Strangest person you have interviewed ?
Discussion
I'm usually the strangest person in interviews and it's me doing them. Genuinely think I have lost out on potentially useful employees because I come across a bit intense (and I am!).
Had a young lady come for an interview with everything pushed up front and centre and a low cut top. She say there playing with the top of the material around said area. Probably sounds lovely to a lot of folk, but was very weird (she also had a moustache).
Had a chap come for an interview whose CV was perhaps a little exaggerated. Said it likely wasn't for him. About 10 minutes later the office phone rang (went to voicemail as only me here), someone saying he'd seen one of our workers racially abuse a pedestrian from a van. Caller ID said it was the chap from the interview, but with a strange put-on accent/voice.
We are a company that tries to give chances to people who are perhaps otherwise overlooked, but this does mean a fair % of horror stories.
Had a young lady come for an interview with everything pushed up front and centre and a low cut top. She say there playing with the top of the material around said area. Probably sounds lovely to a lot of folk, but was very weird (she also had a moustache).
Had a chap come for an interview whose CV was perhaps a little exaggerated. Said it likely wasn't for him. About 10 minutes later the office phone rang (went to voicemail as only me here), someone saying he'd seen one of our workers racially abuse a pedestrian from a van. Caller ID said it was the chap from the interview, but with a strange put-on accent/voice.
We are a company that tries to give chances to people who are perhaps otherwise overlooked, but this does mean a fair % of horror stories.
I interviewed a chap for a lowish level role who was good but not quite right for the intended job. After he was told he emailed a Board Member (global company about 5k employees) complaining about it! I had then had to go cap in hand with chapter and verse as to what happened. Certainly didn't endear me to the interviewee ...
TX.
TX.
We were recruiting a team of people to work on a five month field project in East Sussex. Selected 10 for interviews - all with excellent CVs and suitable experience.
One lady turned up for her interview. Ran through the usual opening spiel. Asked her a question and she said nothing - absolutely nothing! Asked her another - again, nothing. I asked her if she was alright.....nothing. Just stared at me and my colleague. I double checked her CV to see if she was deaf or foreign - but no. I explained that an interview was a two-way thing and invited her to contribute something, anything. But she just stared at us. I asked if she was unwell, nervous...nothing!
I wrapped up the interview explaining that the job was public engagement so speaking was sort of a pre-requisite skill. She left and that was that.
Oddest interview I've ever been involved with!
One lady turned up for her interview. Ran through the usual opening spiel. Asked her a question and she said nothing - absolutely nothing! Asked her another - again, nothing. I asked her if she was alright.....nothing. Just stared at me and my colleague. I double checked her CV to see if she was deaf or foreign - but no. I explained that an interview was a two-way thing and invited her to contribute something, anything. But she just stared at us. I asked if she was unwell, nervous...nothing!
I wrapped up the interview explaining that the job was public engagement so speaking was sort of a pre-requisite skill. She left and that was that.
Oddest interview I've ever been involved with!
StevieBee said:
We were recruiting a team of people to work on a five month field project in East Sussex. Selected 10 for interviews - all with excellent CVs and suitable experience.
One lady turned up for her interview. Ran through the usual opening spiel. Asked her a question and she said nothing - absolutely nothing! Asked her another - again, nothing. I asked her if she was alright.....nothing. Just stared at me and my colleague. I double checked her CV to see if she was deaf or foreign - but no. I explained that an interview was a two-way thing and invited her to contribute something, anything. But she just stared at us. I asked if she was unwell, nervous...nothing!
I wrapped up the interview explaining that the job was public engagement so speaking was sort of a pre-requisite skill. She left and that was that.
Oddest interview I've ever been involved with!
I had something close but different; interviewee simply gave yes/no answers to all of our questions; even when we asked him to expand on one of his one-word answers he just said "no" One lady turned up for her interview. Ran through the usual opening spiel. Asked her a question and she said nothing - absolutely nothing! Asked her another - again, nothing. I asked her if she was alright.....nothing. Just stared at me and my colleague. I double checked her CV to see if she was deaf or foreign - but no. I explained that an interview was a two-way thing and invited her to contribute something, anything. But she just stared at us. I asked if she was unwell, nervous...nothing!
I wrapped up the interview explaining that the job was public engagement so speaking was sort of a pre-requisite skill. She left and that was that.
Oddest interview I've ever been involved with!
Manager seriously wanted to considering offering him the role as his technical skills were, on paper, head and shoulders above the rest, but he was talked out of it. Had another chap who refused to sit down in the interview, just wondered around the room, looked out the window etc.. In fairness he interviewed well, just never sat down.
StevieBee said:
We were recruiting a team of people to work on a five month field project in East Sussex. Selected 10 for interviews - all with excellent CVs and suitable experience.
One lady turned up for her interview. Ran through the usual opening spiel. Asked her a question and she said nothing - absolutely nothing! Asked her another - again, nothing. I asked her if she was alright.....nothing. Just stared at me and my colleague. I double checked her CV to see if she was deaf or foreign - but no. I explained that an interview was a two-way thing and invited her to contribute something, anything. But she just stared at us. I asked if she was unwell, nervous...nothing!
I wrapped up the interview explaining that the job was public engagement so speaking was sort of a pre-requisite skill. She left and that was that.
Oddest interview I've ever been involved with!
