FlexJobs Staffers Share Their Job Interview Horror Stories

FlexJobs Staffers Share Their Job Interview Horror Stories Staffers 5Its happened to all of us. No matter how prepared, professional, or polished you are, at some point or another, youre going to have a really, really bad job bewerberinterview. The staff here at is no exception. Below, we share our own job interview horror stories with the goal to show you what not to do- and give you a good laugh, too.(In the interest of sparing our collective dignity, were going to leave our job interview horror stories anonymous)Saying the wrong name.I was interviewing for a job, and when I went in for the first interview, the person interviewing me decided to have me interview with three other staffers that same day back-to-back. Thing was, they all had J names (Julie, Julia, Jenna, Jamie). By the time I met the final J interviewer, I was so totally confused/exhausted/nervous that I called her by the wrong J name. Guess who didnt get the job?Choking on your answer- literally.One time I had an int erview right after lunch. I decided to put a mint in my mouth. After the interviewer asked me a question, the mint went down my throat and I choked. I tried my best not to cough, but I soon found myself gasping for air. The interviewer looked up and calmly told me to get some water. I took a few sips of water but could not stop coughing. I went to the restroom and looked in the mirror and I had mascara running down my face. I finally gathered myself, went back into the interview, and tried my best to finish the interview gracefully. I assumed that I did not get the job, but I must have gained sympathy points because I was extended a job offerNeeding an ill-timed restroom break.I have a horror story, but from an interviewers perspective. I used to work for a celebrity and needed to hire a temporary assistant to help me out while we were on location. I was conducting a perfectly fine interview with a great candidate when my boss walked in, sweaty and shirtless after a run. The woman I was interviewing actually urinated on my couch. I felt terrible for her- and my couch. I would have hired her just because I felt so bad for her, but she ran out and wouldnt return my calls.Being asked a strange interview question. I had an interview once for an editors job at a newspaper in Northern California. After a long day of serial interviews with ever-higher-ranked editors, I finally had a sit-down with the top guy. After some cursory questions, he asked me, When you edit stories, do you make copy better, or do you make it worse? That stopped me in my tracks. I was thinking, this is either the dumbest question ever, or its some kind of trick I started giggling and stopped myself from being Ms. Smarty-Pants and answered, Um, when I edit, I really screw things up After wiping the smirk off my face, I gave a straight-forward answer. But it was too little, too late. I didnt get the job. I could never figure out what the guy was getting at but was glad not to work at a place whe re the bosses played such mind gamesNot knowing what to wear for a job interview.I went on an interview during the summer. I had not been on an interview in a long time. My interview suit was lined and extremely warm. The day I went on the interview, the temperature in Atlanta had skyrocketed to 102 degrees. On the way to my interview, I felt like I was on fire. I could not wait to go inside the building since I figured the air conditioner would cool me down. The receptionist instructed me to sit on the couch and wait for my interviewer. Unfortunately, the lights above the couch felt like sun lamps. I thought I was getting a sunburn from the lights. When I went into the interviewers office, she asked me if I was okay. She offered to give me water, but I declined. Big mistake Our interview was very casual and I wondered when some of the harder questions would be asked. She told me thanks for coming in and to have a great day. I told her that I was supposed to speak to two other manag ers. She told me that would not be necessary. Needless to say, I did not get the job and couldnt wait to get home to take a shower.Having a wardrobe malfunction.I had to interview with six people, including senior management, in the morning. Then I had to go to lunch with four people and make a presentation in the boardroom to a different panel of six. Some pressure, to say the least. I did well until I hit a stumbling block during the presentation. I had placed both arms casually behind my back while listening to a question from one of the panelists. My bracelet got caught on the back of my suit jacket. It took considerable time to finesse the bracelet from my garment and not let on that I was fighting with my jacket and respond intelligently to the question. I was so glad when I got home and the day was over. Fortunately, all of the preparation paid off (developing a presentation, researching the company, carefully selecting the easy-to-eat and non-messy lunch meal prior to that d ay). I got the job and it was one of the best ones Ive ever had.Being too prepared for the job interview.I interviewed for a job and after making it through the initial phone interview, I was told to prepare a presentation with a full program idea- including the concept, marketing, implementation, and evaluation afterwards. It took a lot of work, and for good measure (stupidly, it turns out), I added a few other ideas, just not quite as fully fleshed out. I thought the interview went great and was feeling pretty positive. They had made four of us do this process, including an internal candidate. I didnt hear anything for a week and then got a standard rejection letter in the mail. That was disappointing enough, but I found out they hired the internal candidate, which was evidently their plan all along, and they stole and implemented all of my ideas, tooFrom being asked crazy questions to potentially passing out, the staff has (unfortunately) experienced it all during a job interview . While some mishaps cant be prevented, its always in your best interest to be as prepared as possible for your job interview- and be able to laugh it off when things dont go exactly as planned.Readers, have you had any job interview horror stories? Wed love to hear them Please share your experiences in the comments section below