20+ Employees Share Their Most Ridiculous First Day Stories and Interview Nightmares From Their Job-Hunting Era

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Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Apr 7, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

As if the job market isn't daunting enough, you're most likely also going to experience some pretty absurd interviews and downright bananas first days… 

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  • Looking for a new job? Going through the interview process? Gearing up for your first day? Well, do we have many ways to make you extra nervous about all of that… It's called Reddit! Redditors have gathered from all sorts of corners of the internet to share their own obstacles they've experienced during their job-hunting era. Sometimes you go through 7 different rounds of interviews and still get served with zero courtesy in the end. Or maybe you got the job first try and now you're excited and ready to come in with bright eyes! But then you show up and the person who interviewed is nowhere to be found and everyone is looking at you like you're crazy and that position wasn't even open… Sounds like a scene in a movie, right? Nope. It's from some person's real life that they shared on Reddit. Read more insane first-day/ job interview stories like that below! 

    Need the opposite of stressful work tales? Check out these fun work memes!

  • 01
    Curious: What's the most you've ever been through for a job interview only to be denied? What are some of the craziest or longest interview processes you've been through that didn't result in a job offer? Did you get a rejection letter or were you ghosted?
    via Amtec Photos via Flickr

    jtreddit702

  • 02
    Mine would be when I applied to be a cashier at my local Best Buy (I was only 22 at the time) but it was 4 rounds of interviews with 3 different managers only for them to never call me back. I tried calling them and they forgot they even interviewed me. Finally, one manager said "oh that position was never even open. Not sure why you got an interview. Haha" Yes they laughed out loud while I was silent.
    via jtreddit702
  • 03
    No-Library7552 • 23h ago Showed up on the start date and asked why was I there.... kibbybud 21h ago . Similar thing happened to me. I was hired on a Friday, showed up on Monday, and found out that the guy who hired me had been fired that Friday. So, no job for me!
    via No-Library7552
  • 04
    Strongit 21h ago • Same here. I went in with my resume, I got a tour of the place and told how everything works. They said. to show up next week. Showed up, the person that gave me the tour was nowhere to be found and they had no idea who I was.
    via strongit
  • 05
    Friend-of-thee-court 22h ago . I went through something similar. I applied internally for a position with the company I was working for. They took forever but would continue to keep in contact saying things like "won't be long now" or "we're just getting your new salary approved." I ultimately never heard from them again. Later when I was talking to someone who worked in that branch about my experience he said "That was you? Yea, they were just waiting for the guy they really wanted to decide if
    via Friend-of-thee-court
  • 06
    Own-Scene-7319 23h ago • Went into an interview with a well known firm, and my coat was stolen. abuayanna 20h ago Was probably a set up just to get the coat. Own-Scene-7319 20h ago •
    via Own-Scene-7319
  • 07
    The second kicker? Now a different department wants me to interview for their department head position and is panicking because they don't have qualified candidates. I have zero interest in putting myself through this again at this point. Maybe if the first position had given me useful feedback instead of ghosting me, things would be different. Happy to stay in my department which is actually functional and treats people well.
    via TheRainbowConnection
  • 08
    • jd2004user 22h ago 7 rounds over 3 months and they NEVER gave me a final answer. I just withdrew because the interviewing part is like the courtship. And if the courtship the marriage (employment) surely won't be better.
    via jd2004user
  • 09
    MakeBigStonks • 22h ago Had two rounds of official phone interviews, a couple unofficial phone calls, and a final teams interview to include 1/3rd of that office's employees. Took about 2 months total. Job was $40k/year for negotiating end user terms in certain software. Final interview I was to present a short 10 minute PowerPoint on something special to me. During the presentation they constantly interrupted, which I
    via MakeBigStonks
  • 10
    thought was a test. Then all 17 people in the meeting gave their opinion, and each interviewed me. If I remember right, took about 2 1/2 hours. I thought I crushed it. Got some prelim sign up info for the position, gave availability to start and do the drug test. Never heard back or could get ahold of them. Still mad that I had to make a PowerPoint for that.
    via MakeBigStonks
  • 11
    • Funny-Berry-807 20h ago Interviewed with a California company for my dream job. 1st interview with internal recruiter. Went well. Got a call back a few days later and 2nd interview schedule a week and half out. 2nd interview with potential boss. Went extremely well - half-hour scheduled went 1:15. Call back from recruiter - next round of interviews will be FOUR interviews over the course of TWO weeks. Let them know that I
    via Funny-Berry-807
  • 12
    couldn't do any interviews the second half of second week as I would be traveling in the desert. Interviews 3, 4, and 5 went finevexcept for the fact the two of the people had no idea what b the position was or what I would be doing. Interview 6 was OF COURSE scheduled for when I was traveling. Changed my plans to make sure I could take the online video call. Person never got on. Recruiter called me later that day and complained I wasn't on the call. He screwed up the time zones
    via Funny-Berry-807
  • 13
    so he gave me the wrong time. The interviewer was on easy to Australia, so never interviewed with him. Interview 7 was with the original boss guy. Went well again. Said they would have a decision in a week. Two weeks go by. No word. Call recruiter. He hasn't heard anything. Another week goes by. Nada. I guess at the boss guy's email and ask him what's going on. He emails me back and let's me know the exec committee is meeting in a few days, and will have. a then.
    via Funny-Berry-807
