20+ Unforgettably bad job interviews: 'Interviewed someone who... technically wasn't allowed to be in the building'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jan 30, 2025 3:00 PM EST

If you can show up to your job interview on time and wearing a suit, you're already doing better than half of the other applicants! Just ask the hiring managers of the internet, who have had some absolute messes of interviews lately. 

There are apparently many job-seekers who have never heard of the basic tenets of job interviews. Show up early, wear a suit, be clean, be polite, bring copies of your resume, and be nice to everyone you meet. If you can, you should always try to do these things, and if you're extra ambitious, you can research the company and practice reciting your answers in front of a mirror. 

No matter how rough your worst interview was, I guarantee it wasn't as bad as the people below. Some people assumed they already had the job mid-interview, only to start acting way too casual and end up not getting the position. One person started reading answers straight from the internet, which didn't impress the hiring manager at all! 

Up next, read about the employee who quit their job, leaving piles of work for their irritating boss, saying that "I will never forget the expression of defeat in his face at the last day." 

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  • 01
    'I asked someone in an interview why they wanted the job, and they said it was just to fill in until they could find something better'
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+
  • 02

    'People who give job interviews, what are some subtle red flags that say "this person won't be a good hire"?'

    Silent_Radish_3841 I once interviewed someone who told me she technically wasn't allowed to be in the building because someone on another floor had a restraining order against her.
    via u/Silent_Radish_3841
  • 03
    miss_zee I was hiring someone with web development skills. Asked a candidate to tell me about a time they encountered a critical error and how they fixed it. Their response, "Well I was on our website and noticed some information was out of date, a critical error, so I told the web development team we needed to update that critical error."
    via u/miss_zee
  • 04

    Practice your answers too much and this might happen!

    Fast_Moon When asked about their experience with a topic, they stick to reciting textbook definitions of terminology rather than demonstrating any understanding of how to apply it.
    via u/Fast_Moon
  • 05
    Had one person who was literally forwarding our questions into ChatGPT, and then reciting rambling. answers that provided definitions of keywords in our questions rather than actually answering the question. Like, we'd ask
    via u/Fast_Moon
  • 06
    "What's something a previous employer or educator has recognized you for?", and they'd answer: "Examples of things that an employer might recognize an employee for are..."
    via u/Fast_Moon
  • 07
    BckCntry94 When interviewing people I always try to find a way to subtly disagree or challenge one of their positions. (whether I really disagree or not) and their reactions mostly fall in 3 categories. 1. They agree with me/take it as a learning opportunity (green flag)
    via u/BckCntry94
  • 08
    2. They confidently back up their claim with supporting statements (very green flag) 3. They get defensive/territorial that I've challenged them (red flag)
    via u/BckCntry94
  • 09
    NotAClownCar Had two interviews for a software dev position this year that stood out. First one, the guy was well into the interview and going through the coding portion when the door opened behind him. A woman stepped in and asked something about reports and to wrap up what he was doing. When she left he
    via u/NotAClownCar
  • 10
    turned back to the screen and said he was sorry but he had to go and ended the call. Second was a guy who was doing alright but halfway through the interview he just stopped responding to us (call wasn't frozen, he just stopped talking/responding). Then
    via u/NotAClownCar
  • 11
    the call just ended and we never heard anything from him again, even after reaching out to see if he had connection issues and wanted to reschedule.
    via u/NotAClownCar
  • 12
    luddoro A guy i know that works in the IT industry told me when a girl he interviewed for a junior Developer job had a complete meltdown and completely froze. The interview ended akwardly and that was that.
    via u/luddoro
  • 13
    A couple days later the girl sent an email explaining she had issues with anxiety and asked for a second chance. Of course my friend gave her that chance, she nailed it and got hired. She now works as a product owner after 5 years with the company.
    via u/luddoro
  • 14
    Mamapalooza I had a perfectly nice woman come in for an interview. Lied about her education. I knew because the diploma mill she listed quite famously doesn't exist anymore, but she said she was a current student set to graduate in 2 years.
    via u/Mamapalooza
  • 15
    Honestly, if she hadn't lied, we would have hired her. But once I pointed that out in the post-game meeting, everyone lost any enthusiasm they had.
    via u/Mamapalooza
  • 16

