'[The] candidate arrived in rollerblades': 20+ Unexpected ways that job interview candidates immediately disqualified themselves

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Sep 12, 2024 5:00 PM EDT

No matter how poorly you performed in a job interview, at least you never brought handfuls of jellybeans to eat during the interview! 

Interviewers know that job candidates are super nervous during the interview. No matter how many times you interview for a job, whether you're 20 years old or 60, there's bound to be some anxiety surrounding your performance. Every interviewer is looking for something different, but there are a few key things that can make someone immediately unhirable. 

U/ecogeek asked the hiring managers of the world about the "unexpected ways a candidate has disqualified themselves from/decreased their odds of getting a position they applied for?" Thousands of people answered, with some disclosing some shocking reasons they had to show a candidate the door. One person had a candidate refer to themself as a "valid victorian" instead of valedictorian, which is just hilarious. Another person had to watch as their nervous interviewee started stuffing his face with jellybeans! It turns out there are dozens of unexpected ways you can botch an interview badly. 

Up next, these people had a discussion about the pettiest, most meaningless hills they're willing to die on, like one person who insists everyone should "throw away your trash at the movie theater." 

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    Cheezburger Image 10402670080
    via Sebastian Herrmann on Unsplash

    Image does not depict actual subjects of the story. 

  • 02
    People who have hired other people: What are some unexpected ways a candidate has disqualified themselves from/decreased their odds of getting a position they applied for?
    via u/ecogeek
  • 03
    RT... One guy cited his driver's license as a "professional certification". Late edit: This was for a software development role.
    via u/RTPGiants
  • 04
    tybrromian I once saw a resume that stated they were a "valid Victorian". Either they were trying to say they were top of their class or that they were a genuine person from 19th century England, neither of which were true.
    via u/tybrromian
  • 05
    mendivil26 English is my second language, moved to the US after college and got an interview for an engineering position at a top aerospace company. I was nailing it (as far as I know), until the hiring manager asks:
    via u/mendivil26
  • 06
    "How is your relationship with your current manager? would it upset him if you leave? or would he say good riddance?" I thought good riddance meant something positive like "good luck" or "best of wishes", so I said she'd say I the latter. I didn't get the job.
    via u/mendivil26
  • 07
    MichaelTheElder In my job I've interviewed hundreds of individuals. One that stands out was for an entry level retail position. I called him in for an interview and after introductions brought him up to the break room for the interview itself as the training room was in use. He was a kinda sketchy looking individual, wearing a beat up black cap and what looked to be a dirty hoody.
    via u/MichaelTheElder
  • 08
    But I didn't think too much of if because: a) I did call him in on shorter notice b) I don't like to judge a candidate solely on how they look and c) it's retail; what do you expect candidates to look like? I excused myself for 30 seconds to check in on my trainee and when I came back the candidate looked a little uncomfortable.
    via u/MichaelTheElder
  • 09
    Not thinking much of it we start the interview asking the standard questions about what he's done previously, why he wants to work here, etc. I notice he continues to look uncomfortable and it almost looks as though he's hiding something in his hands. I eventually ask if theres something wrong I can assist with and he comes clean.
    via u/MichaelTheElder
  • 10
    He explains he has a fistful of candy (jelly beans in this case) and he's not sure what do do with them. I'm a bit gobsmacked and have questions which I wish I would have asked. Where did he get this candy? Why did he think it was a good idea to eat candy in an interview? What was he going to do with this candy?
    via u/MichaelTheElder
  • 11
    As I tried to articulate a response he exclaims "I know!" and proceeds to shove the entire handful into his mouth. And this isn't a couple jelly beans. This is a massive handful of now sweaty, sticky candies that he has just thrown into his mouth. And he starts chewing. And chewing. His hands are stained and he's really working his jaw due to the sheer amount and
    via u/MichaelTheElder
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    chewy nature of them. I swear thirty seconds pass before he finally gulps them down and asks calmly "You were saying?" Needless to say the interview did not continue much longer than that and unfortunately the candy man did not get a job with us...
    via u/MichaelTheElder
  • 13
    Enron_F Not my story but an old professor of mine's, but it's too perfect not to use. A long time ago his department was looking to hire some kind of new junior assistant professor type. They had narrowed it down to two highely qualified guys, both fresh out of grad school. They knew they
    via u/Enron_F
  • 14
    were going to hire one or the other. As a final step of the process they decided to take both of them out to dinner separately. The first guy is cordial throughout the whole thing, seems to get along with everybody, seems just fine. Then at the end of the meal he picks up his empty plate and licks the whole thing clean. Like, tongue flat
    via u/Enron_F
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    against surface of the plate, covering every inch of it until it's clean. In the middle of a nice restaurant. Then he just sets the plate down like it was the most normal thing in the world. Everyone just stares at him, and then awkwardly try to just wrap things up. Afterward they laugh about it to each other like , what a bizarre and unnecessary way to throw away a near clinch on a
