.
Distances (drove coast to coast, I thought it would never end).
Most men being pretty knowledgable about cars.
Drive thru ATMs, never stopped being funny to me for some reason.
The Metrics....
season 3 episode 10 GIFGiphyPounds. Ounces. Feet. Miles. I could never get the hang of it. I just still don't even have a concept of how long a mile is, and I lived in the U.S for 3 years. I completely acknowledge that I'm dumb, though.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Younger Ppl calling adults by (just) their first name. I'm from the Caribbean so can't help but referring to ppl as Mr or Ms. Even if Im familiar with them.
I was taught this growing up, but I learned pretty quickly to drop it. So many people come from divorced families that assuming a parent had the same last name as their kid caused a lot of awkward situations.
A Woman's Way
As a woman when I first moved to the US, I felt like there was something wrong with me because I didn't do my nails, or color my hair, or wear makeup like my friends did. The way I grew up, women who were not celebrities didn't do stuff like that at that frequency. I felt like maybe I wasn't feminine enough because those things seemed so tied to femininity.
Edit: To clarify, of course I don't think every single American woman is like this, it was just that I didn't know a single woman personally that did those things growing up, perhaps it's different now.
Not THAT Word!
Only lived there for five months for exchange. I'm from Scotland, and we use the word c*nt often as a term of endearment. You will know when it is NOT being used as a term of endearment, it's all about tone.
My first week in the country I went to a house party where I said c*nt casually in conversation. I'm not joking when I say everyone stopped their conversations and stared at me. One girl was properly glaring at me and then told me to apologize to the person I was talking about.
Cue my Australian friend starting to piss herself and the both of us having to explain to a room full of people that it wasn't meant offensively.
Not exactly the hardest social custom but I just thought it was funny.
No Broad Strokes
Golden Girls Rose GIF by TV LandGiphyMy immigrant wife has had to learn not to publicly state any broad generalizations whatsoever about racial/ethnic groups. Such things are commonly said in other countries but are less acceptable in the U.S.
2 Countries in 1....
Don't need to be from outside the us. I'm from the south and going up north is a culture shock.
Everything in the south is so ungodly slow. Northerner here and the weirdest part of traveling the states is how in the south people seem to be really nice but kind of generic about it. In the north we're kind but it is more "let me help this guy out" instead of " oh this guy's cool I'm gonna be really nice". I've lived in the north for some time and I don't think I could ever live south of Nebraska because of the culture.
Never Stop!
The importance of working, being "productive," and being in a position to continuously generate revenue. I am a medical researcher and have been doing this for about 15 years in the USA now. To this day it bothers me that I have to justify the need for my research in terms of healthcare costs. For example, when writing grants or presenting research proposals to higher-ups: "Pathology ABC impacts 100000 people in USA each year, and as a result of this patients suffer a lot." - this should be sufficient, right? Nope!
What I'd write instead is something like: "Pathology ABC impacts 100000 people in USA each year resulting in expense of NNN dollars to the healthcare system and additional losses of MMM dollars associated with missed work and productivity." If the research study involves athletes, you've hit pay dirt. Accounting for all those missed seasons, practices, etc. is such a strong selling point. It does not stop there though. Any study involving longitudinal follow up now more often than not asks patients to provide information about their work status before treatment and periodically up to 1, 2, 5, or even 10 years out.
This so that drug and device manufacturers can boast about how quickly their patients are able to return to work and being productive. It would be nice if the system incentivized genuine, intense focus on value of life and value of quality of life. I have worked in other countries before and do not recall having to pay attention to expenses in this manner. It may have changed within the last 15 years though.
Friend Quota....
How hard it is to make friends in the USA. It seemed pretty easy from where I came (Europe), but after 20 years in the USA, I still don't have friends here.
I'm an American and can agree with this. Unless you were friends since childhood, no one needs to make "new friends"... like there's a friend quota.
Unless you two absolutely hit it off during the first conversation. Then you're allowed to be best friends. If there's one thing about you that doesn't match their way of life, they are most likely to end it quickly.
