Weirdest Job Interviews

[PaperBagger'14]

Since jobs are the latest craze here, whats the weirdest interview you've ever had?

I applied and interviewed at one company for a very technical role. Some of the questions they asked ranged from critical thinking, to analyzing schematics to downright bizarre.

Some examples were:

1) Why are manhole lids round?
2) Analyze this schematic and tell us what function it performs
3) If you could be any type of animal what would you be and why?

This place also had a meeting room table designed as a hockey rink. I asked the owner and manager if they were hockey fans and they replied with "not really".

I didnt get the job and I'm glad I didn't, they were a bunch of weirdos.

[peter12]

I interviewed for a couple of positions at Famous YogaPants headquarters a few years ago and the questions were like, if you were penguin would you like ice cream or pizza...? Stuff like that. What makes you sweat? What is your favourite piece of gear. Just stupid stupid stuff.

[GGG]

The answer to the manhole question is that so it can’t fall in the hole.

All my interviews have been very normal, How do you approach this situation and provide an example that demonstrates it.

[FlamesAddiction]

I was in a group interview before, which in itself is awkward. One of the questions was, if you could pick one of the other candidates in the room who should get the position, who would you pick.

The whole process actually turned me off from the company before they even made their decision.

[pseudoreality]

I once had a cannibalistic question; they asked me which person I should eat. I still don't know what the right answer was.

[PepsiFree]

Easy: Apple store.

Just the most bizarre group set up and questions, some group work, a different level of feeling like you’re being observed, heavy self-promotion, and no real clear reason as an outsider why some people got the job and others didn’t. I’d love to see behind the curtain on how they run those things and make their decisions.

[ah123]

Two interviews stand out. First one was for an O&G company, and the had one interviewer sit in front of me, and the bother interviewer sit behind me, and they would alternate asking questions. Made answering questions tricky, since I would always have my back to one of them

The other one was where the manager decide to do a “Google Style” interview, asking me questions that had no real answer. The one I remember is, “How many shampoo bottles are used in a year in the world?” They ended making an offer, but their attitude had left a really bad impression on me

[Looch City]

When I was 18 or 19, I interviewed for a position that I later found out was an obvious MLM scheme. It was like some finance firm and you had to start off with training (that you'd pay for yourself) and then "level up within 6 months to earn some real dough!". Dodged that one.

[Harry Lime]

There was one interview that I could tell that I wasn't clicking very well with the interviewer, so I started answering the questions a little outside the box.

"What's your biggest weakness?"
"Probably that I'm a little too good lookin'."

I got the job. Later on I was accused of stealing the managers wallet, because I was the last one in her office talking to her when she noticed it missing. I was let go immediately. She found her wallet in her car at lunch, and called me back, but I declined.

I applied for a position about three years later (it's a big company), and discovered that my record still showed that I was let go for thievery. So there's that.

[SportsJunky]

A couple of years ago I had to do a phone interview while on the golf course. The recruiter really wanted me to talk to this company exec and it was the only availability that we could make work for both of us.

Not surprisingly the recruiter told me that the exec hated me (or something close to hate). I mean, it was a decent round and so I may have been a little distracted lol.

[Swift]

No weird interviews in terms of questioning, thank god, but in my first or second ever interview as a teenager for a grocery store, the 20 something year old guy described 16 year old me as a "very handsome young man" which made me very uneasy. I got the job and nothing untoward ever happened, but he was noticeably angry with me when I left the job 2-3 months later.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

A couple of years ago I had to do a phone interview while on the golf course. The recruiter really wanted me to talk to this company exec and it was the only availability that we could make work for both of us.

Not surprisingly the recruiter told me that the exec hated me (or something close to hate). I mean, it was a decent round and so I may have been a little distracted lol.

That reminds me of one that I had. I was at a friend's wedding, but also had a phone interview scheduled that day. I thought it would be easy enough just to take some time away and sneak into my car to have some privacy.

The interview ended up running long because the interviewer just talked on and on with small talk. My drunk friends didn't know what I was doing and when they found me in the car on the phone, they started purposely distracting me. I had to roll the windows up to tune them out.

The problem was that it was >30C that day and I was wearing a tuxedo. I was so hot and sweating so badly, I literally felt like I was going to pass out.

