For many, the interview process is an excruciating pocket of time dedicated to impressing somebody that's more experienced, far more embedded in their comfort zone, and has a dope name plate.
That attitude holds firm when the interviewer asks of any questions the prospective candidate may have.
Thus, a unique opportunity to learn about any problems, concerns, or get an accurate picture of the job and the work is given away.
Usually, folks just ask something that, again, impresses.
Some Redditors shared their ideas for empowering interviewees to do right by themselves despite the intimidating context.
And some, of course, just got plain silly.
u/PsychologyToGo asked, "What are great questions to ask your interviewer at the end of a job interview?"
So What REALLY Goes On In This Joint?
"Walk me through a typical day in the position I am hiring for."
Third Month Ream-Out Prevention
"What do you expect me to accomplish in the first 60 to 90 days?"
Quick Question, is it Toxic Here?
"How would you describe morale in your workplace, and what does the company do to help build morale?"
Getting Down to Brass Tacks
"Can I see the fridge I will be using so I can size my lunchbox purchase appropriately?"
You People Realistic About Your Expectations?
"What are some of the projects you have coming up, and what's the timelines to get them implemented?"
Reddit user JustARayOfPitchBlack asked:
"Employers of Reddit, what is the most Inappropriate piece of clothing someone has worn to an job interview?"
Daisy Dukes
Someone came in to interview at my job wearing a Levi's t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off, Daisy Dukes, and pink flip flops covered in pompoms. It was January in the UK. I don't understand why she wasn't blue with cold.
The look my manager gave me as she lead this woman to the interview room was amazing.
Not as bad as some of the others here, but it gave us a good laugh for a few days.
Hello Kitty
I had an interviewee for a entry-level, customer service position at a large company show to our interview 15 minutes late in Hello Kitty pajama bottoms, a matching backpack, a bright pink hoodie, and warm, fuzzy slippers.
I didn't even bother with the interview as she was late, but that has to be one of the most unprofessional attire I've seen in my hiring experience.
The other I recall was a young woman interviewing for a customer service position at the airline I was at in an extremely low cut blouse and short skirt, all in black. Mentioned something during the interview about how she hasn't smoked weed in a couple weeks and wanted to make sure we knew she wasn't high.
Scruffy
I actually got a job by showing up scruffy. At the time I'd been working construction trying to get back into office work. Saw a "now hiring" side and just wandered in and asked for an application. The person who handed me the application was nice and polite to my face. Then told another coworker "that guy has no chance, showing up like that". The other coworker was my cousin, who informed the HR manager, who called me to apologise and invited me for an interview. I didn't even know what had transpired until my cousin told me later, but I said oh no worries I was just passing through and obviously I'll be appropriately dressed if you hire me haha.
Made sure I was properly cleaned up and dressed appropriately for the interview. Got the job and ended up working there for 5 years. Had they not made some stupid remark I may not have even been considered.
Trying Too Hard
I had a young guy come in one day who I think was clearly trying to NOT get the job. Like his dad gave him an ultimatum to get a job or get out type of thing and he was just going to interviews to appease him.
He had his hair in pigtails high on the sides of his head with wire threaded in them so they'd stick out.
Black t-shirt that said "F*CK" on it in giant white letters.
Plaid schoolgirl style skirt.
Rainbow tights.
90's chunky club kid style shoes.
I honestly would've been fine if he'd worn a skirt and tights with a nice shirt to the interview. We actually had another male employee that wore skirts. He'd borrow my clothes all the time.
It was the "f*ck" shirt that did the guy in.
Hat
One time I was having dinner in a restaurant and saw a young woman come up to the counter and ask for a job application. The employees gave her one and she sat down near me to fill it out. This is when I noticed she was wearing a cap with a huge pot leaf on it.
She finished it, returned it to the counter, and asked what the follow up would be. The employee said "we'll contact you in a few days for an interview... and when you come back, don't wear that hat!"