It used to not seem that way growing up before smart phones and social media. I think those two things have ruined how people communicate with each other.
SCORE!!
aggressive high school GIFGiphyTown and school spirit are a very big thing here. No one takes high school sports this seriously back in my old school in India.
American schools sometimes look like sports grounds who teach students as a side hustle.
American Ways
I'm from New Zealand.
Lack of vacation days.
Weird as crap health system tied to employment.
Food portions.
Otherwise it is a pretty easy adjustment.
The taking themselves seriously thing is very interesting and I agree. Nearly every American I speak to seems to have a really strong internal narrative, as if they and their lives are part of a movie/television show. I recognize this isn't the most useful way to describe this impression I get but it's also the truest.
Stop Scuffing....
Walking into someone's house with your shoes on.
And waving, everyone waves. Wasn't sure why. Did they think they knew me? Did they need help?
I think the waving is more a sign of goodwill in America. I do it a lot when driving or using a crosswalk to signal a thanks to the person letting me cross or pass them. I hope this helps!
Crazy Help
wild music video GIFGiphyVery attentive customer service. It felt almost psychotic.
Oh trust me, as an American in the service industry... it's an act. We have to act nice to you or lose our job. Internally we could often care less how your day is going, and would often prefer you never came in.
Where to Begin?
My wife is an immigrant so I'll pass on a couple that she struggled with.
Potluck dinners. Inviting people over to your house for a meal and then telling them to bring the food just isn't culturally acceptable in her background. She understands how the variety of foods can be exceptional and the amount of food automatically adjusts to the number of people, but it's a cultural form of hospitality that runs counter to offering what you have to your guests.
The way many American families raise their children until age 18, then send them out the door to make it or beak it in the world. In many other countries, you never stop helping your children by paying for more education (Vo-Tech or college/university) and trying to avoid student loans, they always have a place to live free of rent, and are quite involved in everyday life of the parents, even if just by phone.
The way Americans are so informal in addressing elders and people with the title "Dr" seems disrespectful. Titles would always be used and first names are only for people of approximately the same age and background.
Women have many freedoms and professional opportunities that are not open to them in some countries. This is a good attribute of the USA.
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Most of us love animals and take stock of other people's pets. Some people have a better chance of remembering another person's pet's name than the person themselves.
Part of that allure has to do with the fun and creative names that many people come up with for their pets.
The Redditor, who has since deleted their account, asked:
"What is the best pet's name you've ever heard?"
The Autobots Would Be Proud
"I had a friend once who had a bunny named Hoptimus Prime."
- nellirn
Extra Hoppy Beer
"I live in northern Colorado which has a pretty big craft beer scene. One of our biggest and most popular breweries is Odell Brewing."
"One of my coworkers named her dog Odell because he had three legs which, in her words, made him extra hoppy."
- fiveironfreshy
At the Race Track
"I once heard of a race horse named Thunderbritches!"
- whiskey_weasel_
From the 'Tragedy of Julius Caesar'
"I had a friend who had a 14-foot python as a pet named Julius Squeezer."
- TSchwifty35
An Ode to Eminem
"My wife's fish was named Swim Shady."
- josephexotic
Such a Giant, Cuddly Dog
"An Old English Sheepdog named 'Woolly.'"
- Back2Bach
Not Like the Movies
"My cat's name, he's named 'Gremlin'."
"A lot of people believe the movies were the inspiration, I just wanted to give my cat a weird but cute name."
- EldritchDWX
What a Tongue-Twister
"My guinea pig was Wanda Wilhelmina Wobblebottom."
- 84dg3r0u50n3
Tiny But Mighty
"A Redditor once posted a photo of their little, black kitten named Admiral Anchovies."
"That is all."
- Voyeurism_Bot
Social Creatures
"A little pug named Barbecue, or perhaps a corgi mutt with eyebrows named Party Time."
- BaronMatfei
Adorable Stage Names
"I still love the name Kitty Purry (Katy Perry's cat)."
- pirate_elle
Historic References
"Someone in the 'backyardchickens' subReddit named one of their girls Attila the Hen."
