Worst Job Interview

[isuchicago]

I'm looking for some good stories. I just had mine. Luckily it was for a 2nd job that I can survive not getting, so I can laugh about it..but it was bad.

Start off by answering a question with "****, I can't remember". Spent the next minute nodding my head, not listening at all, thinking "did you just say ****? Did she hear that? Her face makes me think she did..is she still talking?"

Followed by a very awkward Bill Murray Stripes reference. When they asked if I've ever been convicted of a felony, on impulse I went with "Convicted? No..never convicted." She clearly didn't get the reference. After about 10 seconds of awkward silence and strange looks from the interviewer, I decide I need to say something. "Dodged a few bullets" then came out of my mouth. Then confused looks from her and myself. I wish that was the last of it. It went downhill quickly from there.

They're gonna let me know.

What's your worst ever?

 

[timappelgate]

I haven't ever bombed an interview, but I very much enjoy your story.

 

[Daserop]

I had two interviews with two different companies for an internship. These were the first interviews of my life and I was nervous. During my first interview I started talking about what the company did and their work interested me. The interviewer gave me an weird look during this time and I then realized for the past couple minutes I was talking about the other company I had an interview with, and what they did. Lets just say I had to set a record for shortest interview.

 

[CLONECONES]

I had an interview with an investment bank and during the second round of interviews I walked in to a room with 4 people sitting across the table from me and the only question they asked me was "How many golf balls can fit in a 747?"

I responded with ".......uhhhhhhhhhh..... let's go with 4 million!"

They said "Thanks, we'll let you know."

They never let me know.

 

[cycloneworld]

I didn't really bomb it (but I didn't get the job either so maybe I did), but I had an interviewer ask "What zoo animal would you compare yourself to and why?". All I could think in my head was "how in the world is this relevant to anything". I think I came up with some BS answer but it kept me on my toes the entire interview.

After 10 years of experience, some people like to throw in random off the way questions to see how people react. Not my style but everyone has their own method I guess.

 

[milrtym]

I drove 3 hours to an interview on a Saturday. Interview was for a job with the city and was like my 4th interview out of college. I think half the town was in this interview. There was the mayor, members of the city council, some other city employees, everyone but the city administrator who was suppose to be running the thing and had all the questions. Nobody could get a hold of him, so they decided to wing it, since I was like the 6th interview or something. I basically, asked and answered all the questions since I had interviews for similar positions. I was ****** when I left. To make matters worse, hit a random McDonald's on the way home and had the greasiest cheeseburger ever. Got a big old grease stain on the leg of my interview pants.

 

[00clone]

I had an interview with an investment bank and during the second round of interviews I walked in to a room with 4 people sitting across the table from me and the only question they asked me was "How many golf balls can fit in a 747?"

I responded with ".......uhhhhhhhhhh..... let's go with 4 million!"

They said "Thanks, we'll let you know."

They never let me know.

I think I'd have gone with: More than can fit in a 737, but less than can fit in an Airbus A380. What the hell would they be looking for there?

 

[iahawkhunter]

I think I'd have gone with: More than can fit in a 737, but less than can fit in an Airbus A380. What the hell would they be looking for there?

They're probably looking for an ability to estimate order-of-magnitude (or seeing of the interviewee has the stones to say "I don't know").

McKinsey & Company - how many golf balls fit in an airplane | Glassdoor

What kind of aircraft. Would the plane be empty or full (seats etc). I would need a lot more detail before I could answer that. Not to mention what sort of golfball.

If I asked this question in an interview. I would weed out whoever had an 'answer' with taking time to delve into the question\problem.

Interestingly, Google results show 20-28M golf balls is the answer. Being off by a factor of 5 isn't bad for a shot in the dark.

 

[longtimeclone]

I think I'd have gone with: More than can fit in a 737, but less than can fit in an Airbus A380. What the hell would they be looking for there?

Well yeah but does the plane have seats, passengers, or luggage already in it?

 

[CLONECONES]

ya... I have no idea what they were looking for... it was super awkward when I answered. All the guys were like .......oh, okay well see ya!

 

[Cycl1]

I think I'd have gone with: More than can fit in a 737, but less than can fit in an Airbus A380. What the hell would they be looking for there?

They are looking for your thought process on how to solve the problem.(or i guess if you are super smart, can calculate the answer in your head) Can you assume the plane is empty, are there seats, people, etc.. inside the plane. (how much volume is there to fit golf balls. Next you need to know the size of the golf ball, to know how much volume it takes up. Then you would have to select what kind of packing method you are using to determine your final number. (there are different ways to pack things, and some are more effecient than others)

 

[MeanDean]

I'm looking for some good stories. I just had mine. Luckily it was for a 2nd job that I can survive not getting, so I can laugh about it..but it was bad.

Start off by answering a question with "****, I can't remember". Spent the next minute nodding my head, not listening at all, thinking "did you just say ****? Did she hear that? Her face makes me think she did..is she still talking?"

Followed by a very awkward Bill Murray Stripes reference. When they asked if I've ever been convicted of a felony, on impulse I went with "Convicted? No..never convicted." She clearly didn't get the reference. After about 10 seconds of awkward silence and strange looks from the interviewer, I decide I need to say something. "Dodged a few bullets" then came out of my mouth. Then confused looks from her and myself. I wish that was the last of it. It went downhill quickly from there.

They're gonna let me know.

What's your worst ever?

You NAILED it, the unemployment checks should continue.

 

[mramseyISU]

Anytime you can work in a quote from Stripes or Spies like us is a win don't ever let anybody tell you different.

 

[cyred]

Thats easy.....Number of balls = Open Volume of the Interior of the Plane divided by the volume of a golf ball.

 

[cowgirl836]

Nothing as bad as the OP, but my husband slept through his alarm one time and missed an interview for a campus IT job (which was bad because he was badly trying to get into IT/engineering, this wasn't just a dining hall I need some cash job).

He was honest and told the interviewer why he missed and the guy actually let him reschedule!

He got the job.

 

[isumellie]

Thats easy.....Number of balls = Open Volume of the Interior of the Plane divided by the volume of a golf ball.

Nope, if you assume ideal packing it is only 74% because of all the air in between each golf ball.

 

[Cycl1]

Thats easy.....Number of balls = Open Volume of the Interior of the Plane divided by the volume of a golf ball.

nope. Hexagonal Close Packing -- from Wolfram MathWorld

looks like isumellie beat me to it.

 

[Cycl1]

When asked what i was good at, i once replied that i was pretty good at video games.

 

[MNclone]

I once sent a resume to a company with the cover letter addressed to the wrong company. I got an email response telling me to take a hike.

I was recently asked "What are some misconceptions that your co-workers have about you?" Not sure how to best answer that one. I told him that I'm a pretty authentic guy and that I wasn't aware of misconceptions about me. I didn't get that job.....

 

[Bigman38]

I had an interview where the guy was asking about my experience on a bunch of different systems that I had never used before. We got about 5 minutes in before he figured out that I applied for a completely different job in a completely different department. Never got an interview for the job I applied for.