Ripped Jeans
Not an employer but when I applied for my city's EMS it was a pretty grueling interview process.
Showed up in a nice shirt, dress pants and a tie, guy who was interviewing with me showed up in ripped Jean's wearing chains and a white tshirt.
This was an interview with 3 senior paramedics and the medical director of the city, they told him to leave and come back when he was serious about it.
Pajamas
PJs she was pulled out of bed and brought to me and my boss for a interview she didn't know she was having.
After 5 minutes we offered her a job and she actually turned out really well.
I was working at a fast food restaurant as a assistant manager my boss and I were trying to find a new closer. A old friend of mine who I was out of touch with was looking for a new job so she could leave one she was at. I asked her brother to take a application to her and bring it back filled out with her. He woke her up had her fill it out and brought her to the store in her PJs. Me and my boss talked to her at the front counter about her experience in fast food. My boss and I exchanged a smile knowing we wanted her. My boss looked at her and asked how long she will need to give notice. My friend explained she needed to know if she had the job and asked when she would sit for a interview. Almost in unison my boss and I said "you just had the interview." She started with us 2 weeks later.
Barefoot
My master's student came to defend his thesis bare footed because "his slippers got wet"
This was in Estonia
Leggings
A pair of flesh colored leggings that made her look as if she wasn't pairing wearing pants at all, a sweatshirt that opened in the front, that had been pulled to the side a bit to reveal a lacy camisole top. We work as therapists. No f**king way she got that job.
For more info, both her wig and glasses were askew. There was an odor somewhere between human and cat urine. And about halfway through she asked if she could take a break because she left her car running to charge her phone.
Crocs
He came in to the IT interview in polo, khakis and aqua colored Crocs with an anime maid blushing painted on one and lining up a sniper shot on the other. He was late because security was concerned about his mlp chain wallet.
Bathing Suit
A few years back, I had someone show up fresh out of the swimming pool. Hair wet. Bathing suit and cover up on. Still wet. Hadn't taken the time to dry off. I went through the interview and a test simulation of the job with her. She actually did very well at the simulation. When I took her to see my boss that made the ultimate decision, he took one look and said no. Didn't ask about the simulation or anything, just no.
(1) Not a lifeguard position. It was for a small textile company that manufactures clean room supplies. (2) Boss was a complete jerk - I have numerous stories about why he did and didn't hire someone after I did initial interview/assessment.
Flip Flops
A guy showed up in flip flops, cargo shorts and a tank top. Ended up being the best interview of the day by miles, ended up one of the best people I ever hired. I still don't recommend anyone do this, but it has worked.
Homecoming Dress
Homecoming dress. She knew she was supposed to dress up for the interview, and that was the nicest thing she had. I felt so bad; she was incredibly embarrassed. It was her first real interview, and in the end I gave her credit for at least putting in the effort.
Edit: For everyone asking, yes, she did get a job offer. The attire didn't factor in nearly as much as her coming in prepared, on time, and with questions.
Swim Trunks
I saw one guy come from the country club pool in an american flag tank top and swim trunks to the clubs golf cart boy interview. He didn't get the job and then came back a week later in a full suit apologizing for his previous attire.
GiphyHarvard
I worked in the US Senate a couple years back.
We were interviewing about half a dozen candidates for a pretty junior position. One of the interviewees was wearing a Harvard tee shirt, a Harvard jacket, and Harvard sweatpants. We were astounded.
The first question my coworker asked was "Did you go to Harvard?". The guy did, and he handled the rest of the interview surprisingly well. He didn't get the job but he did become a running joke in the office for a while.
Trying for a set bonus I guess.
Roller Blades
I was the person! This was 20 years ago, and I had just moved to the city. I was 17 and spent 3 weeks working as a hostess at Denny's. A friend asked if I wanted to go rollerblading, so I was strapped into my roller blades and was wearing athletic wear. She then pulled up to her gym, had me walk in my roller blades up to the second story where the daycare was, and told me that I was interviewing for the Nanny job that she heard was available. I actually got the job because the woman who owned the gym was impressed that I could climb stairs in my roller blades!