I ended up getting the job and stayed with the company for 4 years. It totally wasn't their fault and the interviewer had no idea that I was in that situation, but I just remember wishing he would shut up the whole time.

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by peter12

... Just stupid stupid stuff.

And when you look at the "corporate change" consultants in disbelief asking "are you eff...n' for real???", they look back at you disapprovingly, while making notes in their little notepads, probably identifying you as "change-averse"...

The weirdest interview I've ever had was in a Sheraton NE hotel room many years ago for a water quality engineering position in Qatar. The interviewer - a fat guy of Middle Eastern descent - started by offering me a Scotch and asking if I had ever been in Israel?..

[PaperBagger'14]

Also when I was maybe 16, I had interviewed at Humptys for a dishwasher job. There was a husband and wife interviewing me, but they were very new Canadians and had incredibly thick accents. I had trouble understanding most of their questions but did my best to answer them.

After the interview I remember talking to my mom, she asked if I got the job. I replied with "I honestly don't know".

[OMG!WTF!]

Damn. I just realized I've never had a job interview. It's pretty much been...yeah you look normal enough. Get to work.

[Snuffleupagus]

More examples:

1) Are you more of a hunter or a gatherer
2) If you were a pizza delivery man, how would you benefit from scissors?
3) Do you believe in Bigfoot?
4) How honest are you?
5) How would you solve problems if you were from Mars?
6) How would you design a spice rack for the blind?
7) What was the last gift you gave someone?

[OutOfTheCube]

I told the people in charge of Flames / Hitmen music (the position was specifically Hitmen) that they shouldn't play Cotton Eyed Joe anymore.

Obviously didn't get that one.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

Also when I was maybe 16, I had interviewed at Humptys for a dishwasher job. There was a husband and wife interviewing me, but they were very new Canadians and had incredibly thick accents. I had trouble understanding most of their questions but did my best to answer them.

After the interview I remember talking to my mom, she asked if I got the job. I replied with "I honestly don't know".

Well, did you?

Don’t leave us hanging.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Lots of weird interviews. From doing an unexpected one over the phone from the golf course, to doing an interview for a job on the golf course (play ability test), to doing a skype interview from Hawaii while on vacation while waiting to go to the golf course for a tee time. Hmmm, I seem to do a lot of interviews around golf.

Weirdest interview? I was up for a position at the University of Texas and was scheduled to fly in on the Thursday and do the gauntlet on Friday. For anyone who doesn't know, senior positions in academia are a full day interview where you bounce from department-to-department, forum-to-forum, meeting all constituent groups and letting them have their say.

So the Tuesday before I am scheduled to fly I have a tooth abscess from an old root canal that didn't properly seal. They put me on anti-biotics and pain meds and send me on my way. I fly and the cabin pressure causes the abscess to expand and face balloon to elephant man proportions. I get to the hotel and use a sewing kit needle to lance the abscess and release the pressure. It took over four hours to drain and weeped for the next three days. So least to say I'm also in a little bit of pain, but they gave me a bottle of Percocet in case I needed it. Well, let me tell you, doing interviews of Percocet is the only way to fly! Every single question I was asked I had a funny response and then proceeded to give a dissertation on the question. I was unstoppable. Completely under-qualified for the position, but I killed.

Normally when you don't get the job you receive a nice call and letter from HR thanking you for your participation and PFO. This was the first time I had a conference call booked with the head of each department to inform me I didn't get the job and then tell me how much they enjoyed the opportunity to meet and get to know me. They were very up front about not being qualified for the gig, but they still wanted me to keep on their radar. I still had them cracking up and as a result have made some good friendships there.

I will add one more little note about interviews and weirdness. My current job had the interview committee ask me, "If I could be a super hero who would I be and why?" I thought what a random question but tried to answer honestly. So I responded with "Deadpool." I mean, who doesn't want to be the merc with the mouth??? Some eyebrows went up and I immediately back peddled and said it would actually be Professor X, explaining that while I do have the power of influence to my advantage I still need a team of other gifted individuals around me to achieve success. Like Professor X my job is to find the strengths of each individual mutant and build a cohesive team that meets the mission objectives while not freaking regular people out. I got the laugh and I got the job.

[MoneyGuy]

Silly me, when I interviewed I only asked questions relevant to the job.