- dontforgetthel?be
A Name Upgrade
"A friend of a friend had a cat named Snack."
"Eventually, Snack had a few too many snacks, and they started calling him Meal."
- JuRoJa
Sounds Like a Big Boy
"A French bulldog called Tankerbell."
- blackday44
A Fair Question
"Between Chairman Meow and Benito Meowsolini, uh, there are a lotta cats with dictator names. What's next, Meowseph Stalin? Kitler?"
"Then again, cats are all wannabe dictators..."
- centaurquestions
Not only are some of these names hilarious, but these pet owners were on high creative alert when they named their furry loved ones.
Whether or not to bring children into the world is a very personal decision.
While there are many arguments as to why anyone should, or shouldn't have children, it's not a decision for other people to make for you.
Some people dream of being a parent since they were children themselves, and can't wait to shower their own children with love.
While others always dreamed of having children, but for one reason or another, it simply never worked out.
Then there are those who never saw children as part of their life plan and don't feel any kind of void without having children in their lives.
"Why don't you have kids and/or do not plan on having kids?"
Don't Want Them Enough
"I just don't feel like I want it badly enough, and one should really want to have a child in order to be able to give their 100% as a parent, every child deserves that."- SignificantFunny1523
Prefer A Good Night's Sleep
"Sleep."
"I love sleep."
"I get up when I'm being paid to get up but otherwise my great and immediate joy is sleeping until I don't feel like sleeping anymore."
"I much prefer sleep to children."- DamnIGottaJustSay
How Long Have You Got?
"Why do I plan not to have children?"
"Well..."
"'unrolls a list that's miles long...'"- HagBasket
Superstition
"This curse ends with me."- DaveTheRoper
Too Short A Fuse...
"Don’t have the patience for kids."- Leoimirmir
When Weighing The Pros And Cons...
"I don't see the upsides."- igna92ts
Plain And Simple
"I don’t want to be a parent."
"That’s a perfectly valid reason."- AllyriaCelene
Priorities
"Kids are great if you don’t like money or sleep."- ComplicationOnRS
"Clean house, financial comfort, ability to travel/leave the house whenever we want to."- Dear-Cockroach4589
Knowing What's Best For Yourself
"The whole process seems incredibly painful and difficult."
"I'd f*ck my kids up."
"I have a fearful-avoidant attachment style as a result of my toxic parents."
"I wouldn't be able to properly parent."
"I'm incredibly inpatient and would change my mind 3 months in, if I even made it through the whole pregnancy.'
"I want freedom."
"Having kids means being available and responsible."
"I am not and will not be these things."
"I wanna live for me, live to enjoy life, and I most definitely won't enjoy having kids."
"The world is overpopulated and f*cked."
"I don't see any point in bringing more people to this world."
"I have more reasons but these are my top 5."- mayo_nnais3
Fear
"Because I am scared of being a bad parent."
"I can't bring a life in this world just to screw it."
"Thanks for f*cking me up Narc dad."- WaywardRoads
Too Expensive
"To quote Homer Simpson 'aww I have 3 kids and no money. I wish I had 3 money and no kids'."
"I like my lifestyle."
"I am starting a 'college fund", but instead of paying for a 3-year degree I’m going to blow it on a looooonnngggg vacation."- timberwolf0122
"Cost of raising a kid, and the lifelong stress of raising a kid."- Typical_Conclusion_5
There are those who might call people selfish for not wanting children for the reasons listed above.
Perhaps these reasons are selfish, but on the other hand, they know they would not be able to give a child the attention, love, and support they would need.
It's the people who know this and have children anyway who might be considered the selfish ones.
People Explain Which Piece Of Information They've Learned That Almost Feels Illegal To Know
Everyone loves a juicy secret or insider knowledge.
From knowing about a secret love affair happening between colleagues to understanding how to cheat the system when booking a table at a hot restaurant.
There are times, however, when holding onto a valuable piece of knowledge comes with a fair share of stress.
Indeed, sometimes knowing something which isn't common knowledge to everyone feels like it could get you in pretty serious trouble.
Almost as if the simple act of knowing what you do was illegal.