Didn't want the job, But needed to show the benefits office/divorce court she was actively looking?One lady turned up for her interview. Ran through the usual opening spiel. Asked her a question and she said nothing - absolutely nothing! Asked her another - again, nothing. I asked her if she was alright.....nothing. Just stared at me and my colleague. I double checked her CV to see if she was deaf or foreign - but no. I explained that an interview was a two-way thing and invited her to contribute something, anything. But she just stared at us. I asked if she was unwell, nervous...nothing!
I wrapped up the interview explaining that the job was public engagement so speaking was sort of a pre-requisite skill. She left and that was that.
Oddest interview I've ever been involved with!
hyphen said:
Didn't want the job, But needed to show the benefits office/divorce court she was actively looking?
Had this also loads when I was a manager in a supermarket, many would openly tell you they didn't want the job, I was only young at the time so didn't really understand it to be honest.We work on the site of a locally well-known garden centre. We look after indoor plants in offices; it's a driving job.
We had a man come for an interview who lived in the nearest village (1.5-2 miles away).
He rang us up shortly after he was due to arrive saying he was running late, and asked us just to clarify where we were.
He was then another twenty minutes late and rather flustered, having clearly got lost.Just for clarity the route involves driving out of the village, taking a left, then turning in to our site.
After the interview in which we carefully explained the job role I was showing him round the site and he kept going on about how he had a chainsaw ticket and his own tools, despite me attempting to explain that there wasn't much call for chainsaws in offices.
We had a man come for an interview who lived in the nearest village (1.5-2 miles away).
He rang us up shortly after he was due to arrive saying he was running late, and asked us just to clarify where we were.
He was then another twenty minutes late and rather flustered, having clearly got lost.Just for clarity the route involves driving out of the village, taking a left, then turning in to our site.
After the interview in which we carefully explained the job role I was showing him round the site and he kept going on about how he had a chainsaw ticket and his own tools, despite me attempting to explain that there wasn't much call for chainsaws in offices.
Most memorable for me was a guy who I interviewed for a starting role in the company. He was on time and smartly dressed, this was a good start ( a lot are late and turn up scruffy) he was shown into my office and the smell of alcohol hit me, I tried to do my best to carry on until he suddenly threw-up in my bin.
He didn't get the job.
He didn't get the job.
Sy1441 said:
Hired.
Thats nothing.Interviewee turns up on time, dressed well in his mid fifties. I thought that's a good start. Asked if he wanted a coffee, "yes please and can I have one for my Mum?" She was the women st next to him in reception. He had bought his mum along for moral support.
Unexpectedly good candidate time.
As before advertising for a driving job doing interior landscaping (office plants). Bear in mind this is a fairly physical job too.
Guy turns up and - though we had an inkling from his long CV that included quite a long time in the army that he was old - is clearly at least 70 at a guess.
We went through the usual interview questions, which include asking him if he is happy driving large/unfamiliar vans, he said yes and my boss asked what he driven before.
He drew a deep breath and started a list that took about five minutes, and highlighted included "Chieftain Tank", "44-tonne tank transporter", "aeroplane tug".
He didn't get the job in the end but he made it to the shortlist!
As before advertising for a driving job doing interior landscaping (office plants). Bear in mind this is a fairly physical job too.
Guy turns up and - though we had an inkling from his long CV that included quite a long time in the army that he was old - is clearly at least 70 at a guess.
We went through the usual interview questions, which include asking him if he is happy driving large/unfamiliar vans, he said yes and my boss asked what he driven before.
He drew a deep breath and started a list that took about five minutes, and highlighted included "Chieftain Tank", "44-tonne tank transporter", "aeroplane tug".
He didn't get the job in the end but he made it to the shortlist!
Many years ago I was interviewing new grads for a global accounting firm. We generally went for people in the top 5% of their class
I interviewed a young woman who had superb credentials ,great personality,good summer employment experience - great candidate.
At the end I went through our extensive training program and told her that the initial sessions would be in Paris.
Silence.
“I have to travel?”
“Yes, of course. You will also have lots of out of town engagements”.
“Oh, I could never do that- my mother wouldn’t give me permission”
She was 22.
I interviewed a young woman who had superb credentials ,great personality,good summer employment experience - great candidate.
At the end I went through our extensive training program and told her that the initial sessions would be in Paris.
Silence.
“I have to travel?”
“Yes, of course. You will also have lots of out of town engagements”.
“Oh, I could never do that- my mother wouldn’t give me permission”
She was 22.
I was a difficult interviewee once, I travelled down from the Scottish borders to Leeds the day after having my wisdom teeth out under general.
My mouth was swollen like a hamster and rammed with cotton wool and I was dribbling blood making it impossible to answer questions but I actually got the job and I'm still doing it 26yrs later.
My mouth was swollen like a hamster and rammed with cotton wool and I was dribbling blood making it impossible to answer questions but I actually got the job and I'm still doing it 26yrs later.
Dan_The_Man said:
I was a difficult interviewee once, I travelled down from the Scottish borders to Leeds the day after having my wisdom teeth out under general.
My mouth was swollen like a hamster and rammed with cotton wool and I was dribbling blood making it impossible to answer questions but I actually got the job and I'm still doing it 26yrs later.
Well you did show commitment.My mouth was swollen like a hamster and rammed with cotton wool and I was dribbling blood making it impossible to answer questions but I actually got the job and I'm still doing it 26yrs later.
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