Redditor AntonK777 wanted to discuss all the times the in person job search went seriously south. So they asked everyone to share:
"What was the worst job interview you've had?"
Steak knives. I tried a company selling steak knives.
It is a pyramid scheme.
Withdrawn
job interviews GIFGiphy"I drove 2 hrs for the interview."
"Got there and the interviewer was off sick and hadn't told anyone about me coming in."
"Got back in my car and drove the 2 hrs home."
"Withdrew my name from consideration."
lent12
Death
"The interviewer insisted on knowing why I'd left graduate school. Now, I had left graduate school because my advisor died in a car accident and the whole small department was thrown for a loop and no one seemed to know or care what was going to happen to me or my just started research project."
"The a**hole interviewer wouldn't even accept 'My advisor died suddenly' and dug into the gory details until I was almost in tears (even intimating that I must have had 'feelings' for my advisor.)"
"I couldn't wait to get out of there and in my haste to leave I knocked some solutions off a cart (which had no business being in his office BTW) on my way out. I'd never been so humiliated in my life."
"After that, I was sure I'd never get a job in science."
feliciates
"Otter"
"At an interview for a tech startup, they asked me 'If you could be any animal, what would you be?'
"I answered 'Otter' because you know, fun, active, work well with their hands and cute as f**k."
"They really debated whether or not to hire me because of that answer because, and I quote, 'We only hire predators, never prey.'"
"And they weren't sure how to quantify an Otter, because none of them had ever paid the least bit of attention to any sort of animal documentary or read biology or you know, visited a zoo recently."
"God that job sucked hard."
rileysweeney
"helper"
"Was invited for an IT 'helper' position when I was 17. Would help fix computers for people at a shoddy PC fix shop."
"They asked me 'What's the first thing you check if a customer calls and says their screen doesn't turn on?'"
"I said 'Well, you gotta check if they have it plugged into a socket.' They laughed and said thank you that will be it. Then led me to the door and gently pushed me out."
IgnasP
It's a No.
william h macy interview GIF by ShowtimeGiphy"In a group interview, the interviewer crossed a line through my name on the list he had after I told him what I graduated in. This was within the first 5 minutes of a 40 minute meeting."
Testosteroxin
How do some people get into management positions?
Are YOU Hiring?
Season 3 Nbc GIF by The OfficeGiphy"In the middle of my interview, the manager asked me if my current workplace (that I was trying to leave) was hiring. When I said I didn't know, he asked if I'd be willing to drop off a resume for him anyway."
Errorboros
Real Tears
"Two: 1- the recruiter started to fold my cv into a paper plane during the interview. (Didn't get the job)."
"2- Was pawned off unsuspectingly to the CFO of a company five mins into my interview with the CEO. The CFO had no idea what to ask so he went the 'tell me your biggest flaws' way."
"I was so dejected that I said 'you’ll have to hire me to find out.' Interview ended five mins later. I spent 30 mins crying at my hubris and stupidity in the parking lot. Got the job."
Cleverpseudonym4
Instead of...
"I drove an hour to be interviewed for a computer repair tech job at a rental company, and 3/4 of the way through the interview they told me I was perfect for the position, however they recently removed the position altogether. They then asked if I'd be willing to repair furniture instead until the position opened again."
DigitXer0
Bad Vibrations
"Job was for a vibration analysis engineer. I knew how to do the job well. I knew the pay should be around 95k, and they stated 55k (in the interview). When I tried to discuss my point, they said, 'don't worry, there's plenty of overtime.' They also mentioned since they weren't involved with many balances at the moment, I would assist the cleaning crew with a lot of the cleanings. I've never been so uninterested in a job in my life."
Bender3455
Whoops
Shield Knock Over GIF by Assassin's CreedGiphy"My first Interview ever was at DQ and I accidentally knocked a 90 year old woman over."
Sometimes unemployment is the better option while you wait.
But as much as we'd like to think we have an impressive list of prior experiences, it's ultimately up to a hiring manager to see if we are the perfect fit.