"What piece of information did you learn, that feels illegal to know?
Contraband Music!
"Sometimes you can play around with URLs and find clean copies of watermarked previews."
"Helps a lot when trying to learn a song that you don’t have sheet music for."- funkycat75
Sheet Music Animation GIFGiphyNot Illegal To Know, But Possibly Illegal To Use
"You can order maintenance keys on Amazon for most models of coin op laundry machines."- Reddit
"You can buy many keys online."
"Among them are:"
"There's the Ford fleet keys, which can get you into cops cars."
"There's firefighter and maintenance elevator keys which let you control elevators."
"You can turn them off, or turn it to fire evacuation mode (it just goes to main floor and is then unusable) and even firefighter/maintenance mode which the elevator will only go where you want it to go.''
"It won't stop at other floors to pick up other people."
"Keys for bulldozers, backhoes, and other heavy equipment."
"Often one key will open many models from the same manufacturer."
"There's also something called a Lishi Tool."
"It can be used to pick locks, but it's also set you to tell you the position of each pin in the lock."
"That allows you to have another key cut from code (useful if you lose your keys and don't want to replace the whole lock.)"
"And of course, handcuff keys."
"I've used a real handcuff keys in toy cuffs, so I'd imagine toy keys could work in real handcuffs."
"Generally these would all be legal to own (except the Lishi which is a type of lockpick and has various legalities around the US.)"
"All you need is an internet connection, a credit card to pay for it and an address to send it to."- David2022Wallace
diy colour GIFGiphyI Mean, They Weren't Going To Use Them...
'If you go to the plant section of a store and walk around, you will likely find a few clippings on the ground."
"You can pick those up and take them home with you and stick them in some dirt and illegally download a plant for free."- periyyas
Can Delete The File, Not The Info
"One time I received an email from my boss with an attachment that he clearly didn’t mean to send."
"It was an Excel file showing the compensation of everyone in my extended department."
"I gawked at it for a few minutes before he showed up at my desk."
"He made me delete it while he watched.'
"He couldn’t delete it from my brain though."- DWright_5
shift gmail GIF by Product HuntGiphyGood To Know, I Guess?
"If you use a natural gas then fire fighters will think it was a gas leak whereas if you use something like gasoline, it leaves identifiable burn marks."- Crash_Junior-
A Helpful Glitch
"Doesn't seem to work anymore, but there was a restaurant chain app that I realized that after I had used rewards points that gave me $6 off one of my orders."
"My usual order was about $12, so about half off."
"I then noticed next time if I selected re-order previous order it would still include that $6 off every time, even though I had nowhere near the rewards points to keep getting that amount off, it just copied all the specifics of the previous order."- turkeysandwich1982
Always Look For The Loophole
"In Australia, no electrical apprentice can work within 600mm of green domes ( where houses are connected to underground power) but you can work as close as you want if you don't have any electrical license."- thorpie88
When You're Dealing With Something Bigger Than The Law...
"Jury nullification is something every U.S. citizen should know about."
"Disseminating information about it could actually lead to charges being pressed in certain circumstances, so it kinda is illegal at times."- Mrgoodtrips64
When You Don't Feel Like Paying
"You can just create a new email and extend your trial limit."- HolyFire-
Giphy...Make Friends With A Gardener?...
'In Brazil, it's not illegal to consume and grow hallucinogens mushrooms though it's illegal to sell them."- MuriloJCD
It's always exciting to hold on to secrets or privileged information.
And all the trouble it has the potential to get you into might make it only more exciting.
When I first started interviewing for jobs, I was under the impression that job interviews only go badly if the candidate is unprepared. I was wrong.
I walked into an interview for a staff writer position at a company. As part of the interview, they had me create written pitches for three blog ideas. In addition to pitches, I had to provide writing points.
I left feeling good about the interview and thought my blog pitches were top-notch. I was, at least, right about that part.
After I made several attempts to follow up, I noticed my exact blog pitches on the company’s website. They didn’t even bother to change the grammar. My writing points were fragments, but the company just copy and pasted them, word-for-word, using my pitch as a title.