Pantsed
Woo boy. The guy without pants. At my last job, I spent ~10 months in 2017 on a research team doing statistical learning research for health informatics. It's a very large healthcare company, and they basically took almost a dozen of their PhD researchers from BI, R&D, and Market Dev, temporarily reassigned them to the new Center For Data Excellence. Two of the PhD's were director/AVP-level, so they each got to bring a team member with them.
My director brought me from Market Dev because my background's in mathematical modeling, but the other guy didn't have anyone in his department who was free enough to bring along, so they posted the job and started interviewing. I'd do the pre-interview stuff with one of the junior PhDs, and then the senior team members who come in.
Anyway, four days into interviewing, we get one dude up on Skype for his interview, and he's way too close to the screen, like his laptop's up on his knees. We asked him to move the laptop back a bit, and he gives it up that he can't, because the lower part of his shirt has a huge, fresh coffee stain, and his pants are hanging on the adjacent wall. He'd lost track of time and rushed home, and he'd spilled his coffee in his hurry.
We told him, "no problem, we'll find a new time for you. The shirt might be a goner, but be sure to wash the pants in hot water right away."
We actually hired that dude, and I think he's still there. Great guy.
Basic Instinct
It wasn't so much of inappropriate clothing. It was more the action of uncrossing her legs very wide while wearing a short skirt. Meanwhile never taking her eyes off mine.
Yeah...
HR nightmare waiting to happen.
Short Dress
An extremely short dress.
But, I ended up hiring her because she had experience. Turned out she was pregnant, coming from school, and her husband had met her at the interview site so she could change clothes and that is what he had brought. She was so embarrassed, but did not have time to go home and change into something else.
She ended up being the best worker I had ever hired.
Don't judge a book by its cover.
Space Jam
I worked in a fairly business casual leaning towards real casual office at my last job and I interviewed and hired a lot of contractors. Had one college kid show up for an interview. He was wearing a space jam jersey which in my head I was like "heck yeah kid that's awesome" but the professional in me was like come on dude.
Hired him for a few projects and he ended up being one of the smartest, most hardworking and coolest dudes I ever worked with and we became good friends. He's real successful to this day.
GiphyIf it's your first in-person interview, do a little research on the workplace.
Choose your clothing accordingly.
Curious about this situation, Redditor Rusty-Unicorn asked:
Hirers of Reddit, what did a candidate wear to an interview that cost them the job?
Not off to a good start.
"His beat headphones over his neck. I don't know if it counts though because there were many other reasons also including 3 f bombs to start the interview."
– Qmnip0tent
"Ha I actually interviewed a girl about a year ago who didn't even take her earbuds out of her ears. She came in with a group of 3 or 4 friends. I sent her on her way after talking to her for about 45 seconds."
– AlphaSarcastic
Wow.
"Once had a guy come to interview at the software company I worked at wearing a "Female Body Inspector" shirt... that ended quickly."
– dimdog
"Trying to milk the unemployment for as long as possible?"
– andersberndog
GiphyHire him for the costume department.
"I was working for a concessionaire for a MLB team where we do a mass hiring event before the season starts. This man came into the waiting room in street clothes, asked to go to the restroom, and changed into a Halloween-style pimp suit. This included a hat and a cane."
– lindsayviers
Thanks for the mental image.
"A T-shirt of Mickey mounting Minnie from behind. It was disturbing on so many levels, not the least of which was how well done it was. This was for a minimum wage position, but still."
– ChristinaSaidSo_
Email addresses can make or break an interview.
"Not what they wore but their email address on their resume was a description of their breast size preference."
– chef_in_va
"I had a guy use an email with a domain that was REALLY strange-sounding, so we went and looked it up. It was his own personal cult website about how he believes he's the next coming of Christ and that the world is ending really soon."
"... we decided to pass."
– Woolbrick
GiphyThat doesn't seem fair.