So what are the things hiring managers flag as an undesirable applicant? And who are the lucky ones that get the job?
Curious to explore the kinds of resumes that make or break one's chances of getting hired, Redditor ThanosIsMyRealFather asked:
"Hiring managers of Reddit, what was something on someone's CV/resume that made you either immediately want to hire them or immediately reject them?"
Some resumes were not clear winners but they did have a uniqueness to them.
Reason For Leaving Prior Job
"I had a resume from a potential interview candidate that listed his reason for leaving his last job as: 'I found a body.' No further explanation. You bet your sweet patootie I called him in for an interview. (As a strategy to get an interview, it worked!)"
"The condensed story is that he found a body while walking the grounds at his job checking to make sure all gated areas were secure and clear of debris."
"When he found the body, he called the police. He was fired because he broke internal reporting protocol. He was supposed to notify his immediate supervisor and not outside authorities. It was the supervisor's responsibility to call the police."
– BexieB
The Occasional Humor
"I received a resume from an applicant that included a letter of recommendation from his cat. The letter was hilarious and signed with a clipart paw print. I thought it was great and wanted to bring him in, but the manager for the position wasn't as crazy about it. I guess the point is, humor in an application can work for you, but it really depends on the person."
– darthnut
A Show Of Strength
"A guy put his bench, squat and deadlift numbers in his personal skills section for a bar job."
"It spawned a long tradition of asking bartenders what they could bench when they applied for a job."
– MoveToStrike
A Ghost Writer
"Guy submitted a resume claiming to be a 'ghost writer' for a local college."
"In lieu of a college degree, he listed the units he wrote assignments for and the average grades his clients got."
– OkButHurry
A List
"Recruiter here. I have a few:"
- Resume - 'hire me lol'
- Video interview with another candidate, she was in a hospital bed and just gave birth to her son prior to her interview. HIRED
- Another video interview, the guy was chugging a tall boy Coors Lights...
"Edit: Just to add little to the second story, she was looking for additional income for her move. It was a part-time, temporary job with very easy work. She was a very bubbly person."
– samsamich
Demonstrating Proof
"Not a hiring manager but I once wrote stuff like 'able to plug in USB on first try' and 'can do up to 10 push-up before going into sleep mode' in the Additional Skills section. They later told me I was invited because they wanted to see if I really can do the first one."
– Im_dad_serious
Conveying Status
"I know a guy who put that he had a black belt in full contact Origami."
– MyAntipodeanFriend
Obscure Opinions People Are Fully Committing To | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
We all have a set of beliefs about even the smallest of topics. Like sandwiches should have structural integrity. That's something we can all agree on, right...These are examples of what not to do to stand out from the rest.
A Bad Font
"Someone sent over their CV written entirely in the papyrus font from Microsoft word. May as well have gone all out and used windings."
– user deleted
Oopsy Daisy
"I had someone hand me a resume with the html code of a porn url mixed in mid-way through. I guess he was watching porn while updating his resume and somehow dragged in a link. Guess he didn't proof read it."
– ProbablyNotCorrect
A Bad Recommendation
"I had one application dropped off by the applicant's mother. She told me 'If you hire him, you probably shouldn't trust him with money.'"
"*update edit: I threw the application away after she turned around. I was hiring for a sales clerk position at my family bakery."
– Barzilla1911
No Factory
"'I would like to work at your factory' I don't have a factory. Read the f'king job description."
– Nichinungas
The Threat
"A guy was said we had to hire him because he had a disability and it would be discrimination if we didn't. He wasn't hired, he called the CEO a few times to complain. We went thru it at least 3 x over the course of multiple hirings."
– free112701
Mark Of A Man
"Not so much the content of the application, but what was on the application."
"A handprint."
"It was for a food handling position and he was grungy enough to leave a print from where he held down the paper to write on it. Instant no. Looking back, yeah, there was a chance he'd have been fine, we could have taught proper hand washing and all that, but at the time we declined to grant an interview."