  • 14
    Never hear a word. Until... SIX MONTHS later, I get an email from a survey company asking if I can answer some questions about their interview/hiring process. Well yes. Yes I can. :)
    via Funny-Berry-807
  • 15
    fgrhcxsgb 22h ago • Did free work for a company thinking I would get hired after 2 interviews one seemly to bounce ideas off me. Big corp in ny first person said they didnt like what the freelancer did. They obviously were just so cheap they conducted interviews" to get free work fyi co makes a lot of money.
    via fgrhcxsgb
  • 16
    Odd-Secret-8343 • 23h ago 3 rounds with a 16,000 people company. All the interviews seemed to go great. Then *silence*. It's been 2 months. Haven't heard a darn thing.
    via Odd-Secret-8343
  • 17
    SNARKWITHSENSE . 22h ago 3 interviews and a take home assignment. They went with the other person. I've had a couple of companies ghost me after 2 or 3 interviews. Sometimes if they are a large corporation I will call them out for that behavior. It's just to follow up at least. and their job is
    via SNARKWITHSENSE
  • 18
    Own-Scene-7319 23h ago • Back in the day, I went through 5 series of interviews to handle a maternity leave in a Beauty company. This culminated in an interview with the President, who had a personal vendetta against anti-aging creams. I gave up due to sheer exhaustion. That company is now going bankrupt.
    via Own-Scene-7319
  • 19
    gregarious-loner • 21h ago I had three interviews over Zoom with increasing status in the hierarchy every time. Got rave reviews in email following each interview. I asked what their decision timeline was looking like, and the answer went from 2 weeks to eventually not hearing anything for 2 months. I withdrew my application, and they were surprised. I'm a go-getter, so waiting around for people to figure out what's going on is a huge pet peeve of mine.
    via gregarious-loner
  • 20
    Cold Scholar · 20h ago • 1. a group interview where 8 of us were all asked questions and talked to by 3 recruiters 2. drove to the next town over for a sit down interview with a manager 3. drove to a different town to interview with a different manager 4. Video call interview with both managers and their manager 5. wait for their call. I'm sure it'll happen any day now. It's only been a few years. Just gotta stay positive!
    via Cold__Scholar
  • 21
    writehandedTom • 20h ago I was already working in the role, and the company made our small 3-person team reapply for our jobs under a new CFO at a healthcare IT consulting company (Tegria). I went into the interview prepared and did well. I was already doing this exact job and had glowing performance reviews and internal references from every angle. I'd just received 2 bonuses and a raise. I genuinely loved my job and was good at it and was underpaid...but willing to stay.
    via writehandedTom
  • 22
    They gave me like 3 days to apply with an updated resume (I also have a life...so that was quick). They waited like 3 weeks to schedule an interview with me with no notice. After the interview, I did an assignment totally unrelated to the actual position and they gave us only a few days to do it, procuring the materials at the very last minute after I asked. They failed to "grade" the assignment until I asked. Then they gave us no information for like 6-8 weeks. Nothing. Zero. Gave the impressio
    via writehandedTom
  • 23
    cast of people who aren't working out in our old positions ever since. The person who kept her job also deserved it, but it was a terrible internal move to even get rid of two of us. Honestly, I off from that job was kind of traumatizing and I had some real grief about leaving. I still miss that job, and I'm bored as heck and underutilized in a new role.
    via writehandedTom
  • 24
    terpinolenekween ⚫ 22h ago A guy I knew from events who worked at a competing company asked me to go for coffee. We had a chat, and he told me they're hiring someone and thinks I'd be a good fit. It was pre interview interview. We met up a second time to chat more about it. After that he put me in touch with a hiring manager. We had a phone interview that went well. He gave me an interview with the director of sales. That went well and they scheduled me
    via terpinolenekween
  • 25
    two separate meetings with people who were doing the role I was applying for in other provinces (I was applying for alberta but met with the Ontario and Manitoba counterparts). Those went well and I met with the ceo who's based out of the United States. That went well and they asked me to interview one more time with the vp of sales. I thought it went well. Found out two weeks later they went with someone else
    via terpinolenekween
  • 26
    Glimmerofinsight • 23h ago I went through 3 interviews for Farmers Insurance. During the last interview they asked me what type of company car I wanted and showed me around the office, asking me about pay rates, etc, implying that I was going to be offered the position. I never heard from them again. I called them, asking if they had chosen anyone for the position, as I was never called back. They said they thought they called me but decided to go with an employee that already worked for them, b
    via Glimmerofinsight
  • 27
    Ok, but why ghost me? Why wouldn't you offer the position to them first instead of interviewing outside candidates? I was trying to change jobs and was employed at the time - which I was up front about. It made me paranoid that my current boss had found out and was blocking me from leaving.
    via Glimmerofinsight
  • 28
    fgrhcxsgb · 22h ago Also 3 interviews back to back I was talking to the second one and she was texting and laughing. The other one called me a liar fought with me about leaving my portfolio going to the bathroom and proceeded to talk badly about me to a coworker on the way. In the interview she said no way you can do a ppt in 30 min cause I cant! And proceeded to berate me saying I cant take a lunch if its busy out of nowhere. Mean girls on steroids and glassdoor reflected it. Then proceeded to
    via fgrhcxsgb
  • 29
    Gunner_411 22h ago I applied for Job A, got contacted by HR because they felt Job B they had open would be a great fit with my experience. I was technically qualified for both. They flew me in to interview with the top 3 executives of the company. Large national company. Then they said I didn't have enough experience.
    via Gunner_411

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