Are you being haunted by a job interview?
Halloween is the time of year we love to celebrate all the things that go bump in the night… or office! This year, we are celebrating horrifying job interview stories from people across the digital marketing industry.
We took to social media and asked you for the most nightmarish things to have ever happened to you during a job interview. You might be surprised to see some candidates endure behaviour from hiring managers which seem to have come straight out of Frankenstein’s laboratory! But it doesn’t matter which side of the desk you are sitting on, sometimes job interviews just go horribly wrong…
Liam Cumber, Folkestone
‘An interviewer once said I reminded him of Tony Blair. After I stopped grinning he told me he hates Tony Blair. The interview involved a 15 min presentation. He said it blew him away but didn’t think I could live up to it and he’d regret the decision.’
Andrew Cock-Starkey, Optimisey
‘I once had an interviewee who, on paper looked great for a new position in the team. When I called her to arrange the interview she was quite odd and curt but was lots of background noise, so I let it go. Turns out, at the interview, her first language wasn’t English. After the first 2 questions, it was obvious she barely understood a word we’d asked her. After a painful 10 minutes, we cut the interview short. Turned out it was a friend of hers who’d helped with her CV and answered her phone to arrange the interview. How she expected to get through the interview was unclear but she didn’t get the job.’
Mark, Sussex
‘Met and discussed with a couple of key staff a couple of weeks before an interview + they explained how I could start the job in the next couple of weeks, showed me on schedules how they would fit me in. Direct quote – I was told: “The interview will be a formality.” Prepared a presentation for the interview. Did a pretty good presentation that I was complimented on as soon as it was over – then they told me there was no job. Or maybe there will be in about 8 months. Staggering, gobsmacked.‘
Kayleigh, Bristol
‘I had lipstick on my teeth and got told I didn’t get job because I chewed gum and wore the wrong trousers. As a Finn, was confused!’
George, England
‘I left the presentation I had prepared for an interview on the train! The interviewer asked what I was going to do. I said I’d try blagging it. He laughed and gave me the job.’
Ro, Sussex
‘When l was 16 (a few years ago now!) l got a second interview with jewellers. Being a family run business, they wanted to meet a few of my family members. My mum came with my then 12year old sister. All was going well until my sister started going a bit green & announced she was feeling sick. With that, she ran from the room, closely followed by mum.
I was left sitting with the interviewer, with the sound of my sister being sick on the stairs. All he said was “we’ve just had new stair carpet put down”. Needless to say, l didn’t get the job!‘
Greg Tickner, Receptional
‘The one that stands out for me was about a year ago. We invited in for a first interview a candidate, who looked very well qualified on paper. We did the meet and greet in the usual way, and he seemed to tick all the boxes – first impressions were good.
As the interview progressed, I bought up the fact that he had ‘WordPress development’ as a skill, which I thought could be useful if he was selling our development service. As such, I pressed him on this – I asked him to give some examples of sites he’d developed, and to elaborate on what he’d done. His response, “Oh I’m not too sure about that – the recruiter just told me to stick that on there.”’
It’s safe to say.. 1) the candidate was not represented by clockworkTalent and 2) he definitely wasn’t invited back for a second interview!
Grace Scott, Brighton
‘In a group interview, I think I might recognise someone in the room. realise it’s someone who sent me G R A P H I C messages on Tinder until I blocked him. spend the following 2 hours trapped in the room trying to avoid him. I’m still traumatised’
If you have been spooked by our terrifying list of interview stories and are looking for some extra support preparing for a job search, check out our blog posts which are full of tips, tricks and interview secrets! Have a spooky Halloween!
Need more spooky blogs? Find them here:
🎃 The 7 Deadly Sins Of Digital Marketing
🎃 Are You Being Haunted By Imposter Syndrome?
🎃 Tricks And Treats Of Digital Marketing Recruitment