– ReadWriteSign
Don't Plagiarize
"I was on a hiring committee for a college instructor. The candidate was asked to provide a statement of commitment to the college and its mission. An entire paragraph was plagiarized - copied and pasted from a website."
"I noticed that the writer's voice drastically changed, so I pasted a sentence into Google and immediately found the source. He did not get an interview."
– mizboring
The following examples impressed these hiring managers.
A Unique Attachment
"I was hiring for a very competitive IT role last year and one guy, who didn't have the best real world experience, added a single QR code at the bottom of his CV."
"I scanned it and it took me to an online portfolio, including a secure lab with simulations he'd ran, allowing ME to test scripts he'd written and also play around in his lab environment. Honestly, I'd never seen anything like it. The guy got the job and has continued to be a great fit."
– NothingBreaking
Well-Versed
"Hiring a software engineer. Among his impressive list of skills were Notepad and Wordpad."
– EatMoarToads
The Unqualified Applicant
"I got my first IT job because I put in additional skills modifying Fallout 3 using GECK. I just loaded custom packs and got them to work and they gave me the job miraculously even tho I was underqualified."
– Burner7788
Performers seeking work in the entertainment industry face their set of challenges that are not observed from a conventional resume.
While casting directors primarily focus on hopefuls auditioning in front of them, they may peruse over an actor's headshot, which typically lists an actor's theatrical credits on the other side.
When I auditioned for a stage show some years ago, a casting director was curious to hear me do a Scooby-Doo impersonation, as it was listed under the "special skills" section of my resume.
I was never asked to do this previously.
And although my perfect impersonation of the beloved canine detective had nothing to do with my qualifications for the show I was auditioning for, I impressed the panel.
Did I get the job? I sure did. Scooby-Dooby-Doo!
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All before 8am...
GiphyMy uncle retired and, after some time had went by, he decided to get a part time job at a bait store for some extra spending money.
The afternoon boss told him to be there at 8am, but when he showed up at 7:45am and knocked on the door to be let in, the morning boss told him that he was 15 minutes late. The guy started to get in his case about how he was expected to be there a half hour before his shift to straighten up and restock shelves.
My uncle told him he could take his job and shove it up his butt. He was back on the road by 7:48. LetsChewThis
Terrible Twos....
I used to work in a really small grocery store that usually only had one manager and one cashier in the store at all times. I had put up my 2 weeks notice and prior to leaving trained up the new manager to take my place. The next day after I left from what I was told the manager quit 2 hrs into their first solo shift leaving the poor cashier behind who had been there even less time than the new manager. GreatFork
Peek a boo...
GiphyThe fastest was the one who was a no-show their first day. It's all good, about 8 months later they contacted us to say they were ready to come to work. hatchet338
I'm not even joking here... I worked in sales and had a guy start with us, no call no showed his second day. He never answered so we just figured he quit. 4 months later he calls and asks if he can still have the job, because on his way home from his first day he got in an accident and was in a coma! He called us 3 days after he woke up. JoeTheImpaler
Multi-tasker...
I once needed a new graphic designer in my unit so I (as was procedure) told HR what I needed and they came back in a couple weeks with someone they had hired. He met us all, sat down and was . . . very confused. He was an accountant, not a graphic designer. They had hired him as an accountant, and asked him lots of accounting questions. Nothing at all do do with the position. HR was called, he left with them. I never saw him again. I hope they kept him on as an accountant! tatsukunwork
Fast & the Furious...
Hired a delivery driver, construction materials. First day he had a 26 foot box truck and three stops in the Frederick Md market, about 2 hours from our warehouse. He leaves at 7:00 AM and is back at 11:30 AM. I see him and say 'wow, that was really fast.' He says he's going to get some cigarettes and will be right back in. Gets in his car and leaves, we open the truck and everything is still there, exactly as loaded. He doesn't answer his phone and never comes back. We never found out what happened.
