Throughout my career, I have often said “You can’t make this stuff up” as I respond to the unusual and sometimes truly bizarre events in the workplace. Whether an unforgettable interview, an odd phone call or visit, or even a hotline call that must be reviewed and handled with discretion, HR Professionals regularly encounter things that make us ask “What in the World?”
In a job filled with compliance and rules and restrictions, we need the moments of levity – and maybe you do too! Before I begin, let me say this: These stories do not necessarily depict any actual person or event, though they may seem familiar from your own workplace! Confidential or identifying information has been carefully removed from these tales!
On Applicants and Job Seekers – True Excerpts from Applicants and Interviews
Who hasn’t has an embarrassing moment? It’s exceptionally embarrassing if you’re trying to get hired!
- At a college job fair a fellow recruiter a few booths over came by to introduce himself. As he returned to his own booth, I noticed that he was about to greet an anticipated 2,000+ students – with his fly unzipped! The male co-workers I was with were too embarrassed to go tell the poor guy they’d just spent 5 minutes talking to, so I walked over pretending to look at his booth and discreetly let him know.
- …candidate stepped through the door ahead of me as I invited her from the lobby, only to notice the dryer sheet clinging to the backside of her skirt (I did tell her and she removed it quickly it before anyone else saw)
- …on the way to interviewer’s office, she tripped over an invisible something in the hallway and knocked a framed print off the wall in her attempt to stop the fall!
- …stood up as the video interview ended, not realizing the camera was on long enough to capture him wearing only boxer shorts with his shirt and tie
- …kept re-positioning himself and squirming in chair throughout the interview, until a spider crawled out his left sleeve and onto his hand (which he quickly flung across the room and ran to stomp in a marvelous display of cat-like reflexes!)
But then there are things that could be avoided:
- ….came to a community job fair wearing a colorful variety of folded-in-half beer bottle lids at the end of the dreadlocks framing his face
- …forgot to silence his cell phone so the interview was interrupted briefly by his custom ringtone – the lyrics “I’m pretty good at drinking beer…”
- …drummed his fingers on the conference table after every question asked before speaking his answer
- …spent the entire interview scratching his arms and picking at scabs dotting both forearms and his hands….with blood smeared across one palm as he tried to shake my hand in departure!
- An applicant evidently passed gas as we sat in the tiny interview room – I literally held my breath praying that odor would dissipate quickly so I could speak again. I have really no idea what he was telling me in those few moments!
- …candidate asked if she could bring her baby to the interview I was trying to schedule her for – because childcare is really expensive for “just an interview”
- A college junior came to interview for an Engineering internship…with band-aids covering every finger above the first knuckle. Curiosity got the better of us, and a review of his social media accounts after the interview confirmed the presence of some very unprofessional vocabulary across both hands!
- When asked the reason for leaving his last job, responded that he had been “falsely accused of sexual harassment – at his last two jobs!
- …brought her ’emotional support animal’ with her to the interview for a fast-paced and customer-facing position. Unfortunately, the interviewer was immediately seized by an extreme allergy to cat dander and had to abandon the interview as soon as she walked into the conference room!
- when asked for examples of the types of welding work he had recently completed, a particularly confident young man responded to me with
“Ma’am, I can weld anything but a broken heart”
“Ma’am, I can weld anything but a broken heart”
And then there are the great questions candidates ask during interviews:
- …asked how soon he’d have vacation time available, since he had “several court dates” coming up!
- …asked how strict our attendance policy was regarding tardiness
- …asked if he could schedule the pre-employment drug test in a few weeks because he wasn’t quite ready for it yet
- …asked if his wife could call me when he got home later, she said she would have some questions if he thought the interview went well!
- …asked if we really ran criminal background checks or if we just said it
- …wondered if we processed garnishments or if we would ignore them if the employee signed a declaration stating that they didn’t really owe them
- …asked “would I have to wear my teeth at work if I get this job? My wife made me wear ’em today but they aren’t comfortable at all”
- …asked if we had locker rooms to change clothes after work…then went on to explain that he sometimes got gigs as a stripper on weekends and didn’t always have time to get home to change into costume before he had to show up somewhere!
