On Smokin' Cigs, Collecting Unemployment, & Jetting to Vegas, Baby!

"When are and how many cigarette breaks do I get in a day. " "I don't want this job anyway, I just had to come to the interview to keep getting unemployment" I thought this was the best one I ever heard: "If I get hired can I take my friends to Vegas on the company jet" FYI - there was no company jet. TJNTIY.

Candidate Drops F-Bomb as Friendly Hello

I interviewed a candidate for a Director-level position on an unusually cold day in January. I met him in our lobby and offered to hang-up his top coat in the closet. As he's removing his top coat he says, "(explative) It's as cold as a witch's ___!" He read my "blank face" and quickly added, "Hey, lighten-up, all I said was (expletive)! Don't tell me you've never heard THAT word before." Dropping f-bombs and using crude expressions to describe the weather aren't the best ways to begin an interview. BTW, his top coat didn't spend much time in our lobby closet. TJNTIY.

Apparently Candidate Could Not Do The Math

"I expect to make six figures and retire before I'm 40." None of the interview panel made six figures. The two members over 40 were not amused. The candidate was history. TGNTIY.

Truth is Sometimes Too Much of a Good Thing

Why did you leave your last job?* I really wish some interviewees would think before they responded. Sure, honesty is the best policy - but telling the whole story may not get you hired! Interviewer (ME): "I am on the fence - Give me one reason why I should consider hiring you and one reason why someone else would be a better candidate" Bad Answer: You could only imagine some of the answers I got with this question!! If my interviews were a sitcom .. would anyone watch? When I ask this question - my ratings would go UP! TJNTIY

Candidate Conducts the Interview . . .and Your Mama

Hello to everyone. Well I thought that I had the greatest story, but some of the stories here are great. I usually reject candidates that send me crappy CVs. During the interviews I usually reject the people that forget that they came for an interview and talk and act as if I am the one being interviewed. Finally, I hate people that ask about the money first, but I don't reject them right away. My best story was about the girl that came to the interview with her mother. Once I called the candidate both of them entered my office, and we had an unpleasant moment when I asked the mother to step out. As if that was not enough, once we got talking the girl stopped me and just told me what she was not willing to do!!! Well, needless to say we did not hire her, maybe because we couldn't afford the mother too. TJNTIY.

Candidate Delivers More Than Resume . . .

"She threw up on my desk, and immediately started asking questions about the job, like nothing had happened. " I think that person should get hired, or at least a serious consideration. It shows they don't get flustered by the unexpected. One time while in college, I was interviewing for an internship. I was asked if I could be an animal, what would I be. "I am an animal" was my response. TJNTIY.

Eau D'Candidate . . .and Waaaay Too Much Information

One of my biggest pet-peeves is wearing too much perfume or cologne to an interview. Usually I try to deal with it (without taking a deep breath!) but one time I walked into the interview room and was almost knocked over by the smell. I had a very hard time listening to the candidate as I was feeling nauseated by the sickenly sweet scent that was permeating the entire room. I honestly wasn't sure if she was a good candidate or not when I finally had to get out of the room. Each of the other interviewers was supposed to bring me their feedback.

Candidate to President of Company: "I Want Your Job."

We've had a candidate on an interview for a manager's position reporting to the President of the company. The President was a fairly young/early in his career, (mid 40s), and no intention of retiring anytime soon. The candidate who was interviewing had a stellar twenty plus year career and was more senior than the President.

There's the Truth and Then There's The Resume

My pet peev and the thing I now always check first when I am interviewing potential employees is that what their resume says and what they've actually done are similar. Unfortunately the practice is rampant. So don't lie on your resume kids. I also prefer much more than a 2 page summary for candidates. On the other side of the equation I find wearing a suit to an interview is usually a bad idea. Its rare that interviewers are wearing suits themselves and seems only to alienate you at the outset, at least for the roles and workplaces I tend to gravitate toward. TJNTIY.

Candidate Sends Letter From Behind Bars

Hmmmm.....I have a ton of stories....I was asked out on a date by one candidate. I had a candidate that sent me a letter from jail....and another candidate that complained to one of the managers about someone on the interview schedule (warning him against that person). Usually if we are not into a candidate we try to shorten the interview schedule a bit so everyone doesn't have to waste their time. The candidate might not know about this though because we might only disclose a couple of people they are meeting and tell them that they meet a couple of others, but they might figure it out.

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