For the next 6 months, anytime anyone in the warehouse was having a bad day, they'd say 'I'm going to get cigarettes.'Mean_Cup_of_Joe
Identity issues...
GiphyI worked at a prison, we had a woman come in get hired, for her first day which is where we start the finger print scan to upload data to the feds, and do your physical and TB test, she had gone down and not come back after 3-4 hours, we called down to see what was up, Turns out she was wanted two states over for identity theft, and was now being housed at intake. ICUMTARANTULAS
The Spanish angle...
The first day. I worked at a phone store in a very Hispanic neighborhood. He claimed to be fluent in Spanish in the interview (I probably should have verified that). He learned pretty quickly that he'd really need the Spanish, so he got super stressed and stormed off. I later found out he took a $900 camo galaxy s5 with him when he left. koreamax
Snooze button....
I used to manage a grocery store. We had to come in at 6 AM to start throwing the loads and getting the store ready for the day. Had a new hire come in 5 minutes late on her first day, at 6:05, just to give me her locker key and tell me it she has never woken up this early in her life and that she can't do the job. ak47ra1der
Too Hot to Handle...
Giphy15 minutes. I hired someone to work in a manufacturing plant. We did a tour of how hot the floor would be during the interview. No problem.
First day at work, he walked out after 15 minutes of work because it was "too hot." choocheu
Sounds like it would be an effective passive vetting to have someone wait in a chair in a "hot" area for 30 minutes before scooping them up for an interview. RollinThundaga
A Quick Upgrade...
We hired a girl for a live-on job (I worked on an university campus). She was hired, drove down like 3 - 4 hours, began her first day, apparently got some other offers that were closer to home, realized she made a huge mistake, packed her stuff and was gone that evening. gatesoffire1178
Snoozefest...
When I worked at Target as a GSTL I had a new hire come in, work 30 mins ask for a smoke break since it was slow and never came back. I called her cell an hour later, and she answered, "s**t was boring you know." That was it. We sent her a check for her time, which she came in and cashed at the guest services desk. She later did a porn, which was terrible for the record. greeed
Lovely attitude...
GiphyWe hired a front desk girl and when she discovered we had HIV patients, she quit before she "had to check one in."
How she got through the hiring process without realizing that an HIV clinic in fact has HIV patients is beyond me. Nikki-is-sweet
It's truly terrifying how ignorant people are of things they don't understand. I worked for a non-profit health agency that cut it's teeth on the HIV population but has since branched out into general medical clients as well. I never once felt unsafe around any of the clients I came into contact with. Most of them were pretty cool people, even if they did look more sickly than others maybe. But not all of them did. Many you would have no reason to even suspect. Lobo9498
Hello HR? Try again...
I had a new hire that left just after signing the i9 form and just before starting her computer training. So maybe 1 hour in?
Anyway my HR assistant didn't file the termination paperwork correctly (supposed to send a certified letter) and a year later the employee successfully sued for unemployment because we never gave her a schedule so she didn't know when to come in next. snarksneeze
Keep your $20!
I worked 4 hours as a cold calling telemarketer. Never went back, never picked up my check for the work. The managers were the scummiest people I ever met and I was literally the only person on shift who was sober. Everyone else, managers included, was on something.
I appreciate everyone trying to help me get the money I never got. I didn't want it. I was about 19, doing summer work, and I sure don't need it now. But again, thanks all. Seriously, it was like $20. Commander_Ivanova
This isn't my idea of fun!
GiphyOK DEF I was not this guy's manager but when I was a second-year surgery resident a new intern came on July 1, per usual. His story was that he had already finished a pediatric residency, which meant that for him, residency time could be over and he could go work as a pediatrician if he wanted. However, apparently his father was some sort of famous pediatric surgeon and his plan was to now become a general surgeon, and ultimately to become a pediatric surgeon (after further future Fellowship training). He was put on call the very first night. The next day I was told that around midnight, he went to the charge nurse asked "are you in charge around here?" And when she said yes he silently handed him her pager and walked out never to be seen again. I guessed he had enough of residency and certainly didn't want to be an intern again. Epic. supertucci
Father Knows best...