Then they told me the position was filled. I felt used. I’m still not sure if there was a position available or if they just brought people in to lessen their workload.
According to Redditors, this type of thing happens a lot. Sometimes even worse things happen during an interview. It seems Redditors have gone through all kinds of horrible interview experiences, and are ready to share.
It all started when Redditor itsPatrii_ asked:
“What happened in your worst job interview?”
Different Position
“I applied for a particular position in a sporting goods store. It was for the hockey/skates section.”
“The manager posted the wrong position, it was supposed to be in a department I know nothing about. She got mad at me because it was apparently my fault that she messed up on the job ad. Like actual mad saying I was wasting her time and this and that.”
– David2022Wallace
“Had something similar. Internship at the governor's office while I was in college. I wanted to work with the judicial nomination committee, applied just for that. Get there, and that internship was actually already full, but she never notified me beforehand. She let me interview on the spot for something else, showed me the list of what was available, and I selected the constituent services office.”
“We start the interview and she asks me all these questions about the governor’s policy positions, which I’m not 100 percent familiar with. She scolds me for being unprepared, so I remind her curtly that this wasn’t even the internship I had applied for and that I WAS prepared to interview for the judicial committee, and that SHE didn’t warn me that it was already full until I got there, so how I could be prepared to interview for something else randomly? She mumbled something like, “oh yeah, right…”
“I got the internship. It was good, but citizens can be nuts.”
– v_rose23
The Phone Keeps Ringing
"Reading these, mine is pretty tame, but here it goes:
I had an interview for a sales position at a life insurance company. I show up and it's actually a group interview - huge red flag there. One person audibly says "f*ck this sh*t" and walks out 10 minutes in. I want to do the same but I'm polite so I stick it out and then leave at the end without saying anything.
2 days later they call back and ask me if I want to come in for an interview. I assume they mean a follow up interview, and I decline and say I wasn't interested. 2 days later they call me again for the same thing. Eventually I realize they aren't asking me back for a 2nd interview, they are so disorganized and their turnover is so high that they don't realize they are calling the same people over and over again. This goes on every couple of days for 2 weeks before the calls finally stop."
– Pizza__Pants
Age Is Just A Number
"I sat down, and these two women stared at me. Finally one of them said, "We thought you were younger." (I am in my 60s). After she said this, she got up and left."
"The other one (turns out she is the manager), was rude and cold, tossed a few questions at me, then got on her cell phone."
"I finally said, "Look if we're done here, (she was staring at her desk, ignoring me), I have another interview." I left."
"Later, I reported both of them to the district office. District manger said, "We've had many reports about her.""
"The manager got fired. I was offered another interview. Declined."
– Ill-Summer-5061
We Just Need Your Help
"It's was for a software engineering position. The entire interview was focused around solutioning for a very specific problem. Was about 45 mins of the interview team saying things like "That won't work, we tried that already.""
"Left the interview without getting a solution to the problem. On the way out, I spoke with HR about what the potential next steps in the interview process were. She informed me they already filled the position, but didn't cancel any of the scheduled interviews."
"I was brought in to solve problems the team couldn't solve. For free."
– SpaceGerbil
"I got flown out for a job in Minnesota. Interview seemed to be going very well. Was there all day and they asked me what I thought were a lot of hypothetical questions. At the end of the interview they asked me to do a case study for them as part of the interview process. I went back home to NY and did the case study the next day. Didn't hear anything from them for a week and decided to reach back out. The response I got from the recruiter was that they liked my solutions for the case study but they seemed too "extreme" for their problem. I responded that I thought this was a hypothetical scenario and if they actually had this problem. The recruiter told me it was in fact a real problem they were having and that they wanted outside ideas."
"So... there was never any job? The recruiter said that if any of the candidates ideas panned out they may consider offering them a position. I felt used. They misrepresented themselves and took my ideas free of charge with the allure of possibly getting a position within the company. Is it a grey area of fraud? Is it actual fraud? I don't know but I was pissed and wrote the recruiter, the hiring manager, the SVP of HR and the CEO of the company a pretty harsh letter about their behavior."