"I used to be the physician lead for my group's NP program; as such, I was involved with the interviews/hirings. Our business manager refused to consider a qualified candidate because she wore baby-doll socks with her outfit. I never understood that one..."
– mike1762
These Actors Seemed Miscast But Absolutely Nailed The Role | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
The Actors Who Seemed Miscast But Absolutely Nailed The RoleFew people bought into the idea of Bryan Cranston in the role of Walter White before Breaking Bad...An unexpected prodigy.
"I sometimes do campus recruiting and interviews, but don't make final hiring decisions. With that said, at a campus event, my partner and I were going through a line of over 300 people. We scan their resume, ask a bunch of questions to get them in our system, and add some quick comments/suggestions."
"Had a person wait in line for several hours. When she got to me, she had no resume, and still had on pajamas. Now I never try to judge a book by it's cover, but I have to get through a person in under 4 minutes on average, and have about 20 questions to ask to put info for HR into our system."
"I was ready to power through this as fast as possible, to get to a candidate that was an actual potential hire. However, this girl was graduating with a 4.0 BS Computer Science...at the age of 17. She spoke 7 languages fluently (I could not verify this). She said she had started working on PHD research when she was 14, but didn't want to continue with school. I had to convince her to go make a resume, as I could not complete her in our system without it, and wanted to make sure she was visible to the right people."
"Honestly I was surprised she even wanted to work at our fortune 500 company. It's a great start for most people, but I would think prodigies would have other options than a 70k salary in Texas. She did go make a resume...and waited in line again. I made sure HR found her profile, but I have no idea if she signed on with us."
– MaynardJ222
Bad call.
"Not an interview, but...I worked for a video webcast company and we hired freelancers to operate our cameras sometimes when we were short staffed. The rule is that you wear all black so you blend into the background. Freelancer showed up in a tie dye sweatshirt and cargo shorts."
"He ended up operating a camera right next to the head of the bioethics committee that reports directly to the President. Not only did we not ever hire him again, the client asked us to never bring him back."
– Artrovert
GiphyA dress code for Furries, maybe.
"Interviewing for our Food Service department within a well known hospital in St. Louis. Young girl, lower 20's, comes in wearing bright yellow uggs and a Davey Crockett hat. As if that wasn't enough she also had one of those tails. Not the butt plug type just attached to her pants."
– sully19871023
Nothing like an ice-cold Sprite.
"Probably very late to this party..."
"I used to do interviews for a retail store, due to the frequency of applicants we'd have group interviews. Anyway, this one time two dudes came to the interview, obviously friends and obviously stoned. The first kid was decently dressed (jeans and a t shirt) but, the second kid was dressed in Green Cookie Monster pajamas and an oversized T down to about his knees."
"The worst part was one of them opened a can of sprite in the middle of the interview. They wound up going sip for sip sharing the 12oz can."
– SafeSecks
The Green Guy.
"He wore all green. Green rimmed glasses, green sweater, green shirt, green jeans, green socks and shoes. Even have a green bag with a button with his face on it labelled green guy."
– ellie-fun
GiphyWhat was his thought process?
"I've interviewed a few job candidates, I've never come across anything objectionable. But I've heard stories."
"In university I heard a story from someone giving a presentation about being prepared for job interviews. She said she once passed on a female candidate wearing a belt buckle that said "Shaved" on it."
"I also recall going to a networking event in university with a bunch of students from the Ivey School of Business, most of us wore dress shirts or suits, and one guy showed up in jeans, a beater top, and a sideways ball cap. I don't know what that guy was thinking."
– yyz_guy
Gross.
"I was interviewing for a teaching position at a local school. The principal was conducting the interview and eating lunch at the same time. He wore a towel (with a hole cut in the middle) over his head like a bib."
"This towel/bib looked like it had seen 1000 lunches already and never been washed. He was literally interviewing me with a mouth full of mashed potatoes and wiping his face on the bib as he went. I never broke eye contact because I knew if I looked at that bib I was going to start giggling. Got the job!"
