Work

The interview is a crucial part of the hiring process. Because no matter how shiny someone&#39;s CV, you learn a lot more by meeting them IRL (or over Zoom). And though job interviews can range from 5 minutes to an hour or even longer, it often doesn&#39;t take very long for an employer (or employee) to know this is not a good fit.<h2>Someone <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/jree8h/you_have_15_seconds_to_ruin_a_job_interview_what/?sort=top" target="_blank">asked</a> Reddit to share how they would ruin a job interview in under 15 seconds. These 19 employers and job applicants shared their real life stories of job interviews that went south very, very quickly:</h2>1.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/lemoncigarettes/">lemoncigarettes</a>:<blockquote> Interviewer asked me what I knew about the company, apparently, talking about their company&#39;s spokesman being arrested for child molestation &amp; possession of child pornography wasn&#39;t the correct answer </blockquote>2.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/KeemstarsBlackFriend/">KeemstarsBlackFriend</a>:<blockquote> I had a candidate tell me &ldquo;I have extreme anger problems and I can&rsquo;t help but get loud and hands on when&rsquo;s someone&rsquo;s doesn&rsquo;t get what I&rsquo;m trying to say&rdquo; it was for an engineering internship. </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div>3.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/TheWaystone/">TheWaystone</a>:<blockquote> I wish this was a joke but I once interviewed a guy who asked me who his boss would be. When I explained it would be me, the person interviewing him, he laughed and said congratulations for &quot;getting so far&quot; but that he could not be expected to just do what I asked him to, and also any woman being in charge of a man was &quot;disrespectful.&quot; He did not get the job. </blockquote>4.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/waldo_whiskey/">waldo_whiskey</a>:<blockquote> I interviewed this guy and my much older coworker joined me as backup. The interviewee would refuse to acknowledge me, even though I was the hiring manager. Anytime I asked a question, he would look over to my coworker and answer to him. </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div>5.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/MentalistAdama/">MentalistAdama</a>:<blockquote> I was recruiting a new engineer and a gentleman from the middle east applied. Great papers, great experience, awesome cover letter. We actually fly him in to do an in-person interview. He refused to speak to our female receptionist and refused to shake hands with the female HR manager doing the interview with me. He ignored her during the meeting. We ended the interview in about 5 minutes. Needless to say he was not hired. </blockquote>6.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/PeanutButterPigeon85/">PeanutButterPigeon85</a>:<blockquote> I once had an applicant throw a fit and insist that he be given my job immediately. (For the record, he wasn&#39;t remotely qualified.) Shockingly, I decided not to hire him. </blockquote>7.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/GwynnFatone/">GwynnFatone</a>:<div className="ad-splitter"></div><blockquote> My manager once had a guy come in for a job interview. &quot;Dolf&quot; seemed really nice, clean cut, polite. He was talking to her and rolled up his sleeves... SWASTIKAS!!! An arm full of swastikas. She was honest and told him she didn&#39;t think it was going to work out, as the owner of the business was Jewish. He was like, &quot;Okay, I understand.&quot; They were in there for about two minutes. </blockquote>8.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/ShreyasSodhe/">ShreyasSodhe</a>:<blockquote> Interview going well. Female Interviewer : Do you have any questions ? Me : About you or the company ? Female Interviewer : .............. Haunts my memory to this day </blockquote>9.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/TheSunWasInMyEyes420/">TheSunWasInMyEyes420</a>:<blockquote> I once ended an interview call with &quot;Love ya, bye!&quot; I didn&#39;t get a call back. </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div>10.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/RosieCakeness/">RosieCakeness</a>:<blockquote> Was nervous and chugged the last of my coke before going inside. Went to shake the guys hand and say Hello but a very loud long burp came out instead. I just dropped his hand and left. </blockquote>11.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Lykola/">Lykola</a>:<blockquote> Had an interview at a retail store: &quot;I&#39;m really good at zoning out and doing repetitive boring work&quot;. Still got the job, dont know how. </blockquote>12.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/barbara84live/">barbara84live</a>:<blockquote> I had a guy applying while completely stoned. He was like &laquo; don&rsquo;t worry, I only smoke in the evening. Well sometimes before breakfast too &raquo; </blockquote>13.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/BearBeingFuzzy/">BearBeingFuzzy</a>:<div className="ad-splitter"></div><blockquote> I interviewed someone who rolled her eyes at me when I asked her to put a mask on before we got started. Spoiler: she did not get hired. </blockquote>14.