    via u/Enron_F
  • 16
    good job opportunity. So then they take the second guy out, almost just a formality at this point. Again, everything is fine, he's polite, seems perfectly qualified, seems to know the right things to say. Then at the very end they ask him if he had any questions for them. He pauses and thinks
    via u/Enron_F
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    for a moment, then goes "So what is the student-teacher dating policy?" Afterward the other professors are sitting around together and one of them goes "Well, looks like we're hiring the plate licker."
    via u/Enron_F
  • 18
    PsychohistorySel... Candidate arrived in rollerblades. Stayed in rollerblades the whole interview. He used the word "blade" instead of "walk" or "go" for the whole interview. Can't tell if I was being punk'd.
    via u/PsychohistorySeldon
  • 19
    mi... Job location: London Candidate location: Denver Candidate willing to relocate : No
    via u/PsychohistorySeldon
  • 20
    broganisms When I managed a retail store, it wasn't uncommon for people to bail on job interviews with last-minute or no notice. But there was only ever one person who no-showed the interview and then called the next week asking if they got the job.
    via u/broganisms
  • 21
    Ok... So, it CAN BE a good idea to call and check on your application, but don't call the store, ask for the owner, and see if he's looked at your application 1 HOUR AFTER YOU LEFT IT WITH US. This person actually called three times throughout the day, and each time we told her "The owner will review your
    via u/broganisms
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    application tonight after we close, as this is the busiest time of year for us" (spring at a greenhouse) Edit: it is less good than I thought to make a follow up call, so my comment reflects this now!
    via u/broganisms
  • 23
    [deleted] We had a guy come in for an interview, and he showed up a full 40 minutes prior to his scheduled interview. One room office shared by three people, so there's no good place for him to wait. I said you can go to the coffee shop next door and come back at the scheduled time. He said, no, I'll just wait here - I have a phone call to
    via u/[deleted]
  • 24
    make. He proceeds to have a very loud phone conversation in our one room office. When it was finally time for his scheduled interview, he was still on the phone, and actually shushed me and said "I'M ON THE PHONE". Ten minutes later he was ready to be
    via u/[deleted]
  • 25
    interviewed. Not even sure why we proceeded with the interview, but it was over quickly and his resume was in the recycle before the door even closed.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 26
    essiecae23 I work at a hospital on a med/surg floor. We have a two part interview one with the unit manager and one with either a nurse or an aid. We have a series of questions to ask based on a survey they fill out an the end of the application. She managed to make her way to
    via u/essiecae23
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    me and this was her response to a question. "If you saw a coworker doing something unethical, like stealing from a patient, what would you do?" "It depends if it was valuable or not, I mean who hasn't stolen something before"
    via u/essiecae23
  • 28
    gardenmarauding I was hiring in pharmaceutical sales, and it was a large drug launch for a to-be/newly approved product so they were hiring like 200 people nationwide. Because of this, first step was a phone screen with us, then a video interview with the hiring manager, before flying candidates out for the
    via u/gardenmarauding
  • 29
    final, panel interviews where they would meet with five individuals (VPs of HR and Sales of each region, and Sales Directors for those territories). Because of this, we were very strict with the interviews and who moved forward, which means it REALLY sucked when a guy went into his final panel interview and started doing magic tricks.
    via u/gardenmarauding
  • 30
    Very seriously, he started pulling flowers from his sleeves, and he tried to "vanish" an interviewer's coffee, but ended up spilling it everywhere instead. In that same round of hiring, we also had an individual who did his video call from his coffee table (he sat on the floor) and he had someone ring his doorbell.
    via u/gardenmarauding
  • 31
    From the conversation with the hiring manager, he asked politely if he could go answer the door in case it was an emergency. She said "sure", no big deal, and the guy stood up flashing his tightie whities. She didn't say much about it when he came back, but needless to say she couldn't stop laughing when she told us about it...
    via u/gardenmarauding
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    tl;dr: Don't do magic tricks in your interview, unless you're interviewing to be a magician. If you do a video interview, please wear ALL of your clothes, pants included.
    via u/gardenmarauding
  • 33
    natfishes I once called a guy for his scheduled phone interview and he answered the phone as if he thought I was a telemarketer. He was incredibly and asked who I was at least three times before understanding | was calling to interview him.
    via u/natfishes
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    After realizing his mistake he wasn't even apologetic for yelling at me. It was a tense interview and he did not move forward.
    via u/natfishes
  • 35
    Vengeance_Core I'm a lobby guard, so I don't do the interviews. However, I have had interviewers ask me how the interviewee behaved in the lobby while waiting. Most just sit there twiddling their thumbs nervously, but 9/10 times those who ask me questions
    via u/Vengeance_Core
  • 36
    about the company and/or the team they are interviewing for are hired, and 10/10 times people who are genuinely to me are never hired.
    via u/Vengeance_Core
  • 37
