Although I agree that number 7 shouldn't be said I like the idea that someone threw one of those dumbass 'personality' questions right back at the interviewer. Maybe they already knew they weren't getting the job.

Oh, and 18 is extra awesome just because of where the person was trying to get the job.

This reminds me, I haven't been to nothired.com in a while.

"[The candidate asked,] 'Can my dad call you to talk about the job and the training program? He is really upset I'm not going to medical school and wants someone to explain the Wall Street path to him.' The dad did call. Then that dad's friends called and I ended up doing a conference call with a group of concerned parents ... long story." - Bolzan

If my parents had no tact, I can totally see them doing the same. "Wait so you're going to school for the same number of years, taking a lot of the same courses and paying the same amount in tuition as a real doctor, but instead you're going to be a scientist and have shakey employment opportunities and make barely a quarter of their salary??!"

That website SERIOUSLY needs a moderator. I went through some of their other "Job tips" pages, and all the comments were the same...

"I don't have to worry about interviews because I work for myself and make yadayada bucks, check it out here at Iworkathomandmake500kstuffingenvelopes.com"

I didn't find one serious comment (Maybe there were some, but they were buried under work at home ads disguised as comments.

I've always found the ' why did you leave your previous job ' the most awkward . In reality most aren't happy with pay , conditions or the boss . These HRs have to realize this so why expect a term paper on Mother Teresa goals ?

I've also moved to resort areas for the weather and yet if you tell a 25 year newly promoted HR person who lived their entire life there they don't get it .

I had one interviewer where his biggest question was ' what do you want to do with your life ? ' That was the crux of the whole interview . He didn't even mention what are your goals or anything like that . I was dead honest saying that I wanted live & work in an area where I was happy & become part of the communtiy etc .

Finding a good job is as much about timing meaning you happen to have what they are looking for at that time . If not I think many of these interviewers go through the motions to be polite although I'd rather hear sorry you're not what were looking for .

@Dooley: You should check out other sites with comments gone wild... like... um... EW.com

But then again, it's AOL, what else do you expect?

How long is a piece of rope?

@TinkishDelight: That reminds me of an episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond." Robert was trying to get a job with the FBI and his mom ended up calling the interviewing agent trying to help Robert get the job. Hilarity ensued.

All responses aside, I think perhaps not looking like a "Sabotage"-era Beastie Boy as interpreted by Jimmy Fallon would help with the interview process as well.

@Dooley: But it IS the OPs fault. I make my own jobs at home!!

See, consumerist isnt all that different either ;)

I think the lamest thing by far I said during an interview (over the phone, no less) was something along the lines of "but you are located right next to NASA, thats so cool", when the interviewer mentioned that the 'city' they were in is not the most happening of the places.

He is my manager now.

Love the job, but God this city sucks.

@Rectilinear Propagation: Last I looked, they were still almost entirely recycling stuff from earlier pieces. Which made me sad.

[www.howtonailaninterview.com]

Quite a few funny videos and tips on interviewing. The site owner setup a fake company and conducted interviews to get an idea of the mistakes people make.

aww, it's funny because it's true! Canidates like these make HR Girl cry.
Some of the best inappropriate comments aren't even in reponse to questions. I get applicants who don't remember having applied to the job, who list taxidermy on their resume under "hobbies", etc. Had a guy who ignored me when I went to greet him for his interview because he "totally thought [I] was White when [he] talked to [me] on the phone". A lady who provided a link to her myspace instead of an e-mail address, complete with blinged-out custom layout and more than a few pics of her wasted and showing off a thong.

I should write a book...

Heh... This reminds me of someone I was interviewing at a university career fair for a large tech company. When I asked him how well he worked with others, he somehow managed to tell me not only that he doesn't know how to work in teams, but he actually twisted it to admit that the workload in one class was beyond his capacity so he went to the professor to complain and asked for less work. Needless to say, this guy didn't get promoted to round 2 interviews.

After a friend of mine realized he had no chance of getting the job, he replied to one of the interviewers question with. "KHAAAAAAAAAAAN!" He was promptly escorted from the building by security.

@u1itn0w2day: Hey now, give "these HRs" a break, we're tying hard. Answering "why did you leave your previous job" is not just about content, but context and if I ask 1000 people i'm getting 1000 answers. I usually ask "why did you apply for this job" but it's essentially the same question. Pay, condition, and boss are pretty broad categories.
ie. 2 candidates left due to conditions.
Candidate A: I enjoyed my time there and learned a lot, but when it came time to put what i've learned to practical application, the opportunities were not available.
Candidate B: They gave me a hard time about smoke breaks and calling out sick and stuff.
Which would you hire?

@HRGirl: Why isn't taxidermy an acceptable hobby?

@MostlyHarmless: That doesn't sound like a bad answer. Says you did some research on the area and have a positive outlook on things.

Better than "Yeah, totally. I looked up where you're located and man you ain't kidding about how much your town sucks."

