Hiring processes and job interviews can be unpredictable, and not always in a good way. Over the years, I've experienced my fair share of what I like to call "interview horror stories." Real situations that were awkward, frustrating, or downright unprofessional.
This article is a collection of some of those stories, and some of the lessons I learned the hard way.
Your Profile Doesn't Match the Role
Once upon a time, early in my professional career, I applied for a job in a different city. The process moved forward, and the company invited me for an in-person interview.
I drove two hours to get there, got lost along the way, eventually found my way and, with the nerves of barely making it on time, I walked into the office. I was shown to a room and told to wait for the interviewer: the team's manager.
A few minutes later, a man walked in, looked at me, asked for a copy of my résumé, skimmed through it, and then said matter-of-factly: "Your profile doesn't match the open role."
I was in shock and disbelief. They made me drive two hours just to tell me that? The man told me we should move forward with the interview anyway. Had I been older and more experienced, I would have politely declined or called out unprofessional behavior... but I was young and green, and went along with it.
On the drive home, all I could think was what a waste of five hours it had been. From that day on, I made myself a promise: if a company wanted me to travel for an interview, they'd have to cover the cost.
Management Tasks... For an Intern
When I was still in college, I got an internship opportunity at a local startup that was gaining momentum. I went to the interview and things were going great: I had answered all the technical questions, and I was confident.
Then, the interviewer —who happened to be the founder and CEO of the small company— asked "Would you be comfortable performing management tasks?"
Management tasks? Me? An intern who hadn't finished school yet? That couldn't be. So I started talking about database management. The interviewer interrupted me "No, no, I meant office management."
And then proceeded to explain: "You see, we need a developer, but being a small company, we also need that person to manage the office: set up the printers, pick up parcels from the post office, mail publicity, go to the bank... You have a car, right? The only thing is we won't be able to pay for gas. Hopefully that's not a problem."
They say the face reflects the mind, and at that moment, I wish I could have seen my own face. This was a $200/month internship (the standard rate at the time) for a CS student, but what they really wanted was an admin.
As I left the interview, I headed to the internship office at my university and requested a different internship instead. Politely rejecting the offer I got days later for the Developer/Office Manager opening.
Fast Rejections
I've had my fair share of job rejections. Sometimes after multiple interviews, sometimes after a panel, and some other times almost immediately after applying.
And by "immediately," I mean minutes. Once, I applied to a company on a Saturday evening. I hit the "submit" button around 9pm, went about my night, and went to bed. The next morning, I woke up to a rejection email... that had arrived at 11pm, barely two hours after applying.
And before someone says, "That's just AI screening résumés," this happened way before AI tools were widespread. Although there was definitely some kind of automated process at play.
But my favorite quick rejection story happened when I was recommended for a job. I met a friend for lunch, filled out the application before we ordered, and by the time the check arrived, I had already received a rejection email.
For a real job.
That matched my profile perfectly.
And came with a manager's recommendation.
That has to be some type of record!
A few days later, I found out they had selected an internal candidate the day before. They invited me to apply to a different position, but by then, I already had another offer on the table.
My Enemies' Corpses
There was a time when interviewers mistook brainteasers for insight. When recruiters thought asking "If you were an animal, what animal would you be?" was a valid part of the hiring process. This happened during that time.
So there I was, sitting in an office across from three men who started firing off questions like, "How much does a Boeing 737 weigh?" and "How many lightbulbs do you estimate are in the city of Houston?" Then one asked, "You're on one side of a cliff and want to get to the other side. There isn't a bridge. How do you cross from one side of the cliff to the other?"
I answered everything I could think of and ran out of ideas. One of the men, a big grumpy-looking fellow who would be my supervisor, stared me in the eye and deadpan said, "One example: I'd kill all my enemies, drop their corpses in the gorge, and walk across easily. There'd be enough."
I was stunned. I kept answering a few more questions, but my mind was somewhere else: Was this man a psychopath? Did I really want to work with someone like that? Would I end up at the bottom of a gorge?
Fun fact: they offered me the job (an intern position)... and I accepted! It turned out to be one of my favorite work experiences. I'm glad I went. And that "grumpy" man? He ended up being one of the kindest and funniest people I know.
You Missed Your Interview
I had gone through several rounds of interviews with a company, and things were looking promising. The hiring manager told me the final step was a phone call with the team's director, scheduled later that week.
On the day of the call, the phone rang, "Hello, I'm Steve [made-up name] from company XYZ. John [made-up name] cannot attend the meeting because he's on vacation, so I'll be taking his place. I hope that's Ok with you."
That already threw me off. Would Steve want to interview me when he got back? I answered the questions, but I wasn't at the top of my game. It wasn't my best interview with them... and it was about to get worse.
Suddenly, I got a notification on my phone: another call was coming in. The number? Caller ID identified it as the company I was interviewing with! What was happening?
I don't remember if I told Steve about it. I think I did. I do remember finishing the interview with a strange feeling, convinced it had gone poorly.
Immediately, I called back the missed number: "Hello, this is John," answered a man's voice. John? The John who was supposed to interview me? The John who was on vacation? That John?
He sounded irritated I had missed his call. I explained the situation: Steve had called me, said John was on vacation, and conducted the interview instead. I offered to do the interview right then and there, but John declined: "I'm on vacation. I have plans for this time. I'll follow up with Steve."
And that was it.
After five rounds of screenings and interviews (two of them in person), the company ghosted me. I never heard from them, or John, again. He may still be on vacation for all I know.
These are just a handful of my "horror stories" from job application and interviews over the past 20 years of my career. And, since I still have plenty of professional life ahead of me, who knows... there may be more to come.
Interviews are unpredictable. No amount of preparation will guarantee how they'll go. But if there's one thing I've learned: the bad ones, the really bad ones, make for the best stories.
How about you? What are your interview horror stories? Share them in the comments and let others commiserate with you… or feel relieved they weren’t in your shoes.
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