My dad quit a construction job in the late 70s on his first day.
He was late high school or so and his employer did property restoration after natural disasters. The supervisor told him and another kid to go into the basement and fortify the foundation or the structural beams without proper safety precautions. Dad told him no. Supervisor threatened a firing. Dad took the firing. GuidanceInTheDark
I was senior tech at a datacenter. Boss asked me to run a cable overhead over 100 feet by myself, which would require dozens of trips up and down ladders, and no one else there to help me should I fall. I told him no, unless he got someone to help me. He never did, and it never got done. With two people it would have been an easy and short job, too. Didn't quit or get fired over it; boss couldn't afford to lose me, and HR wouldn't have let it fly since I just told him I needed help. WardenWolf
Get your own grenadine...
Oh God - I was the employee and this happened recently.
A local restaurant/catering company was hiring for banquet servers and bartenders. I worked a day job, but needed the extra money and figured this was the perfect opportunity.
I showed up to my shift at 3 o'clock, and the event manager is showing me around the building. It was absolutely disgusting. I mean I already knew the bar was kind of on its way out, but I had no idea it was this bad. Slowly I start to realize I'm the only person that is working this event. Not a huge deal - I have a ton of experience in banquets, its not that hard. Then the woman lets me know its a party of 130 people for a bat mitvah.
Uh, I'm sorry, what? You expect me to set up and work an entire event for 130 alone? Nothing was done, I had to set up tables, buffet tables, and bar in 3 hours. She also has to go to another event right then and leaves me alone to set up. I was literally almost in tears and the host shows up with 30 kids about an hour early. I honestly almost walked out right then, but I felt awful for the little girl who was having the party.
The event went about as awfully as you expect. The bar had no fruit/or certain mixers and I had to be my own barback. I also had to take bar breaks to work the buffet stations and bus tables. I made about $20 in tips and was covered in food and grenadine.
The breaking point was 5 little kids b**ching at me for not having any grenadine left. I walked up to the event manager and said "sorry I can't take it, I don't need this job and I've been here for 8 hours without a single break. I'm leaving." To be fair, it was the end of the event and 11 o'clock but she would have to break down alone, or with staff from the bar.
I actually left and did feel bad , but who the hell thinks its ok to have 1 person work a large event?!?!? I also still haven't gotten paid despite numerous requests. F**k that place. Atd9856
McDonald's? Burger King maybe!
GiphyOnce I worked a temp job at a salmon canning factory for a week or two. We got a couple of new temps one day, a girl in her early twenties and a creepy Somalian guy who could've been 25 or 40. Somalian guy spends all day trying to hit on this girl, asking her if she will be his girlfriend within a couple of hours. He then begged her to go on a date with him to McDonald's on our lunch break. I guess he followed her to her car at lunch and started harassing her. She drove off and never came back. There's some real scumbags out there and I feel terrible that women have to put up with people like that. GraveSalami
Cleanliness is next to Godliness...
This is a great one because it was not a low-tier position. I was working at a pharma-manufacturing facility and we were hiring a new HR manager.
She got the job, shown her office, basically "this desk is not clean enough" and that was that- she left. sj_raptor
Are you serious? skimulant
Yes. It was quite the joke for a few weeks after that. It just was so ridiculous. sj_raptor
All Hands on the deck for the Lunch rush!
GiphyI was a supervisor at a grocery store a few years back. A guy I knew from high school got a job at my store and a McDonald's at the same time. He told me that at the end of the month he would quit the job he liked less. The next day he quit from my store.
I asked him why he wasn't waiting a month like he planned. Turns out, on his first day at McDonald's, all of the other people on his shift including the manager went out back to smoke and left him running the whole store alone for a couple of hours during the lunch rush.
The owner found out, and fired everyone except him, and promoted him to manager. On his first day. He decided he didn't want to bag groceries after that. I didn't blame him. darth_ravage