    Splendid T I used to be a manager where we did a lot of hiring. I've probably now hired hundreds of people and looked at thousands and thousands of resumes. • A lady with an MBA applied. At first glance, she seemed interesting, then when I googled her school, it was clearly a degree
    via u/SplendidT***
  • 38
    mill with a somewhat- similar name to a real university. • Dude told me the only reason he was applying was because he was ordered by a judge to get a job because he was years behind on his child support. When asked what the story was on his lengthy employment gap, he said he had quit
    via u/SplendidT***
  • 39
    working...to avoid paying child support. To top it off, he clearly wasn't qualified for the position and had lied his way into the interview in what I'm guessing was some kind of malicious compliance with the judge's orders? • A dude asked my co- worker on a date. During his interview. He
    via u/SplendidT***
  • 40
    didn't get the job or the date. • The entire job was doing phone support. She said she didn't like talking on the phone. • Dude stopped answering my question to tell me that wearing glasses was making my eyes dependent on glasses and I should stop wearing them.
    via u/SplendidT***
  • 41
    • Our male receptionist welcomed him and escorted him to the interview room, where I was sitting. He asked if we were waiting for the receptionist to return, and asked if I would make him a coffee while we waited. I explained I was the hiring manager, and he laughed at how funny it would be to have a
    via u/SplendidT***
  • 42
    "female boss" because it was so unexpected. • When we started on the tech questions, she said she didn't know how to use a computer and wasn't going to learn because they were too complicated.
    via u/SplendidT***
  • 43
    She wasn't that old, maybe mid-40s, and it was only about 10 years ago. I have no idea how she made it in the world.
    via u/SplendidT***
  • 44
    got_milk4 (I've posted this previously for those who may think it's a familiar story) I work in software development. As part of the interview process at my company, our candidates interview over Skype using a code-sharing website for them to complete a small and
    via u/got_milk4
  • 45
    relatively simple problem to help weed out candidates who are dishonest on their resumes. In one of my interviews, I started with the usual introduction of myself, my role within the company, so on and so forth. I introduce her to the task and explain that it'll be on a code sharing website and that she'll need to follow the link I will send her to access it. I
    via u/got_milk4
  • 46
    paste the link into the text window and explain to her how to access it (some people haven't used Skype before and don't know how to access text chat in a video call). She smiles and nods and asks me when I'm done, "will you be writing the link on the whiteboard?" What whiteboard? I look behind me and remember that yes, there is a small
    via u/got_milk4
  • 47
    whiteboard behind me, and this woman was expecting me to handwrite the (not so short) link and she would. read it off the webcam to type it into her browser. "No," I explain, "I sent you the link within Skype itself. If you'll just click..." I'm forced to trail off as she reaches forward and picks up her webcam (which I'm assuming was mounted to the top of her monitor). I get
    via u/got_milk4
  • 48
    a nice close-up of her eye as she peers inside the camera, then turns it on its side to observe it some more. I ask her what she's doing. "Trying to find the link," she replies. Dumbfounded, I once again explain that the link was sent over Skype and wouldn't appear behind me nor on the webcam. She
    via u/got_milk4
  • 49
    resumes the smile-and-nod routine as I ask her to follow my directions to access the Skype text chat window. I ask her to wave her mouse cursor over my face until she sees some buttons appear. She takes her hand off the mouse, raises it, and waves it over the screen. I explain to her again that she needs to use the mouse and she smiles and nods again.
    via u/got_milk4
  • 50
    After about 15 minutes (of a 30 minute interview), she did finally discover the link in the Skype text chat, but she proceeded to type it into her browser by hand. She did not make it to the next round.
    via u/got_milk4
  • 51
    nae42 I was doing a video interview with a candidate in a new office we were opening in another country. For background, it was for a tech company, so we're a bit informal and I was wearing a company printed t-shirt so you could easily see I have tattoos.
    via u/nae42
  • 52
    This candidate calls in a few minutes late, but I give him the benefit of the doubt on that. We start talking and discussing the role when I hear his doorbell ring. He gets up immediately, yelling. back to his computer that he'll just be a moment. I can hear him let the dishwasher repair person in, be guided to the kitchen, and told all about the problems with the dishwasher. I sit there
    via u/nae42
  • 53
    entirely dumbfounded but decide to continue the interview out of sheer curiosity. The candidate came back about five minutes later, answers some more of my questions and then I asked what questions he has about the role so l could wrap this up. Apparently this is what he was waiting for.
    via u/nae42
  • 54
    Candidate: "It's so cool that you've got tattoos! Did you do them yourself?" Me: "No. Do you have any role related questions?" Candidate: "Well, I've done all mine myself. Let me show you!" The candidate proceeded to take off his shirt and point out each of his tattoos, telling me his age for each
    via u/nae42
  • 55
    one. He even pulled his pant legs up to his thigh to show what he had done on his legs. I was dumbfounded. He offered to send me his portfolio. He did not get the job.
    via u/nae42
  • 56
    [deleted] By mentioning they would only be in town for a few months...for a technical services job. A few months. is our training period.
    via u/[deleted]

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