    It's immediately obvious when someone has real-world experience and when they're just good at googling answers

    Ashi4Days I'm a mechanical engineer and I have to interview candidates from time to time. In general i give them a really simple technical question that I would expect. a highschooler to solve. It's literally going to be things like, "calculated the force on this object."
    via u/Ashi4Days
  • 17
    The more you deviate away from, "force equals mass times acceleration," the more i know you are going to be a bad hire.
    via u/Ashi4Days
  • 18
    Not only does it show a fundamental misunderstanding of the material at hand. It also shows me that when you don't know the answer, you're prone to taking up meeting time endlessly pointing out true but impossible to solve problems.
    via u/Ashi4Days
  • 19
    tristanjones I can teach anything but giving a interview doesnt show you give a If your it was a waste. Ask questions people, like you are sincerely trying to determine what the role is and entails.
    via u/tristanjones
  • 20
    Mr... It's a really, really bad idea to be combative with the interviewer. I'm legit trying to help you succeed and I make a concerted* effort to make you feel at ease. If a question or request doesn't make sense to you, that's fine let's talk about it. If -
    via u/tristanjones
  • 21
    you answer defensively, bordering on aggression, it's really not going to go well. And you may get the answer right but the question I'm asking myself is if I want to deal with you every day. Especially considering this was likely your best behavior.
    via u/tristanjones
  • 22
    LOLTHEDOG Subtle: he didn't have enough characters in his CCNA certificate number. Less subtle: I looked it up while his would-be boss asked him some softball questions. Once Cisco said it couldn't be found/tracked, I asked him what was going on. "Oh I'm working on it, should have it in 6 months."
    via u/L0LTHED0G
  • 23
    Yeah, Cisco doesn't give a CCNA cert to someone that's still working to pass the test.
    via u/L0LTHED0G
  • 24
    Cheezburger Image 10461415424
    via Andrej Lišakov For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 25
    Eiteba I asked someone in an interview why they wanted the job and they said it was just to fill in until they could find something better
    via u/Eiteba
  • 26
    blikstaal He cried. Never had that happen before and threw me off. He was unemployed and really needed a job. He was not a good match for the job he applied for, but the recruiter and me gave him tips and tricks for the next interview. Hope he made it
    via u/blikstaal
  • 27
    Klumber Due to the nature of roles I interview for, I often get people with PhDs and they split into two categories: 'I've done my homework and I'm ready to answer any question' (good) and 'I am better than this job and you will give it to me, but I'll join the charade' bad, like... really bad.
    via u/Klumber
  • 28
    Also: Top tip if you apply for an information specialist role, don't fudge your own information. We will do due diligence and we will understand whether you are trying to big yourself up, regardless of your background/nationality.
    via u/Klumber
  • 29
    m... Arrogance, being unprepared for even minor questions, not knowing what job role they applied to, not being a good fit in general for the team (i.e. they like to work individually in a role that requires a lot of team work, etc.)
    via u/maeasm3
  • 30

    It's important to research the company's culture and mission, which this person clearly didn't do