@Blueskylaw: Twice the distance from the middle to the end?

@MostlyHarmless: Try telling a nationally known aquarium "I'll be honest, I'm not so great with fish."

I have no idea how the hell I got that internship.

Job seekers, don't exaggerate, even for non-job related "strengths".
I was interviewing several candidates and one looked promising. His resume mentioned he was fluent in Japanese, so I asked casually, "So, you speak Japanese?" [in Japanese, of course]
Face drained of blood. Stammer, stammer, stammer. "Wha... WHAT?!"
I repeated the same thing differently. Same reaction. Laughed it off and the interview ended.
> Killed the guy even though the position didn't require being multi-lingual by any stretch.

The shame is he was doing well. But I figured if he lied about something that's "unimportant" for the position, imagine the liberties he's taking for important attributes.

@Michael Belisle: He practiced on human corpses.

What are the homeless person and and the one in prison supposed to say?

Or is it just socially unacceptable to be actually seeking employment and trying to get your life back together after something like that?

I don't get it.

At one of my old jobs, we hired a woman who was in prison. We did phone interviews, checked her references, and we agreed she was the best candidate for the job, so we hired her and set her start date for a few days after her release.

Some of us even gave her rides and helped her out while she got settled. She was smart and reliable and hard working, and I'm glad we didn't have some snarky HR person getting in our way.

[POOR IMPULSE CONTROL]

@Donathius: Are you sure? I see Everybody Loves Raymond and "hilarity." I'm confused.

Not all of these are really that bad:

"How big do the bonuses really get once you make associate? I hear it's some serious cash." -- For a commission based job (especially in a boiler room environment), this might be seen as a positive "go getter" attitude.

Why do you want to work for us? - "I saw the job posted on Twitter and thought, why not?" -- Seems rather neutral to me. I'd need to hear the tone of voice.

What are your assets? - "Well, I do own a bike." -- Most companies APPRECIATE creative/out-of-the-box thinking. Perhaps he was applying to be a bank teller in this case, though.

"I went into the lobby to pick up a candidate. As he stood up, his trousers fell to the floor! [He said] 'Oh, my gosh -- they told me I needed a suit for the interview. I've got no money -- so I borrowed this thing. It's too big!' ... More sad than stupid. Life happens. This guy clearly needs the job more than any other candidate. If his attitude was good during the interview, he might just be a diamond in the rough.

@HRGirl: I empathize with your predicament but there is something to be said for honesty . And yeah when the words ' smoke ' and ' sick ' come from the same candidate I'd be leary too . But I don't like a load crap thrown in my face no matter how pretty it is .

@spanky: There is something to be said for dead honesty . This person deserves at least the chance . When something criminal pops up then yeah all that comes into play . When I was niave I always tried to say what people wanted to hear and got upset as someone who spoke their opinion as rude and ignorant but I now truely appreciate those who speak their mind and tell the blunt truth . When a person admits they were in prison they are asking you dead on will you take a chance on them .

Even if you meet the minimum standards unless a company is on a flatout hiring spree timing is everything including who get to talk to & when you talk to them . I 've applied in person as requested by a advertisement got all of 3 minutes from the manager . At a job fair I saw the same manager chat for over 5 minutes with the same person .

What puzzles me is that I know people who change jobs like underwear and never have a problem landing a new one and I know others who look for a new job every 5- 10 years and can't find squat -it's not even a matter of qualifications .

Timing is everything . As said in college grad suing post PLAN AHEAD ( get/stay schooled and certified & take the occassional interview ) so you can take advantage of those windows of oppurtunity .

@spanky: Part of it may depend on what sort of job one is trying for. Being in prison may be an insurmountable obstacle if the job requires a high level of trust.

As for being homeless, it may help to have a way to describe the situation without sounding like someone hard to hire. Making sure you have a mailing address can help (a friend, perhaps).

@h3llc4t: Hmm, maybe your the ancestor of this guy?

@Tiber: Ok, embedding images doesn't seem to work for me, so here:
[i29.tinypic.com]

Trust the comment system to ruin a perfectly good joke.

I don't get the anti-gaming one. o dismiss gaming as not a good leadership experience shows that the interviewer is out of touch.

Some online gaming groups are larger and more complex than many small businesses. The people that lead these groups spend years doing it.

the task often involves:
working with people
leading a team
taking care of conflicts
removing bad members of a team and "hiring" new ones
and spending hours becoming knowledgeable about the rules of a system

@Blueskylaw:

About 1 cord when you coil it up.

My favorite is always "when do vacation days kick in?"

@shepd:

I'm with you 100% on the suit guy--I mean, he was making the effort; While (on the inside)I'd find it hilarious, but I wouldn't actully hold it against him; perhaps the opposite, in fact.

After some more thought it seems like a job interview can be summed up as how well you can act , kiss butt and NOT do certain things .

I must say I laughed at the ' how long before I have to take a drug test ' .