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/serenerdy/">serenerdy</a>:<blockquote> As an interviewer let me say my favorite one. Me: What&#39;s your greatest strength? Candidate: uhhh well I guess free lifts.. I can do like 80 now... I had to excuse myself and leave the room. Mind you this was some 16 year old interviewing for a grocery store but to this day I still think I should have hired him. </blockquote>15.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Letheron88/">Letheron88</a>:<blockquote> We have a guy come in and say &ldquo;so I actually exaggerated on my cv just to get my foot in the door, I&rsquo;ve never actually done any of those things&rdquo;.... ok, bye then. </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div>16.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Drachenfuer/">Drachenfuer</a>:<blockquote> My husband inadvertenly ruined his job interview. Group interview with four people and this was the first question they asked him. He had done his research and started running down the work history of the CEO, patents they obtained, patents they had applied for and even talked about how impressed he was with their one system. </blockquote><blockquote> Turned out 3 of the interviewers were from HR and one was from marketing or some other completely different department. This was for an engineering job. They abruptly ended the interview. It was quite clear they were not happy he knew more about the company than they did. </blockquote>17.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/xlitawit/">xlitawit</a>:<blockquote> I had a job interview at a bread bakery/ sandwich place. They asked me where I saw myself in five years. I said, &quot;not making sandwiches.&quot; Interview was immediately over lol. </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div>18.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/KnockMeYourLobes/">KnockMeYourLobes</a>:<blockquote> Manager: So what do you think you can bring to our team? Me: I&#39;ll infect everyone with happiness and pixie dust. I actually DID say that in an interview one time and upon reflection, it sounds like I wanted to give everybody drugs and/or a disease. </blockquote><blockquote> It also reminds me of the time I was working at the Godiva at our local mall, early in my marriage. Teenage dude, maybe around 17-18 comes in and asks for 2 applications (this was back before online applications were really a thing). I hand them to him and he just gives me this look. Then he tells me that when he turns them back in, that he and his friend (who would be filling out the other application) needed to have every shift together, that if they hired one, they had to hire BOTH of them and that if they weren&#39;t going to hire both he and his friend, they might as well forget it because they came as a team and would only take the job if they were allowed to work together every shift. Both those applications went straight into file 13. </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div>19.) From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Haplo_Hathaway/">Haplo_Hathaway</a>:<blockquote> My SO is a regional manager for a company and was looking to hire a new district manager. Since all interviews are now done online she always waits for the the candidate to log on first video wise, then she logs in. In an interview this past week a gentleman that had applied logged on and after a few seconds she joined. He took one look at her and simple said &quot;wow&quot;. She felt creeped out the rest of the interview. All it took was one word. </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div>

19 people share stories of how someone ruined a job interview in under 15 seconds.

The interview is a crucial part of the hiring process. Because no matter how shiny someone&#39;s CV, you learn a lot more by meeting them IRL (or over Zoom). And though job interviews can range from 5 minutes to an hour or even longer, it often doesn&#39;t take very long for an employer (or employee) to know this is not a good fit.Someone asked Reddit to share how they would ruin a job interview in under 15 seconds. These 19 employers and job applicants shared their real life stories of job interviews that went south very, very quickly:1.) From lemoncigarettes: Interviewer asked me what I knew about the company, apparently, talking about their company&#39;s spokesman being arrested for child molestation &amp; possession of child pornography wasn&#39;t the correct answer 2.) From KeemstarsBlackFriend: I had a candidate tell me &ldquo;I have extreme anger problems and I can&rsquo;t help but get loud and hands on when&rsquo;s someone&rsquo;s doesn&rsquo;t get what I&rsquo;m trying to say&rdquo; it was for an engineering internship. 3.) From TheWaystone: I wish this was a joke but I once interviewed a guy who asked me who his boss would be. When I explained it would be me, the person interviewing him, he laughed and said congratulations for &quot;getting so far&quot; but that he could not be expected to just do what I asked him to, and also any woman being in charge of a man was &quot;disrespectful.