    merigoldmunki I'd say not being aware of who you're applying to is a big red flag. I once worked for a local retailer in Maine, and at the time they did group interviews for potential employees. This was likely to see how well we'd be able to speak to customers and build team camaraderie.
    via u/merigoldmunki
  • 31
    We had just gotten to the Q&A part of the interview where everyone was asked the most low-ball question of "What do you love about the outdoors?" Well this one older lady very loudly and proudly informed the room that she does NOT like going outside. She said it was full of animals and bugs, always got her shoes dirty, and she has everything she loves inside her house.
    via u/merigoldmunki
  • 32
    We were applying for L. L. Bean, whose motto is literally "Be An Outsider" so safe to say she didn't get hired.
    via u/merigoldmunki
  • 33
    tommyelgreco Being a j to admin staff. I always talk to my admin immediately after interviews to see how the applicant treated them. If you act condescending or short with our admins, you are pretty much off the list.
    via u/tommyelgreco
  • 34
    Thundercock780 End of the interview, that up until this point actually went fairly well. Guy starts asking about the lads he'd be working with, pretty normal for construction, asks how the crew is, how long they've worked together... Then out of know where he asks who the biggest guy on the crew
    via u/Thunderc***780
  • 35
    was. I didn't quite understand, so asked him to elaborate. He says he likes to be known as the biggest or toughest guy on site. Yaaaa no thanks; keep that drama off my worksites.
    via u/Thunderc***780
  • 36
    TransitionOverall918 Negative Talk
    via u/TransitionOverall918
  • 37
    Linux4ever_Leo Showing up to the interview with a parent in tow. I've had this happen twice and both times I refused to go through with the interview. Grow up people! You don't need mommy or daddy with you at your professional job interview!
    via u/Linux4ever_Leo
  • 38
    MsMo999 Trash talk all their previous jobs & managers.
    via u/MsMo999
  • 39
    StruggleBusDriver... When I call in a group to interview I give simple instructions. Bring Your ID, a pen, a piece of paper. 90% of the people who show fail to bring those 3 things and immediately get rejected. Can't follow simple instructions then why in the h I would I trust you with #1000's of equipment on jobs where you could cost me 10s of $1000s.
    via u/StruggleBusDriver83
  • 40
    Plankton-007 I once interviewed a woman that was chewing gum the entire time! I don't remember any of her answers because all I could think was, "I can't believe she's chewing gum while talking. "
    via u/Plankton-007
  • 41
    Had another lady interviewing for a personal assistant to company owner who said that we could not run a back ground check on her. Neither were hired!
    via u/Plankton-007
  • 42
    maeasm3 Oh and so many people lie or exaggerate their experience on their resume. Then, when interviewed, they can't answer basic questions about key tasks in the role
    via u/maeasm3
  • 43
    Zadsta I used to host Zoom interviews for a bit. The amount of people who would be 10+ minutes late astounded me. It was an immediate no hire for me. If you can't open your laptop and click on a link~ on time, I don't trust you to show up to shifts on time. Bonus points for being late + obviously laying in bed.
    via u/Zadsta
  • 44
    Select-Hearing-9... Had a management position open and a quality applicant came in on time and was well-dressed for interview. Halfway through we had a great interview and I could sense he was already sure he had the job. His body language started changing and he relaxed more and more, pushing back from the table and stretching his arms, eventually a full
    via u/Select-Hearing-9298
  • 45
    backstretch with a yawn. Then he proceeded to order pizza for his daughter and himself so it would be there when he got home. He started discussing the commute and how much time he would have to dock from the workday for that. Shook his hand and never spoke to him again.
    via u/Select-Hearing-9298
  • 46
    66666666 E
    via Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 47
    I have a few. - If they misspell my very common name in the cover letter. - If they don't follow the clear rules on how to apply for the job. I had someone send their resume through an email change form for for existing customers. IT said they hadn't realized that was
    via u/houseonpost
  • 48
    even possible. The kicker was the first line of their letter is 'they keep close attention to detail.' - - Any mention of 'they don't want me to waste their time.'
    via u/houseonpost
  • 49
    jethrobeard Had one person put down "Instagram and Facebook" in their Skills section. This was for an upper level medical professional position.
    via u/jethrobeard
  • 50
    morosecoyote If every question I ask results in a 10-minute story and I can't get a word in, this is not the position for them.
    via u/morosecoyote
  • 51
    watabby Called someone up for a phone screening. I was asking her generally easy technical questions to see if she qualified to go through our interview process. She was whispering all her answers and I could barely hear her and I asked her to speak up, and she said she can't cause she's in a meeting at work. That's when I realized that the
    via u/watabby
  • 52
    voice I kept hearing in the background wasn't a tv but a person speaking, giving a speech or something. I told her to try to reschedule with us. We ended up not having her in for an interview.
    via u/watabby
  • 53
    TobyKenoby Lack of enthusiasm or energy, and avoiding specifics
    via u/TobyKenoby
  • 54
    etm105 Guy gave my manager and I "bro hugs" before and after the interview. Laughed about it afterwards but definitely not professional. Also desperation gives off the worst vibe. "I need this job" or "I'll do anything" are things to never say.
    via u/etm105

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