One of things I disagree with and it's not even directly on the list is the physical address question . Even if you have a PO Box ,do your job and show up on time why is a physical address so important ? And that leads to another question - do you rent or own ? . Whose business is that anyway . I heard alot of employers only want applicants who own a home / are paying a mortgage -what's wrong with renters ?

I still say it's timing : a confluence of employer need ,applicant availability and the right personality and/or mood on the perfect day .

Some of these don't seem that bad to me - they seem as if the candidate is displaying a personality/sense of humor. Of course, they were probably dead serious when they said them (like "I like to party!" as why they'd be an asset)

@chese79: He should have said "KAAAAARRRRRKKKKK!"

@catskyfire: The prison thing would depend on what they were in prison for and what the job was, but it doesn't make that some laughably inappropriate thing to say.

As far as the homeless thing, the lack of an address and/or phone number is a pretty common problem. Most homeless people looking for jobs have already thought of using a friend or family member's address. Some just don't have that option. Again, this is something that makes it harder for a person to get hired, but it's not an inappropriate thing to say in an interview.

IMO, several of these just illustrate that HR people are often small minded and judgmental.

39. "I went into the lobby to pick up a candidate. As he stood up, his trousers fell to the floor! [He said] 'Oh, my gosh -- they told me I needed a suit for the interview. I've got no money -- so I borrowed this thing. It's too big!'" - Beth Ross, executive and career coach

Y'know, on this one I would actually give props to this candidate. They had a difficult situation and did the absolute best they could given the circumstances. Yes, it is embarrassing a bit, but he stuck with it, held his head high and persevered. This is a strength of character that can sometimes mean far more than technical expertise or experience. Show me someone with gumption and drive and I'll take them over a lazy know-it-all any day.

@flyingember: I think it is related to "wasting time".

Unforetunately most old line bosses do not recognize gaming as a hobby. They tend to think of woodworking, auto restoration, scrapbooking, etc as hobbies.

The boss would even better understand a Civil War recreator because he/she would only think about the history part verus the hours and money the recreator spends acquiring and setting up their uniforma and kit and geeking out with other recreationists.

@u1itn0w2day: "I heard alot of employers only want applicants who own a home / are paying a mortgage -what's wrong with renters?"

They are thinking one of two things either:
"How tied to the area is this applicant? Would the person easily up and move to get a better job?"
or
"How much would a relocation package cost for this applicant and how much money would my company have to provide?"

I can seriously say that I got one job because I was already local to the company versus the other candidate who would have had to move to the area.

@u1itn0w2day: "What puzzles me is that I know people who change jobs like underwear and never have a problem landing a new one and I know others who look for a new job every 5- 10 years and can't find squat -it's not even a matter of qualifications."

Yep, I echo your comment as above and also say it is probably alot about contacts - who you know and who you *low too. I always wondered about how some people always get golden jobs almost by accident yet others are always looking and nothing ever develops. Sometimes the golden opportunity people seem to be as dumb as a box of rocks yet even in adverse situations, they manage to always resurface better than ever.

The company lays off two people of the same job level and with the same years experience. Person A ends up looking for a job for 10 months and finally gets one paying 3/4 of her prior salary. A week after the layoff, Person B talks to some other parent at their childrens' baseball game who directs her to a company where the other parent's spouse is an executive v.p. Person B gets hired with a salary increase and management level increase. Doh!

@spanky: THANK YOU. I was really angry about the homeless guy...what, so because he doesn't have a place to live, he shouldn't have a JOB? What kind of Catch-22 bullshit is that? How do we expect him to GET a place to live if he loses job-opportunities if he admits he doesn't have one?

Plus, the way it was worded was totally classist. Made me want to punch the interviewer, AND the people who posted it. >,<

@MostlyHarmless: I'm curious which city this is, it isn't right next to Washington, DC is it?

/Next to NASA Goddard

Cross dressing isn't a problem is it?

I could take this question one of two ways (so I need more context), either it's someone who is transgender and could start their transition in the future, or the person is trying to be funny in some way, but the humor is inappropriate.

@ThunderRoad: Gumption is good, but he lacked the common sense to put on a belt.

@morlo: Or the common sense to look in the mirror before he left. I still wonder how you can walk out of the house and get to an interview with pants that are so big they are falling off, wouldn't they fall off on the way there?

@Mary Marsala with Fries: It did seem to be a mix of interview mistakes and just storytelling about things out of the norm in interviews. As mentioned above, so what if somebody practices taxidermy?

My impression is that homelessness and a prison record both come under the category of issues you want to take control of if you're the applicant, though--the prison-record guy didn't do that, at least in this report, and it's possible that the homeless applicant didn't either.

@theblackdog: Or it could be a transvestite.

I don't know that these are the most reliable reports of these incidents, but if that really was how the question was posed, that's probably not the best way to go about ascertaining, so I suppose it is at least a useful caution in that respect. But not in the respect that it's an inappropriate thing for a candidate ever to want to know.