– dplans455
People Can Be So Rude!
"Fell down the stairs when I was being shown around the building. Ended up breaking both fibula, a few bones in each foot, tearing some ligaments and cracking my tailbone. This happened in September and I'm still in pain."
"After the fall, I sat at the bottom of the stairs crying for about 15 minutes and finally managed to pull myself up. The woman showing me around said "So does this mean you don't want the rest of the tour?""
– Spacey19802
"They just left you there for 15 minutes, crying in pain? Didn’t bother calling for help? What the hell? And how tone deaf is that person to even ask if didn’t want the rest of the tour. Jfc"
– TheBigBluePit
No One Works For Free
"We'd evaluate your performance for a month then you'll start getting payment from second month"
– enticingdystopia
"I'll start evaluating the salary for a month and then I'll come to work for the 2nd month if I like it."
– crazy-diam0nd
Awkward...
"Logged onto a scheduled zoom interview for a highly paid position. Someone was also logged in, waiting. I assumed this was my interviewer. Nope. They were also waiting to be interviewed. Okay…. So we’re competing for the position? Cool, I guess. 4 more people proceed to log on, waiting for their interview. Never done a group interview before but was ready. It was awkwardly silent between us all. About 15 minutes go by… no one is logged in to interview us. 30 minutes in, we all start conspiring that one of us is secretly the interviewer and conducting a social experiment. Nope, we all just got scammed. Logged off."
– Severe_Chipmunk_8954
"Group interviews usually mean MLM"
– HOA-President
The Audacity!
"My background: I’m an Iraq war Army Veteran. Shortly after returning home to civilian life, I had an interview. Interviewer made a comment after seeing Army on my resume that she hoped I understood that if an issue arises at work that I can’t just go war mode and shoot the place up. I was appalled someone would even say something that stupid to me. I literally just stood up and told her to interview someone else and left. Looking back I bet she didn’t think it was her audacious comment, but that I actually would have some crazy reaction and walked out."
– dtownalltheway84
"Should have gone into war mode."
– DogsAreOurFriends
Ouch!
"Not me, but a guy interviewing to join my team was so nervous he passed out, faceplanted on the table, and ended up with a nosebleed. We didn't hire him."
– LionNo3221
Yikes!
"A long, long time ago, fairly fresh out of college, pounding the pavement in Manhattan, looking for work, probably office work but doing anything. I was interviewing at a direct marketing company. “Now, you know what direct marketing is, right?”"
"“Yeah, I said. “That’s what’s called junk mail, right?”"
"He paused for a minute and said, “Well, that’s not what we call it.”"
"It was a short interview."
– DWright_5
Yikes!
"I got a nose bleed. Gushed all over the conference table and down my blouse. Ran to the bathroom and after the bleeding stopped they wanted to continue the interview. So there I was with blood stains all down my shirt and blood all over the table. 🤦🏼♀️"
– geewhizliz
Well, That Went Well
"Went in for an interview for a writing job. The guy started asking me if I would do sales stuff as well and I said I didn't really have any experience in sales. He told me to hold on a minute and left the room. I sat there for a while and realized he wasn't coming back so I got up and left. As I was leaving he was standing outside the door smoking. He said sorry you aren't hired."
– Puzzled-Shampoo5154
That's The Way To Make An Exit!
"She started to gossip about all the other employees, about 5 others. She told me a lot. I ended up taking the job and had to quit thee days later because she made the workplace miserable. As I left I told everyone the stuff she said about them and two others walked out with me. It was awesome."
– Rrath876
Take It Off!
“They asked me to take off my shirt to prove I didn't have gang tattoos, I walked out without saying another word.”
– Flashy_Adeptness8597
“Um yeah, asking someone to remove their clothes in an interview at all is crazy.”
– MsFrisi
“*Silently mouths the words: "I'm wearing a wire - the FBI wants to raid you" while vigorously pointing at my chest”
– apathyduck
I think I just lost all faith in humanity.
These Redditors cannot be alone. Do you have any crazy stories to share? Let us know in the comments below.