– Midnight_Laundry
Oh my God....
"I used to hire for a retailer that had been sued for a lack of diversity. As a result, the interview included the series of questions, "What is diversity and inclusion? Is this important in the work place? Why or why not?""
"I had someone basically define segregation then tell me that it was important because not everyone gets along. The best part was that this was a group interview with young adults. The sheer horror on one of the guy's faces I will never forget. He had the look on his face that I was feeling. When I asked him, his response he emphatically said, "The exact opposite of what she said!""
– lesigh314
GiphyPotty mouth.
"Every single question was answered with some version of 'Well... like... you know ... " Or "F*** does that really happen here?" When asked why they wanted the position they said 'McDonald's fired me and you guys pay better, so what the F*** right?" Yeah... No."
– EternalSmartAss
Written On The Clothes
"The leading contender has always been a guy with a Nazi Swastika with the words Seig Hell written on it. You can't interview for an embassy job with the literal emblem of a country we defeated in a war."
"Then there was the guy who came in with the Homosexual marriage = Terrorism. It would probably not have been a great idea to tell him I'm gay."
"But basically, every single one is because of what was written on their clothes instead of the material/design/cost/brand of the clothes they wore. Although we do have dress guidelines, I've never had anyone come to an interview in swim shorts or a bikini."
– eachine_m
I Just Woke Up
"Pyjamas. Seriously pyjamas. We were doing a Skype interview and he thought it totally acceptable to literally roll out of bed and do his Skype interview"
– Oilfreeeggs
"She wore pajamas, a dirty denim jacket, and greasy a** green hair. Her face was very obviously unwashed and it looked like she just rolled up out of bed."
"This was for a Jr level tech job working at a fortune 500 company."
"What. The. F*ck. Lady."
"She didn't get the job."
– Deleted User
"Pajama pants."
"They arrived in pajama pants."
"You ain't even dressed to go outside but you decided that is what you wanted to wear to an interview."
– intashu
Keep Hygiene In Mind
"More so what he didn’t wear: deodorant. This guy came in wearing a suit and smelled of BO and expired food. It was fall, he drove to the interview, and he seemed otherwise very professional."
– shaylaa30
More Than Words
"It wasn't so much what he wore as the fact he had an upside down cross carved into his forehead."
– Boredzilla
Right In Your Face
"A MAGA hat. Don't carry your politics like that. Idiot!"
– Gang36927
"Recently a man came I wearing a MAGA hat. It's not so much I disagree with his political beliefs but that anyone who comes to an interview wearing something so politically avert is going to create problems with coworkers."
"I'm sure I failed his test, too."
– AALen
Not The Right Fit
"I worked at a major retailer as a Team Lead. Guy walked into the interview wearing a shirt that said "F*ck you: smoke weed.""
"Sorry, buddy. This job ain't for you."
– WhyKnotTakeAlook
Remember To Smile
"A frown"
– CaptainKangaroo3000
The Force Was With Him
"Worked for a couple temp agencies so I’ve seen alot, best one is my boss interviewed a guy that showed up in a Jedi costume complete with lightsaber. We weren’t the most professional temp agency so my boss obviously asks him wtf he was thinking and the dude doubles down and says it’s his religion."
– darksquidlightskin
He Dodged A Bullet
"My one and only civilian job interview was for an EMT-B job 20 years ago. The supervisor and I are sitting on across from each other at his desk, and he grabs some paperwork that his coffee mug is sitting on, spilling his coffee onto my pants."
"I got up, cleaned off as best I could in the bathroom, and came back in to finish the interview. He told me that it wasn't a good look not to have a spare set of interview clothes in my car "just in case something happened.""
"I did not get the job.""
– Deleted User
Clean Up, Please
"Not me but my mom had someone come in drunk with a blazer over a crop top that had vomit on it and sweats."
– Gabby_005
Not all outfits are up to snuff.
A little extra effort can go a long way.
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