&quot; He did not get the job. 4.) From waldo_whiskey: I interviewed this guy and my much older coworker joined me as backup. The interviewee would refuse to acknowledge me, even though I was the hiring manager. Anytime I asked a question, he would look over to my coworker and answer to him. 5.) From MentalistAdama: I was recruiting a new engineer and a gentleman from the middle east applied. Great papers, great experience, awesome cover letter. We actually fly him in to do an in-person interview. He refused to speak to our female receptionist and refused to shake hands with the female HR manager doing the interview with me. He ignored her during the meeting. We ended the interview in about 5 minutes. Needless to say he was not hired. 6.) From PeanutButterPigeon85: I once had an applicant throw a fit and insist that he be given my job immediately. (For the record, he wasn&#39;t remotely qualified.) Shockingly, I decided not to hire him. 7.) From GwynnFatone: My manager once had a guy come in for a job interview. &quot;Dolf&quot; seemed really nice, clean cut, polite. He was talking to her and rolled up his sleeves... SWASTIKAS!!! An arm full of swastikas. She was honest and told him she didn&#39;t think it was going to work out, as the owner of the business was Jewish. He was like, &quot;Okay, I understand.&quot; They were in there for about two minutes. 8.) From ShreyasSodhe: Interview going well. Female Interviewer : Do you have any questions ? Me : About you or the company ? Female Interviewer : .............. Haunts my memory to this day 9.) From TheSunWasInMyEyes420: I once ended an interview call with &quot;Love ya, bye!&quot; I didn&#39;t get a call back. 10.) From RosieCakeness: Was nervous and chugged the last of my coke before going inside. Went to shake the guys hand and say Hello but a very loud long burp came out instead. I just dropped his hand and left. 11.) From Lykola: Had an interview at a retail store: &quot;I&#39;m really good at zoning out and doing repetitive boring work&quot;. Still got the job, dont know how. 12.) From barbara84live: I had a guy applying while completely stoned. He was like &laquo; don&rsquo;t worry, I only smoke in the evening. Well sometimes before breakfast too &raquo; 13.) From BearBeingFuzzy: I interviewed someone who rolled her eyes at me when I asked her to put a mask on before we got started. Spoiler: she did not get hired. 14.) From serenerdy: As an interviewer let me say my favorite one. Me: What&#39;s your greatest strength? Candidate: uhhh well I guess free lifts.. I can do like 80 now... I had to excuse myself and leave the room. Mind you this was some 16 year old interviewing for a grocery store but to this day I still think I should have hired him. 15.) From Letheron88: We have a guy come in and say &ldquo;so I actually exaggerated on my cv just to get my foot in the door, I&rsquo;ve never actually done any of those things&rdquo;.... ok, bye then. 16.) From Drachenfuer: My husband inadvertenly ruined his job interview. Group interview with four people and this was the first question they asked him. He had done his research and started running down the work history of the CEO, patents they obtained, patents they had applied for and even talked about how impressed he was with their one system.  Turned out 3 of the interviewers were from HR and one was from marketing or some other completely different department. This was for an engineering job. They abruptly ended the interview. It was quite clear they were not happy he knew more about the company than they did. 17.) From xlitawit: I had a job interview at a bread bakery/ sandwich place. They asked me where I saw myself in five years. I said, &quot;not making sandwiches.&quot; Interview was immediately over lol. 18.) From KnockMeYourLobes: Manager: So what do you think you can bring to our team? Me: I&#39;ll infect everyone with happiness and pixie dust. I actually DID say that in an interview one time and upon reflection, it sounds like I wanted to give everybody drugs and/or a disease.  It also reminds me of the time I was working at the Godiva at our local mall, early in my marriage. Teenage dude, maybe around 17-18 comes in and asks for 2 applications (this was back before online applications were really a thing). I hand them to him and he just gives me this look. Then he tells me that when he turns them back in, that he and his friend (who would be filling out the other application) needed to have every shift together, that if they hired one, they had to hire BOTH of them and that if they weren&#39;t going to hire both he and his friend, they might as well forget it because they came as a team and would only take the job if they were allowed to work together every shift. Both those applications went straight into file 13. 19.) From Haplo_Hathaway: My SO is a regional manager for a company and was looking to hire a new district manager. Since all interviews are now done online she always waits for the the candidate to log on first video wise, then she logs in. In an interview this past week a gentleman that had applied logged on and after a few seconds she joined. He took one look at her and simple said &quot;wow&quot;. She felt creeped out the rest of the interview. All it took was one word. 

The interview is a crucial part of the hiring process. Because no matter how shiny someone&#39;s CV, you learn a lot more by meeting them IRL (or over Zoom). And though job interviews can range from 5 minutes to an hour or even longer, it...